Modifying Halflings for intrinsic stealthiness

[Harbinjer]

I'll start by saying these are a very Tolkien-inspired Halfling: Gandalf thought Bilbo would make a good burglar in spite of zero experience.

So what I'm looking for is a way to model both the upside and the downside that Halflings get from being, shall we say, ignorable... and thus ignored.

The Upside is they can walk into and out of a room without being noticed. Or they can just stand there and blend into the scenery. For some reason Big People simply take no notice of them.

As written in Fantasy and Dungeon Fantasy 3 they have Silence (at 4 and 2, respectively), but this is the only nod to any stealth ability. And nothing is mentioned about the tendency of big people to sometimes overlook them as if they were invisible.

But It's not Invisibility, and its not Chameleon. I haven't found anything to describe what it is. My guess is it's a new Racial Advantage called "Hard to Notice" (or something), but I'm not sure I have a good handle on the cost and game mechanisms.

The Downside is how they are treated like children, condescended to, and constantly dismissed. Never mind the difficulty of finding gear and equipment in their size.

This is clearly a Social Stigma, and the closest fit from the book is Social Stigma, Minor at -2. That's a fair start, but it doesn't address the sort of humiliation a person might go through when they are treated as a child without actually being a child, or enjoying any of the benefits thereof.

Additionally, The Basic Characters book mentions that "in a backwards society" Dwarfism would carry a Social Stigma (though it neglects to go into the details) and I think Halflings would qualify for something similar in a typical TL3 Fantasy setting.

So here's my math:
For the upside, start with giving Halflings 1 level of Silence, unmodified (5 pts/level). The visual side of the effect I'm looking is closer to Chameleon (5/level) than Invisibility (40). Chameleon gives a +2 per level to Stealth when still (+1 when moving) with a penalty for clothing or held items. But for Halflings its unreliable... doesn't work at all on a roll of 9 or less... -50%... and only effective against "people" (not monsters or animals)... -10%... but ignores penalties for clothing, or the need for a hiding place... +20% for a total of 3 points/level. With 2 levels, not including Silence benefits, Stealth defaults at DX-1 or IQ-1 about 40% of the time.

So far so good?

For the downside... Let's start with a -2 point Social Stigma (childlike, can't out-grow it, with due respect if demanded)... for reaction rolls at -1. Except that 40% of the time (9 or less), if there are big people about its like you're not even in the room... That seems like its worth an additional -2 points. -4 Total.

Overall, 1 level of "Silence," (5) 2 levels of "Hard to Notice" (6) and "Social Stigma (Halfling)" (-4): 7 points (up to +6 on a Stealth roll when totally still, +3 when moving). Possibly some Halflings are even Harder to Notice and with a 3rd level of that makes the total 10 points for this aspect of Halflingism.

For the record: I'm aiming for "pretty dang stealthy" at default without going into "Ya, right... Halflings. I don't believe in things I can't see."

Please share your thoughts. Especially: Do I have the point costs right? Do I have the levels right? Am I completely off the rails?

Thank you in advance!

[Donny Brook]

I would not hesitate to give Tolkein hobbits Silence of at least 2. I think there is evidence of them being hard for animals and monsters to notice too, so I would lean toward building their hardness-to-notice with Obscure and modifiers to keep it personal rather than area effect.

[Ashtagon]

I'd say they have as a racial trait a one or more levels of Reputation (unthreatening). This would limit their ability to intimidate and impose their presence in confrontations, but equally, help them to disappear into the woodwork any time they need.

I wouldn't say Gandalf choose Bilbo because he was silent. If whatever Gandalf choose Bilbo for was a racial trait, then *any* hobbit would have done. No, Bilbo himself had skill relevant to being a "burglar". One of the traits that apparently attracted Gandalf to him was that he displayed an unusual level of interest in events and affairs outside of the Shire.

[AlexanderHowl]

I would instead give urban halflings Craftiness 4 and rural halflings Stalker 4 rather than any particular abilities. In the either case, it allows them to become part of the background of their environment.

[Glimmerman]

To survive in the midst of big folks Halflings could have some of these skills included in their racial templates: Stealth, Shadowing, Observation and Savoir-Faire (Servant). Honest Face or Forgettable Face perk could help, too. Also walking barefoot is a +1 to Stealth rolls.

[Astromancer]

Isn't there a CUTE advantage. It combines positive Appearance with being seen as unimportant and a little helpless. Tolkien often said that Hobbits looked like children to most of the other races. In some ways it's a social invisibility.

Tolkien also said that Hobbit stealth was magical. A small magic but a useful one.

[Culture20]

I believe Pitiable is what you mean. It doesn’t add any stealth, but would work for the child-seeming.

[Rupert]

One thing nobody has mentioned is that Halflings, being small, are already hard to see. If they are literally half the height of a human, they're SM-2, and any time they might possibly not be noticed you have to be about half the distance away from them that you would from an adult human before you'll notice them. If they're a big bigger than that (SM-1), this effect isn't as strong, but it's still there.

[tbone]

Originally Posted by Rupert

One thing nobody has mentioned is that Halflings, being small, are already hard to see.

Yes. The BS doesn't mention SM in its writeup of the Stealth skill, but the rules for Vision rolls list SM as a mod. So in a Contest of Vision vs Stealth, the halflings should benefit from a -2 on those Vision rolls.

The effect should be even greater if cover comes into play. That's a situational factor and GM call, not a predetermined mod, but cover that would give humans a bonus to hide might completely protect a halfling from sight.

I don't recall off-hand exactly what Tolkien said about Hobbits remaining hidden from Big Folk, but I would imagine he had in mind a combination of their quietness, their small "visual target" size, and their ability to easily hide behind things. (I think I've read that there was also some assumption on his part that Hobbits are also just naturally shy, wary of approaching Big Folk, and ready to hide quickly – again, something that wouldn't show up as a permanent bonus on Stealth, but would overall help keep them hidden.)

[Vaevictis Asmadi]

I'm also working on a (straight Middle-earth) Hobbit template.

Originally Posted by Harbinjer

For the downside... Let's start with a -2 point Social Stigma (childlike, can't out-grow it, with due respect if demanded)... for reaction rolls at -1. Except that 40% of the time (9 or less), if there are big people about its like you're not even in the room... That seems like its worth an additional -2 points. -4 Total.

Looks good to me. If it was just like Minor with multipliers like a Reputation, it could be:

-5 x 2/3 if they're treated like children by everyone but their own kind, or everyone except fellow Halflings and the Big Men of Breeland. = -3

-5 x 1/2 if most people treat them as adult halflings, but some Big Folk treat them like children. I might also use this for hobbit characters who aren't going on any adventures in foreign places, since most Big Men they encounter will be Bree-folk. = -2

Being ignored 40% of the time seems like the equivalent of a Bad reaction roll as the average, but almost comparable to Very Bad or Diastrous in a commercial transaction. -6 reaction, on 9 or less, would be x0.375, = -2.25. Add that to the -5 for Minor, and the multiply the whole -7.25 by the factor for the people affected.

So, -4 points for the whole stigma is right for "affects everyone but one large group of people", while -3 is right for "affects one large group of people". I think you could fairly knock it down to -5 and -4 since it doesn't go away when you grow older. Minor essentially has a built-in Potential Advantage (Not a Minor) worth less than 2.5 points, since it gives no benefit until the minor come of age.

Originally Posted by Glimmerman

Also walking barefoot is a +1 to Stealth rolls.

That would make sense. I can't find it in the Basic Set, though. Where's it mentioned?