What Would You Do: The Halfling Problem

[Samnell]

Your PC wizard brought ruin to the city and they are still able to hand out rewards to kill all halfling? Oh yeah.

It was a PC of yours? Hm, look on my previous post. The DM is going to get you.

In Milo's defense, he only caused the death of their leader. He didn't have a lot of choice in the matter either. Milo was in a lot of situations where his choices were bad and dead. He finally made the latter instead of the former when he threw lightning bolts at a sorcereress who could counterspell them instead of fireballs she couldn't. Not that he knew this.

 

[Samnell]

Any DM who would use the holocaust as the basis for an adventure is sick and depraved.

It's probably my fault. I followed a friend's suggestion to try for Judaic naming conventions on my halfling PCs, in a sort of recognition of the similarities between the halfling situation I created (ghettoized minorities pushed around by those stronger than them) and and the situation of medieval Judaism.

I don't know that he's deliberately going for a Holocaust scenario. I noticed the parallels, but those would appear in any attempted genocide. The Holocaust is just the most familiar to us and that's what jumped out to me since I've read a lot about World War II. I have two survivor memoirs and a book about gay victims of the Holocaust on my to read pile right now.

Let me be clear, I'm not trying to lessen the significance of the Holocaust or anything of the sort. But I'm not convinced that he thought it'd be cool to play Hitler to the Halfling's Jews either. The parallel I meant to raise in the initial post was to make clear that this was a campaign of extermination and no more.

The roving bounty hunters remind me of the Einsatzgruppen, but I'd be amazed if the DM had ever heard of them. He hasn't previously shown any real degree of historical knowledge. He's not using the termonology of the Final Solution in the game and I'm very sorry if I gave that impression in trying to explain what was going on in the game.

 

[Forrester]

. . . so I made a new PC. Forrester is a halfling abjurer.

. . .

What should we do?

Pat yourself on the back for picking such a rocking name -- that's what you should do .

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

You mean all those times they told me "there is no halfling mafia" they were lying??

 

[barsoomcore]

Any DM who would use the holocaust as the basis for an adventure is sick and depraved.

Does that make Steven Spielberg sick and depraved? Well, okay, so you think movies are different from games. Fair enough. I don't agree with you, though.

First off, attempting to exterminate an entire race does not necessarily invoke the Nazi effort to exterminate the Jews, which is what I assume you're referring to by your use of the term "THE holocaust" (emphasis mine). Racial "cleansing" or warfare has been a constant throughout history. So for DMs to include an element of racial extermination in their campaigns does not mean that they are "using" the holocaust.

Secondly, aren't evil creatures and people supposed to be just that? EVIL? Doesn't that mean that they should do horrible things that disgust us "good" people?

I'm not defending the DM in question. I don't know if he's just doing it to piss off his players or what. I don't care. But you're saying that any DM who makes his bad guys do bad things (or at least this particular bad thing) is sick and depraved.

Your DM belittles their horrific pain and suffering by using this event in his campaign.

Maybe this DM is, but that doesn't mean that any DM who uses this historical event is. I have used racial issues in my campaigns lots of times. There's a civil war in one of my nations and it's blown up into a vicious racial war with whole villages being exterminated and all sorts of horrible stuff going on. Maybe I'm sick and depraved. I think I'm just giving my players something to be heroic about.

 

[Sir Trent]

Mafia

It would seem to me that the Halfling Mafia would be able to produce or hire assasins as needed. Taking out the city's leadership (or whoever is behind the whole thing) seems the easiest answer. Personally, I'd tell the two players who don't want to support you to kiss my Why would anyone want to play with people like that? Sure it's roleplaying, but I play with people that I like and trust, not people that are going to turn on you in the middle of an adventure. I understand the rogue trying to steal something from the treasure pile while everyone else is still trying to kill the monster but that is ridiculous. A DM who kills characters is fine, but he has to give his players a creative way to accomplish their goals. Every player deserves the chance to succeed. No one would play if they always die before third level. Ok, I'm getting off my soapbox now (clunk!)

 

[Artoomis]

Clearly what you need to do is convince you party that the best plan is to:

Warn as many hlflings as you can while you:

Run, and run far and fast until such time that you can:

Turn back and seek out those who are paying the bounty and destroy them utterly.

 

[James McMurray]

Sell your head several times. At 5000gp for the head, and only 1000 or so for a Resurrection, you stand to make a tidy profit. Be sure to write a will that leaves all of your belongings to your nephew (a halfling abjurer). That way once your CON is so low you can't come back, you'll have a rich character to fall back on.

 

[JDragon]

?'s

What I'm wondering is do you feel like if you do come up with a plan, anyone of the above mentioned or all, will your DM let it happen?

It seems to me if hes gunning for you/your character you are screwed and might as well find a new group now.

If hes not gunning for you, have fun with it and watch your back.

JDragon

Halfling Supporter

 

[Samnell]

You mean all those times they told me "there is no halfling mafia" they were lying??

That sig line inspired my last PC and the creation of said mafia.