Kill the skinny halfling!

[KesselZero]

The name hin is used in the 3.e forgotten realms campaign book pg. 17 if it helps.

Thanks! Never owned that book.

 

[Dice4Hire]

This poll is very poorly thought out.

But to answer the question, I do not care. Put a halfling in the books and let the player describe them. Why dictate?

 

[Blackwarder]

Thin halfings are kenders... Personally I say kick the halfings and bring back the gnomes! Viva le revolucion!!!

Warder

 

[Mengu]

Cannibals. Or maybe dinosaur riding nomads...

Honestly, who cares what the "official" halfling is like? Define what it'll be for your game, done.

Edit: And I apparently fail at reading previous posts... Basically ditto Dice4Hire.

 

[Knight Templar]

This poll is very poorly thought out.

But to answer the question, I do not care. Put a halfling in the books and let the player describe them. Why dictate?

Because while the players have control over their character, that control is limited. The halfling from 1e/2e is a completely different creature than the one from 3e/4e.

 

[Knight Templar]

Cannibals. Or maybe dinosaur riding nomads...

Honestly, who cares what the "official" halfling is like? Define what it'll be for your game, done.

Nobody's game exists in a vacuum, players come in with expectations based upon their experiences. A halfling from the 3e PHB is an athletic creature that gains bonuses to climbing and jumping. When you make changes to what is in the core books there is often resistance from some players, if it's in the PHB they'll be more accepting.

 

[Mengu]

Nobody's game exists in a vacuum, players come in with expectations based upon their experiences. A halfling from the 3e PHB is an athletic creature that gains bonuses to climbing and jumping. When you make changes to what is in the core books there is often resistance from some players, if it's in the PHB they'll be more accepting.

If my DM says his halflings are plump gardeners running around with bare hairy feet, I won't say, "but on page 17 of the PHB, it says they are skinny and athletic riverfolk wearing boots." Wait... actually, I *would* say that, and get a good laugh out of everyone in the room.

The DM is the one creating the campaign world. If a player is going to go about not accepting the DM's world, that right there, is not going to make for a good game. On the other hand, if a player wants to play a skinny athletic halfling, it would be wise for a DM to come up with maybe a micro culture of halflings in another pocket of the world, who are like that. At the end of the day it's the DM and players who co-create the game experience. Again, I see no reason to care, what the PHB says. Whatever suits the game designers is fine by me.

 

[steeldragons]

Halflings

Halfling Halfling

Halfling

Halfling

GOOSE!

 

[Knight Templar]

If my DM says his halflings are plump gardeners running around with bare hairy feet, I won't say, "but on page 17 of the PHB, it says they are skinny and athletic riverfolk wearing boots." Wait... actually, I *would* say that, and get a good laugh out of everyone in the room.

The DM is the one creating the campaign world. If a player is going to go about not accepting the DM's world, that right there, is not going to make for a good game. On the other hand, if a player wants to play a skinny athletic halfling, it would be wise for a DM to come up with maybe a micro culture of halflings in another pocket of the world, who are like that. At the end of the day it's the DM and players who co-create the game experience. Again, I see no reason to care, what the PHB says. Whatever suits the game designers is fine by me.

In that situation I would let him play an athletic halfling, but he would be unusual for his race. Just as if I'm running a campaign in Ancient Greece and someone wants to play a western knight, he can behave however he likes (though plate armor of course wouldn't be available) but he isn't "normal" for his culture.

 

[Crazy Jerome]

I think halflings should exist in a wide variety of body types, but all of one racial stock--just like humans. Getting fat in pastoral lands and propping your bare, hairy feet up on the porch is a cultural thing.

Then they should make elves a bit more fey and tricky, and then set up gnomes the same way--so that elves are to humans what gnomes are to halflings. But that's getting onto another topic.