So, about those halflings...

[Dragonhelm]

Not to pick a fight, but that picture just looks like a short human (dwarf) with pointy ears (elf.)

LOL! Oh, I don't know. Looks like a tall halfling who actually works out to me. Something about the face reminds me of a hobbit, though.

I do think 4E Halflings need to stand out of the pack a lot more (I pretty much think that about all the races.)

I agree. I think each race should have its own identifiable traits, both in terms of role-playing and mechanics.

I actually like 3e halflings. The basic feel I get from them is that they are a gentle, inquisitive, and brave race, great lovers of travel and blessed by fate. They're basically kender without the suck.

Luckily, kender don't suck. (I know, I know... )

I really don't think that a race should be defined as "X race without the Y." That's not a good way to build a race, IMO. It doesn't offer anything unique to that race.

Whether or not WotC goes with the hobbit motif, I do think they should at least provide some sort of background to halflings to make them unique. Don't make them mini-humans, mini-elves, "kender-light," or what have you. Come up with a definition for what a halfling is, and make them that.

 

[Wormwood]

Whether or not WotC goes with the hobbit motif, I do think they should at least provide some sort of background to halflings to make them unique. Don't make them mini-humans, mini-elves, "kender-light," or what have you. Come up with a definition for what a halfling is, and make them that.

My gripe regarding the "hobbits" is that they are nothing more than short humans. Why do we need two races similar in every respect but height?

So I agree that 4e should provide a distinctive niche for the halfling to fill.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Kill them. Kill them all.

 

[Korgoth]

Bring back the Hobbits.

At this point, something not "kewl", lacking all tats and piercings, would actually be subversive and nonconformist.

 

[Jackelope King]

I like current halflings. There's a lot of things that hobbits have right, and there's a lot of things that kender have right.

3e halflings are a blend. Which is fine.

You still get a tight-knit race that is heavy on community, genealogy, and living comfortably.

You also get a race that is prone to suddenly wandering the hell off from the rest of the pack to go adventuring, utilizing their talents as small, inconspicous folk with big heart to overcome great challenges.

Hobbit fans, can you tell me that this -isn't- how Tolkien halflings would become if you were to uproot them from their homelands?

Kender fans, can you really be disappointed that you can play your little folk without them being ridiculously broken and friggin' ANNOYING!?

So I say keep them as they are. The only thing I don't like with the 3e halflings is their chaotic bent, and their BRAND NEW chaotic goddess of uber-munchkinism, and the gypsy vibe. I really -like- Yondalla, and the idea of valuing family, hearth, and home. Having a goddess of vengeance and luck and being painted wholesale as wandering thieves just isn't my cup of tea.

Dead on. I never wanted to play a halfling before 3e (because I didn't want to be a walking punch-line). 3.Xe halflings are a fantastic blend of the old hobbit-y ideals (comfort, family, etc.) put into a very interesting package (wandering gypsy-rogues). Hobbits are fine for Middle Earth, but halflings take the more rogue-ish-ness of kender (who I loathe) and softens the blow of annoyance with a (relatively) familiar culture put out on the road. I tend to envision what goes on around the campfire of a halfling caravan much like what you see at Bilbo's birthday party in the Shire: lots of food, lots of fun, young halflings scampering about and playing hide-and-seek, families gossiping about one another...

It maintains the ideal of isolated, family-first folk but gives them a reason for their role in the world (beyond just "Bilbo was a such a sympathetic protagonist"). I tend to think of them like the gypsies in Snatch: wanderers who are always ready to make sure a sucker and his money part ways (usually through crooked deals) who value ingenuity and cleverness enough that they'll embrace a skilled rogue as a champion of their people (even if such a cunning rogue, like Mickey (Brad Pitt) is a rare thing indeed). And they might be scheming little thieves, but they do it all for the family. It makes for a very compelling character: one who has the old hobbit-y concerns about leaving home and all its comforts and (most importantly) the family, but who is capable and driven enough by culture values to contribute meaningfully to a party.

 

[Mercule]

I don't like any version of halfling I've seen as a default. I voted "something different" to be open, but should have gone have checked "remove them". Halflings are pointless -- hobbits doubly so. Keep gnomes and ditch halflings.

 

[Amphimir Míriel]

I play them half-way in my campaign

In my campaign, there are two kinds of halflings (both 3rd edition type, gamewise):

The "Traditionalist Halflings" all live in a relatively remote country, full of Tolkienesque bucolic agricultural fields, they smoke pipes and wear no shoes... They only rouse to defend their country from the occasional goblin raid, but they are mostly lazy and relaxed.

The "trader halflings" are the 3.5 halfings to the core: Inquisitive, shrewd little guys given to wanderlust. They live in caravans of extended family members, wear boots and are not opposed to a little larceny (getting caught is what's frowned upon)

Both cultures sneer at the other, but most trader halflings dream of moving to "the old country" and buy a farm when they make their fortune, and it isnt rare for a young halfing from a farm to drop the plowshare and go out, "seeking adventure".

That way, I can pander to fans of both types of halflings.

 

[WayneLigon]

Actually, the sleeker halflings come about in Basic D&D. In the Five Shires book, most of the halfling illustrations are wiry little people, not pudgy little people. Keep the 3E halflings. No going backwards to the 'hobbit' look. Though I wouldn't also complain if they were removed completely and replaced with another small race like the Faen.

 

[GAAAHHH]

I like both of them. That's why I use 2nd edition Hairfoot halflings as the classic Tolkien hobbits, and the Tallfellow halflings as 3rd edition halflings. I never did like Stouts, though.

I like all versions of gnomes except for Tinker gnomes. I think having variations like the 2nd edition subraces keeps a level of variety that avoids the problem of a whole race having a uniform culture.

 

[Clavis]

In my campaign I treat Halflings in a way that's a take-off on Tolkien. Where Tolkien meant hobbits as a sort of ode to English country folk, I make Halfling culture into a parody of American country (redneck) folk. My halflings eat too much pork fat, make moonshine, steal from outsiders, and are noted for that lack of "book learnin''. Their religion centers around charismatic preachers, and features speaking in tongues, faith healing, and lots of singing. They wear mullets, and often work as carnies.

You can have halflings be country folk, without making their lives bucolic.