Pathfinder 2E Halflings & Gnomes: More Pathfinder 2nd Edition Races; Plus Ability Boosts & Flaws Explained

We've seen goblins, elves and dwarves; now it's time to take a peek at Pathfinder 2nd Edition's small folk - the halflings and gnomes! All to be added, of course, to the Pathfinder 2nd Edition Compiled Info Page!

​

• Halflings --
  • 8 racial hit points
  • Size small; speed 20 feet
  • Dexterity and Charisma boost, plus one flexible boost; Strength flaw
  • Ancestry feats --
    • Distracting Shadows (sneak using large creatures as cover)
    • Plucky (overcome fear)
    • Titan Slinger (damage bonus with slings vs. large creatures); also the sling does more damage than in PF1
    • Lucky Halfling (reroll one skill check or save you critically fail per day)
• Gnomes --
  • 8 racial hit points
  • Con and Cha boosts, plus one flexible boost; Str flaw
  • Low light vision
  • Ancestry feats --
    • Fey Fellowship (more charismatic when dealing with fey)
    • First World Magic (bonus cantrip with various options)
    • Discerning Smell (find invisible creatures)
    • Animal Speaker (talk to animals)
• What do ability boosts and flaws do? "We've mentioned ability boosts and flaws a few times now, so let's go into more detail about how those work! At 1st level, your ability scores all start at 10. Your ancestry then gives you ability boosts, each of which increases the score by 2. Most ancestries get three ability boosts, two of which have to go into specific scores. The remaining free ability boost can go into any score except the two set ones. Most ancestries also get a flaw, which decreases a designated score by 2. You can put your free ability boost in the same score as your flaw if you want to get back to 10."

[FONT=&quot]Save[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Save[/FONT]​

 

[doctorhook]

I realize this comment is three years late and not the same topic, but let's talk more about endlessly terrible the 5e depictions of halflings are. (5e has some great work by some great artists, but the art direction overall--especially in the Player's Handbook--is pretty poor and incoherent.)

 

[Parmandur]

I realize this comment is three years late and not the same topic, but let's talk more about endlessly terrible the 5e depictions of halflings are. (5e has some great work by some great artists, but the art direction overall--especially in the Player's Handbook--is pretty poor and incoherent.)

There's no arguing about tastes, but at least 5E has reigned in the buckle to clothing item ratio considerably.

Say what ye will, but there is no confusing a 5E Halfling or Gnome in any product for each other or any other race.

 

[Ancalagon]

Hmm. Tried merging the two threads but it got all screwed up. Ah well.

It happens

 

[Eltab]

How does a Halfling woman give birth to that large-headed baby and not go to Intensive Care immediately thereafter?
Maybe Halflings have LOTS of high-level female Clerics disguised as midwives?

And I agree: you can tell the Halfling because he/she doesn't ever wear shoes or boots. (See the mountaintop blizzard scene in LotR, when they really should have had something to boost their save vs. frostbite)

 

[Charlaquin]

How does a Halfling woman give birth to that large-headed baby and not go to Intensive Care immediately thereafter?

It turns out, halflings are marsupials.

 

[Aldarc]

How does a Halfling woman give birth to that large-headed baby and not go to Intensive Care immediately thereafter?
Maybe Halflings have LOTS of high-level female Clerics disguised as midwives?

See House Jorasco in Eberron.

 

[CubicsRube]

Little known fact: halflings are born with tiny heads which keep expanding as they age.

The large headed halflings you see in the 5e illustrations are merely older than their other kin!

 

[CubicsRube]

I really like the ancestry feats in pf2 and their possibilities and i think the gnome is a great example of that. You don't by nature have to have a gnime that for some reason knows cantrips. You can be a nature gnome who speaks to animals, or a social gnome connected to the fae courts.

It really helps that you could have two of a songle ancestry in a party but they could feel fundamentally different.

 

[zztong]

Now as for the bonus stats, i am not sure about giving Goblins, Gnomes and Halflings all bonuses to Cha.

My preference would be Gnomes +Int, Halflings +Wis and Goblins +Con.

Agreed, your Gnome (INT) and Halfling (WIS) matchup makes more sense to me than CHA.

I'm not really sure what to give to Goblins. I have trouble getting past that I don't really see them as a PC race. To me, they look like -2 STR, +2 DEX, -2 CON, -2 INT, -2 WIS, -2 CHA.

 

[Kaodi]

I was okay with the Goblin bonus to Charisma before I realized Halfling and Gnome both already have bonuses to Charisma. Either Gnomes or Goblins have got to change.