Halflings vs. Gnomes

[mefdinkins]

I have been playing my halfling rogue a lot and everyday I regret not rolling as a gnome. Why lord why did I do this to myself? Was it min/max stats that mattered in Kunark that mean shit in 2017? Was it a XP bonus, even though I've dinged 61 a bajillion times?! WHY LORD WHY AM I A GOD DAMN halflingg?!?

Is this racist?

[jakerees]

Delete and reroll

[mefdinkins]

If I could transfer all my no drop items from my halfling to a rogue, I would for sure.

[mefdinkins]

I do think mini-skele or shrunk barb is funny too but yes Dald life is cruel out here.

[Lammy]

At least you wised up. Be thankful for that.

[Phenyo]

Barbarian. Slam is the best racial boon for interrupting casts when you don't have enough melee push. Doesn't even matter that it shares cd with bs.

[Lhancelot]

Just reroll a gnome.

After you get to lvl 20-30 either you will fall in love with it and be happy or find it a waste of time and not as great as you originally thought and go back to your halfling.

[mefdinkins]

Just reroll a gnome.

After you get to lvl 20-30 either you will fall in love with it and be happy or find it a waste of time and not as great as you originally thought and go back to your halfling.

Can't you see I'm transracial, this is an identity crisis!! Plus I already re-rolled 60 human monk to iksar... that was a real struggle. As I was re-doing blacksmithing and pottery I almost killed myself.

[skarlorn]

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. Fettuccine Alfredo has always been a special halfling to me. I enjoyed watching the fettuccine sauce spill out of his pockets and the noodles get tangled in his little beard during Sky Raids.

But honestly, rogue is the worst class available to halflings. Think about the Historic halflings, very few of them were actually rogues.

Frodo - Paladin. Mercy, honor, armor, and a bright sword. Eventually foreswore killing to preserve integrity of his soul against weight of the Ring.

Samwise Gamgee - Warrior with min/maxed baking and gardening skills (nothing better for guerilla warfare than a self-sustaining warrior class). EQ Berzerker rage is modeled after Samwise's zerker rage while fighting Shelob. His crippling blows and immunity to fear inspired the creation of Filbus Furyfoot

Meriadoc Brandybuck - Warrior of Noble birth, is noted for fighting bravely in Moria when other hobbits are afraid; Pippin recalls Merry cutting off the hands and arms of several Uruk-Hai during their capture near the Falls of Rauros.

Peregrin Took - Pippin was the only rogue halfling to accompany the Fellowship. He had some skill with magical devices (didn't reveal too much to sauron via palantir), more agile (crossed rope bridges of Lothlorien easily), and was mainly responsible for him and Merry escaping the Uruk-Hai at the edge of Fangorn. You might argue that Pippin multi-classed into warrior; however, I disagree. He wore MAIL armor and a custom crafted helm with plate graphics. In battle outside the Gates of Mordor, he clearly uses a Sneak Attack do defeat a Troll Captain. However, Pippin is then struck down due to his rogue's small stamina pool

Finally, we can conclude our criticism of the halfling as a rogue class by a brief look at the most famous halfling rogue of all time:

BILBO BAGGINS - Thief, burglar, or wielder of overpowered artifacts? Bilbo's failures as a rogue craft the arc of the Hobbit. He fails to steal mutton from the trolls. He only survives his trial in the goblin tunnels due to racial bonuses to sneak and hide (had he been a human rogue he would have needed skill to survive). In reality, the only reason Bilbo succeeded as a rogue is because he had a powerful enchanted sword of Gondolin and the One Ring which blessed him with invisibility. His racial bonuses to sneak and hide carried him when he went AFK and lost his party in the Misty Mountains, and then from that point on he barely relied on skill to be a successful rogue at all.

The metaphor that Tolkien was trying to draw was that halfings are ideally suited warrior, cleric, and druid classes because their racial bonuses to sneak and hide give a massive advantage to those classes. Halfling rogues, while initially looking good on paper, are actually very weak in the long run due to the fact that they always get their big bellies stuck on narrow doors and then their brass buttons pop off and litter the ground and suddenly all the goblins know where you are.

[Muggens]

Great post^

If straying away alittle from EQ, I would argue the point of morale also, where the "best" rogues would often be of an evil alignment, allowing them to be more unrestraint in their actions(such as stealing and stabbing people in the back). The adventures of Bilbo was more or less placed upon him via his friendship to Gandalf, who infact introduced him as a burglar to the dwarves. The role of Rog being appointed to him. (because he is small)
Halfings being nonadventurous and goodhearted are perhaps not suited to be cold blooded rogues.

[Nagoya]

I understand your feels bro. My highest level took, the namesake of my forum handle, is a halfling druid, and I can't play her because of how ugly and pointless she looks like even though in all reality I love playing a druid and I would rather be playing Nagoya than yet-another-alt ;A; if only she was a human or half-elf I'd play her. But there I am rerolling every gnome I can cause Gnomes are clearly the best race of high fantasy ever created. Halfling are pathetic and ridiculous.

[skarlorn]

Never set foot in Rivervale again Nagoya or I will fucking murder you

[Nagoya]

I might actually play her again just to go farm the Rivervale guards and NPC and ruin my faction with this shithole!

