Homebrew halfling subrace -- check me for any oversights?

[FrancisBean]

I'm adding a new halfling subrace to a campaign world, and want to make sure I've got the power level about right. These are my "Bayou Hobbits," with a taste for rivers and cajun cuisine. Have I got them over- or under- powered, or am I about right? Any gross exploits I'm missing? (I don't think anybody would interpret "wading in water" as "standing in a puddle," but that sort of thing is why I'm asking.)

New Halfling subrace -- receives all the usual benefits of base Halflings from the PHB.

Riverfolk
This offshoot of the Halfling race has spent centuries traveling the inland waterways, lakes, and swamps of the world. While other halflings settled in pastoral farmlands, many Riverfolk lived their entire lives on stout barges and comfortable rafts-borne houses, or settled on tiny islets in lakes or fens.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Hunter of the Streams. You have proficiency with the net and spear. Also, being within 5' of a hostile creature does not impose disadvantage on your attacks with the net.
River Traveler. You have proficiency in Vehicles (Waterborn), limited to freshwater vessels.
Child of the Lake. You have a swimming speed of 25.
Lurker in the Fen. You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks while swimming or wading in water.

[BarneyBent]

Maybe change “in water” to “swimming or wading” just to be safe? Could also give them proficiency in the spear and net just for flavour.

[FrancisBean]

Maybe change “in water” to “swimming or wading” just to be safe? Could also give them proficiency in the spear and net just for flavour.

I like it. Although if I'm giving anybody proficiency with the net, it's coming with the second bullet of Crossbow Expert for free, restricted to nets -- the fact that you basically can't throw a net without disadvantage always struck me as one of the dumber rules interactions. (Short range ends at 5'; all ranged attacks within 5' are at disad, anything over 5' is long range for a net and at disad.)

[CTurbo]

I like it. Seems reasonable when compared to the other Halflings. What about giving them a minor hold breath under water boost? Too much?

[robbie374]

Cool idea! It looks balanced. Because some game features modify walking speed, I would change your swimming speed from "you have a swimming speed of 25" to "you have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed". This way your swimming speed scales with your walking speed.

[Vorpalchicken]

I'd actually set their swimming speed at 20. It will give them advantages over most landlubbers but set them apart from truly aquatic races.

How about no penalty for using a net while in melee range?

[FrancisBean]

What about giving them a minor hold breath under water boost? Too much?

I waffled on that very point -- I think it's near the line, but it's such a small point either way that I don't think it could matter.


Because some game features modify walking speed, I would change your swimming speed from "you have a swimming speed of 25" to "you have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed". This way your swimming speed scales with your walking speed.

Huh. That's actually why I didn't phrase it that way -- I was worried about something like a Riverfolk Mobility Monk being able to swim rings around every aquatic creature short of a water elemental. I think I'd rather keep them less supernatural, at least as a subrace.


How about no penalty for using a net while in melee range?

It was already in there. Ninja'd you. :)

[Naanomi]

So... a Beastmaster riding a giant crab?

[TregMallin]

So... a Beastmaster riding a giant crab?
Naw... gotta be a giant crawdad.

[Naanomi]

No free proficiency in Brewer’s Tools ‘what fer tha moonshine?’

[Ganymede]

You don't need a mechanic for every single aspect of their background; this subrace is absolutely cluttered.

All they really need here is the swim speed. Everything else is fluff that should be relegated to the descriptive paragraph.

[FrancisBean]

You don't need a mechanic for every single aspect of their background; this subrace is absolutely cluttered.

All they really need here is the swim speed. Everything else is fluff that should be relegated to the descriptive paragraph.

I think I've got to push back a little. I sort of think the stat bump is necessary given that every subrace in the game gets one. Dumping the proficiencies, I could see, since those often come from the base race. But the rest is just following the base pattern laid out in all of the rest of the subraces: a stat bump and a more substantive subracial feature. (I see the Stealth advantage as the substantive feature, not the swim speed!)

My actual design model for the pattern was the Wood Elf: a stat bump, a few proficiencies, a movement tweak, and a thematic feature. What I've got here seems mostly in line with the detail level from the books. Do you consider the Wood Elf subrace to be cluttered? That's a real question, not snark (#$%^! lack of Internet tone!), and it'd be a perfectly reasonable point of view. It's easy to pick a poor book exemplar to use in crafting homebrew.

[Ganymede]

To clarify, I was fine with the stat bump.

A stat bump and swim speed follows the halfling subclass format (or a stat bump and stealth boost).




My actual design model for the pattern was the Wood Elf: a stat bump, a few proficiencies, a movement tweak, and a thematic feature.

You should be following the format for halflings, not elves.

[FrancisBean]

A stat bump and swim speed follows the halfling subclass format.

You should be following the format for halflings, not elves.

In other words, your concern is that the base Halfling racials (Lucky, Brave, and Halfling Nimbleness) are strong enough that the subraces need a bit more care? Or that base+subrace leads to too many features to juggle? That makes sense either way. I was thinking that the base classes were all intended to be equivalent, so the subracial boosts should be as well

I'll mull it for a while. I think the power level is probably about right, but I find huge bushy rulesets to be an offense against players and DMs alike.

I'm thinking the swim speed and the stealth advantage should definitely stay (and probably be combined), but the proficiencies are, as you suggest, clutter. And much as I detest the "nets are always at disadvantage" rule interaction, this really isn't the place to express my irritation with it. I should just make it a blanket campaign house rule on nets, instead. :smallbiggrin:

[Ganymede]

I was thinking that the base classes were all intended to be equivalent, so the subracial boosts should be as well



Races as a whole are balanced, at least ostensibly. Some races have beefier subraces because the base race is leaner. Halflings, to contrast, have most of their beef in their main race.