Dr. Strangemonkey
First Post
Isn't this just taken more or less word for word from Races and Classes?
I too am sad panda.
I too am sad panda.
Design & Development: Halflings [merged]
- Thread starter Shroomy
- Start date
ZombieRoboNinja
First Post
Lizard said:
The height thing basically puts them back where they are in LOTR. ("Halfling" = half of a 7-foot-tall Numenorian.)
The fluff change from 2e keeps them out of "Drizzt syndrome," where everybody wants to play the "exception to the racial norm" which results in a thousand Chaotic Good drow and adventurous halflings for every "normal" one presented. (I think they're after the same thing with tieflings, adding a "naughty" race that isn't 99.9% evil bastards with every single PC as one of the "few exceptions.")
So, the halfling seems to be:
+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma
Lucky (may make one reroll of a save/skill check?? per encounter)
Small (whatever that means)
Skill bonuses?
Weapon proficiencies?
Other abilities?
As opposed to the Elf
+2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom
Speed 7
+2 Nature, +2 Perception
Elven Accuracy (may reroll one attack per encounter)
Elven Weapon Training: You gain proficiency with the longbow and the shortbow.
Wild Step: You ignore difficult terrain when you shift (even if you have a power that allows you to shift multiple squares).
Group Awareness: You grant non-elf allies within 5 squares a +1 racial bonus to Perception checks.
+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma
Lucky (may make one reroll of a save/skill check?? per encounter)
Small (whatever that means)
Skill bonuses?
Weapon proficiencies?
Other abilities?
As opposed to the Elf
+2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom
Speed 7
+2 Nature, +2 Perception
Elven Accuracy (may reroll one attack per encounter)
Elven Weapon Training: You gain proficiency with the longbow and the shortbow.
Wild Step: You ignore difficult terrain when you shift (even if you have a power that allows you to shift multiple squares).
Group Awareness: You grant non-elf allies within 5 squares a +1 racial bonus to Perception checks.
ZombieRoboNinja said:
A lot of how good this is depends on the campaign. If the PCs never go "home", then, yeah, everyone's a Cool Rebel, and thus, boring. If they do go home a lot, then you have to deal with friends and family snubbing you sneering at you (for the halflings) or just stabbing you on sight (Drow). There's no better way to deflate a player's ego then have him return to his hometown decked in glory and being treated like a freak/loser/dweeb/ by his "normal" kin who see nothing honorable or worthy about his deeds.
Riverboat halflings just don't do it for me. I'm sure, though, that this thread will be filled with people raving about this is the Coolest! Thing! EVAR! and they've never played halflings before but now they will and this is brilliant and totally original and yadda yadda yadda...
Like I said, no worse than 3e, but no better, either.
(Point blank, D&D should probably have never HAD halflings, but Gygax's Tolkein-loving buddies nagged him to add Hobbitses. Once they were in, they should have stayed true to their roots. Every attempt to reinvent them tends to reek of "How can we make them TOTALLY DIFFERENT from Hobbits?", instead of "How can we make stay-at-home chubby weed smoking farmers fun and interesting?" (Apparently, Mystara did, as I was in an all-halfling game for about 18 months using their version of the little buggers, and none of us were bored.))
