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

[Chaosmancer]

"their skill and magic allow them to support themselves without the need for clearing and plowing land."

Classic farmboys.

Go to an orchard farm, tell them you want to plow the land for them. See how well that goes.

And yes, the orchard would need to be cleared at some point, but they don't need magic to do that. In fact, no where in "orchards or raising horses" did I once mention magic at all. So, I'm not sure where you got magic from, but it is completely unnecessary. to the process.

 

[Gammadoodler]

Go to an orchard farm, tell them you want to plow the land for them. See how well that goes.

And yes, the orchard would need to be cleared at some point, but they don't need magic to do that. In fact, no where in "orchards or raising horses" did I once mention magic at all. So, I'm not sure where you got magic from, but it is completely unnecessary. to the process.

That quote is from the PHB friend.

 

[bedir than]

someone posted that people who disagree with them about halflings want to “destroy” them! Everyone take a drink!

Removing all current lore, as the people who I've quoted wish to do would destroy what makes them enjoyable. It isn't hyperbole. It's the facts of their position.

Someone that wanted to change dragonborn so that they were no longer dragon people with an ancestry of dragons would be destroying dragonborn.

1) How many of those involved the halfling leaving their quaint farming village (ie, the Farm Boy stories)?

You're familiar that remaining in a quaint thorp is a valid story to tell right? The reason I keep pointing out your single sentences is because they are a presentation of the most absurd of your ideas -- that there are only certain valid stories to tell in D&D and that anyone who does so doesn't deserve to play those stories any more.

 

[pemerton]

@Hussar, I love LotR but don't feel at all disrespected by the way you are discussing it in this thread (or others).

 

[Chaosmancer]

From MtoF:

"As do many other races, halflings enjoy accumulating personal possessions. But unlike with most other races, a halfling’s idea of value has little if anything to do with monetary concerns. A typical halfling’s most prized possessions are those that have the most interesting stories attached to them.

Next sentence "A typical halfling’s most prized possessions are those that have the most interesting stories attached to them." Previous sentence "As do many other races, halflings enjoy accumulating personal possessions."

Yeah, they don't think that the centerpiece on the mantle should be the most expensive item they own. They prefer possessions with interesting stories and sentimental value. Grandma's cookbook is more important than a Ming Vase worth 1,000,000 gold.

But... that doesn't mean they turn up their noses at the idea of money. They still expect to be paid for their work.

 

[Gammadoodler]

Next sentence "A typical halfling’s most prized possessions are those that have the most interesting stories attached to them." Previous sentence "As do many other races, halflings enjoy accumulating personal possessions."

Yeah, they don't think that the centerpiece on the mantle should be the most expensive item they own. They prefer possessions with interesting stories and sentimental value. Grandma's cookbook is more important than a Ming Vase worth 1,000,000 gold.

But... that doesn't mean they turn up their noses at the idea of money. They still expect to be paid for their work.

Sure, but they are not likely to be measuring the value of their pay in terms of money, almost like...a halfling's idea of value has little if anything to do with monetary concerns.

 

[Faolyn]

But are they?

I mean, in Dark Sun the "flip" is that halflings are barbaric cannibals who everyone is terrified of, and stay away from their jungle hideaways.

Humans can do that, too... but it's WEIRD when halflings do it. Halflings share a lot of traits with humans, but not all of them- their savagery, ambition, lust for power and search for the divine are all de-emphasized in favor of something more... utilitarian?

When Star Trek: Deep Space 9 came out, the writers said that part of having an emphasis on the Bajoran religion is that you could tell stories about that that you couldn't tell about human religions. You could use Bajoran religion as a thinly-veiled allegory for real-world religions and not run nearly as much of a risk of insulting anyone.

It's really easy to see evil human cannibals (particularly in a low-tech, sun-bronzed world as Athas) as being a stand-in for real-world groups that have been falsely accused of being savages or cannibals, and then hurt, genocided, or forcibly "civilized" because of that erroneous belief.

But you can have halflings be savage wasteland cannibals all you want. Because no matter what, halflings aren't human.

 

[Bolares]

How are DnD humans not human? Why are they inhuman?

Its not that they are inhuman. None of the PHB races are... But as with other races they represent a sliver of the human experience. They are a representation of human ambition and engenuity

 

[Faolyn]

But, then you slap into the issue I brought up before. Every PC halfling is a rejection of this. A PC rarely lacks ambition. And, "simple, fufilled and happy" doesn't generally describe a PC. So, basically, the halfling writeup is everything a halfling character won't be.

Except, as the base lore points out, lots of halflings love adventuring. They love discovering new things, new places, and new people. The only difference is that PCs tend to be a bit more bloodthirsty than non-villain NPCs, and most DMs don't have halfling villains.

 

[Minigiant]

Removing all current lore, as the people who I've quoted wish to do would destroy what makes them enjoyable. It isn't hyperbole. It's the facts of their position.

The discussion isn't removving the lore but adding to it.

For example, halflings in my Klassico setting are still 95% farmers. They trade grain to dwarves and human for metal, tools, and protection. Some halflings join the human and dwarven military as archers, slingers, and pitchforkmen. And since halfling don't care about making money, their stuff is very inexpensive. Even the most brutal orcs love halflings because they trade a bunch of wheat or potatoes for a few deer and rabbits. The Orc gods curse everyone but the halflings because food.

Going to a halfling village is great as you get tons of food and discounts on used dwarven and orc axes. That's where you get double weapons ironically.