Reimagining the Hobbit

[Herobizkit]

How about we make 'em like this: +2 Wis (they have the common sense to stay out of trouble), +2 Cha (They're just so CUUUUTE, who could hate them?), -4 Str (they are feeble and like children). Drop about 80% of the assorted bonuses they seem to currently enjoy. Make their favored class "Bard"; these folk would rather TELL stories than LIVE them, but there's always the odd fellow... and give 'em a free Fort save feat to represent their hardiness.

When I think Halflings, I think "Willow", not LotR.

 

[Sketchpad]

I think a -4 STR is a bit extreme ... -2 I could see. I do like the bonus to Wisdom, but I think they should have a Con bonus as well, it would explain how they stomach the food

 

[Michael Morris]

What are hobbits? My campaign has Gelflings.

 

[thedungeondelver]

Let's not be silly here.

I wasn't

For one thing, old school halflings were a little too naturally talented at thievery to simulate Tolkien. Part of the point of The Hobbit was that Bilbo Baggins was ill-suited for being a burglar and grew into it.

Not more than any other race, really.

I would think Hobbits would get Con bonuses, bonuses against mind/emotion control (from being naturally unflappable and a lot better around high-Ego artifacts than any of the humans), and have some ability to sense the composition of rabbit stew the way dwarves sense slopes and grades in tunnels. That's about it. The charm of Tolkien's hobbits was that they were naturally unheroic and became heroic anyway.

IMO AD&D models this well enough, ymmv.

Kender weren't horrid

Yeah they were.

 

[Baby Samurai]

It seems to me that 1st/2nd edition halflings were basically hobbits, and 3rd edition halflings are basically kenders, with a bit of a gipsy vibe thrown in.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

3.5 halflings aren't taunting kleptomaniacs, so I wonder where that attitude comes from.

 

[Dragonhelm]

I rather think early AD&D is a fine place to start with hobbits (ignoring anything after, say 1984 or thereabouts and we can forget those horrid "kender" and so forth).

Can we please drop the kender-bashing? This thread has nothing to do with that.

My hobbits are very Tolkienesque, IOW.

I have stats for them; I'll post them up tomorrow, hopefully.

Cool, thanks!


So lots of talk on stats here. What about culture? How would you modernize that while maintaining some of the old traditional hobbit culture?

 

[mmu1]

Perhaps this will help with the overall discussion:

"They are quick of hearing and sharp-eyed, and though they are inclined to be fat and do not hurry unnecessarily, they are nonetheless nimble and deft in their movements. They possessed from the first the art of disappearing swiftly and silently, when large folk whom they do not wish to meet come blundering by; and this art they developed until to Men it may seem magical. But Hobbits have never, in fact, studied magic of any kind, and their elusiveness is due solely to a professional skill that heredity and practice, and a close friendship with the earth, have rendered inimitable by bigger and clumsier races.

For they are a little people, smaller than Dwarves: less stout and stocky, that is, even when they are not actually much shorter. Their height is variable, ranging between two and four feet of our measure. They seldom now reach three feet; but they have dwindled, they say, and in ancient days they were taller."

My vote, once again, goes to letting them have Hide in Plain Sight as a racial (Ex) ability, or at least a boost to Hide and Move Silently above and beyond what they already get for being Small.

A bonus to Listen and Spot wouldn't be out of place either, but if they got a racial bonus to Wisdom, that could work too.

A Dex bonus is probably unnecessary - their tendency to be plump and leisurely and their natural nimbleness sort of cancel each other out, to my mind...

 

[Jack Daniel]

Here are hobbits as they appear in my OD&D (v5) campaign:

EXP Required   Lv   HP       Atk   Abilities
           0   1    1(d12)   +1    Stout heart, stealthy, small size, 
                                   sniper, skillful, precise strike
       2,000   2    2(d6)    +1
       4,000   3    3(d6)    +1
       8,000   4    4(d6)    +1
      16,000   5    5(d6)    +3    Improved precise strike
      32,000   6    6(d6)    +3
      64,000   7    7(d6)    +3
     120,000   8    8(d6)    +3
     240,000   9    9(d6)    +5    Shire-reeve, resistance
     360,000   10   +1d2*    +5
     480,000   11   +1d2     +5
     600,000   12   +1d2     +5
 +120,000/lv       +1d2/lv

*From 10th level onward, the hobbit receives 1 or 2 hit points per level, 
and constitution adjustments no longer apply.

Stout heart: Hobbits are +3 to all saving throws.
Stealthy: Hobbits receive a +3 bonus to Stealth rolls, which doubles to +6 in wooded terrain.
Small Size: Hobbits are +2 to AC vs. large creatures (anything with 4 HD or more). A hobbit's speed is only 90' (30'), and hobbits are too small to use certain weapons effectively (notably great swords and great axes, long bows, heavy crossbows, pole arms, and long rifles).
Sniper: Hobbits are +1 to hit with all missile weapons.
Skillful: A hobbit begins with 3 bonus general/theiving skill slots.
Precise Strike: A hobbit deals a critical hit on a natural attack roll of 19-20.

Improved Precise Strike: From 5th level onward, a hobbit deals a critical hit on a natural attack roll of 18-20.

Shire-reeve: At 9th level, a hobbit is promoted to the rank of "sheriff" and acquires the ability to detect evil at will, just like a human paladin. Also like a paladin, a hobbit sheriff can cast clerical spells as a cleric of one-third his actual level -- but since hobbits are much closer to nature than humans are, hobbits can cast spells from both the clerical and druidic spell lists.
Resistance: A hobbit of 9th level or higher automatically takes half damage from spells and breath weapons. If a saving throw for half damage is made, the hobbit takes one-quarter damage instead.

Hobbits attack using the same combat table as clerics. At the 17th level of experience, a hobbit is able to make two attacks per round.

The hobbit's maximum experience level is 36th.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Let's not be silly here.

Never argue against AD&D with DD, it's a fruitless endeavor.