Halfling Race Guide: D&D 5e (2014)

Introduction

Small in stature, enormous in fortune. The Halfling is one of the most deceptively solid races in D&D 5e 2014, and the reason usually given is a single trait: Lucky. While other races offer stat bumps and situational abilities, the Halfling's core trait removes the worst possible outcome on every d20 roll, every session, for free. Add Halfling Nimbleness, two well-differentiated Player's Handbook subraces, and a natural fit with the Rogue, and you have a race that underperforms on paper and overperforms at the table.

This guide also puts numbers on Lucky, because it is easy to overrate. It covers the subraces added after the Player's Handbook (Ghostwise, Lotusden, and the dragonmarked halflings of Eberron) and the two Xanathar's feats a Halfling can take that most guides skip.

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Disclaimer

Options are rated using the following color system:

• ● Blue - Excellent. A defining feature. Take this whenever possible.
• ● Green - Good. Solid contribution. Worth choosing.
• ● Orange - Situational. Context-dependent. Discuss with your GM.
• ● Red - Poor/Avoid. Rarely useful or actively counterproductive.

Ratings assume optimized play at a typical tier 2 table (levels 5-10). Your table may vary.

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Racial Traits

● Lucky

When you roll a 1 on the d20 for an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll.

This is one of the strongest racial traits in the game, and it has no limit on uses. Rolling a 1 is the worst possible result, and the reroll can only match or improve it, so there is no risk. The trait applies to the d20 only: it can turn a missed attack into a hit, but it never rerolls damage dice.

● Brave

You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.

Frightened is a common condition in D&D 5e 2014, applied by dragons, undead, fiends, and boss monsters. Advantage on saves against it is most useful at tiers 3 and 4, where fear effects appear frequently.

● Halfling Nimbleness

You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.

A Small creature moving through the spaces of Medium and larger creatures has excellent positioning options. You can move through an enemy's space, reach a flanked ally, and escape from being surrounded. It does not prevent opportunity attacks, so pair it with Disengage when you move past an enemy's reach.

● Size: Small

Small creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls with heavy weapons.

Small size is mostly a limitation. Greatswords, greataxes, mauls, glaives, and heavy crossbows are off the table, which rules out the standard Great Weapon Master builds. Dexterity weapons and spells sidestep the problem entirely.

● Speed: 25 ft.

Five feet slower than most races. It rarely decides a fight, but it adds up on a melee character trying to reach a target. Rogues and Monks can Dash as a bonus action, and Mobile or Squat Nimbleness make up the difference for other classes.

● Ability Score Increase (+2 DEX)

A flat +2 to Dexterity puts you ahead of the curve for any Dexterity build from level 1. Initiative, AC, and attack and damage rolls with finesse and ranged weapons all benefit.

● Languages: Common + Halfling

Halfling is a niche language outside settings with large halfling communities, but it costs nothing else.

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What Lucky Is Worth in Practice

Lucky is often described as eliminating failure. The numbers are more modest, and they point to where the trait matters most.

A natural 1 comes up on 5% of d20 rolls. When it does, Lucky gives you a fresh roll with your normal chance of success. If an attack normally hits 60% of the time, Lucky raises that to 63% (60% plus 5% of 60%). A save you normally pass half the time rises from 50% to 52.5%. On any single roll, that is roughly a +0.5 bonus.

Three situations make it worth more:

• Death saving throws. A natural 1 counts as two failures, so Lucky turns the most dangerous result on the death save table into an ordinary roll.
• Advantage. With advantage, Lucky applies only if both dice show a 1, which is rare. It is most valuable on your ordinary rolls, not the ones you already have advantage on.
• Volume. The trait has no uses to spend. A Fighter or Monk making four attacks a turn triggers it far more often than a caster who rarely rolls attacks.

Treat Lucky as a steady floor on every roll rather than a reason to pick a class. The Lucky feat is a different and much stronger ability, three uses a day that let you roll an extra d20 on any roll you choose. A Halfling can have both.

