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Burley
2008-02-15, 03:00 PM
This is, I'm sure, not an original joke, but: Half-Orcs and Half-Elves make sense. But, Halflings? What's a Ling?

So, I was thinking...A Half-Orc is (statistically) a slightly weaker version of an Orc. Same with the Half-Elf (only more weak...). So, I was thinking...What if we took the Halfling, removed any of the humany parts (as though to take them back to their Elf/Orc level), and "strengthened" their stats, What would we get?

I didn't post this in homebrew, because it's more of speculation than actual statting. But, feel free to stat the Ling if you need to.

Let's see who wins!

Irreverent Fool
2008-02-15, 03:04 PM
Removing the 'humany' parts from a halfling results in this:
http://sendthemcookies.com/s/images/pecan_pie_plate.jpg

Person_Man
2008-02-15, 03:17 PM
You can blame Tolkien. It's another word for Hobbit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobbit).

Voyager_I
2008-02-15, 03:24 PM
You can blame Tolkien. It's another word for Hobbit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobbit).

...isn't that basically a given for everything besides Gnomes?

Ascension
2008-02-15, 04:09 PM
...isn't that basically a given for everything besides Gnomes?

Tolkien didn't have constructs or Vancian magic!

...everything else, pretty much, yeah.

Ganurath
2008-02-15, 04:13 PM
Everything wrong with fantasy can be blamed on either Tolkien, WotC, or Dominic Deegan. Question is, who gets the most blame for orc culture and history?

Azerian Kelimon
2008-02-15, 04:13 PM
Tolkien didn't have ToB or, more importantly, Gazebo's of Doom.

Burley
2008-02-15, 04:22 PM
Woah, Woah, Woah.

I know what a halfling is. Saying a Hobbit is a halfling isn't what I want.
I'm sorry, but I was hoping to actually get some thing more...Ling like.
I got a pie and a bunch of Tolkien. Neither of which I mind, but not what I was hoping for.

Ling :: Halfling
Elf :: Half-Elf
Orc :: Half-Orc

So...try again? Please? We're looking for something called a Ling.

Artanis
2008-02-15, 04:25 PM
This is, I'm sure, not an original joke, but: Half-Orcs and Half-Elves make sense. But, Halflings? What's a Ling?

So, I was thinking...A Half-Orc is (statistically) a slightly weaker version of an Orc. Same with the Half-Elf (only more weak...). So, I was thinking...What if we took the Halfling, removed any of the humany parts (as though to take them back to their Elf/Orc level), and "strengthened" their stats, What would we get?

I didn't post this in homebrew, because it's more of speculation than actual statting. But, feel free to stat the Ling if you need to.

Let's see who wins!
Well you see, when a human and a small, spiky-dog-like Zerg love each other very much...

Chronos
2008-02-15, 04:27 PM
Tolkien didn't have constructs or Vancian magic!Tolkien did have animated statues. Ghan-buri-ghan's ancestors used them to defend their homes. And the Dwarves started off as constructs, until Illuvatar put the Secret Flame into them and gave them Existence.

Tolkien didn't have ToB or, more importantly, Gazebo's of Doom.Yeah, but the Gazebo of Doom isn't something wrong with fantasy. It's something very, very right.

Back on the original question, for a first approximation, we could take all of the modifications going from Human to Half-Ling and just double them. So a Ling would be Tiny, have +4 Dex and -4 Str, and get a racial +4 bonus to Move Silently, Climb, and Jump.

The Extinguisher
2008-02-15, 04:30 PM
Maybe it's a panda.

Burley
2008-02-15, 04:31 PM
Back on the original question, for a first approximation, we could take all of the modifications going from Human to Half-Ling and just double them. So a Ling would be Tiny, have +4 Dex and -4 Str, and get a racial +4 bonus to Move Silently, Climb, and Jump.

What about fluff? I can think of a lot of tinies... The racial bonuses are about that.
Feel free to throw in extra stuff. Think about all the things an Elf has that a Half-elf doesn't, or an Orc and Half-Orc.

Azerian Kelimon
2008-02-15, 04:34 PM
PAH! We all know Hobbits got changed into Gnomes! Halflings are the result of Frodo Ninefingers, not the average hobbit.

