Halfling Wizard

[cvannrederode]

So I have a player who is looking at creating a halfling wizard (who may or may not ride on the shoulders of an ogre barbarian, but that's beside the point...).

And he noticed something that prompted this question:

Is there a specific reason whey Halfling Marksmanship does not include Innate Attack?

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by cvannrederode

Is there a specific reason whey Halfling Marksmanship does not include Innate Attack?

Yes.

The things halflings are good with are physical projectiles affected by gravity, wind, etc. – things that obey the usual principles of ballistics. Jets, energy beams, withering gazes, strange floaty balls of energy, and the like obey mystical laws instead. Innate Attack is the skill of ritually "directing" such effects, not physically projecting them, which is handled by the spells themselves.

Strictly off the record: Halfling Marksmanship is meant to reflect the way Tolkien's hobbits were good at pitching stones (Throwing), and has been extended to pitching stones with a sling (Sling), as well as to things that seem vaguely like fun pub games that befit beer-swilling hobbits: tossing darts, knives, etc. Bow was added to make Halfling scouts interesting – with high DX and Silence, that seemed like a reasonable addition.

But you'll note the lack of Blowpipe, Bolas, Crossbow, Lasso, Net, Spear Thrower, and Thrown Weapon (Axe/Mace, Harpoon, Shuriken, and Spear), too. Halflings aren't supposed to be crack shots with everything ranged, just with a small subset of weapons. This excludes heavy "martial" weapons, sneaky "ninja" weapons, . . . and spells.

If you want halflings to be good with all ranged attacks – Blowpipe, Bolas, Bow, Crossbow, Innate Attack (all), Lasso, Net, Sling, Spear Thrower, Throwing, and Thrown Weapon (all) – increase the cost from 5/level to 10/level.

[Black Leviathan]

I like the idea of Halflings with Bolos more than Boomerangs. As fun as it is for my pint-sized Ghost Gator Barbarian to spring into the fight winging a boomerang at people Halflings are better scaled to something like a bolo that would make sense for them to use when hunting.

[Dalin]

Originally Posted by Black Leviathan

I like the idea of Halflings with Bolos more than Boomerangs. As fun as it is for my pint-sized Ghost Gator Barbarian to spring into the fight winging a boomerang at people Halflings are better scaled to something like a bolo that would make sense for them to use when hunting.

That sounds good to me. Based on Kromm's post, it seems like a GM could adjust the list to fit different cultural models. If the mix of weapons seem more powerful, adjust the price upward, maxing out at 10 point/level for all ranged attacks.

I could easily see adjusting this list to create a few different flavors of halflings in a world. (Why do elves get all the love?) Bolas halflings in one area, blowgun halflings in the jungle with the poison frogs, maybe even a thoroughly urban crossbow mafia. Even lasso halflings riding wild boars (or, say, acid spiders).

[tbone]

Originally Posted by Dalin

. . . blowgun halflings in the jungle with the poison frogs

Jungle halflings vs jungle horde pygmies. Now that'd be on my short (!) list of things worth seeing. (The horde pygmies would have to overwhelm with numbers, though; halflings are smarter and tougher.)

On the main topic: The explanation for why Halfling Marksmanship doesn't cover Innate Attack sounds fine. (And I like the suggestion to expand the trait to all ranged weapons for 10/level.)

But it would be fun if there were the option of actually throwing, not directing, Missile spells. Wizards who already know Throwing wouldn't have to learn Innate Attack (Projectile), and halflings could enjoy their bonus. There'd be drawbacks, though: range would limited by ST (not a good thing for halflings!), and I'd think the thrown missile would be subject to Parry, like any small thrown weapon.

Other details would probably need to be hammered out as well, so it's only a thought. Mainly, I just like the image of wizards actually throwing missiles like rocks or grenades!

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by tbone

But it would be fun if there were the option of actually throwing, not directing, Missile spells. Wizards who already know Throwing wouldn't have to learn Innate Attack (Projectile), and halflings could enjoy their bonus.

To do it with Innate Attack skill, just call it a feature of Halflings, to use Throwing I'd call it a Perk (or a Racial Feature if you want, it's really not worth the one point considering the distances some Missile Spells get).

There'd be drawbacks, though: range would limited by ST (not a good thing for halflings!), and I'd think the thrown missile would be subject to Parry, like any small thrown weapon.

Since a Fireball weighs the same as 24 angels dancing on the head of pin, I think you'll be happy... (in other words spells should be treated as being the minimum Weight Ratio, so STx3.5).

Also, I'd add "Unlimited Trained ST from Throwing/Throwing Art" to Halfling Marksmanship... or swap out the Reaction bonus for the Alternative Benefit: Add levels of Halfling Marksmanship to ST to calculate throwing distances.

Or do both to get Halflings raining down death from really far away.

Other details would probably need to be hammered out as well, so it's only a thought. Mainly, I just like the image of wizards actually throwing missiles like rocks or grenades!

Agreed...

[corwyn]

Originally Posted by cvannrederode

So I have a player who is looking at creating a halfling wizard (who may or may not ride on the shoulders of an ogre barbarian, but that's beside the point...).

that sounds like the Halfling wizard in my game. Well, the Barbarian is a human Ally and the halfling is reskinned (figuratively speaking) as a Raccoon folk, but you get the drift.

[DAT]

Originally Posted by cvannrederode

So I have a player who is looking at creating a halfling wizard (who may or may not ride on the shoulders of an ogre barbarian, but that's beside the point...).
...

Sounds like the Pixie Wizard in one of my games who rides on the shoulder of the party's Half-Ogre Knight tank. Their SOP is Pixie Wizard (who normally has Invisibility or Blur and Armor up, casts Great Hast on the Half-Ogre, before flying to the back of the party to hang with the Cleric, tossing flame jets or quick sunbolts along the way as needed.

With DX+3, the Pixie's Innate Attack would match the Halfling's DX+1 and Halfling Marksmanship +2. The only issue is the Pixie is more squishy than a Halfling.

[lachimba]

Originally Posted by DAT

Sounds like the Pixie Wizard in one of my games who rides on the shoulder of the party's Half-Ogre Knight tank. Their SOP is Pixie Wizard (who normally has Invisibility or Blur and Armor up, casts Great Hast on the Half-Ogre, before flying to the back of the party to hang with the Cleric, tossing flame jets or quick sunbolts along the way as needed.

With DX+3, the Pixie's Innate Attack would match the Halfling's DX+1 and Halfling Marksmanship +2. The only issue is the Pixie is more squishy than a Halfling.

But there are no pixie PCs in DFRPG.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by lachimba

But there are no pixie PCs in DFRPG.

Not RAW, but you can cook them up pretty easily ...