D&D 4E Reinvisioning the Halfling for 4E

[Set]

If they've got a gypsy / bayou look, bandanas should be popular, and brightly colored swatches of cloth over loose puffy shirts. A mini-pirate motif, almost. Pick the stereotypical Hollywood portrayal of some 'hoodoo conjure-woman' from the bayous, and that would be a cool look for a Halfling. Lower level or 'commoner' Halflings would have jewelry primarily made of natural things, like pearl and woven grasses, while the 'fancy' sorts might wear belts of coins and shiny baubles that wouldn't be available in their homelands, and thus be a mark of status among them.

[In my Scarred Lands game, I re-introduced Gnomes, which weren't initially part of the setting, as the Rus, a nomadic band of 'gypsies' who travelled in brightly painted wagons (that could double as boats) and were said to have an 'Invisible College' someplace where they learned their arts of illusion and prophecy. Porting this over to the 'swamp rat Halflings,' they might have legends about a Halfling nation-state deep in the marshes that no other race has ever seen. Are these legends true? There *are* ruined structures found in the marshes, but there's no proof that Halflings had anything to do with their manufacture....]

I like the idea of a race, and it might as well be Halflings, using primarily tools-as-weapons. Hand axes, daggers, bows, staves, etc. All multi-use items, unlike swords, which really are only good for fighting. (Then again, Dwarves have always acted like this anyway, with axes and hammers as preferred weapons.)

Cool pictures!

 

[FourthBear]

I agree with those who say that Halflings haven't been discussed much because they really haven't been changed that much. We haven't seen much discussion of dwarves or humans, either. Except in that both have had their "preferred habitat" changed, dwarves more the the surface and humans to the plains. I was all for throwing halflings out and replacing them with kobolds, of course......

 

[Traycor]

I was thinking about playing up a semi-aquatic mammal angle.

While this is a neat idea, it is widely divergent from what WotC is doing with halflings in 4E. I would like to use this thread to find ways to use the direction WotC is already taking, but make it more distinctive and exciting.

There is still time for WotC to fix the art/gear/distinctive direction on Halflings. They said just a couple of days ago that most of the art orders are still out.

We haven't seen much discussion of dwarves or humans, either.

I would argue that almost all discussion of dwarves has been excited though. I've seen many posters that were hyped by the dwarf art and wanted to see more... I've never seen one single excited post about the 4E halfling. Considering this is the internet, that screams "weaksauce" to me.

 

[GreatLemur]

- Halflings all have kinky hair now.

You know, looking close at the art in Races & Classes, I'm not really sure that's the case. They don't have dreads; they've just these terrible, 1970s-looking braids which'd be possible with any hair texture. And this guy clearly has straight hair, if you look at his forehead.

That said, all your suggestions sound great, to me. Frizzy, nappy hair beats disco braids any day, and the more size-appropriate proportions are entirely necessary. Nice work.

Also, I think Irda Ranger's suggestion about webbed hands and feet has some merit. I think that could really work, if done subtly.

 

[The Eternal GM]

Having seen everything previewed thus far on the halfling, it does still get a 'meh' of uninterest from me (and all my group so far)... This is mostly because they're halflings... Officially the least popular character choice for any of my last three groups. One person, one single person played one. Once. And that was so he could have a riding dog companion.

The new ones are fine... I guess. I like that they are the only race with one long, uninterrupted history of their race's culture. I like the whole river/swamp thing. It's all fine I'm sure.

But the whole concept of making them more interesting is pretty much a waste. Non-D&D players will just assume they're shire hobbits. Experienced D&D players will already like them, disregard them or hate them regardless.

Personally I hate the artwork. And I dislike saying I hate another fantasy artists work, but I do. It really, really turns me off the race. And given I didn't care much to begin with, I imagine that means we're talking yet another edition of D&D in which I never play one.

A new look might help. But honestly I think they need to be dramatically re-imagined (oh, that hateful word!) and be far less 'small human' and far more 'anything else more interesting'.

 

[Traycor]

And this guy clearly has straight hair, if you look at his forehead.

That's part of my issue. The implimentation of the hair has been inconsistent at best in the artwork thus far. To quote part of Races & Classes conserning halflings:

"Course hair, worn loose."
"Halfling hair coils naturally"

 

[GreatLemur]

That's part of my issue. The implimentation of the hair has been inconsistent at best in the artwork thus far. To quote part of Races & Classes conserning halflings:

"Course hair, worn loose."
"Halfling hair coils naturally"

Ah, nice catch. I guess it's just yet another instance of artists who don't know anything about how kinky hair actually works.

 

[Evilhalfling]

Hate the hair. In no game I run will there be frizzy or braided hair as a norm.

The swamp rat style is an intresting take, and I will probably use it in one location but not for the race as a whole. Whatever the dominate race in an area is will continue to dominate the river trade, its just too important to leave to outsiders. Rivers are the lifelines of a world without highways.

IMC halflings have recently come into there own with a religious split over a 'chosen one' that divides them into 2 culturally distinct groups, wanderers and settlers. Each has different patterns of dress, government and racial interactions. No way am I giving this up.
esp. the fact that one tribe wears hats and shoes for religious reasons.

For my last 3 worlds halflings have always had tendencies to be psionic, and to fall under the sway of evil.

 

[Dausuul]

I welcome disagreement, critiques, and further suggestions on how to make the Halflings distinct and exciting. If you are going to offer further suggestions on improvement, I would ask that you stay within the design that Wizards has laid out for 4E:

Halflings are river and swamp dwellers, nomadic, traders, and live in clans.

I agree with the "aquatic mammal" look. Slightly webbed fingers and toes, sleekly streamlined bodies. And their clothing should look suitable for a water-dwelling people; either close-fitting and flexible so as not to hinder them when swimming, or easy to slip out of if one falls in the river. If they're keeping the kinky hair, it should be done in cornrows for the most part, which would keep it from flopping around too much. Heads, hands, and feet should all be proportionally larger than on humans, just enough to convey a childlike appearance, although their faces and builds should be clearly adult.

 

[Nahat Anoj]

I think they could have veered a bit toward the goblin angle, perhaps giving them a green or orange tint to their skin, largish pointed ears, slightly more angular features, etc. They would still be cutesy, but they might have a more mischievous look. I would be tempted to use the name goblin, but that may have too much baggage.

Actually, I vaguely recall one of the folkloric meaning of hobgoblin to be "nice goblin," so that might have been a good name. Of course, that name has it's own baggage, and they would have to drop the "Roman legionairre" hobgoblins (or give them another name), but that's okay with me as I don't really like that idea.