Godna
2008-02-15, 07:54 PM
Look up a zergling for they are frequently known as Lings

Cuddly
2008-02-15, 07:56 PM
It's an aberration.

http://www.serenadawn.com/NID-Hormagaunt2.jpg

Fax Celestis
2008-02-15, 07:58 PM
Tolkien didn't have ToB or, more importantly, Gazebo's of Doom.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/FaxCelestis/uhavagerddagazebo.jpg

The Extinguisher
2008-02-15, 08:09 PM
It's an aberration.

*snip the pic*

I take it they reatain a lot of their human qualities then?

TK-Squared
2008-02-15, 08:15 PM
http://www.buddytv.com/articles/Drawn-Together/images/ling-ling-3.jpg

That is a Ling (Ling).

Ashes
2008-02-15, 08:15 PM
A Ling Cod:
http://www.komar.org/faq/seward-fishing/alaska-ling-cod/ling-cod-2.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_ling

Ganurath
2008-02-15, 08:26 PM
Maybe it's half (Change)ling?

SurlySeraph
2008-02-15, 08:37 PM
Removing the 'humany' parts from a halfling results in this:
http://sendthemcookies.com/s/images/pecan_pie_plate.jpg

...
That is a pecan pie.
Pecan pie is the best edible substance on earth.

Next game, I'm totally playing a pecan pie Druid.

allonym
2008-02-15, 08:39 PM
A Ling Cod:
http://www.komar.org/faq/seward-fishing/alaska-ling-cod/ling-cod-2.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_ling

I just crapped my pants. :smalleek:

ShneekeyTheLost
2008-02-15, 08:41 PM
Sadly, you are under the misconception that a halfling is half-Ling. Unfortunately, this is not true. You see, the morpheme 'ling' is used in this context as a diminuative, saying 'smaller than'. In otherwords, calling someone a halfling is like calling someone less than half of a person, which can be a tremendous insult in some places.

Sadly, this moniker was landed on a race of individuals who were not noted for their physical size, nor were they really of a mind to complain about the name, so it kinda stuck. The true origins of the Halfing, therefore, remains largely unknown, as they claim to have been around first.

This concludes our discussion on xenoanthropology. Tune in next week for our special on Breeding Gone Bad, wherein we examine the tragedy that befalls when you try to breed a half-dragon, half-celestial with a half-infernal anthropomorphic feral whale.

Voyager_I
2008-02-15, 08:43 PM
It's an aberration.

http://www.serenadawn.com/NID-Hormagaunt2.jpg

http ://www. serenadawn .com/NID-Hormagaunt2.jpg

Hormagaunt successfully called. Nice try, but that ain't no Zergling.

...'course, that's quite a fine line we're treading...

Fax Celestis
2008-02-15, 08:46 PM
Sadly, you are under the misconception that a halfling is half-Ling. Unfortunately, this is not true. You see, the morpheme 'ling' is used in this context as a diminuative, saying 'smaller than'. In otherwords, calling someone a halfling is like calling someone less than half of a person, which can be a tremendous insult in some places.

Sadly, this moniker was landed on a race of individuals who were not noted for their physical size, nor were they really of a mind to complain about the name, so it kinda stuck. The true origins of the Halfing, therefore, remains largely unknown, as they claim to have been around first.

This concludes our discussion on xenoanthropology. Tune in next week for our special on Breeding Gone Bad, wherein we examine the tragedy that befalls when you try to breed a half-dragon, half-celestial with a half-infernal anthropomorphic feral whale.
So they're "smaller than half"?

ShneekeyTheLost
2008-02-15, 08:47 PM
So they're "smaller than half"?

That is what the name translates to, yes. half-ling, or less than half. This is why they are a Small race, wheras the Dwarves, also known for being shorter than average, are a Medium race.

Fax Celestis
2008-02-15, 08:49 PM
That is what the name translates to, yes. half-ling, or less than half. This is why they are a Small race, wheras the Dwarves, also known for being shorter than average, are a Medium race.

Mechanically, though, dwarves should probably be Small with Powerful Build.

martyboy74
2008-02-15, 08:55 PM
That hadn't been invented yet.

The Faceless
2008-02-15, 08:57 PM
Back on the original question, for a first approximation, we could take all of the modifications going from Human to Half-Ling and just double them. So a Ling would be Tiny, have +4 Dex and -4 Str, and get a racial +4 bonus to Move Silently, Climb, and Jump.

Tiny? Ooof, i really hope the human is the mother and not the other way around...

