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

[Minigiant]

That will happen regardless of how WotC presents them. You can't sexify 1m tall happy go lucky farming types into being the new elves, unless you're also willing to jettison most of their defining traits and essentially rebooting them.

Like heck you can sexify them. I've seen the keyword.

The internet is a dirty place. Dirty dirty place.

 

[TwoSix]

I find it interesting that here we are on page 80+ where some of the very people who suggested & defended FR & Greyhawk specific role of gods/pantheon being needed to prop up the phb halfling with plot armor are suddenly concerned about the idea of tainting the setting neutral phb by including representation for some of the halflings that break the shirelife meme shaped mold in the phb. Interesting but not at all surprising.

If you're trying to assert some hypocrisy here, I'm not seeing it. You might want to include some examples.

 

[TwoSix]

Like heck you can sexify them. I've seen the keyword.

The internet is a dirty place. Dirty dirty place.

If the 6e PHB wants to include some Rule 34 halflings, I'm all for it.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

My issue is that it is almost like the community refuses to analyze why.

Why would we need to analyse it? Fashions change, and it doesn't matter.

Many will ask "why isn't X popular anymore?" then shut their brains off or blame it on youth.

Same reason legwarmers aren't popular, and just as significant.

I mean if you limit the scope of the NPC lore, it shouldnt be a surprise when the PCs follow in range and thus number.

No one is "limiting NPC lore". If you want halflings you don't need any more lore than you can get by reading the prologue to Lord of the Rings. There is no need to constantly add to or rewrite lore for any race. Its there, it's written, it's not going anywhere, and those who want to use it can and those who don't want to use it can ignore it.

 

[Maxperson]

If you're trying to assert some hypocrisy here, I'm not seeing it. You might want to include some examples.

I'm not, either. He was very vague and I THINK(but am not sure) that he's referring to my resistance to Halflings creating "fine goods" being in the lore. I've actually said that I'm fine with that change, but that it is a change.

It actually has me debating changing Halflings in my game to be a race of merchant princes and purveyors of fine goods. Wealthiest of the races, they use their great wealth(yes coins and jewels) to live lives of luxury and excess, and pay powerful mercenary companies comprised of races other than Halflings to protect them(since they would now need protection).

 

[FrozenNorth]

Does it say zero people are playing them? No it doesn't. Ergo You claim that "no one is playing them" is verifiably false, thereby invalidating everything you say.

Hey, if you are going to be gratuitously obtuse, that knife cuts both ways.

Saying that you know some people that play halflings doesn’t invalidate everything that Minigiant says, it invalidates exactly ONE thing that Minigiant said, and only if you ignore the fact that Minigiant was obviously exaggerating.

Or, you could try to take Minigiant’s claim in good faith.

 

[Oofta]

I find it interesting that here we are on page 80+ where some of the very people who suggested & defended FR & Greyhawk specific role of gods/pantheon being needed to prop up the phb halfling with plot armor are suddenly concerned about the idea of tainting the setting neutral phb by including representation for some of the halflings that break the shirelife meme shaped mold in the phb. Interesting but not at all surprising.

I find it interesting that here we are on page 80+ and you still can't accept that the presentation of halflings can vary from campaign world to campaign world. That every race described in the PHB is just the general starting point that can be modified to fit different campaigns.

In other words: WTF are you talking about?

 

[Maxperson]

If the 6e PHB wants to include some Rule 34 halflings, I'm all for it.

I actually had to look up Rule 34. Shame! Shame! Shame! (in GoT chanting)

 

[TwoSix]

I'm not, either. He was very vague and I THINK(but am not sure) that he's referring to my resistance to Halflings creating "fine goods" being in the lore. I've actually said that I'm fine with that change, but that it is a change.

It actually has me debating changing Halflings in my game to be a race of merchant princes and purveyors of fine goods. Wealthiest of the races, they use their great wealth(yes coins and jewels) to live lives of luxury and excess, and pay powerful mercenary companies comprised of races other than Halflings to protect them(since they would now need protection).

Yep. In my own games, halflings are hybrids of gnomes and either elves or dwarves (dwarf-gnome is stout, elf-gnome is lightfoot), although they're a pure breeding race (much like Eberron half-elves). They're also incredibly fecund and live pretty much everywhere, mixed in with the other common races. They also have a knack for biological and shapechanging magic (shades of 2e Dark Sun halflings).

 

[Minigiant]

If the 6e PHB wants to include some Rule 34 halflings, I'm all for it.

If WOTC wants to awaken things in the fandom, they can. Sex sells after all.