halfling fighter? [Archive] - Wizards Community

halfling fighter? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Leeroy
10-16-07, 08:42 AM im looking for something differant using just core books and eberron core

basicly want a fighter that has a race that isnt usually associated with that kind of class...

since not knowing much about eberron not sure if it will tie in you could say i know nothing about eberron

any ideas without having stat points yet little dificult for a strat but any ideas are helpful

cheers Leeroy
kainpendragon
10-16-07, 09:06 AM Halfling\fighter barbarin and save money for Strong arm bracers from,Magic item compendum and you can use Medium weapons with no problem. me and a friend are playing Twin halfing barb, and it is so much fun. espeical when a half-orc monk throws you into battle =) really fun stuff.
RobbyPants
10-16-07, 12:05 PM Actually, while a halfling fighter may sound odd, mathematically, it's not a terrible choice (compared to a medium-sized fighter), although you will notice a difference. The biggest thing you'll notice is the speed reduction (30 feet down to 20). Lets take a look at what changes:

We'll assume you're using a greatsword (what self-respecting fighter doesn't? :P). Your greatsword damage drops from 2d6 to 1d10. On average, that's a drop of 1.5 damage per hit (7 down to 5.5). Nothing huge, but noticable. The -2 Str penalty will cost you 1.5 damage on average (realistically, this will be either 1 or 2, depending on your base stat, as you add +1.5 your Str mod to damage with a two-hander). So you lose 3 points of damage on average.

As for attacking, you gain +1 to hit due to size, but take -1 from the Str penalty. This ends up averaging out.

What you gain is a net +2 AC: +1 from size, and +1 from the Dex bonus.

All in all, you'll have:

-3 to damage
+0 to hit
+2 AC
-10 feet speed

So basically, you have to decide if it's worth it.

---

Now, if you want to play to the halfling's Strengths, play a rogue. Of course, this doesn't fit in with your initial premise of playing something unusual for a fighter, but, you get some plusses. This is basically for a comparision to the halfling fighter above.

You still take the movement penalty.

You still take a damage penalty, but not as severly. Lets assume you're using shortswords. Your damage drops from 1d6 to 1d4, 1 point on average (3.5 to 2.5). Your bonus from Str drops by 1 (you're using a one hander now). So you end up with a -2 penalty to damage on average.

You're taking Weapon Finesse at 3rd level, so you can add your Dex to hit (win!), which is good for a halfling. Now, compared to a medium rogue, you get a net +2 to hit: +1 from size, +1 from Dex.

Your AC is still 2 ahead.

So now lets look at what you get:

-2 to damage
+2 to hit
+2 AC
-10 feet speed

Nice! Also, as a rogue, you will be getting most of your damge from Sneak Attack anyway. If you use TWF, you will get more attacks (i.e. more Sneak Attacks!) in per round, and your +2 to hit offsets the -2 penalty.

---

Okay, so long story short: if you want to play a halfling fighter for fun, go for it. Just remember that you will be paying for your choice. If you're looking to play a halfling, and you don't care about the class, I'd strongly consider rogue. If you want to be a fighter, a medium-size race may be more fun (read: less penalties associated based on size). All in all, the chioce is up to you, and you have to balance fun with game-play.

Hopefully you have fun either way :D
Finfreeze
10-16-07, 12:51 PM I like the classic halfling rider concept. Take Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a), get yourself a riding dog or similar, arm yourself with a lance, and charge.

halfling's Strengths, play a rogue
Kinda. I'd rather use a goblin though for such a class. 30' move speed, +4 move silently, +4 to hide from size, and darkvision. Hey, +4 to ride checks, so they make better mounted fighters as well. Never liked the standard rogue and its reliance on sneak attack, though.

