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

[doctorbadwolf]

Well, the more recent data point suggests halflings are less than 5%.

I don’t necessarily endorse @Hussar ‘s methodology, but I can see where he’s coming from.

Presumably WotC has more accurate (and more complete) numbers than we do.

Suppose, for the sake of argument that halflings dipped below 5% in 2018. If halflings have remained below 5% for the past 4 years, would it be fair to reconsider whether they should be in the PHB (with the proviso that as @Hussar has indicated, the same metric is also applied to races that miss the 5% threshold)? If it was 6 years, instead of 4, and therefore less likely a blip, would this change your answer?

Can’t speak for them, but I’d say no, that just isn’t a metric I’d be willing to use.

Besides, my first thought wouldn’t be to push them out of the phb, but to improve them while retaining their core character.

 

[Yaarel]

Putting them in the DMG means they basically are no longer a playable race in the vast majority of campaigns.

The DMG is no solution. I love the 4e eladrin. When 5e put a different version of the eladrin in the DMG, that felt like making the eladrin "officially unofficial". Heh, it felt hurtful.



I dont think the halfling merits the top four, but I do feel the halfling can merit the Players Handbook.

I still want the halfling to have better lore and a disambiguous lineage concept, either a Human or clearly a nonhuman. I want to avoid any hint of a Human subrace.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

…all of which reminds me, most if not all of my suggestions gave a darker side to halflings. Perhaps a more neutral or even positive alteration can be found…

1) Halflings are descended from good-aligned extraplanar beings who surrendered their nature to become mortals to avoid being drawn into the machinations of their peers. Their avatars became their entirety, and they retreated from the world to live in quiet isolation. Over the ensuing generations, their origins have been lost, but remnants of their nature remain, manifested mainly in their luck, theor accuracy with thrown objects, and their mind-boggling appetites.

2) Halflings are the descendants of the Damned who escaped eternal torment but who made the conscious decision to improve themselves instead of returning to the evil of their former lives. They adopted an almost monastic way of life to purify and reform themselves. Over time, this penitent way became their customary way.

I have been working on some Halfling Monk orders for my settings. The basic idea is that they are found in halfling villages and caravans, are often mistaken for players and musicians, and are almost always found wherever the burden of work is heaviest.

They’re the ones that teach children to play the 9 Great Games, which all Halflings learn and play as children, and which teach them how to hide, how to move through tight spaces quickly, how to create improvised “traps”, how to use fox-holes to surprise someone, and how to take down a much larger “foe”, among other things. They learn as they reach adulthood of the significance of the Games, and teenage Halflings of particular skill compete in bi-annual tourneys that judge everything from foot races, acrobatics, riddle games, musical competitions, to a strategic dice game called Storm Giant’s Challenge that tests your luck, ability to predict odds, and nerves, both to bring out the potential in the youth, and to bring far-flung hin communities together.

 

[Neonchameleon]

Well, the more recent data point suggests halflings are less than 5%.

I don’t necessarily endorse @Hussar ‘s methodology, but I can see where he’s coming from.

Presumably WotC has more accurate (and more complete) numbers than we do.

Suppose, for the sake of argument that halflings dipped below 5% in 2018. If halflings have remained below 5% for the past 4 years, would it be fair to reconsider whether they should be in the PHB (with the proviso that as @Hussar has indicated, the same metric is also applied to races that miss the 5% threshold)? If it was 6 years, instead of 4, and therefore less likely a blip, would this change your answer?

I was very clear about my opinion on Hussar's attempt to cut pages out of the PHB just because they are uncool in this post - especially when he relies on hard percentages and subraces in a way that would have dwarves removed from the PHB. The short version is that if halflings have remained below 5% for the past 4 years (when 4 years ago they were at 5.9%, but never mind) the way both subraces of dwarves are the most we should do is consider merging them with something else rather than wantonly putting the pages through a shredder.

And fortunately there is a race less popular than halflings that could be merged with halflings relatively easily. I refer, of course, to gnomes.

To be clear:

1. I would consider any attempt to remove halflings without removing gnomes to be sheer special pleading and a targeted insult that has nothing to do with popularity or anything other than people not liking other people finding things fun despite the fact it has no effect on them. And believe that a fair response would be to sentence the people who'd removed the halflings to have a kender in every single one of their parties until they repent of their meanness*.
2. I would consider any attempt to remove both halflings and gnomes from the PHB at the same time to be an act of wanton vandalism against the PHB, removing an entire segment of play in all the historic playable small folk.
3. I would consider a reasonable attempt to merge halflings and gnomes to be an attempt to engage with the source material. I don't know whether I'd like the outcome but think there is a chance of success.
4. I am entirely unconvinced that any of this is necessary
5. If it is necessary to merge gnomes and halflings it's not halflings that need saving.
6. If anyone wants to propose removing the line about some PHB races being common, be my guest. I don't care about it. But it doesn't mysteriously make halflings a core race - being in the PHB does that.

* This isn't actually serious. No one deserves kender except other kender and evil overlords.

 

[Oofta]

I was very clear about my opinion on Hussar's attempt to cut pages out of the PHB just because they are uncool in this post - especially when he relies on hard percentages and subraces in a way that would have dwarves removed from the PHB. The short version is that if halflings have remained below 5% for the past 4 years (when 4 years ago they were at 5.9%, but never mind) the way both subraces of dwarves are the most we should do is consider merging them with something else rather than wantonly putting the pages through a shredder.

And fortunately there is a race less popular than halflings that could be merged with halflings relatively easily. I refer, of course, to gnomes.