EvilElitest
2008-02-15, 08:57 PM
Everything wrong with fantasy can be blamed on either Tolkien, WotC, or Dominic Deegan. Question is, who gets the most blame for orc culture and history?

Tolkien is good, can't say for WotC, but nether deserve to be compared to DD
from
EE

Rayzin
2008-02-15, 09:04 PM
Hormagaunt's aint got the funny claws on back. (http://uk.games-workshop.com/tyranids/miniature-gallery/images/gaunt.jpg).

EvilElitest
2008-02-15, 09:24 PM
a ling is type of cheese, like Jedai
from
EE

ShneekeyTheLost
2008-02-15, 09:30 PM
a ling is type of cheese, like Jedai
from
EE

Is that why the Jedai are so Gouda?

EvilElitest
2008-02-15, 09:31 PM
Is that why the Jedai are so Gouda?

pretty much yeah
from
EE

Tura
2008-02-15, 10:07 PM
Sadly, you are under the misconception that a halfling is half-Ling. Unfortunately, this is not true. You see, the morpheme 'ling' is used in this context as a diminuative, saying 'smaller than'. In otherwords, calling someone a halfling is like calling someone less than half of a person, which can be a tremendous insult in some places.
...Almost true. Semantics ahoy!
A diminutive doesn't only (or always) mean "smaller than". Sometimes, it can be used as a derogatory term. For example, Tolkien refers to "Easterlings". They don't call that themselves of course, that's the term their enemies use. George Martin speaks of "lordlings", and that's how peasants refer to a lord's son or heir if they don't respect him very much.

On other occasions, a diminutive can on the contrary be used as a praise, or rather in order to show familiarity. That's why "Jimmy" sounds more familiar and cozy and warm than "James".

But what is common in the -ling thingy, regardless of use, is that it sounds traditional. It isn't part of the modern or urban vocabulary, it reminds you of villages and the days of yore. Perfect for a fantasy setting. Thus: halfling. :smallsmile:

Voyager_I
2008-02-15, 10:23 PM
Hormagaunt's aint got the funny claws on back. (http://uk.games-workshop.com/tyranids/miniature-gallery/images/gaunt.jpg).

That a Termagant, not a Hormagaunt. If you notice, I quoted the URL, which had the world Hormagaunt in it...

(yes, it's really spelled "gant". I don't know why...)

Rayzin
2008-02-15, 10:28 PM
Theres still no claws on back (http://uk.games-workshop.com/tyranids/miniature-gallery/images/hormagaunt.jpg)

EvilElitest
2008-02-15, 10:29 PM
edit- and that was a double post by mistake -

You can use the delete post function if you edit that post



Also, about the Easterlings, what about the Southrons, wouldn't they be called Southerlings
from
EE

Voyager_I
2008-02-15, 10:46 PM
Theres still no claws on back (http://uk.games-workshop.com/tyranids/miniature-gallery/images/hormagaunt.jpg)

It looks like it's from the oldschool art, when they didn't really know what the heck a Tyranid was actually supposed to look like. They've changed a lot since then (and thank god, those original models were ugly!). Also, a little artistic license doesn't change the fact that a little gaunt-sized 'Nid with claws is a Hormagaunt.


...On topic, yeah, "Halfling" doesn't mean "One half Ling" it's just a suffix that basically boils down to "little" or "partial", etc. It's already been taken further in depth by others, but it's suffice to say that there is no such thing as a Ling that makes babies with Humans.

Tura
2008-02-15, 10:47 PM
You can use the delete post function if you edit that post
Thanks. Corrected.

Also, about the Easterlings, what about the Southrons, wouldn't they be called Southerlings

It's not a math formula. A word you make up is good simply when it sounds good and has the right connotations.

John Campbell
2008-02-15, 10:48 PM
Well, you take two halflings, and a pot of sovereign glue...


Seriously, "-ing" is an Old English suffix that means something like "people" or "folk". Ęšel means "noble" (adj.) in Old English; ęšelingas are noble folk, princes. It gets used to describe blood ties, too... Alfred the Great, whose father was Aethelwulf, was called Ęlfręd Ęšelwulfing (before he became just Ęlfręd cyning). Still blood ties, but in a broader sense, there's Tolkien's Eorlings (fictional, but it's a real usage; Tolkien was, after all, a linguist who studied Old English in particular) who were the Rohirrim - the descendents of Eorl, Eorl's people. It got applied to placenames, too, named after the people that lived there... Reading, Arlington, etc.

