R&C: Halflings...

[Hairfoot]

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.

A thousand times yes! I cite the case of child soldiers: in melee they're no use against adults, but with an AK47 they're effective troops, same as your 3' halfling with his throwing knives.

I've always raised an eyebrow at melee gnome and halfling characters, because verisimilitude says they'll get mauled by anything medium-sized. However, I enjoy playing small races because you have to play with ingenuity and tactics to make them dynamic. The halfling's role is not at the frontline, and doesn't need to be huge to defend competently until a fighting PC comes to the rescue.

If someone wants to create a melee-fighting character, what they really need is a medium sized race, or a game which features flying shark flotillas.

Ten points a tasty snack to the OP for articulating what I couldn't.

 

[Spatula]

It's not a matter of believing in a halfling of that stature, it's in believing in a halfling of that stature not getting kicked around like a football.

So now the monsters can't be bigger than the characters. Okay. After all, a giant would kick a human around like a (giant) football.

 

[Voss]

It's not a matter of believing in a halfling of that stature, it's in believing in a halfling of that stature not getting kicked around like a football. I don't think a creature the size of my 2 1/2 year old has a realistic chance against a gnoll. Or an angry baker with a rolling pin.

The solution is to just cut them out of the system, not pretend that a minor height increase actually fixes the problem.
If they're gnoll snacks at 3', at 4' they're just Ogre snacks. Nothing has actually changed.

 

[Wolfspider]

Yeah, you're all right. Small characters have no place in the game. They are doomed and powerless. Better to just get rid of them altogether....

 

[Monkey Boy]

Yet, oddly, it's never been an issue since Gygax designed the game in 1974.

This was my thought exactly. I was never concerned that a halflings size and weight was not being correctly applied in regards to combat effectiveness. They took a hit to str, a hit to grapple and used small weapons. Thats enough realism for me. What else do they want???

I think it's sad they are bashing something that has been fine for 30 years.

 

[The Ubbergeek]

This was my thought exactly. I was never concerned that a halflings size and weight was not being correctly applied in regards to combat effectiveness. They took a hit to str, a hit to grapple and used small weapons. Thats enough realism for me. What else do they want???

I think it's sad they are bashing something that has been fine for 30 years.

Or perhaps it was not fine, and nobody had the balls to go against the Gygaxian Canon?

 

[Falstaff]

Folks - there is an african-american halfling in this freakin' book. Have fun.

 

[Voss]

Yeah, you're all right. Small characters have no place in the game. They are doomed and powerless. Better to just get rid of them altogether....

Exactly. Writer fiat doesn't justify illogic.

 

[FadedC]

So now the monsters can't be bigger than the characters. Okay. After all, a giant would kick a human around like a (giant) football.

And that's pretty much exactly what happens if a human who is not a great hero tangles with even an untrained giant with no formal combat training.

On the other hand an untrained halfiling has a shot of taking out an untrained human in a fist fight.

 

[Cadfan]

Yoda is a poor example. Note that he fights by being fast and using force powers, and NOT by strength.

Go ahead and have small races. Just give them stats that reflect that fact.