Now of course, water halflings are better than either overall thanks to +2 constitution...
Dracosis
10-16-07, 01:58 PM Okay you said this was an eberron character right? let me enlighten you on perhaps the coolest feature of that setting. HALFLINGS RIDING DINOSAURS. Its so cool it deserves caps. Your small size means you can get away with riding a medium mount which unlike say a horse will fit in most dungeons (if you can get the mount to go in) but unlike the typical halfling who rides a dog you can ride a raptor or some other vicious dinosaur.
RobbyPants
10-16-07, 03:42 PM Kinda. I'd rather use a goblin though for such a class. 30' move speed, +4 move silently, +4 to hide from size, and darkvision. Hey, +4 to ride checks, so they make better mounted fighters as well. Never liked the standard rogue and its reliance on sneak attack, though.
Oh certainly. If you don't mind the -2 Cha penalty, goblins make much better rogues, for all the same reasons of small size, plus no speed reduction, and the skill boosts. I only brought up halfling because the OP suggested a halfling fighter. And even still, the bulk of the analysis was from a small creature to medium creature comparision. Basically, "what's the end result of gaining +2 Dex, -2 Str and dropping from medium to small?"
happy_fuzzy
10-16-07, 08:27 PM if you wanted to play a 'fighter' type not class then try a halfing swordsage. They get roguey stuff (shadow hand manuevers) plus since you are small you can use all those 'make jump check deal extra damage against larger foe' manuevers from tiger claw because most everything you fight will generally be medium or bigger.
Operation_Shoestring
10-17-07, 05:58 AM Eberron Halflings ride VELOCIRAPTORS (Clawfoot Dinosaurs).

They get boomerangs (remember, bonus to thrown weapons) and reach-sickles (trip weapon) as racial weapons.

AWESOME.

Grabbing swarmfighting could help if you have other small folk around, also consider grabbing some of the anti-giant feats and having the party Mage reduce person on you.
Ecalsneerg
10-17-07, 11:50 AM Weapon Finesse is a fighter feat. This may help character creation :p
Dog_O_War
10-17-07, 02:42 PM Halflings make excellent ranged fighters.
My suggestions; go pure fighter, taking E.W.P. harpoon (from Stormwrack).
Focus on ranged weapons; quickdraw and rapid shot are essencial for this combo. Eventually you control the battle field by hindering everyones' (the enemies') ability to charge or run. With weapon specialization and the weapon masteries out of PHBII, you will pretty much always hit, and have a damage potencial higher than a barbarian with a great-axe (forcably removing a harpoon is quite painful). Try and get a str of at least 13 so you can take power attack, brutal throw, and the key feat power throw. Forget sneak attack; as good as that is, control of the fight overall is far more important. Also, take ranks in use rope (even if it is cross-class) to tye enemies off onto stronger, more weighty objects than yourself. Maybe even a dip into ranger for a few levels wouldn't be a bad idea (think a strong animal companion with the work trick to help pull harpooned opponents).

I think I will go make one myself now....
RobbyPants
10-17-07, 04:03 PM Weapon Finesse is a fighter feat. This may help character creation :p
Of course, a small fighter specializing in light weapons is going to be doing 1d6 damage per hit, tops. Without some way to increase your per-attack damage (like Sneak Attack), a typical weapon-finesse-using halfling fighter won't be a damage dealer. Plus, when using light weapons, you can't Power Attack, which at mid/high levels is the majority of a fighter's damage.

So, while Weapon Finesse will give a halfling fighter a net +2 to hit (given his racial adjustments), it will totally and utterly destroy his damage dealing potential.
The_Wrath_of_Talos
10-17-07, 04:16 PM I'd also suggest a halfling out rider with a reach weapon if possible. Invest in a bag of holding and keep anything metalic in it, and see if your DM will let you have a rust monster for a mount. The reach weapon such as a spear will keep the spear tip away from your mount keeping it out of harms way and you can always test out a sling or shortbow for a ranged weapon.
JulesCARV
10-17-07, 04:27 PM I believe there's a feat from Races of Eberron, "Talenta Warrior," which allows you to treat three Talentan exotic weapons (sharrash, boomerang, tangat) as martial weapons, and allows you to share other weapon-specific feats among the three of them (e.g. weapon focus, improved critical), and gives a bonus to using them in mounted combat too. I don't know if I'd take it as, say, a barbarian, but I think it's probably worthwhile for a fighter.
JarionSilverblades
10-18-07, 11:19 AM One of the most insane PCs I ever played was a Halfling Monk, I had created him just for fun, turns out Halflings make wicked Monks.

