Kill the skinny halfling!

[Blackwarder]

I don't mind having Tolkeinist halfings, it's the "halfing as a short human" thing that I dislike...

Warder

 

[Minigiant]

Halfling aren't short humans.

They are little daredevils who through genetic mutations take ten times as long to feel fear.

Their natural courage has weeded out the frailer, slower, and uncharismatic stock through natural selection. Many halfling died from their fearlessness and lack of enough common sense to run away/not eat that/stop going forward/not investigate that sound.

Plump or skinny is a cultural thing, The daredevil aspect is not.

 

[grimslade]

Sign me up with all types of halflings
Fat reclusive hill billy Tolkien hobbits, bayou halflings getting' their Cajun on in the Hool Marsh, savage Dark Sun halflings (they are not cannibals, they don't eat halfling), heck give me devout Puritan halflings that are constantly hunting warlocks in their midst, I don't care. Halflings need to be lucky and quick to survive living among bigs.

I like the gypsy river folk angle. It is a niche that has not been filled by a race previously and works to give instant background in the Nerath Vale. The description of races should be defined by the setting they are in. If there is a default setting for Next, then there will be a default generic description. Otherwise, let the halflings freak flag fly.

 

[triqui]

Hobbit's can't get back. They are copyrighted

 

[grimslade]

Hobbit's can't get back. They are copyrighted

But Joddits, small husky demihumans with furry palms are not.

Halflings have enough life of their own and a threatened lawsuit from the late 70's to settle that. The name can't be used but the description is fair game.

 

[Crazy Jerome]

Anyway, like I was sayin', halfling is the fruit of the waterwarys. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, halfling-kabobs, halfling creole, halfling gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple halfling, lemon halfling, coconut halfling, pepper halfling, halfling soup, halfling stew, halfling salad, halfling and potatoes, halfling burger, halfling sandwich. That- that's about it.

You forgot to answer the question. In the pursuit of the above, do you like your hobbits lean or fattened up?

 

[MoxieFu]

Just please oh game designers promise us we will never suffer the indignity of Trobbits:

Blackstar (TV series) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[RHGreen]

People go on and on about falling damage and what do hit points mean, but to me, the existence of adventuring hobbits bothers me. Or them fighting effectively does.

They just don't have enough mass to be effective in a fight against anything but similarly sized opponents. Either in terms of taking damage or dealing it.

I mean, look at fighting sports - they have weight classes, because a heavier guy would just pound the heck out of the little guy. And the littlest guys are probably twice the size of a hobbit.

I'd like to see Halfings just appear to look smaller than they really are, actually be 4'10" to 5' and maybe 150 lbs, while Dwarves are like 5'6" and 240 (built like a linebacker) and gnomes somewhere in between.

You've obviously never had a 5 year old kick you in your special place. Trust me. Hobbits are big enough.

Besides, people's problems with halflings usually come from comparing them to a similar sized child, but hobbits aren't children. I've seen staffys, that could pull you apart in seconds, that are smaller than hobbits.

 

[howandwhy99]

I picked both. I say let players choose their own character's weight ...well, within a certain range anyways.

And bring back hefty humans! and husky half-orcs! and dumpy dwarves! and elephantine elves!

And needs-a-sandwich skinny too. I like people who look like people, but that doesn't mean movie star good looks are off the table either.

 

[I'm A Banana]

They just don't have enough mass to be effective in a fight against anything but similarly sized opponents. Either in terms of taking damage or dealing it.

Everyone has parts of the game that weird their sense of immersion in different ways. This never really bothered me -- halflings not conforming to the real laws of mass and muscle don't bother me, in the same way that flying dragons and dire insects (none of which make any biological sense) don't bother me, and in the same way that wizard magic doesn't bother me.

But everyone hits that note at different points.