Halflings - are the more than just short humans?

[Tonguez]

Anyway just wondering what people out there actually do with halflings.

Do Halflings actually have a niche beyond being short humans? (which even Tolkien seem to pitch them as)

I've always had this image of them being humans with too elfish-sensibilities and so IMC they went the way of elfs and became ethereal and an NPC fae race

can core Halflings be described without reference to humans and elfs? and should they even exist

 

[Tewligan]

I've never been a fan of them. I agree, they don't really have a solid niche. When I start a campaign up (whenever that may be), they'll suffer the same fate as gnomes - total nonexistance.

 

[Drakmar]

I have found that most DM's just treat them a short humans. A few campaign settings have tried to make them different. (Darksun, SovStone, etc)

Currently my homebrew doesn't have Halflings at all.. well.. in the Arena of Play. But far away, I reckon I would have a country of Halflings.. I really dig the idea of giving them a Feudal Japanese culture. Complete with Ninja Halflings. They have their islands all to themselves.. and they they find people over the seas.. and those people are bigger and uncouth.

 

[Dark Psion]

You might want to check out this pdf of the Five Shires for the old Mystara setting.

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=1009&

 

[Sejs]

I really dig the idea of giving them a Feudal Japanese culture.

This amuses me to no end. I may well use it, heh.

Plus it puts a plug in the old "if it's asian, it's better" method of thinking. Sure, it's asian - and it's also made for a small size race. And they don't look kindly on the idea of making their stuff for larger races.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It depends entirely upon my players.

Some of them are good at defining and refining the concept of the gnomish or halfling races, so I let them play them.

I tend to steer noobs and subpar players away from them, though.

 

[Torm]

Plus it puts a plug in the old "if it's asian, it's better" method of thinking. Sure, it's asian - and it's also made for a small size race. And they don't look kindly on the idea of making their stuff for larger races.

LOL. "Buy Halfling Steel - Because Caucasians Are Just Too D*mned Tall."

 

[Henry]

I "Kenderize" my halflings a bit in-game, by making them free-wheeling and annoying. I try to play them like that, too.

"What's that? Mage Bane? OO! Can I have a garland of it, too? Why don't you give me one! YOu gave my spellcaster friend one! Oh, I know he's on trial and has the stuff for spell negation! It smells nice and I want in, too!

 

[Alzrius]

There's something to be said for the halfling pantheon as well. It's the only pantheon of deities that seems to have no evil or aberrant members...there aren't any halfling gods representing anything particularly bad.

 

[Haradim]

Halfings don't appear much in our games, unless someone is playing one as a PC. I don't think anyone has ever played a Gnome.

Judging how we tend to play halflings, they do tend to be short humans, only without the class diversity (rarely is a halfling not a Rogue...and that decision is usually regretted, particularly for melee halflings). I guess we don't see much reason to play them as anything different, and I imagine if we were to end up in a halfling community, we would likely find that halflings are indeed pretty much ripped right out of LotR.

For my own games, I doubt I'd change this. But then, I've never really been worried about finding a 'niche' for every race. Some are just there, and quite happy to just live their lives without a special place in the world.