The Halfling’s Fiter Guide

THE HALFLING WARRIOR COMPENDIUM

 

Hello, my name is Rupu Bosenberry, a halfling pole-arm swinging warrior. I have gotten quite a few requests for advice as of late about being a halfling warrior and what all is involved, so I have decided to put some thoughts down on paper to help those out who want to do something different from the masses. No reason why all the wizard schools should scoop up all the young halflings out there. My family includes a titled cleric and a titled sorcerer so I feel like I’m pretty well rounded as far as experience in what works in the lands and what doesn’t. I want to make perfectly clear that everything here is my opinion. This is definitely not the "only" or "perfect" advice on this topic. At the end of this guide I will list quite a few others you could look up next time you are in the lands for further advice (might cost you a tart or two though)

 

The Halfling Race as a Warrior

 

I am sad to say that I have begun to loathe reading warrior guides. In most guides I never seem to make it past the section where race is discussed. Now I understand most people writing warrior guides don’t know much about being halflings except they have a huge penalty to their strength, so I try not to toss the guide into the trash unless they come right out and say: halfling+warrior=joke (you wouldn’t believe how many do). I have never read a warrior guide that didn’t either discourage the halfling race or forget to mention it. The greatest warrior ever to walk the lands was a halfling (Talbot Dabbins). If it wasn’t for Talbot then the landing would be no more. If you would like to read about Talbot, Simutronics has his story listed in the information section under history on their website. In my opinion, halflings make the best warriors, period. Let me tell you why. Most warriors usually don’t have a problem killing creatures. The problem seems to be staying alive long enough to finish the job. The main and just about only reason why no one chooses a halfling as a warrior is because of their strength penalty (-20 bonus). The strong points of halflings more than outweighs that strength penalty. Halfling strong points are their dexterity (+15), reflexes (+10), and constitution (+10). The high dexterity and reflex gives then the ability to obtain a huge RT bonus. Not many can wear full plate with a 5 second RT in their teens, ambush with a claidhmore in 5 seconds, or swing 2 morningstars at once with any kind of speed. Guess what, a halfling can do all of these. With Enchanted weapons more available now, certain society’s giving offensive bonus’s, warrior guild skills, and even the future lowering of many older creatures DS (as per GM Banthis in the recent archery forum) the idea of Halfling’s having offensive problems is an ignorant one. Rupu’s AS at age 17 was 213 and he hunted Warfarers (25), Troll Chieftains (27), and Figs (30 something) in icemule, all with ease. Halfling’s being so dexterous makes them the best archers, climbers, swimmers, and maneuver attack dodgers. I haven’t met a warrior yet at Rupu’s age that Rupu couldn’t out hunt, out last, or out-survive unless it was another halfling who is also well trained.

STATS

Try to get at least a 630 total roll before the class bonus’s are added in. If you have problems doing this email me and I will send you directions on how to set up an auto-roller. You should aim for 1 number high in the 90’s, 3 in the 80’s, 3 or more in the 50’s with no 30’s if possible and definitely no 20’s. From the raw rolls before class bonus’s (+10 to Strength and Constitution.) here’s how I believe the stats should be placed and why:

    1. Aura: 95+. Needed for both physical and mental training points, spirit, and mana. (spirit and mana are important for certain societies)
    2. Discipline: 85+ physical and mental training points
    3. Reflex: 80+ DS/RT, physical training points. Reflex usually doesn’t rise as fast as strength or constitution for warriors, however as a halfling it will rise faster than any other race except elves.
    4. Strength: 80+ (should end up in 90’s after warrior bonus) AS, encumbrance, physical training points. Need it to start in the 90’s to avoid a negative penalty which can be a nightmare as a warrior. Also a halfling warrior’s strength will rise slower then any other race, another reason to have it start up in the 90’s.
    5. Dexterity: 58-60 RT, aids many maneuvers and dodges, physical training points. It’s OK to start this lower than the other physical stats because the huge bonus (+15) you get and it actually rises pretty fast compared to other warriors (faster than any other race)
    6. Constitution: 55+ (65+ after warrior bonus) hit points, physical training points. Will rise very fast and halflings get a good bonus (+10).

After these six stats you really have a choice depending on your goals and train of thought. If you are concerned with TD then you probably want to put wisdom next (wisdom will rise very slow but you can’t afford to place it any higher because of the expense of physical training points), if you want to gain experience faster then logic and intelligence should follow. If you just want to maximize your mental statistic growth then go with: charisma, wisdom., logic, and finally intelligence. Rupu went with logic, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma.

Training

I believe that currently there are 4 very viable training paths for a halfling warrior, and 2 other paths that may be of interest to take a look at. Here are the first four paths:

  1. Two-handers (Halflings do great with claidhmores, especially aiming attacks, nothing like being able to aim a claidhmore with only a 5 second swing!)
  2. Pole-arms (The Lance is incredible and has the highest damage factor in the lands, it also is the slowest weapon in the lands which means most races have to shy away from them (not halflings though). You also have some one-handed poles which will let you get out the old shield for some extra DS during a tight spot.)
  3. 2 Weapon Combat (Another beautiful thing to watch. Most races are sitting ducks if they try to swing 2 morningstars at one time because of the excessive round time, once again the halfling does OK here. I prefer blunts over edged because of the base damage factor of the morningstar which is the highest in the one-handed category )
  4. Brawling/ Voln-fu (Halflings do excellent with Voln-fu. If you like undead this is a viable option, although it kind of limits hunting to undead.)

