Halflings

[Turanil]

What about Halflings in your games: LotR gluttons? Warhammer's cooks? Dragonlance's annoying kleptomaniacs? Or something else?

The "Gnomes" thread gave me plenty of ideas for gnomes in my next homebrew. I hate gnomes, but that thread gave me ideas to make them tolerable and allow them in my setting. But now I need ideas for Halflings. I am likewise of a low tolerance when it comes to halflings (I only like them in LotR, nowhere else). But maybe people around have great ideas for them?

So, what are halflings in your games?

 

[kolvar]

religious zealots, the chosen people of their god, who once ruled mighty empires of halflings and now live in town and cities all over the world as aminority. They have gone from frightiningly militant (when their empires whre able to hold of the might of one of the greatest empires that ever existed) to a more scholorly aproach. But who know, what might happen, when the find their promised land...
well, who thinks, that might sound a bit familiar is right: if wells are poisoned, the halflings are blamed

 

[MerricB]

I basically have two groups of halflings - the settled type who farm and make up a good portion of the County of Ulek, and the nomadic/gypsy type as seen in RotW.

Cheers!

 

[diaglo]

I basically have two groups of halflings - the settled type who farm and make up a good portion of the County of Ulek, and the nomadic/gypsy type as seen in RotW.

similar for me too but without the RotW or Greyhawk references.

a race of smaller demi-humans. Lawful alignment. very community based. either as an established place of residence. or as a caravan of world travelers... merchants.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

Halflings are wandering, landless folk, welcomed in most places but not actually trusted. When your purse turns up missing, blame the halflings. As kolvar states, when the well's poisoned... halflings.

This isn't entirely unfair, either. Halflings will make off with anything that ain't nailed down and some of the stuff that is.

They're not kleptomaniac Kender, though; they can control when and what they steal, and because of their Good alignment, they don't normally steal things that their victims really need, and a lot of what they steal doesn't go into their own purses. Halflings smuggle, too-- but again, their criminal bent is marked by their alignment; Halflings are known for smuggling food, medicinal herbs, and money to the needy and oppressed.

Halflings are charming, too. They're friendly, and they genuinely like people. They help out where they can. What they have in charm, though, they make up for in a lack of good judgement. They're luckier than other races, and they know it. They rely on their luck to save them from their recklessness. Halflings are almost fearless-- while Paladins have the divine courage to ignore the fear in their hearts, Halflings don't even feel that fear until they're almost completely in over their head.

When the Halfling panics, you're all dead.

In my games, Halflings get a Charisma bonus and a Wisdom penalty. Their morale bonus vs. fear is doubled. Halflings' Favored Gestalt is Scout/Rogue.

 

[kolvar]

Oh, I forgot: Wis-Bonus instead of Dex, and funnyly non one ever wants to play one. (that is rather sad, because there are lots and lots of role-playing opportunities with halflings).

 

[diaglo]

Oh, I forgot: Wis-Bonus instead of Dex, and funnyly non one ever wants to play one. (that is rather sad, because there are lots and lots of role-playing opportunities with halflings).

read the story hour in my sig.

we have two halflings in the party.
one gnome
one dwarf
and one human.

 

[Gentlegamer]

Hobbits in my campaign are just like those of Tolkien, except they are "grown up" in outlook similar to the Shirefolk after the War of the Ring. Adventuring hobbits are similar in outlook to Meriadoc the Magnificent or Peregrin Took.

 

[Evilhalfling]

The Stouts are the other side of my gnome/halfling pair for background see the gnome thread.

Stouts – A warrior race, from the green isle where they fight their feral cousins, evil dwarves and dragons. They are larger and heavier than their cousins the Hairfeet or Fearls, but still smaller than dwarves. They are normally stoic and violent. Small size, lowlight vision, + 2 to listen checks, improved monkey grip (use light and one handed weapons as if they were medium size), +1 to hit dragons, + 4 AC vs. dragons. +1 to all saves, –2 str, +2 con. Favored classes Ranger & Druid

I heavily mixed the demihuman races, as these folk share a fair amount with dwarves as well as halflings. They are more heavily influenced by there current conditons then they are by PHB or fantasy conventions.

The stouts and Hairfeet call humans 'Tallfellows' completing the 1st ed joke.

 

[MonsterMash]

Mine are 'tolkienesque' halflings

nasty tricksy hobbitsies