Funny how different people living in different areas have different approaches.
Halflings who live in areas where raids are common take more precautions than ones who do not expect to be raided. How is this remotely complex for you to understand? Why are you arguing that halflings should all be clones and should take exactly the same precautions in risky and non-risky regions.
Halflings in regions where raids are a reasonable possibility deliberately build their homes small and sturdy. Halflings in peaceful regions where there is not much risk build much more airy homes in part because they know they are safe.
Now. Are we talking a halfling settlement where a gnoll attack is a reasonable possibility? Or are we talking a halfling settlement where there hasn't been a gnoll attack in the last century and where equivalent human settlements wouldn't bother with anything like walls or militia?
I don't know. You were the one who started with "halfling village" and you are the one who suddenly shifted from them fighting in the streets from behind cover to being in their fortified homes behind reinforced doors.
If you wanted to start from the premise of "a fortified halfling village well used to gnoll raids with a hardened population" then you should have started from that point instead of "halfling village full of normal halfling commoners". It isn't my fault or responsibility to adjust to your shifting argument,
The prone rules say "crawl", not "belly crawl" - and they only halve your speed. I bet you can't belly crawl at a mere half speed. If they are crawling they are prone.
And you are the only one saying that they are "crawling". They are stooped, but not neccesarily crawling. And, squeezing rules give advantage to attack them at any range, and disadvantage on attacks they make, along with half speed. The exact same as prone, except for prone giving advantage to melee and disadvantage to ranged. So... whether they are "crawling" or "squeezing" the results are the exact same. And those penalties are not enough to shift the fight in the halflings favor.
Or just that they don't leave the flammable stuff in line of sight of the windows.
Like a table or wooden floor? Yeah, I know it is hard to catch a wooden floor on fire, but you said "catch the earth on fire" making it seem like there was nothing but dirt visible.
You mean they might make sure that everyone learned to wield a weapon as a child and knew the environment and where to retreat to? They don't have a formal militia - just the training for everyone to be able to fight.
Huh, that sounds really militant. Weren't you, Oofta, Faolyn, Bedir Than, ect ect entirely against making halflings a militant race?
Yet now, it is convenient for you to claim that they are taught to wield a complicated and highly skilled weapon as children, and taught how to fight and retreat in case of an emergency?
Kind of odd. How they went from "don't make our peaceful halfings into warriors" to "halflings have always had a long tradition of weapon use and training for battle"
Yes, that's a halfling home in a region where attack isn't likely to happen. You can't think of a single way that that entrance could be better concealed? I mean you wouldn't expand the turf to cover those bright yellow walls and make sure that that door was itself camouflaged. And that there was no path leading up to the steps, marked by stones.
That is a halfling home in a peaceful environment and you still can't see it from most sides.
This is a halfling house in a peaceful environment. It's also the tallest room in the house because it's the entranceway and meant to be welcoming.
Halflings like tall entranceways. They're comfortable, can welcome other races, and they show that there's no need to build small because of raiders. But in regions where they are expecting gnoll or even human raiders it's a luxury they don't actually need.
With a better finish, yes. And probably a couple of sections that the halflings have to squeeze through and gnolls can't get through at all RAW.
Which was not the original scenario, was it? You just shifted the scenario further and further from your original point. So, while I was talking about a normal halfling village, you decided that you were going to discuss a halfling war-zone village.
Oh wait. That just about ends the gnoll threat inside the halfling homes entirely, doesn't it? A section where halflings have to squeeze to get through.
Sure, that could be a useful place to retreat to. Not a room used often, since halflings like comfort, and having to squeeze through every room in your house is decidely uncomfortable.
Of course, that still won't necessarily protect you from a determined gnoll.
Or are you really telling me that your halflings are all clones that get their furniture from Halfling Ikea and have building layouts that do not reflect any threats in the environment?
You never assumed this until it was convenient for you to do so. I can't be responsible for you shifting gears.
I'm making the assumption that this is somewhere where gnolls attacking is a reasonably forseeable threat, yes. Not monthly - but multiple in living memory. Every few years or so.
If gnoll attacks and attacks from other threats are rare enough that humans wouldn't have plans in place to handle them or a functional militia then yes halflings would be in trouble as well.
AND HE GETS IT!
It took us a long time to get there people, but we finally got there. Halflings would be in trouble with an attack that is also a threat to humans. Which a gnoll raid is. No special pleading that halflings are somehow ultra-prepared warriors ready to repel the attack. Just the acknowledgement that a dangerous raid is a dangerous raid, and that halflings and humans would both have to take precautions to defend themselves.
Was this really such a difficult thing to admit?
No it wasn't. It was a halfling community somewhere gnoll attacks were a predictable problem. And somewhere where it wasn't impossible to have a human village in that area.
No, we never stated "where gnoll attacks were a predictable problem" we started with a normal community attacked by gnolls.
