Let’s roll...a Halfling! Character generation and development in BECMI Dungeons and Dragons

[@becmiberserker]

Just to confirm, I will be doing both a Druid and Mystic episode.

[@anarionelendili8961]

As for the Halfling strengths... The +1 to hit with missile weapons helps, but it is not a game changer by itself. However, where the Halflings really shine is if the individual initiative is used. With their likely high DEX and the extra +1 to initiative, these little buggers are lightning fast, which is useful. However, if the group Initiative is used, then I think a dwarf is better option than the low-powered fighter like a Halfling. In our house-rules, we switched the hiding ability of the Halflings to the Stealth Ability (combined Move Silently and Hide in Shadows) of a Thief, and gave them the backstab ability as well, which fits well with the guerilla style warfare that they are famous for in the Five Shires gazetteer. Since our house-rules also allow for the thief's abilities to be learned as skills, our two halflings both decided to spec as thieves, loudly complaining about racial profiling whenever someone gives them a suspicious look when something is missing.

[@Sonicracer100]

I always prefer group initiative, so in order to avoid gimping the halfling I keep their initiative bonus. Which means they can potentially act separately from the group, or get a sneaky hit in before the opposing party gets to act. I allow them to break the rules within group initiative

[@becmiberserker]

Great ideas. The BECMI Halfling should have been a bit more thiefy, especially given their link to piracy in Gaz8.

[@ericgraham3088]

Im really enjoying these videos. Takes me back to the 80s. The amount of work and quantity you put into each of your videos is truly appreciated. Looking forward to the Druid and Mystic video!

[@becmiberserker]

Glad you like them!

[@thepaladinbelle]

i love the fact that the halfling looks surprised to be there fantastic video i'm happy to finally see my favorite class/race get a video

[@becmiberserker]

You’re welcome. 🙂

[@trentonmckinnon]

In my games I made the Common Language that Humans speak in the Known World actually come from the Halflings. It's the common tongue of the Halflings (Hen) that Humans, starting with river traders, gradually adopted in the days of old. 🧝🧙🧞🧚

[@hopefulhyena3400]

YES! THE BEST ONE!

[@becmiberserker]

At last. 🙂

[@krunchyfrogg]

Agreed. This class is great.

[@StarkMaximum]

But he already did the dwarf!

[@solarus2120]

My personal views on the Demi-Humans in general is that they are generally superior to humans up to about Name level. After Name level, humans start edging forward but it takes a while for them to "win" in all categories

[@becmiberserker]

That makes sense.

[@sunsin1592]

The Five Shires gazetteer also had those halfling pirates, which seems kind of ridiculous on some levels, but they pulled it off nicely. I ended up adapting that for one of my adventures.

[@dagdamar2000]

Would you be interested in doing the Gazetteer classes too. I have to say I think this series is great and I guess I do not want it to end as it really shows how characters in BECMI shine .I would love to see how for example a dwarf cleric compares to human cleric and dwarf race as class.

[@becmiberserker]

Have you seen my Gazetteer series? Am up to Gaz7 so far. I do a bit of analysis of the character options in each one. Not direct comparisons though.

[@anarionelendili8961]

I don't use the experience bonus for the prime requisites, but if I did, I would put the Halfling's as Dexterity and Constitution. It feels a bit wrong to me that those 3' tall furry-footed stealth-freaks are pushed towards being stronger than the average men outmassing them by at least a factor of four...

[@becmiberserker]

Yeah, it does seem a bit strange given their minimum requirements don’t include Strength. Putting editions aside, I’ve always had a bit of problem squaring the potential for Halflings to have strength scores just as high as any other race. It’s why I like racial modifiers.

[@anarionelendili8961]

@@becmiberserker There needs to be some suspension of disbelief, of course. Realistically, assuming the same muscle and body structure, the halflings would be like one quarter of the strength of a grown man, which would make them pretty lackluster in muscle-powered combat. You need to invoke stockier build, more powerful muscles, etc, to get them closer to a level playing field. I find that it tends to be a self-correcting problem. Players who want to play Halflings tend to go to the dexterous burglar route rather than burly barbarian route, so the max STR being the same at 18 tends not to be an issue. Racial modifiers are of course a solution, too.

[@psychophipps]

Looking at human history, I always make it a point to clearly indicate in my games that a major factor of demi-human reclusive and mysterious behavior is because humans, by and large, are homicidal a-holes. Oh, we're friendly enough when everything is going well, but once things start to go south and hard decisions have to be made...you really don't want to be on the "them" side of the "us or them" equation.

[@robbabcock_]

Great video! I've never been much of a fan of halflings but you covered the class/race quite comprehensively.

[@rgmadd7]

Yes!

[@zeIIendor]

Throughout my childhood and teens I pretty much ignored halflings as a player. I didn't know what I was missing! They are a lot of fun and can be deadly in the right party.

[@TKFKU]

Torchberry!

[@philipmorris9928]

Touchberry & Fleetwood 🤔 nice nod to the Dungeon Minister

[@dartanionbrallk9805]

I’ve been waiting for this one. Great video as always.

[@EriktheRed2023]

I don't recall any player ever actually picking halfling. Level 8 is a really short cap (no pun intended), and something you can easily imagine reaching. Though the 90% chance of surviving a party wipe in the wilderness could be attractive in certain of the more brutal campaigns, where you keep churning out new PCs until someone makes it to level 3 or 4. Then things settle down a bit. Players are usually happy to bring halfling NPC along, though maybe that is because I played them as generally more decent sorts than the average human adventurer. But I do think a lot of players enjoy the roleplaying aspect of having a halfling along, asking when there will be a chance to make tea, and complaining about the lack of decent inns.