Positive: With their +2 Dex and Small size, they already get a +2 to AC, halflings gain a +1 with thrown weapons and slings, which covers some of the monk's weapons ( dagger, javelin, sai, shuriken, and sling). As for the halfling's speed of 20ft, the monk's speed bonus takes care of that by level 3.
Negative: The only real disadvantage is the halfling's small size, it means they deal less damage with weapons and unarmed strike and are weak grapplers, but they do gain a +1 attack bonus because of their small size.
RobbyPants
10-18-07, 01:42 PM but they do gain a +1 attack bonus because of their small size.
Offset by their -2 Str. ;)

The only way around this is with Weapon Finesse, and as a fighter (with no real menas to increase your per-attack damage), using finessable weapons is not going to deal much damage.
BW0222
10-18-07, 01:55 PM Leeroy,

For a halfling fighter consider taking mounted combat and a riding dog. It immediately makes up for your reduced movement (in fact you are likely up to a 40) adds an extra attack and when barded often makes it hard to hit - especially with mounted combat. The dog is fine for most dungeons.

If you don't have a high strength, use thrown spears, javelins, alchemists fire, or tanglefoot bags. Use hit and run type attacks - you can move before and after when using ranged attacks while mounted. Consider ride-by-attack so that you can attack folks and keep moving past them -- forcing them to move past other party members (or away from the fight) to get to you.
Operation_Shoestring
10-18-07, 04:04 PM Master thrower. Eberron halflings are practically made for it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Leeroy 10-16-07, 08:42 AM	im looking for something differant using just core books and eberron core basicly want a fighter that has a race that isnt usually associated with that kind of class... since not knowing much about eberron not sure if it will tie in you could say i know nothing about eberron any ideas without having stat points yet little dificult for a strat but any ideas are helpful cheers Leeroy
kainpendragon 10-16-07, 09:06 AM	Halfling\fighter barbarin and save money for Strong arm bracers from,Magic item compendum and you can use Medium weapons with no problem. me and a friend are playing Twin halfing barb, and it is so much fun. espeical when a half-orc monk throws you into battle =) really fun stuff.
RobbyPants 10-16-07, 12:05 PM	Actually, while a halfling fighter may sound odd, mathematically, it's not a terrible choice (compared to a medium-sized fighter), although you will notice a difference. The biggest thing you'll notice is the speed reduction (30 feet down to 20). Lets take a look at what changes: We'll assume you're using a greatsword (what self-respecting fighter doesn't? :P). Your greatsword damage drops from 2d6 to 1d10. On average, that's a drop of 1.5 damage per hit (7 down to 5.5). Nothing huge, but noticable. The -2 Str penalty will cost you 1.5 damage on average (realistically, this will be either 1 or 2, depending on your base stat, as you add +1.5 your Str mod to damage with a two-hander). So you lose 3 points of damage on average. As for attacking, you gain +1 to hit due to size, but take -1 from the Str penalty. This ends up averaging out. What you gain is a net +2 AC: +1 from size, and +1 from the Dex bonus. All in all, you'll have: -3 to damage +0 to hit +2 AC -10 feet speed So basically, you have to decide if it's worth it. --- Now, if you want to play to the halfling's Strengths, play a rogue. Of course, this doesn't fit in with your initial premise of playing something unusual for a fighter, but, you get some plusses. This is basically for a comparision to the halfling fighter above. You still take the movement penalty. You still take a damage penalty, but not as severly. Lets assume you're using shortswords. Your damage drops from 1d6 to 1d4, 1 point on average (3.5 to 2.5). Your bonus from Str drops by 1 (you're using a one hander now). So you end up with a -2 penalty