R&C: Halflings...

[Oldtimer]

That's all kinds of awesome. The guys that can create or sustain the other fantasy tropes of real gods granting spells to clerics, fully fledged colleges of magic, dragons, death knights, vast empires, grand wars, and entire new worlds filled with magical creatures of all types and kinds... and these guys can't wrap their head around a halfling that's 3' and 35lbs.

I just find it funny that it's not an issue of racial overlap, competing mechanical niche, or anything related to the game itself or the fantasy genre as a whole, but these guys can't imagine or believe a halfling of that stature.

How ridiculous.

QFT

 

[breschau]

If you go wrestle with one, you deserve to be mashed.

Exactly. You should not assume that a member of a given race would be stupid enough to fight something huge (by comparison) in a stupid fashion (i.e. humans wrestling giants or halflings playing tug-of-war or getting into a shoving match with humans).

Halflings don't need to be taller to explain how they could possible win in a fight against a gnoll (the words of the text). They're smart. They shoot from a distance and use their size to their advantage (hiding, sneaking, etc). Just because a halfling doesn't seem brawny enough, is not reason to change them.

So halflings get pushed around by the taller people... so what? They're pecks. Missile weapons and tactics, not wrestling matches.

 

[Szatany]

what he said, plus maybe they use poison regularily?

 

[Cadfan]

Halflings don't need to be taller to explain how they could possible win in a fight against a gnoll (the words of the text). They're smart. They shoot from a distance and use their size to their advantage (hiding, sneaking, etc). Just because a halfling doesn't seem brawny enough, is not reason to change them.

What? No, a halfling not seeming brawny enough is EXACTLY the reason to change them.

Either change them by making them taller and stronger, or change them by reducing their strength score even further.

But the fact that a 35 lb person cannot plausibly be as strong as D&D represents them as being is an excellent reason to change them.

 

[JDJblatherings]

, but I would like to see them even bigger, like 4'6" and around 100lbs. .

Then they'd be threequarterlings.

 

[Umbran]

Dwarves could be 5'-ish.

Sorry, now you're going too far the other way - there are five foot tall humans all over the place. So, things that are 5' tall fully grown are not "dwarves".

 

[heirodule]

I find it hard to believe that on average, women will be as strong as men.

Bring back female strength limits in 4e

 

[The Ubbergeek]

I find it hard to believe that on average, women will be as strong as men.

Bring back female strength limits in 4e

No, just frigging no. Now, this is opening a serious can o' worms.

 

[Irda Ranger]

this is opening a serious can o' worms.

Seriously. Putting a STR cap is an easy house rule, if you want, but discussions on this take threads down in flames. I would advise moving on from this topic before Umbran comes back.

 

[Vayden]

Exactly. You should not assume that a member of a given race would be stupid enough to fight something huge (by comparison) in a stupid fashion (i.e. humans wrestling giants or halflings playing tug-of-war or getting into a shoving match with humans).

Halflings don't need to be taller to explain how they could possible win in a fight against a gnoll (the words of the text). They're smart. They shoot from a distance and use their size to their advantage (hiding, sneaking, etc). Just because a halfling doesn't seem brawny enough, is not reason to change them.

So halflings get pushed around by the taller people... so what? They're pecks. Missile weapons and tactics, not wrestling matches.

Yes, but the rules allow you to have a level 1 Str 16 Halfling fighter - and at that point, the physics do begin to strain belief. 3' halflings worked when you didn't allow them to be anything but rogues, but if you allow them freedom, it does seem odd.