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Subraces

● Lightfoot Halfling

+1 CHA. Naturally Stealthy.

Naturally Stealthy: You can attempt to hide even when you are obscured only by a creature that is at least one size larger than you.

Lightfoot is the stronger subrace for most builds. +1 CHA matters for social characters, Bards, Warlocks, and Paladins. Naturally Stealthy is the star feature: the ability to hide behind allied party members opens tactical windows that most classes cannot access without the Skulker feat. A Lightfoot Rogue who hides behind the party Fighter each turn and attacks from hiding gets advantage and Sneak Attack consistently.

• ● +1 Charisma: Useful for Bards, Warlocks, and social rogues.
• ● Naturally Stealthy: Exceptional tactical utility. Enables consistent stealth in combat without spending a feat.

● Stout Halfling

+1 CON. Stout Resilience.

Stout Resilience: You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance to poison damage.

Stout is the better choice if you plan to be in melee range regularly. Poison is one of the most common damage types from monsters, and advantage on saves against being poisoned blocks a condition that imposes disadvantage on your attacks and checks. +1 CON gives you more hit points and better concentration saves.

• ● +1 Constitution: More HP and better concentration saving throws.
• ● Stout Resilience: Poison resistance and advantage on poison saves form a meaningful defensive package at every tier.

● Ghostwise Halfling

+1 WIS. Silent Speech. Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

Silent Speech: You can speak telepathically to any creature within 30 feet of you. The creature understands you only if you share a language, and you can speak this way to one creature at a time.

Ghostwise is the Wisdom subrace. It suits Clerics, Druids, Monks, and Rangers, and Silent Speech lets a scout report back without breaking stealth. The telepathy is one-way: the creature cannot answer telepathically unless it has its own means.

● Lotusden Halfling

+1 WIS. Child of the Wood, Timberwalk. Explorer's Guide to Wildemount

Lotusden halflings come from the Greying Wildlands of Wildemount. They know the druidcraft cantrip and gain entangle at 3rd level and spike growth at 5th, each castable once per long rest with Wisdom. Timberwalk makes them hard to track and lets them move through difficult terrain made of nonmagical plants without extra cost. It is the strongest Halfling subrace for a Druid or Ranger, and spike growth is a strong control spell on any class.

● Dragonmarked Halflings

Eberron: Rising from the Last War offers two dragonmarks for halflings, each used in place of a subrace:

• Mark of Healing (+1 Wisdom): a bonus to Medicine checks, a free cure wounds, and an expanded list of healing spells for spellcasting classes. A natural fit for a Cleric or Druid.
• Mark of Hospitality (+1 Charisma): a bonus to Persuasion and cooking or brewing checks, hosting magic, and an expanded spell list. Suits a Bard or face character in an Eberron campaign.

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Ability Scores

The Halfling starts with +2 DEX, plus a subrace bonus:

DEX is your primary stat for most builds. Buy it at 15 to start at 17, and raise it to 18 with a half-feat or an ASI at level 4. Strength is irrelevant unless you are deliberately building against the race.

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Best Classes

● Rogue

The natural fit. Rogues depend on landing one attack per turn to deliver Sneak Attack, so Lucky's protection against a natural 1 on that roll matters more than on a class with many attacks. Halfling Nimbleness and Cunning Action combine for excellent positioning, and Lightfoot's Naturally Stealthy lets a Rogue hide behind an ally without a feat. An Arcane Trickster can put its next points into Intelligence once Dexterity is high.

● Bard

Lightfoot Halfling is one of the best Bard options. +2 DEX, +1 CHA, Naturally Stealthy, and Lucky on spell attack rolls and saving throws. Bards lean on Charisma, Dexterity for AC, and concentration saves, and Halflings cover the first two.

● Ranger

Dexterity and Lucky support a ranged Ranger well, and Small size doesn't hinder longbows. Stout adds Constitution; Ghostwise and Lotusden add the Wisdom the Ranger casts with.