to damage on average. You're taking Weapon Finesse at 3rd level, so you can add your Dex to hit (win!), which is good for a halfling. Now, compared to a medium rogue, you get a net +2 to hit: +1 from size, +1 from Dex. Your AC is still 2 ahead. So now lets look at what you get: -2 to damage +2 to hit +2 AC -10 feet speed Nice! Also, as a rogue, you will be getting most of your damge from Sneak Attack anyway. If you use TWF, you will get more attacks (i.e. more Sneak Attacks!) in per round, and your +2 to hit offsets the -2 penalty. --- Okay, so long story short: if you want to play a halfling fighter for fun, go for it. Just remember that you will be paying for your choice. If you're looking to play a halfling, and you don't care about the class, I'd strongly consider rogue. If you want to be a fighter, a medium-size race may be more fun (read: less penalties associated based on size). All in all, the chioce is up to you, and you have to balance fun with game-play. Hopefully you have fun either way :D
Finfreeze 10-16-07, 12:51 PM	I like the classic halfling rider concept. Take Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a), get yourself a riding dog or similar, arm yourself with a lance, and charge. halfling's Strengths, play a rogue Kinda. I'd rather use a goblin though for such a class. 30' move speed, +4 move silently, +4 to hide from size, and darkvision. Hey, +4 to ride checks, so they make better mounted fighters as well. Never liked the standard rogue and its reliance on sneak attack, though. Now of course, water halflings are better than either overall thanks to +2 constitution...
Dracosis 10-16-07, 01:58 PM	Okay you said this was an eberron character right? let me enlighten you on perhaps the coolest feature of that setting. HALFLINGS RIDING DINOSAURS. Its so cool it deserves caps. Your small size means you can get away with riding a medium mount which unlike say a horse will fit in most dungeons (if you can get the mount to go in) but unlike the typical halfling who rides a dog you can ride a raptor or some other vicious dinosaur.
RobbyPants 10-16-07, 03:42 PM	Kinda. I'd rather use a goblin though for such a class. 30' move speed, +4 move silently, +4 to hide from size, and darkvision. Hey, +4 to ride checks, so they make better mounted fighters as well. Never liked the standard rogue and its reliance on sneak attack, though. Oh certainly. If you don't mind the -2 Cha penalty, goblins make much better rogues, for all the same reasons of small size, plus no speed reduction, and the skill boosts. I only brought up halfling because the OP suggested a halfling fighter. And even still, the bulk of the analysis was from a small creature to medium creature comparision. Basically, "what's the end result of gaining +2 Dex, -2 Str and dropping from medium to small?"
happy_fuzzy 10-16-07, 08:27 PM	if you wanted to play a 'fighter' type not class then try a halfing swordsage. They get roguey stuff (shadow hand manuevers) plus since you are small you can use all those 'make jump check deal extra damage against larger foe' manuevers from tiger claw because most everything you fight will generally be medium or bigger.
Operation_Shoestring 10-17-07, 05:58 AM	Eberron Halflings ride VELOCIRAPTORS (Clawfoot Dinosaurs). They get boomerangs (remember, bonus to thrown weapons) and reach-sickles (trip weapon) as racial weapons. AWESOME. Grabbing swarmfighting could help if you have other small folk around, also consider grabbing some of the anti-giant feats and having the party Mage reduce person on you.
Ecalsneerg 10-17-07, 11:50 AM	Weapon Finesse is a fighter feat. This may help character creation :p