(Actually I love Rivervale hehe - it is pretty much the only reason I started a halfling in the first place ^^;)

[Knowmercy]

I have been playing my halfling rogue a lot and everyday I regret not rolling on as a gnome wizard. Why lord why did I do this to mywizard? Was it min/max greed that mattered in velious ? that mean hafling little shit in 2017. Was it a flowing thought bonus, even though I've dinged 61 MR a bajillion times?! WHY LORD WHY AM I A GOD DAMN halflingg theif?!?

https://i.imgur.com/A3zNVXw.jpg

this racist

FTFY

[Cecily]

Great post^

If straying away alittle from EQ, I would argue the point of morale also, where the "best" rogues would often be of an evil alignment, allowing them to be more unrestraint in their actions(such as stealing and stabbing people in the back). The adventures of Bilbo was more or less placed upon him via his friendship to Gandalf, who infact introduced him as a burglar to the dwarves. The role of Rog being appointed to him. (because he is small)
Halfings being nonadventurous and goodhearted are perhaps not suited to be cold
blooded rogues.
I prefer my rogues chaotic neutral. It lets me follow my fickle heart whichever way my whims compel me.

[skarlorn]

Dwarf rogue worked well for me robbing many Hard working people of their loots. God bless eq and Sirken for not banning me when HHk groups reported me for taking their ears. Props to cecily and SNEAKSY as rogue inspirations. Do not roll halfling rogue.

[Cecily]

Female halflings are pretty cute, but I was so disappointed on live when a rogue named Saia had her dark elf illusion drop and she turned out to be a midget.

[Kushie]

gnomes?

[Jimjam]

Female halflings are pretty cute, but I was so disappointed on live when a rogue named Saia had her dark elf illusion drop and she turned out to be a midget.

You missed the underlying narrative that was forged.

*assumes a position of convenient height*

[mefdinkins]

Zerious server best gnome rogue. Such a hero.

[trite]

I have been playing my halfling rogue a lot and everyday I regret not rolling as a gnome. Why lord why did I do this to myself? Was it min/max stats that mattered in Kunark that mean shit in 2017? Was it a XP bonus, even though I've dinged 61 a bajillion times?! WHY LORD WHY AM I A GOD DAMN halflingg?!?

Is this racist?

maybe they'll put the sleeper back to sleep at some point and gnome masks for everyone

[Gozuk]

My Rogue is a Halfling as well and I too have dealt with some on and off race selection regrets. Not because I wanted to be a Gnome but mainly because I love the way male Wood Elves look as Rogues. They look amazing in Velious chain armor... Especially the purple Kael turn in stuff.

As a Halfling male being around any Gnomes kinda makes you feel big and fat. Like an overgrown baby. This is where the illusion bug comes in handy for Rogues. If you cast an illusion as a Halfling, when you click it off or when it fades you will be the exact same size as a Gnome. I just cast a DE illusion and click it off right away whenever I'm going to run around as a Halfling.

Cloke

[Swiftyfist]

Halflings are in cahoots with the corruption in Highkeep! Highkeep Funds terrorists (freeport militia) which in turn corrupts Qeynos...We should raid rivervale!
as for gnomes....UNTZ, they tinker so there cool with me!

[Swiftyfist]

Only filbus has the info on the corruption in rivervale! We want answers! We the eye patch human federation want to know the truth!

[skarlorn]

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. Fettuccine Alfredo has always been a special halfling to me. I enjoyed watching the fettuccine sauce spill out of his pockets and the noodles get tangled in his little beard during Sky Raids.

But honestly, rogue is the worst class available to halflings. Think about the Historic halflings, very few of them were actually rogues.

Frodo - Paladin. Mercy, honor, armor, and a bright sword. Eventually foreswore killing to preserve integrity of his soul against weight of the Ring.

Samwise Gamgee - Warrior with min/maxed baking and gardening skills (nothing better for guerilla warfare than a self-sustaining warrior class). EQ Berzerker rage is modeled after Samwise's zerker rage while fighting Shelob. His crippling blows and immunity to fear inspired the creation of Filbus Furyfoot

Meriadoc Brandybuck - Warrior of Noble birth, is noted for fighting bravely in Moria when other hobbits are afraid; Pippin recalls Merry cutting off the hands and arms of several Uruk-Hai during their capture near the Falls of Rauros.

Peregrin Took - Pippin was the only rogue halfling to accompany the Fellowship. He had some skill with magical devices (didn't reveal too much to sauron via palantir), more agile (crossed rope bridges of Lothlorien easily), and was mainly responsible for him and Merry escaping the Uruk-Hai at the edge of Fangorn. You might argue that Pippin multi-classed into warrior; however, I disagree. He wore MAIL armor and a custom crafted helm with plate graphics. In battle outside the Gates of Mordor, he clearly uses a Sneak Attack do defeat a Troll Captain. However, Pippin is then struck down due to his rogue's small stamina pool

Finally, we can conclude our criticism of the halfling as a rogue class by a brief look at the most famous halfling rogue of all time:

BILBO BAGGINS - Thief, burglar, or wielder of overpowered artifacts? Bilbo's failures as a rogue craft the arc of the Hobbit. He fails to steal mutton from the trolls. He only survives his trial in the goblin tunnels due to racial bonuses to sneak and hide (had he been a human rogue he would have needed skill to survive). In reality, the only reason Bilbo succeeded as a rogue is because he had a powerful enchanted sword of Gondolin and the One Ring which blessed him with invisibility. His racial bonuses to sneak and hide carried him when he went AFK and lost his party in the Misty Mountains, and then from that point on he barely relied on skill to be a successful rogue at all.

