Rethinking Fantasy Races - Slaughtering Your Sacred Minotaurs
Halflings. Hobbits, if you're a Tolkien purist. The funny thing is that the modern concept of halflings is actually based on very unusual hobbits. Most hobbits were homebodies, never really caring what was happening outside the Shire. Life was good, why wonder? No, modern halflings are the idealogical spawn of the Bagginses; those strange hobbits who actually enjoyed traveling or, dare I say it, adventuring? That naturally grew into the modern (wildly racist) "halflings are stereotypical gypsies" vibe that they have going on. Shady wanderers with sticky fingers and silver tongues. Fast talkers and snake oil salesmen. It's kind of tragic, even for a fictional race.
Step 1: Concept
I think I want to lean into what Tolkien first intended for hobbits in general. Sure, there will always be Bagginses; outlying exceptions proving the rule*. Those are clearly the halflings that will become adventurers, which is kind of the point of RPGs. I want that functionality to be built into the race without explicitly pushing them that direction.
*As an aside, the word "prove" used to mean "test". The exception that proves the rule isn't the thing that says beyond doubt that the rule is true, it's what makes us consider whether it really is a rule after all. Where my fellow word nerds at?
Step 2: Racial Qualities
TYPE - Humanoid (halfling). Hobbits supposedly shared an ancestor with humans, but we aren't gonna go that route.
SIZE - Small. That's kind of the point.
SPEED - Debatable. I kind of like the idea of them having a base speed equal to humans; faster than their short legs would imply.
ABILITIES - I'm torn again. There's the draw of the shifty conman saying that their base modifiers are dead on. Then there's the draw of the homebody cook telling me that their stats should be more similar to dwarves. I'll revisit this once I see what kind of racial traits we're going with. I honestly didn't expect halflings to be this troublesome which, I suppose, is amusingly appropriate. Underestimated even in mechanical form.
*Okay, coming back here after looking at what other traits I want to give them. I've decided that I'm happy with the +2 to Dexterity, but I'm shifting the +2 Charisma to +2 Wisdom. I'll also be keeping the -2 to Strength. I know I defended gnomes with this, but it feels appropriate on halflings.
LANGUAGES - Standard. Common and Halfling as starters.
Allies are dwarves, elves, gnomes, humans...pretty much anyone that isn't actively trying to kill them. That adds Dwarven, Elven, and Gnome.
Enemies? Let's say orcs, gnolls, and giants. Those feel good to me. So Giant, Gnoll, and Orc.
One more? Umm...Goblin? Why not?
Step 3: Racial Traits
Okay, base halfling traits are as follows:
Fearless (1 RP): Sure.
Lucky, Lesser (2 RP): I can dig it.
Sure-Footed (4 RP): Makes sense.
Weapon Familiarity (1 RP): Word.
Keen Senses (2 RP): Cool.
So...I actually like all of these. Let's see what else sticks.
Acquisitive (2 RP): I like this.
Attentive (2 RP): I really don't want to just toss a bunch of skill bonuses in the pot, but they feel good.
Blessed (1 RP): This feels way better than Fearless.
Driven Worker (4 RP): More skill bonuses...
Ingratiating (6 RP): I like it, but I think I like the more focused nature of Driven Worker better. Let gnomes be generalists, halflings can be specialists.
Low Blow (2 RP): I like it.
Practicality (5 RP): There is a ton of overlap with these traits...
Resourcefulness (5 RP): Way cool. I love unique abilities like this.
Underfoot (4 RP): Dovetails nicely with Low Blow.
Well, let's see how this goes.
HALFLING
Type - Humanoid (halfling) 0 RP
Size - Small 0 RP
Base Speed - Normal 0 RP
Ability Score Modifiers - Standard (+2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Strength) 0 RP
Languages - Standard 0 RP
Racial Traits
Defense Racial Traits
Lucky, Lesser 2 RP
Underfoot 4 RP
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Driven Worker 4 RP
Resourcefulness 5 RP
Sure-Footed 4 RP
Offense Racial Traits
Low Blow 2 RP
Weapon Familiarity 1 RP
Senses Racial Traits
Keen Senses 2 RP
That brings us to 24 RP. We can drop Resourcefulness and make Driven Worker an alternate to bring us in line.
That brings our final version to...
Halfling Standard Racial Traits
Ability Score Racial Traits: Halflings are quick and have great natural instincts, but their slight builds don't help much in the way of physical prowess. The gain +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, and -2 Strength.
Size: Halflings are Small creatures and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their CMB and CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Base Speed: Halflings have a base speed of 30 feet.
Languages: Halflings begin play speaking Common and Halfling. Halflings with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, and Orc. See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.
Defense Racial Traits
Halfling Luck: Halflings receive a +1 racial bonus on all saving throws.
Underfoot: Halflings gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC against foes larger than themselves and a +1 bonus on Reflex saving throws to avoid trample attacks.
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Sure-Footed: Halflings receive a +2 racial bonus on Acrobatics and Climb checks.
Offense Racial Traits
Low Blow: Halflings gain a +1 bonus on critical confirmation rolls against opponents larger than themselves.
Weapon Familiarity: Halflings are proficient with slings and treat any weapon with the word “halfling” in its name as a martial weapon.
Senses Racial Traits
Keen Senses: Halflings receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
Alternate Racial Traits
Driven Worker: Many halfling families have developed techniques to accomplish work faster and more efficiently, whether to contribute to the community or to please overbearing masters. These halflings gain a +4 racial bonus on checks with one Craft, Perform, or Profession skill. This racial trait replaces sure-footed.
I think I can be happy with that. Let me know what you think.
Until next time.
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