Here are the skills I believe you should train in every year forever. This list will maximize you defensive reduction which is very beneficial. After seeing some of the hits that people like Berr, Gaq, and Lurch have taken and lived it has made me a believer. And since redux wasn’t around when they started their careers so long ago, it’s possible if you maximize your training that you can achieve their level of redux at a much younger age, therefore have the ability to survive and hunt that much more effectively.

Every year forever:

2X Armor (keep training forever even after you reach 260, being over-trained also helps in reducing round time from encumbrance which can be a problem as a halfling)

2X Shield

2X CMs

1X Climbing

1X Swimming

2X Physical Training

If you go the 2 weapon combat route then:

2X Double Weapon Use and

2X Blunt or Edged

If you go the voln-fu route:

2X Brawling

Otherwise:

2X Two-handed weapons or Polearms

When you start having training points left over I suggest getting:

1X Ambush

1X Multi-opponent combat (goes toward redux and certain GMs have advised people to start training in it for the future)

After these skills its up to you, Rupu decided to get a 3rd Armor in at this point until his skill reaches 260. At that point he will probably move to a 3rd Physical Training.

A 5th training option is to go with a one-hander with heavy shield and armor usage. According to the warrior guru GM Kuromaku (who seems to be getting things done quite effectively) a shield type of attack (maybe to stun or knockdown) will be added into the guild which would help make the warriors who use one handers without ambush viable. Depending on your dexterity/reflex statistics you should be wearing full plate with a 5 second round time around hitting Lord/Lady and be able to wade deep into battle with far less fear of getting hurt than most warriors your age.

A training regimen would look something like this:

3X Armor

3X Shield

2X CMs

2X Blunt or Edged (once again I prefer blunts)

2X Physical Training

after these skills if you have leftover training points (or once you start to get extra training points) try to get:

1X Ambush

1X Swimming and Climbing (alternate until you can get both each year)

Finally a 6th possible option would be to go with archery or thrown weapons. Personally I think rogues and archers are a better choice for these weapons, but this is an option. I will not offer advice on this path as my experience as a warrior archer is non-existent. I would recommend however looking up and speaking to Lord Mannimark, who is an extremely effective and successful halfling warrior/archer.

 

Guild

As far as guild skills go I recommend berserking as your primary skill, it will allow you to raise your AS at higher ranks, and swing those heavy weapons/2 weapons while encumbered and wearing full plate at only 5 seconds. If you go the one-handed/ one-weapon route then I think warrior tricks would be the way to go because of the shield attack that could get implemented. Warcry is a great secondary skill to complement either of the above paths, it will also raise your AS. Another great skill to learn is tackling. Because of our short size

we cannot aim for most creatures necks and heads. Tackling a critter down to the ground and following up with a devastating head or neck shot is a good path to dealing out death.

Hunting Areas

Here is what Rupu hunted and plans to hunt at different ages:

0-1 Rats in the Catacombs in landing

2-5 Hobs

6-10 Manticores and Thracks

11-14 Krolvin Warriors and Mercenaries in River’s Rest

16-24 Warfarers and Troll Chieftains in River’s Rest. (Would hunt figs in icemule or centaurs outside ST if they weren’t so scarce. Also hunting is limited for Rupu because his weapon (lance) punctures)

25-27 Darkstone

28 Figs in MC

after this there are quite a few options out there, especially since the gods are constantly working on new areas/ critters.

Only thing I would have done different between ages 1-10 would have been to move to River’s Rest right away. Most hunting areas there are under-hunted and the people there seem to be the nicest I have ever met.

 

References

Guides: I don’t normally recommend to many guides. Usually most guides will have something in them that is way off base or incorrect and I don’t like giving a disclaimer to every guide I recommend. As far as warrior guides goes the best I have read is kind of old. It is the "Two-handed warrior guide". You can find it on Simutronics website under info/player uploaded guides/ warrior guides.

Knowledgeable Adventurers:

Halfling warriors: Both Lord Mannimark (Archer) and Lord Murgin (Voln-Fu and Polearms) have a wealth of information you could probably wrest out of them for a tart or two. Both are excellent halflings to get to know.

Other Warriors: Lord Lurch comes to mind. Although him and I have never met, I have listened closely to much he has written and said and have been very impressed with his knowledge. Lord Lackenberge is another warrior who has much wisdom.

Pole-arm Users: Lord Amnam- I have known since being a wee halfling lad. Few in the lands are as knowledgeable about pole-arms as he, except maybe Lord Shadowdragon who is my second recommendation.

Thanks

 

I would to thank my family in RL: Lady Vallara (wife), and Lord Dreade (brother), Family in the lands: Lady Citiara (sister), Lady Maliestra (sister), Lord Murgin (Cousin), and Tanlen (Cousin). I would like to give a special thanks to the first friend I ever made in the lands, Lady Gravena. If not for her taking the time to answer endless questions it is possible I would’ve been too frustrated and confused to keep returning to the lands.

I hope this guide has helped out someone/ somehow. If you ever want to talk about halflings or warriors, hunt or anything else please look me up in the lands or email me at jennalea4@aol.com Thanks