[@becmiberserker]

Back in the day, two of our group played halflings. It was my dwarf’s ambition to turn them into compost to use on the Shire they loved so much.

[@AlexanderOsias]

I played one! Fun times

[@anarionelendili8961]

The problem with the Halfling's woodland hiding ability is that they need to remain motionless. So if the enemy can track or worse, track by smell, they are boned. Or if the group is surprised so the Halfling is still in the open, and there is an enemy focusing on them. I mean, it is still better than no chance at all, but it does require some effort to use.

[@Rashman101]

Thanks for the content, BB! Great as always!

[@Gaurelin]

Always a joy to see another video drop from you! I agree that the halfling is a bit underwhelming mechanically, but I always enjoyed them nonetheless. I've actually gotten my players on board for some BECMI next month, and I'm massively psyched for it! Going to run Castle Mistamere/Kill Bargle for them, to give them an intro to the the old school playstyle. Wonder if we'll have any halflings?

[@becmiberserker]

Hope the game goes great!

[@Gaurelin]

@@becmiberserker Thanks! I'm hoping they dig it enough to let me spin it into a full campaign! It'll be nice to get back to the basics.

[@anarionelendili8961]

18:40 Concerning balance... As I commented in the elf video, this is a very strange way to balance the classes, by making the classes so that the demi-humans absolutely dominate at low levels, and then lose out at higher level campaigns. Thus ensuring that either group is penalized depending at what level the campaign is set (usually low levels). Granted, if you play the game as is, the need to roll 9 or more in specific stats at random will give you only about 2/3 shot at getting your preferred race (if one prerequisite) and mere ~40% for a halfling, but if you widen your selection to either a dwarf or an elf or a halfling, then suddenly the possibilities are good that you can pick one of them.

[@FriendlyDuergar-by7jm]

I think this is the only BECMI class I never played. Watching this makes me want to give it a try.

[@tommo9757]

Sorry but for me, they're the only class I never wanted to play. I just can't engage with them. I've played with a few halflings who were "real pain in the a$$" types though.

[@andrewhaldenby4949]

Just a great series, ty BB!

[@ekashotersen]

Excellent video.

[@LankyMF]

Regarding your point at 1:50, I've houseruled demihuman's minimum requirement to 12 and even then my players usually roll stats that allow them the choice. Despite halfling's two-stat requirement we've already had two halflings rolled amongst 8 players in the past three months, and a multitude of elves and dwarves (new players, we're still getting at least one death per session). Not only does it reinforce their rarity, but also ensures that a demihuman PC has at least a +1 modifier in their race's specialty. Be interesting to hear what others have experienced, maybe our group has just gotten really lucky.

[@michaelwallace6851]

I hope you do druid and mystic, as well.

[@becmiberserker]

I will.

[@johnstuartkeller5244]

At long last, the mighty halfling steps forth, represented by none other than "Please Don't" Touchberry! I've always liked playing halflings ... even in light of what 5th Edition made them look like 🤢 Currently playing Sobras Blackthorn in BECMI, a shillelagh-weilding scout and troubleshooter. He's a clever support fighter (at least, his mother always said he was clever,) and alot of fun to play. The halfling's special abilities don't seem much compared to their fellow classes, but it really does matter how you play them and how you play with your group. Sobras shines as a scout and wingman, happy to let others shine in their moment and to go unnoticed in combat ... until it is too late!

[@becmiberserker]

Love this!

[@angelg9070]

Thanks!

[@becmiberserker]

Thank you!

[@angelg9070]

@@becmiberserker You always mention to get you a coffee if we like your videos. I wanted to for awhile now, because your videos are AWESOME! But my iPad doesn’t have a donate option (my friend told me it might be because it’s old) and my friend showed me how to do it on my phone (newer version). So finally I can get you that cup. All good as I am a coffee drinker (two cups a day!) and glad to get you one for these very helpful and informative posts.

[@josefernandobellavista4445]

Are you going to roll a Mystic and other BECMI classes?

[@becmiberserker]

Druid and Mystic will be the final two in this series.

[@ObatongoSensei]

I was never fond of this class too. It looked like a poor mixture of dwarf and elf with a couple of silly stealth abilities to make up for a huge loss in combat prowess and lack of magics. They could have just made it a bit more like "thievish" warriors instead, much like dwarves were somewhat tough warriors and elves were sort of magical warriors.

[@becmiberserker]

I agree with you. A missed opportunity.

[@anarionelendili8961]

@@becmiberserker Pretty much what we did with our house-rules, as per my earlier comment.

[@midnightgreen8319]

Please make a Mystic!!

[@becmiberserker]

I will.

[@midnightgreen8319]

@@becmiberserker Absolutely fantastic!!

[@chrissangenette6359]

Are you covering monk and druid?

[@becmiberserker]

Yup.

[@Timberboar]

Is this the end of the series, then?

[@becmiberserker]

I’ll be doing the Druid and Mystic as extra credit.

[@colinmerritt7645]

If your halfling reaches 4th level, a random immortal will squish him into the ground for 20d20 damage. This is not considered a hostile act by any sphere and is in fact followed by a "We Like (x) Day" on each material plane. Mortals who accidentally kill a 4th level halfling first will receive a random +1 from a passing immortal, while those mortals who sacrifice them intentionally will receive a free healing potion of their steaming blood.

[@NicholsonNeisler-fz3gi]

Touchberry the Neurodivergent