Dog_O_War 10-17-07, 02:42 PM	Halflings make excellent ranged fighters. My suggestions; go pure fighter, taking E.W.P. harpoon (from Stormwrack). Focus on ranged weapons; quickdraw and rapid shot are essencial for this combo. Eventually you control the battle field by hindering everyones' (the enemies') ability to charge or run. With weapon specialization and the weapon masteries out of PHBII, you will pretty much always hit, and have a damage potencial higher than a barbarian with a great-axe (forcably removing a harpoon is quite painful). Try and get a str of at least 13 so you can take power attack, brutal throw, and the key feat power throw. Forget sneak attack; as good as that is, control of the fight overall is far more important. Also, take ranks in use rope (even if it is cross-class) to tye enemies off onto stronger, more weighty objects than yourself. Maybe even a dip into ranger for a few levels wouldn't be a bad idea (think a strong animal companion with the work trick to help pull harpooned opponents). I think I will go make one myself now....
RobbyPants 10-17-07, 04:03 PM	Weapon Finesse is a fighter feat. This may help character creation :p Of course, a small fighter specializing in light weapons is going to be doing 1d6 damage per hit, tops. Without some way to increase your per-attack damage (like Sneak Attack), a typical weapon-finesse-using halfling fighter won't be a damage dealer. Plus, when using light weapons, you can't Power Attack, which at mid/high levels is the majority of a fighter's damage. So, while Weapon Finesse will give a halfling fighter a net +2 to hit (given his racial adjustments), it will totally and utterly destroy his damage dealing potential.
The_Wrath_of_Talos 10-17-07, 04:16 PM	I'd also suggest a halfling out rider with a reach weapon if possible. Invest in a bag of holding and keep anything metalic in it, and see if your DM will let you have a rust monster for a mount. The reach weapon such as a spear will keep the spear tip away from your mount keeping it out of harms way and you can always test out a sling or shortbow for a ranged weapon.
JulesCARV 10-17-07, 04:27 PM	I believe there's a feat from Races of Eberron, "Talenta Warrior," which allows you to treat three Talentan exotic weapons (sharrash, boomerang, tangat) as martial weapons, and allows you to share other weapon-specific feats among the three of them (e.g. weapon focus, improved critical), and gives a bonus to using them in mounted combat too. I don't know if I'd take it as, say, a barbarian, but I think it's probably worthwhile for a fighter.
JarionSilverblades 10-18-07, 11:19 AM	One of the most insane PCs I ever played was a Halfling Monk, I had created him just for fun, turns out Halflings make wicked Monks. Positive: With their +2 Dex and Small size, they already get a +2 to AC, halflings gain a +1 with thrown weapons and slings, which covers some of the monk's weapons ( dagger, javelin, sai, shuriken, and sling). As for the halfling's speed of 20ft, the monk's speed bonus takes care of that by level 3. Negative: The only real disadvantage is the halfling's small size, it means they deal less damage with weapons and unarmed strike and are weak grapplers, but they do gain a +1 attack bonus because of their small size.
RobbyPants 10-18-07, 01:42 PM	but they do gain a +1 attack bonus because of their small size. Offset by their -2 Str. ;) The only way around this is with Weapon Finesse, and as a fighter (with no real menas to increase your per-attack damage), using finessable weapons is not going to deal much damage.
BW0222 10-18-07, 01:55 PM	Leeroy, For a halfling fighter consider taking mounted combat and a riding dog. It immediately makes up for your reduced movement (in fact you are likely up to a 40) adds an extra attack and when barded often makes it hard to hit - especially with mounted combat. The dog is fine for most dungeons. If you don't have a high strength, use thrown spears, javelins, alchemists fire, or tanglefoot bags. Use hit and run type attacks - you can move before and after when using ranged attacks while mounted. Consider ride-by-attack so that you can attack folks and keep moving past them -- forcing them to move past other party members (or away from the fight) to get to you.
Operation_Shoestring 10-18-07, 04:04 PM	Master thrower. Eberron halflings are practically made for it.