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

[QuentinGeorge]

I don't want Halflings to be more warlike. I want to know why dwarves and elves are ever watchful and prepared for racial enemies whereas halflings can sit around doing nothing until someone threatens the world with apocalypse.

You're too focused on the rather adolescent obsession with military power and conquest that you are overlooking something important. Halflings don't have "racial enemies". They have more allies than enemies.

So while the orc horde approaches and the halfling militia prepare for battle, supported by the cleric of Yondalla, the signal goes out. The human king, worried about the threat to his most loyal vassals, sends forth his soldiers; the dwarves, remembering the ale and good times shared with their halfling friends, march forth from their mountain fortress; the elves, knowing their halfling neighbours are kind, considerate, send a squad of rangers, and the gnomes, remembering the fun and laughter they shared, come from their lairs to fight as well.

By the time the orc horde arrives reinforcements are well on the way, the halfing warriors put up a big fight, and oh, what's this? Well, it seems a pastoral idyll of great food, kind people, plentiful ale is the perfect place for retirement, particularly for archmages...

Halflings have warriors, halflings have spellcasters, but they also have friends. Pretty much everyone likes them, and you fight for your friends because they'll fight for you.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Haven't you been paying attention? It can't be a halfling because it's using a weapon that looks like it could be effective in combat. Everybody knows that halfling ever has any offensive or defensive capability!

My very first introduction to D&D was the Basic and Expert box sets with the Erol Otis covers. Because of this, my mind's eye version of halfling has always been the following artwork.



That little guy is not only ripped, he is carrying a sword as big as himself and looks like he knows how to use it.

 

[Minigiant]

The 5e rules explain that. You don't like the explanation. That's fine. You aren't getting pushback because of your preferences. You are getting pushback because you are presenting your preferences as some sort of universal deficiency.

I'm not against the explanation. Halflings have actual luck points at my table when I DM D&D and my own custom RPG.

I just want it stated in the PHB, MM, and DMG like the rest of the races and not hinted in a supplement book.
Is halfling an iconic race or not?
The game should either openly display how their iconic race fights or explain why they don't have to.

You're too focused on the rather adolescent obsession with military power and conquest that you are overlooking something important. Halflings don't have "racial enemies". They have more allies than enemies.

Not really. I just want an explanation written in the PHB. Say they are so lucky no one even attacks them. Say they are so friendly all the races of good protects them. Say they are great with the sling, good duelists, and practice combat maneuvers via stories.

Don't drop a race of child sized humaniods in a game about scary dungeons and dangerous monsters and write paragraphs why they like staying home and don't do much.

 

[Maxperson]

I'm not against the explanation. Halflings have actual luck points at my table when I DM D&D and my own custom RPG.

I just want it stated in the PHB, MM, and DMG like the rest of the races and not hinted in a supplement book.
Is halfling an iconic race or not?
The game should either openly display how their iconic race fights or explain why they don't have to.


Not really. I just want an explanation written in the PHB. Say they are so lucky no one even attacks them. Say they are so friendly all the races of good protects them. Say they are great with the sling, good duelists, and practice combat maneuvers via stories.

Don't drop a race of child sized humaniods in a game about scary dungeons and dangerous monsters and write paragraphs why they like staying home and don't do much.

It says quite clearly in the PHB,

"The comforts of home are the goals of most halflings' lives: a place to settle in peace and quiet, far from marauding monsters and clashing armies;"

So they don't settle on the frontier where monsters are an issue, and they don't settle on a border near a main road where an army would pass by. They also don't settle their villages near major towns, cities or roads inland, so armies won't encounter them.

And...

"The diminutive halflings survive in a world full of larger creatures by avoiding notice or, barring that, avoiding offense."

Whether that's by luck or design, they avoid notice of enemies and if that somehow fails, they are nice and are liked by virtually everyone.

The PHB has sufficient information to know how Halflings survive without being warlike. Mordenkainen's just details that information better.

 

[Chaosmancer]

The sort of magic that doesn't involve spells, and wizards like Mordenkainen don't understand.

