when halflings go to war with bigger races, how much of a factor do you think size should be? How many halflings does it take to kill one human soldier (generally speaking). Can they overcome the problem through tactics and formations? Turn their smaller size into an advantage?
The halflings size dictates everything. They cannot go toe-to-toe with a soldier of another race, and the average halfling is weaker than any other medium sized race they would fight due to the -2 str. To compensate, halflings would need to use guerilla tactics and take advantage of the terrain. Also, they would use weapons that do not rely on their strength such as cross bows. Attacks from high ground give a +1 bonus to hit, catching opponents unawares gives a +2 to hit, and the aid another action can allow for a "volley" to hit an opponent.
Chokepoints will slow down medium sized enemies while giving the halfling a better chance. Crossbows will allow ranged attacks that do not take penalties. But Hit and run tactics will be best. Ride in with two cross bows, shoot twice and run out of there. Harassing tactics vs a larger, less maneuverable, and infantry heavy tactics will allow the halflings a great chance at combat. Basically, they need goblin tactics.
As for the average human soldier (warrior class in pathfinder) , he has a d10 hit die, since NPC rolls for HP we'll just give him 6 hit points and straight 10s for combat stats (a 12 str in pathfinder). The halfling will have 6 HP also for a d10. But the halfling only has an 8 str and 12 dex but 10s for combat stats. If both have hide armor and a heavy wooden shield, the human has an AC of 16 (10 base +4 armor +2 shield) and the halfling and AC 18 (10 base +4 armor +2 shield +1 size+ 1 dex).
We'll give both a shortspear. The human needs to roll a 16 to hit, the halfling only a 14. The halfling will hit 35% of the time but do less damage; the human will hit 25% of the time but has a greater chance of killing the halfling with each blow. The halfling will deal 1d4-1 damage with the spear while the human deals 1d6+1. Excluding critical hits, the halfling will need 2 hits minimum to kill the human while the human can kill the halfling in one blow 33% of the time he lands a hit.
I don't want to break down who kills who first most often, but a rough view seems fairly even. The halfling isn't a a huge disadvantage, but I think the human will win more often.