And halflings? Well, they're the half-folk.

Tura
2008-02-15, 11:09 PM
Seriously, "-ing" is an Old English suffix that means something like "people" or "folk".
[...]
And halflings? Well, they're the half-folk.
Interesting. So, he just added the L to make it sound better? And that's how the -ling suffix got in the vocabulary (and taken up by George Martin etc)? Wasn't it ever in use before Tolkien?
I thought it was, but I can't remember where..
Oh wait, a dictionary!


-ling (1) suffix forming nouns
1. Often disparaging.a person or thing belonging to or associated with the group, activity, or quality specified:nestling; underling.
2. used as a diminutive:duckling.[Old English -ling, of Germanic origin; related to Icelandic -lingr, Gothic -lings]
-ling(2) suffix forming adverbs. in a specified condition, manner, or direction:darkling; sideling.[Old English -ling, adverbial suffix]

Caduceus
2008-02-15, 11:49 PM
Ah, this brings back memories. Of half-halflings, and how if a pair of half-halflings had children that turned out to be half-halflings as well, rather than a halfling and a human, one half-halfling could become a cannibal and eat his brother and mother, becoming a halfling-and-a-half. And don't get me started on the DOUBLE HALFLINGS!!!

ShneekeyTheLost
2008-02-16, 12:21 AM
Gee, maybe I ought to be a bit more obvious when speaking with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek... I had thought my nature channel-esque mention of the insane template additions would have been sufficent...

Aquillion
2008-02-16, 12:55 AM
"Halfling" refers to size, not to race. They're not officially related to any other race.

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-02-16, 01:02 AM
It's a joke, he was asking what a Ling was. As in, what, bred with a human, would give you half-lings. It was a joke post. :smallamused:

The sad part is, I post this unsure about whether any of you are serious.:smalleek:

Admiral Squish
2008-02-16, 01:28 AM
I'd make a ling a tiny feylike thing. Though that brings up mechanical questions of mating with something that small, and that is a dark and scary place, a place we should NEVER visit. I have a lodge there.

John Campbell
2008-02-16, 03:51 AM
It's a joke, he was asking what a Ling was. As in, what, bred with a human, would give you half-lings. It was a joke post. :smallamused:
Yeah, but the joke's been made so many times that it's funnier at this point to just play it straight.

Yami
2008-02-16, 07:52 AM
Yeah, but the joke's been made so many times that it's funnier at this point to just play it straight.

Hit the nail squarely on the head there my friend.

I say a Ling is a type of Dragon! That's it, a dragon that flies without wings!

Quick, give halflings dragon subtype and ungodly good racial feats!

mostlyharmful
2008-02-16, 08:19 AM
A Ling is nine feet tall with prodigious body hair and possessed of a disagreeable disposition..:smalleek: Anyone who thinks all genetics can be derived from closs examination of deformed peas is in for a shock.

Simon1382
2008-09-15, 04:27 PM
I picture a Ling kind of like a Whump. You know those little toys you got in school that were just balls of fur with eyes and big feet. I thinks it's stats should be double of a Halfling's plus increased land speed, possibly by rolling.

Eldariel
2008-09-15, 04:30 PM
This is a 'Ling. (http://images.wikia.com/starcraft/images/a/a7/SC_Ghost_Zergling.jpg)

Tengu_temp
2008-09-15, 04:34 PM
Common ling: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_ling)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Molva_molva.jpg/240px-Molva_molva.jpg

THREAD NECROMANCY:
http://seminars.torontoghosts.org/blog/media/blogs/new/necromancy.jpg

Destro_Yersul
2008-09-15, 04:36 PM
This is a 'Ling. (http://images.wikia.com/starcraft/images/a/a7/SC_Ghost_Zergling.jpg)

Best part is, they breed in pairs. So when you have one of them, it represents half your 'lings.

Frosty
2008-09-15, 04:40 PM
Did you fork over the 25000 gold for the True Ressurection on this thread?

mostlyharmful
2008-09-15, 04:43 PM
It walks again.... Braiiiinnsss... BBBBRRRAAAIIINNNSSS.....

Roland St. Jude
2008-09-15, 07:53 PM
Sheriff of Moddingham: Necromancy threads good. Thread necromancy bad. Please see the Forum Rules for a more sensible explanation.