D&D General My Problem(s) With Halflings, and How To Create Engaging/Interesting Fantasy Races

[Micah Sweet]

you do know what the scones to metal exchange rate is even today?

no one ever talks of them mining just farming and eating.

I hate golf courses waste of fertile land.

now that is just depressing and likely racist.

Do a lot of people talk of elves mining? They still have metal stuff.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Do a lot of people talk of elves mining? They still have metal stuff.

Which is actually weird. Can you imagine wood elves mining or even working metal? It really doesn't fit. They should use some sort of flint and bone weapons.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Do a lot of people talk of elves mining? They still have metal stuff.

I assume they use magic to make trees into metal or something like that.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Which is actually weird. Can you imagine wood elves mining or even working metal? It really doesn't fit. They should use some sort of flint and bone weapons.

or scavenged arrows from other cultures.

 

[Alzrius]

now that is just depressing and likely racist.

There's actually quite a bit to unpack, there. While half-orcs receive no consideration from any of the gods (who directly grant 6th- and 7th-level spells) nor their divine servants (who grant 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-level spells) - being able to receive only 1st- and 2nd-level spells from religious rites and practices (i.e. they can only get to 4th level as clerics) - literally every race except humans is only slightly better off.

If you look at the class/level restriction table posted previously, the majority of demihuman races were limited to 3rd- or 4th-level spells at most, due to their limited available levels in the cleric class (or druid class, for halflings). So only the divine servants of their gods are giving them spells; their gods simply aren't interested in personally helping them out.

And even then, demihumans are the lucky ones compared to most other races! The DMG makes it clear that most humanoids, while they don't get much further than demihumans in terms of the power of the spells the servants of their gods make available, get far less breadth of spell selection:

Only humans (those who've advanced beyond being cavemen, at least) can rise to the heights that the gods themselves are interested in personally giving them the most powerful clerical magic available. Which I suppose explains why there are so many human pantheons out there, while (at least in the original Deities & Demigods book) the various demihumans and humanoids only have single creator deities who apparently lost interest in the races they created. It paints an interesting picture of the typical D&D cosmos, and leans into what Gary wrote about how the game was meant to be humanocentric.

 

[Faolyn]

Minor correction: Halflings were allowed to be druids in AD&D 1E, albeit only as NPCs, and were restricted to 6th level.

I did not know that! (I was looking at the 2e PH.)

 

[Faolyn]

Which is actually weird. Can you imagine wood elves mining or even working metal? It really doesn't fit. They should use some sort of flint and bone weapons.

I can see them working soft metals, like pure gold, silver, or copper. But yeah, nothing like iron or steel.

 

[Mind of tempest]

I can see them working soft metals, like pure gold, silver, or copper. But yeah, nothing like iron or steel.

I would use gold to record important events for the wood elves as it does not rot or rust.

 

[Mind of tempest]

There's actually quite a bit to unpack, there. While half-orcs receive no consideration from any of the gods (who directly grant 6th- and 7th-level spells) nor their divine servants (who grant 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-level spells) - being able to receive only 1st- and 2nd-level spells from religious rites and practices (i.e. they can only get to 4th level as clerics) - literally every race except humans is only slightly better off.

If you look at the class/level restriction table posted previously, the majority of demihuman races were limited to 3rd- or 4th-level spells at most, due to their limited available levels in the cleric class (or druid class, for halflings). So only the divine servants of their gods are giving them spells; their gods simply aren't interested in personally helping them out.

And even then, demihumans are the lucky ones compared to most other races! The DMG makes it clear that most humanoids, while they don't get much further than demihumans in terms of the power of the spells the servants of their gods make available, get far less breadth of spell selection:

Only humans (those who've advanced beyond being cavemen, at least) can rise to the heights that the gods themselves are interested in personally giving them the most powerful clerical magic available. Which I suppose explains why there are so many human pantheons out there, while (at least in the original Deities & Demigods book) the various demihumans and humanoids only have single creator deities who apparently lost interest in the races they created. It paints an interesting picture of the typical D&D cosmos, and leans into what Gary wrote about how the game was meant to be humanocentric.

I hear Gary never wanted elves and dwarves to begin with.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Both elves and dwarves almost certainly have to do a lot of trading, unless we rewrite their use of metals, love of beer and wine, etc.

I feel like there might be a race that might fit in halfway between their communities and have an agrarian society and also be traders with other societies, but I can't put my finger on it.