The metaphor that Tolkien was trying to draw was that halfings are ideally suited warrior, cleric, and druid classes because their racial bonuses to sneak and hide give a massive advantage to those classes. Halfling rogues, while initially looking good on paper, are actually very weak in the long run due to the fact that they always get their big bellies stuck on narrow doors and then their brass buttons pop off and litter the ground and suddenly all the goblins know where you are.

Quoting this bc its some of the best comparative hobbit analysis out there

[Lulz~Sect]

How about neither

Dwarfs if I had to be a littl person

[mefdinkins]

Barbarian. Slam is the best racial boon for interrupting casts when you don't have enough melee push. Doesn't even matter that it shares cd with bs.

When you click Barb Mask you can slam!

[Ket]

Halfling is clearly the best.

Ravenscale and crested helmet. sexy pajamas and goofy ass bucket helm. obvi.

[mefdinkins]

FTFY

Wizards are kewl for TL's. besides dat i'll be an in vogue rogue.

I also really appreciate Rivervale Hero Filbus's take on the halfling rogue. Fettuccine is more of a mischievous rogue, using his talents to get by. He's not some cold hearted monster assassin killing babies for a few gold coins. Fett is loved by Giants in Kael, Dwarves in Thurgadin, all of Chardok's inhabitants. He can be seen sharing a drink with the party goers in both Firionia Vie and the Outpost in the Overthere. Fett is just a guy trying to live life without being bothered by everyone else.

Fettuccine grew up on the wrong side of the JumJum stalks. As an orphan, he had to develop certain skills to make sure he would make it out of Rivervale alive. He knew there were only a few ways out - usually as a druid porting or cleric healing. He didn't want to become another statistic - a teen halfling caught up in that life murdered by orcs or goblins. Knowing that porting and healing weren't in the cards for him, he picked up a dagger made his way out to Misty Thicket. As Fettuccine matured he realized he could out damage some of the best of them and recognized that life would be a lot easier if he had a gang he could trust.

That's when he caught up with some real ballers like the famed wood elf Eratani. Fett proved his mettle by backstabbing some dragons. Awakened thought he was just there for the sake of adventure but they never realized it was dragons that killed Fettuccine's great grandfather PoppaLasagna. Fettuccine got his revenge, he helped his buddies line their pockets with fat loots, and he even got his share. Fettuccine was so sneaky, he once killed his friend King Tormax and traded in his head to his sworn enemy Lord Yelinak for a prized helmet.

Life was great in Velious for Fettuccine and he felt it may be time to settle down and start a family of his own. His long term relationship with Tunare was flourishing but Fettuccine's devil may care attitude and Tunare's hesitancy always meant things were undefined. Until one day, Tunare told Fettuccine she loved him forever but felt she would dishonor the gods by continuing to eat his butt. Fettuccine felt betrayed, in the midst of ass eating season, Tunare was going to leave him high and dry. He loved her but he understood he had to let her go. He was ready to move on with nothing but fond memories of Tunare's rocking titties.

Embarrassed by her indiscretion, knocking boots with a halfling, she sicked her Protectors of Growth on Fettuccine and sent them to assassinate him. Fettuccine, a master of the stealth arts, avoided detection until he could enter Plane of Growth with a team of hearty adventurers. He and his squad, Awakened, cleared the entire zone. Protector after protector was sent out to get Fett but his brothers and sisters in arms disposed of each wave quickly. They cleared her minions one by one and took Tunare down herself. Fettuccine kissed her on the forehead and said goodbye, he was finally rid of his "psycho ex." On his way out, he took the Massive Heartwood Thorn that Tunare planned on using to stab Fettuccine in the back.

A piece of Fettuccine died with Tunare. Since then he's longed for more belonging. He is working for favor of Dain Frostreaver IV and one day hopes to help defend them from the hordes of Kael giants. Most recently, Fettuccine has been embroiled in legal troubles. Suspensions have forced him to leave the one place he feels most comfortable, killing Dragons in NTOV. Yet, the judicial process has spoken and Fett must wander for new adventures outside of the raid scene. It's a tough place for a raiding rogue.

As Fettuccine reflects upon his history, avenging PoppaLasagna, his exploits with Tunare, protecting Velious from the wrath of Sleepers and Vulak - he can't help but get a tingle in his fuzzy lil feet. Growing up as an orphan in Rivervale, he wasn't expected to do much in this world but he's proud of playing a small role in shaping the history of P99.

[skarlorn]

I read every word of that beautiful tale

[mefdinkins]

https://i.imgur.com/mVxrheh.png