Because they aren't halflings.

Because they can't, because they are not halflings.

If you can explain it it aint magic.

Not true. Even soft magic can be explained to an extent. And this is exactly the type of stuff I'm just not a fan of. I can't build around "because that is just how it is" when it comes to one of the most defining features of the entire race.

 

[Minigiant]

It says quite clearly in the PHB,

"The comforts of home are the goals of most halflings' lives: a place to settle in peace and quiet, far from marauding monsters and clashing armies;"

So they don't settle on the frontier where monsters are an issue, and they don't settle on a border near a main road where an army would pass by. They also don't settle their villages near major towns, cities or roads inland, so armies won't encounter them.
fortune.
And...

"The diminutive halflings survive in a world full of larger creatures by avoiding notice or, barring that, avoiding offense."

Whether that's by luck or design, they avoid notice of enemies and if that somehow fails, they are nice and are liked by virtually everyone.

The PHB has sufficient information to know how Halflings survive without being warlike. Mordenkainen's just details that information better.

It's not all that clear.
In the same paragraphs it says that halflings move in with other races in small communities.

So do halflings living in human towns lose their luck? Or is the luck overpowered by the harsh thoughs of their human, dwarven, or elven friends forcing them to rely on their allies over luck? IS this why halflings fear leaving their villages as they age?

If halflings are just the luckiest son of a guns in ther world and they survive based on their innocence and fortune, the lore should open with it loudly and their mechanics should heavily push the idea. That's how I introduce halflings in my world. They are lucky. So lucky that they don't see fear the same why normal folk do. Thinks tend to turnout alright for a halfling. You can't count them out until you see a half dozen near fails. To gamble agianst a halfling requires a big wallet as you have to bleed your stash to burn through their good foturne. And even then you are taking a risk.

 

[Chaosmancer]

"Why these folk are written as industrious, cheerful, fond of food and drink, and pleasant natured towards other races? There's no conceivable way they could live in harmony with other races! Why aren't I hearing about their wars of aggression?"

If you put a rabbit in an enclosure with a pack of wolves, what is going to happen to that rabbit?

The worlds of DnD are hyper-dangerous. A creature that is analogous to a flying, venomous tiger is low on the food chain of threats. I'm not saying halflings have to be little Napoleans, or little Pattons, but I would like an explanation for them thriving out in the open with no defenses beyond "magic luck protects them so nothing bad happens, except for when it does."

 

[Chaosmancer]

If it's non-D&D why would you expect them?

Because other people have copied DnD extensively. And yet, the most commonly removed of the DnD elements is the Halfling, one of the core four races.

 

[Maxperson]

It's not all that clear.
In the same paragraphs it says that halflings move in with other races in small communities.

Sure. Individuals do, but communities are as I laid out.

So do halflings living in human towns lose their luck? Or is the luck overpowered by the harsh thoughs of their human, dwarven, or elven friends forcing them to rely on their allies over luck? IS this why halflings fear leaving their villages as they age?

Why would the lose their luck?

If halflings are just the luckiest son of a guns in ther world and they survive based on their innocence and fortune, the lore should open with it loudly and their mechanics should heavily push the idea. That's how I introduce halflings in my world. They are lucky. So lucky that they don't see fear the same why normal folk do. Thinks tend to turnout alright for a halfling. You can't count them out until you see a half dozen near fails. To gamble agianst a halfling requires a big wallet as you have to bleed your stash to burn through their good foturne. And even then you are taking a risk.

They have luck and stealth as a racial features. I'm not sure what more you want.

 

[Mecheon]

The worlds of DnD are hyper-dangerous. A creature that is analogous to a flying, venomous tiger is low on the food chain of threats. I'm not saying halflings have to be little Napoleans, or little Pattons, but I would like an explanation for them thriving out in the open with no defenses beyond "magic luck protects them so nothing bad happens, except for when it does."

Per the earlier posts, they live in places where there aren't threats like that around (IE: Not in the frontier), and either they're not worth larger creatures time or they're buddy enough with them they won't attack.