Kill the skinny halfling!

[the Jester]

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.

Keep your damn kender far away from my D&D.

 

[Minigiant]

Keep your damn kender far away from my D&D.

No. The kender were killed off by natural selection. All the halflings evolve with sane curiosity.

 

[Knight Templar]

On the whole "mass" subject, people are thinking of halflings as small humans. They're a completely different species and may just be more powerful pound for pound. A big chimpanzee is only 150lb, but I'd put my money on the chimp against a muscular 250lb human.

 

[xigbar]

Both! What profoundly backwards logic would make someone say "well, I don't like that race, so no one should have access to it?"

 

[TarionzCousin]

You've obviously never had a 5 year old kick you in your special place.

You've had a five year old kick you in your treehouse?

 

[Endur]

I voted stout hairy feet for halfings.

We already have skinny gnomes for skinny small people.

 

[triqui]

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

I've had similar problems (like a 5 year old biting you) but the only reason the fight does not end right there with the 5 years old kid lying on the floor vomiting blood after swallowing his teeth, with the jaw (and neck) broken is becouse it is a 5 years old kid and I do not want to harm him. _IF_ it were a real life-or-death fight against a 5 years old kid, the kid would had less than zero chances to survive. They might, maybe, with a knife. But in a grapple for example, it's not like they have -1 str bonus. It's like it's an auto-win.

 

[NotZenon]

problem i've always had with halflings is they mechanically suck as any warrior class. I mean they get a penalty to strength AND they are small size (meaning all there weapons do less damage, only move 20', etc..). Its not that you can't make an OK halfling warrior, is that you can't make a great one - which means no player is ever going to play a halfling warrior... and i don't know why but that just bugs me, sort of like how the "only humans can be paladins" and "only humans can advance to level 20" bugged me in second edition... it meant that almost everyone was always a human.

Its easy to fix, but it still bugs me.

I like how the above posters point out that some smaller creatures are much stronger pound for pound than humans (chimps, dogs, etc...) there is no reason why halflings shouldn't be like this as well.

 

[TimA]

I like my halflings as stout, fuzzy footed hobbits.

Although the darksun ones are cool enough that I wouldnt mind them either.

But when halflings are just human midgets like 3e and 4e I dont see the point.

 

[Crazy Jerome]

Gnomes or halflings as more intelligent, less furry chimpanzees would actually be kind of neat. I especially like that with gnomes, if you keep some fey magic/origin in the picture. It also provides a great reason for the gnomes to get offended and go all Clint Eastwood on someone after a few inappropriate comments, such as, "where's your tail?"