D&D General why do we have halflings and gnomes?

[Oofta]

The game doesn't revolve around combat but most of the rules are for combat.

I mean, there is a reason why games that follow D&D inspiration will nix halflings more likely than the rest. Because there isn't a shared thought of how halflings fit into a world in conflict.

Halflings aren't a warrior race. Big whoop, not every aspect of the game has to revolve around combat for most people.

Anyway, there's no point to this discussion. Have a good one.

 

[tetrasodium]

Halflings aren't a warrior race. Big whoop, not every aspect of the game has to revolve around combat for most people.

Anyway, there's no point to this discussion. Have a good one.

at least the fr style halflings aren't a warrior race that's true, more germane to the discussion however is what they are. Halflings are a vassal race that should be subject to a liege lord or similar with a very light touch who probably isn't a halfling but is happy to take taxes in exchange for the protection provided. I'm sure that history is filled with such situations including the romans allowing certain conquered peoples to mostly have their own culture & leaders as long as they paid taxes. Problematically the halflings don't have something like that either making them more like some hippie commune in international waters that somehow has no links to or problems with real navies pirates or tourists

 

[Oofta]

at least the fr style halflings aren't a warrior race that's true, more germane to the discussion however is what they are. Halflings are a vassal race that should be subject to a liege lord or similar with a very light touch who probably isn't a halfling but is happy to take taxes in exchange for the protection provided. I'm sure that history is filled with such situations including the romans allowing certain conquered peoples to mostly have their own culture & leaders as long as they paid taxes. Problematically the halflings don't have something like that either making them more like some hippie commune in international waters that somehow has no links to or problems with real navies pirates or tourists

Why would they not pay taxes if living in someone's kingdom? The ones that are the merchants, it's just going to depend on how taxes work. It's not like other races don't have people that are traders that go hither and yon.

This seems like quite an odd complaint to have.

 

[Scribe]

Interesting thread. I think Gnomes are mostly handled but as to Halflings, its exactly as the last few posts would imply.

They do not have a kingdom, so they do not have a standing military. They have pockets of townships, or farming area's, that would contribute to the kingdom of the land.

They farm, they pay tax, they provide food, and then some go off and adventure. Its as easy as that.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I guess we are talking about ecologic impact of hunter-gatherer wild tribes and economic and demographic crysis of populations suffering raid attacks. They are farmer and shepers, but ready to hunt monster predators, or to train war beasts as "cannon fodder". With some tricks bulls and dogs could be trained to defend the towns. The enemy can kill one of two animals, but not the complete pack in a stampede. Even simple illusory cantrips could cause enoug noise to scare horses and other mounts what aren't used. Or illusory can hide mortal traps activated when the magic bell of the temple is playing the warning.

The raiders can attack, but the nobility can spend money to build harder walls and towers to defend those populations. The corsairs can attack the coast villages to catch slaves, but the authority can send fleets to destroy those pirate ships, but if these work for a enemy nation.

How to explain it better with an example? If you know people from the Mediterranean Sea with a nice wealth, we love eating, drinking, music, enjoying the life, but also we can be brave warriors if it is necessary.

I guess most of wild tribes really live in the faywild, dangerous but with enough hunt and food to be gathered. Even the deities of the evil humanoids would rather this because the menaces from this plane help their worshipers to become stronger when survive.

 

[TBeholder]

Krynn (Dragonlance), for one, doesn't have halflings, just the gnomes.

Also, if you want gnome villains, The Frothing Miscreant By Robert A. Van Buskirk (Dungeon magazine #80) has one.
But why would you want gnome villains in the first place? Tinker gnomes from Dragonlance & Spelljammer can be enough of a trouble without any ill will. In fact, the more they are aligned with PCs' cause, the more they (and their unstable contraptions) will get underfoot.

 

[cbwjm]

Dragonlance may not have halflings but they do have kender which I'd say fill a similar niche, the main difference is that kender are noted as having wanderlust so often set out and adventure.

 

[Maxperson]

The point is that they don't treat halflings equally. The game describes how the other 3 iconic core races survive and defend themselves. However they leave that open to interpretation for halflings.

They don't leave it open at all. The fabled halfling luck causes them to be ignored a lot of the time by bad races, and then when someone does threaten them, they defend themselves and with their luck, they would defend themselves quite ably.

 

[Chaosmancer]

They're usually out in the wilds where there are plenty of animals. And no, traditionally dungeons do not raid towns. Traditionally they sit there with some powerful item in it that PCs quest for, or dungeons sit there for PCs to try themselves on. If raids are happening, traditionally it's an above ground enemy.

"go to this ruin where the goblins who have been attacking us are" is almost literally one of the most common tropes in fiction gaming. Where you get this idea that they almost never raid towns boggles me.

They fear them due to knowledge from stories and lore. Very rare(outside of PCs) does not equal unknown.

Why fear what doesn't happen? If they are this rare, then you traveling through the mountains or through the woods should be entirely safe. Stories with no backing in actual events get dismissed as hearsay and superstition. That is why most people don't believe in bigfoot or Ghosts.

Yet it is taken seriously in DnD. Because those creatures are real. Because those creatures do attack settlements and travelers. Often enough that pretty much everyone is aware of the threat.

 

[FrozenNorth]

But dwarves may just be stereotypically scottish blacksmiths and miners, but they are an entire kingdom of scottish blacksmiths and miners. They have their own laws, their own government, their own armies.

You mean, like actual Scots?