Why are they making demi-humans taller?

[Novem5er]

A human 3 year-old is already more than 3' tall (on average). If Halflings are 3' tall, but proportionate to an adult, they would look like a 3 year old with smaller heads, shorter torsos, and longer legs. What's the strength score of a human 3 year old? 2.... 3 max?

How many halfling players start with anything less than an 8 strength? So for a 3' tall halfling to have almost the strength of an adult male, they'd have to be built like The Rock. I've always said that elves and halflings had "denser" muscle fibers than humans, which means they were much stronger proportionately.

But still, their grasp size would have to be so tiny (look at a 3 year-old hands), that they should be wielding daggers as two handed swords. Someone mentioned miniatures and video games... now that we can actually see how tiny these guys are, it just gets harder and harder to believe.

So make them a foot taller. Still small, still weaker, but now they are the size of a 7 year old. Throw in some denser muscles and you got a decent adventurer.

But now you have to make dwarves taller. You can't have dwarves and halfling only having a couple inches difference between them.

But now you have to make elves taller. You can't have elves and dwarves only having a couple inches difference between them.

But no sense having elves and humans the same height... so they could have made humans taller.. but that doesn't make sense. Why not just make elves taller?

So that's why everyone got taller (according to me, lol)

 

[Rechan]

But now you have to make dwarves taller. You can't have dwarves and halfling only having a couple inches difference between them.

Dwarves have always been 5' tall. So even if halflings are 4', then dwarves are head and shoulders above them, and humans are head and shoulders above dwarves.

 

[Novem5er]

Dwarves have always been 5' tall. So even if halflings are 4', then dwarves are head and shoulders above them, and humans are head and shoulders above dwarves.

Ah, okay... I remember dwarves being like 4'6 and 4'8... Maybe I just played short dwarves?

So how tall are dwarves going to be in 4e? If they are over 5', then they aren't much of dwarves, are they?

 

[Wolfspider]

Dwarves have always been 5' tall.

This in inaccurate. Dwarves have always been from about 4' to 4 1/2 ' tall in D&D and AD&D. Some individuals may have been taller, but as a race they don't quite reach 5'.

 

[DarkWhite]

I think they wanted to increase the scale of D&D minis so halflings could carry more detail, look more inpiring and not seem a poor choice based on "hey, how cool is my character mini!"

 

[Klaus]

Dwarves have always been 5' tall. So even if halflings are 4', then dwarves are head and shoulders above them, and humans are head and shoulders above dwarves.

As mentioned above, dwarves have always been 4'-4.5' tall, with elves at 4.5'-5.5'

Yeah, D&D elves were really short, even though artists rarely portrayed them as such.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

In the case of halflings, a three foot tall human child can't even hold a pencil with one hand. (Well, that's what one developer said, back before 4e was announced.)

My kid is three feet tall, and she can not only hold a pencil, but also draw with it. In fact, she holds the pencil much better than I do. I hold pencils all weird, but her grasp is exactly the way they teach you to hold pencils.

 

[AllisterH]

As mentioned above, dwarves have always been 4'-4.5' tall, with elves at 4.5'-5.5'

Yeah, D&D elves were really short, even though artists rarely portrayed them as such.

Wait.

Elves are only 5' tall on average? geez, I've never played an elf that short.

 

[WhatGravitas]

Wait.

Elves are only 5' tall on average? geez, I've never played an elf that short.

Yup. That's like 12 - 14 year old kid. Makes elves less than impressive, eh?

I guess there's the LotR (movie)-hobbit and elf... and it's what people expect right now. A change I'm not unhappy with!

Cheers, LT.

 

[Rechan]

As mentioned above, dwarves have always been 4'-4.5' tall, with elves at 4.5'-5.5'

Yeah, I've always pictured elves that short. They're all petite, and even the men are so short you just want to cuddle them.

That is one reason I would expect some snide animosity of human men towards elven men - on how girlish and little the elven men are.