To be clear:

1. I would consider any attempt to remove halflings without removing gnomes to be sheer special pleading and a targeted insult that has nothing to do with popularity or anything other than people not liking other people finding things fun despite the fact it has no effect on them. And believe that a fair response would be to sentence the people who'd removed the halflings to have a kender in every single one of their parties until they repent of their meanness*.
2. I would consider any attempt to remove both halflings and gnomes from the PHB at the same time to be an act of wanton vandalism against the PHB, removing an entire segment of play in all the historic playable small folk.
3. I would consider a reasonable attempt to merge halflings and gnomes to be an attempt to engage with the source material. I don't know whether I'd like the outcome but think there is a chance of success.
4. I am entirely unconvinced that any of this is necessary
5. If it is necessary to merge gnomes and halflings it's not halflings that need saving.
6. If anyone wants to propose removing the line about some PHB races being common, be my guest. I don't care about it. But it doesn't mysteriously make halflings a core race - being in the PHB does that.

* This isn't actually serious. No one deserves kender except other kender and evil overlords.

I considered reporting to the admins when I saw the kender thing until I read the footnote. I mean, I understand getting frustrated but wishing kender on people? That's just uncalled for!

 

[Oofta]

I was fairly certain you have talked about some extensive homebrews for other races, I suppose I figured you had done more with the halflings.

Still, I've never really heard of the base halfling living in someone elses attic, or in backalleys. And I've never really heard of them taking the poorest and least paid jobs (typical level that chimney sweeps and ratcatchers were). Generally halflings are presented as shop owners or tavernowners. So, that is a bit of a difference.

The halflings delivering the mail is a bit different, nothing really mentioned for that anywhere. But I'm sure you just have them do that occasionally, and in no way in an organized enough fashion to be known as a reliable source for delivering the mail... because that would make them important. There is a reason the existence of the postal office is in the Constitution of the USA after all.

But, I think your phrasing of "core nature" is important. Because it seems that is what you think I'm out to change. And it isn't. Halflings being cheerful, genial, enjoying the comforts of life, and not being obsessed with wealth are all traits I'd like to keep. I'd like to add things like, say, halflings nomads delivering the mail, because it integrates them into the world. But, you keep telling me that doing things like that make them too important and therefore we can't do it.

I'll also note, that in the second post, you did exactly what I said in talking about your hombrew (though only very very briefly) in response to me asking about the PHB, and the second time was you deciding you needed to tell me about your homebrew, and I'm certain if I look around that area, once more, we'll find the discussion centered on "how are they presented in the PHB" to which, again, homebrew isn't how the game is presented in the PHB.

Nothing I do to make halflings fit into the larger world changed their nature or contradicted the base lore. They are not putting themselves front and center by being diplomats or having halfling outrider units or being cannibals or any of the other things some people have suggested. Your suggestions along with the others changes the very nature of what halflings stand for.

 

[Yaarel]

…all of which reminds me, most if not all of my suggestions gave a darker side to halflings. Perhaps a more neutral or even positive alteration can be found…

1) Halflings are descended from good-aligned extraplanar beings who surrendered their nature to become mortals to avoid being drawn into the machinations of their peers. Their avatars became their entirety, and they retreated from the world to live in quiet isolation. Over the ensuing generations, their origins have been lost, but remnants of their nature remain, manifested mainly in their luck, theor accuracy with thrown objects, and their mind-boggling appetites.

2) Halflings are the descendants of the Damned who escaped eternal torment but who made the conscious decision to improve themselves instead of returning to the evil of their former lives. They adopted an almost monastic way of life to purify and reform themselves. Over time, this penitent way became their customary way.

I feel this is on the right track. The origin story makes clear, the Halfling is nonhuman.

I am wary of the Wheel because it tends to come with alot of assumed baggage. Could these origins refer to Fey and Shadow instead?

The "home sweet home" values of the Halfling feel like a sacred way of life, maybe like Shakers or Amish. It is intentional.

If the Halfling were once Fey, perhaps some of the Fey had decided to doom the fate of humanity. The Halfling materialized to live alongside Humans to save them and help ensure a good fate for them. This origin even explains their fateful luck, why they are so humanlike, and why they hang out with humans.

Humans have freewill. But the subtle stabilizing influence of the Halfling is enough to prevent the worst possible fates.

 

[bedir than]

For an elf, magic is the solution to every problem. Magic is fate.

Is this actually true in 5e? I don't think 100% of elves, or even a majority of elves, have magic. Most elf PCs do. But the PC rules are not NPC rules.

 

[Minigiant]

Surely, something like that should be campaign or DM specific.

“What do they do with the extra food?” is the kind of question that could ge the foundation of an adventure or campaign subplot. Consider Empire of the Ants.

Maybe.

But the PHB cause at least give possible reasons why the other races protect halflings. Either terms of contract, divine obligation, or mind control.

An entire race of weak small individuals with no talent for anything but farming and personal stealth in a game about dangerous monsters in nearby dungeons makes little sense without an excuse. It doesn't matter how much fans like it, it still won't make sense.

 

[Mind of tempest]

That's part of their natural defense system. If they were exciting they'd attract too much attention.

that is literally impossible as a defence dullness does not grant safety, armour, poison, violence and camouflage grant safety also large numbers it might work on supernatural threats but hill giants will still eat their village.

That bland flavor is part of the camoflage. They are different from the commoners of humans (and some other races) largely only in their semi-subterranesn architecture.

camouflage against natural none sapient does not work that way and unless they are all super assassins I doubt it will work on sapients.

can we have the characterisation essence? maybe that will help?