Common Races - Halflings

Duncehack Edition

Re: Skipped Preamble

Refer to the first part of this series (or the link dump) if you're interested in that.

Obligatory Natural Crit Plug

http://www.naturalcrit.com/

Someone else made a thing that lets me make homebrews without having to post them on pastebin or something. They deserve a lot of credit for that.

Obligatory /tg/ Plug

The feedback I got from various Anons on this helped me build it into something that wasn't bad and stupid.

Balance Rationale

See Part 1, for full essay.

Main thing is: Races are worth approx. 3 feats + 2 lanaguage proficiencies.

For the purposes of this I'm working on a 'build point' system that assumes races are worth 18 build points.

So, what's wrong with Halfling?

They just get less than other races for no real reason (with the exception of Lotusden subrace). Even if you make the argument that I've undervalued Lucky and that it's worth a feat (it's really not, but I'll humour the thought for a second), they still come up short on the weightings.

So, what to do?

This just made me nostalgic for 4e. In that edition, Halflings were badass and awesome. So, going to lean on that a little.

Re: Lucky Weight

I came back to this thinking I'd made a critical error, because thinking about it "Well, if it's worth a global 0.5 to all tests, wouldn't that make it worth 9 build points under my logic"?

This nagged at me for a while, but probability ain't my strong suit.

Shilling someone far smarter than me for the sake of argument.

Guy in the following link elucidated this one for me.

https://thinkdm.org/2018/12/08/lucky/

Well worth a read if you like the numbers stuff.

Point is: The assessment above shows that lucky only really benefits about 2.4% of rolls on average. The conclusion, that the Lucky feat is 7 times stronger than it on a sheer number's side of things, would suggest that if anything, I'm the one overvaluing the racial feature (and that it should be worth about 0.8 of a build point).

I think that's not giving it enough credit though either for a couple of reasons.

First, as a feature it doesn't care about rests, which can be enough. It's value would increase for instance in a Gritty Realism rests game as every little advantage starts to add up in those games.

Second, I know the words 'critical failure' leaves a horrible taste in people's mouths, but the fact of the matter is a lot of DMs like running those rules, and the fact that this feature is functionally 'crit failure resistance' can be a big deal.

So yeah, that's fundamentally my reasoning at the end of the day.

Halfling

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• Ability Scores: Dex +2
• Size: Small
• Speed: 25 ft.
• Lucky. When you roll a 1 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll.
• Brave. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
• Halfling Nimbleness. You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.
• Languages. Common and Halfling.

Lightfoot

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• Ability Scores: Cha +1
• Naturally Stealthy. You can attempt to hide even when you are obscured only by a creature that is at least one size larger than you. In addition, you gain proficiency in the Stealth skill.
• Nimble Escape. You can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns. If you would gain a similar feature from another source (i.e. Cunning Action) you make your hide actions during combat at advantage.
• Fleet of Foot. Your movement speed is increased by 5 ft.

Stout

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• Ability Scores: Con +1
• Stout Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.
• Tough: You gain 1 hit point per character level.
• Sturdy Footing: You have advantage to resist being moved or knocked prone unwillingly (i.e. being victim of the shove action).

Ghostwise

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• Ability Scores: Wis +1
• Silent Speech. You can speak telepathically to any creature within 30 feet of you. The creature understands you only if the two of you share a language. You can speak telepathically in this way to one creature at a time.
• Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
• Steady. You do not suffer disadvantage to using weapons with the heavy property because of your small size. Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armor.
• Susserations. You can use your Silent Speech as a means of distracting enemies. You can use the Help action as a bonus action. Additionally, when you use the Help action to aid an ally in attacking a creature, the target of that attack can be within 30 feet of you, rather than within 5 feet of you, if the target can see or hear you.

Lotusden

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• Ability Scores. Wis +1
• Child of the Wood. You know the druidcraft cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the entangle spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the spike growth spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Casting these spells with this trait doesn't require material components. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
• Timberwalk. Ability checks made to track you have disadvantage, and you can move across difficult terrain made of nonmagical plants and undergrowth without expending extra movement.

Halfling Racial Feats

Bountiful Luck (Full-Feat)

Your people have extraordinary luck, which you have learned to mystically lend to your companions when you see them falter. You're not sure how you do it; you just wish it, and it happens. Surely a sign of fortune's favor! When an ally you can see within 30 feet of you rolls a 1 on the d20 for an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw, you can use your reaction to let the ally reroll the die. The ally must use the new roll.

When you use this ability, you can't use it again until the end of your next turn.

Second Chance (Half-Feat)

Fortune favors you when someone tries to strike you. When a creature you can see hits you with an attack roll, you can use your reaction to force that creature to reroll. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency modifier. You regain all uses on a short or a long rest. If you roll initiative on a new combat, you regain one use instead.

Curbed Fortune (Half-Feat)

Lightfoot Only

Whenever an attack roll against you shows a 20, the attacker rerolls the d20. They must take the second result.

Solid Build (Half-Feat)

Stout Only

You're exceptionally sturdy, even by Stout Halfling standards. You gain the following benefits:

• You gain the Powerful Build feature, counting as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
• You do not suffer disadvantage to using weapons with the heavy property because of your small size.
• Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armor.
• When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Soundless Scream (Half-Feat)

Ghostwise Only

You have learned how to 'scream' with your silent speech, effectively inflicting a kind of 'mental static' against people. You can use your bonus action to target a single creature within 30ft. That creature must succeed an Intelligence Saving Throw, the DC of which is 8 + Your Proficiency Modifier + Your Intelligence Modifier. If they fail, they suffer the deafened condition until the end of your next turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Proficiency modifier. You regain uses of this feature on a short or long rest.

Natural Attunement (Half-Feat)

Lotusden Only

Your attunement to the natural world has given you a tie to fae magic that you can subtly invoke, impating the following benefits:

• While you or any other creatures of your choosing spend hit dice to recover hit points during a short rest, reroll all 1s shown on any dice rolled. The second result must be taken.
• You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed.

Build Point Weights

This section exists exclusively for people who want to check my work.

The assumption I'm following under is that races are worth 3 feats + 2 language proficiencies.

So 18 is considered the balance point for everything.

19 is considered 'acceptable' as this is where Tieflings stack up, but any more should be actively avoided.

Halfling Racial Balance

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• Ability Scores: +6
• Speed: -1
• Lucky. +3
• Brave. +1
• Halfling Nimbleness. Ribbon

Final Weight 9

Lightfoot

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• Ability Scores: +3
• Naturally Stealthy. +2
• Nimble Escape. +3
• Fleet of Foot. Your movement speed is increased by 5 ft.

Subrace Weight: 9

Final Weight: 18

Stout

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• Ability Scores: +3
• Stout Resilience. +2
• Tough: +3
• Sturdy Footing: +1

Subrace Weight: 9

Final Weight: 18

Ghostwise

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• Ability Scores: +3
• Silent Speech. +2
• Powerful Build. Ribbon
• Steady. +1
• Susserations. +3

Subrace Weight: 9

Final Weight: 18

Lotusden

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• Ability Scores. +3
• Child of the Wood. +6
• Timberwalk. +1

Subrace Weight: 10

Final Weight: 19