● Fighter

Dexterity Fighters (Arcane Archer, or a Battle Master with a rapier or bow) work well, and a Fighter's many attacks trigger Lucky more often than any other class. Avoid Strength builds; Small size means disadvantage with heavy weapons.

● Monk

Dexterity and Wisdom drive Monk attacks and AC, and a Ghostwise or Lotusden Halfling covers both. Flurry of Blows gives Lucky plenty of rolls to work with, and Halfling Nimbleness pairs with Step of the Wind for strong mobility.

● Warlock

Lightfoot +1 CHA helps at early levels. Lucky on Eldritch Blast attack rolls and concentration saves is useful. Not optimal against Half-Elf for a Warlock, but functional for a stealthy, evasive Hexblade concept.

● Paladin

Lightfoot helps with Charisma, and Lucky helps Paladins land the hits they smite on. But Paladins typically want heavy armor, Strength, and heavy weapons, and Small size rules out the heavy weapons. A Dexterity Paladin with a rapier works but needs extra investment.

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Worst Classes

● Barbarian

Barbarians want Strength, heavy weapons, and Reckless Attack (which already grants advantage, so Lucky matters less). Small size blocks the greataxe and maul, the Barbarian's best weapons. The stat mismatch is severe.

● Cleric

Clerics want Wisdom, which Lightfoot and Stout do not provide. Medium armor has no Strength requirement, so a Dexterity Halfling Cleric can still reach a good AC, but heavy armor domains lose speed without Strength. Ghostwise, Lotusden, and Mark of Healing all fix the Wisdom problem, which makes a Halfling Cleric workable with those subraces.

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Best Feats

● Skulker

Requires DEX 13+.

Pairs perfectly with Naturally Stealthy. Skulker lets you hide when only lightly obscured, keeps a missed ranged attack from revealing your position, and removes disadvantage from dim light on sight-based Perception checks. On a Lightfoot Rogue, Skulker plus Naturally Stealthy makes you very hard to pin down.

● Second Chance

Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Halfling only.

+1 to Dexterity, Constitution, or Charisma. When a creature you can see hits you with an attack roll, you can use your reaction to force it to reroll. You can use it again after you roll initiative or finish a short or long rest. It suits a Halfling who expects to be attacked, and the +1 rounds out an odd score.

● Squat Nimbleness

Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Dwarf or Small race.

+1 to Strength or Dexterity, +5 feet of speed (which brings a Halfling to 30), proficiency in Acrobatics or Athletics, and advantage on checks to escape a grapple. A clean fix for the Halfling's slow speed.

● Resilient (Constitution)

Only Stout Halflings get a Constitution bonus, and concentration casters benefit from Constitution save proficiency. Resilient (CON) fills that gap and adds +1 CON.

● War Caster

An alternative to Resilient (CON) for casters who fight near the front: advantage on concentration saves and the ability to cast a spell as an opportunity attack. Excellent on Bard, Ranger, and Paladin Halflings.

● Alert

+5 initiative, you can't be surprised while conscious, and unseen creatures gain no advantage on attacks against you. Excellent for Rogues and Bards who want to act first.

● Mobile

+10 feet of speed fixes the 25-foot base, and after you make a melee attack against a creature you don't provoke opportunity attacks from it that turn. Solid on non-Rogue melee builds; Rogues already have Cunning Action.

● Bountiful Luck

A Halfling racial feat: when an ally you can see within 30 feet rolls a 1 on an attack, check, or save, you can use your reaction to let them reroll, and you can't use your own Lucky until the end of your next turn. No ability score increase. Situational; strongest on a support character who stays close to the party.

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Halfling vs. Other Small Races

Most Small races compete for the same Dexterity builds, so the choice usually comes down to what the race adds:

• Gnome: advantage on mental saves against magic and darkvision, with an Intelligence bonus. Better for an Arcane Trickster or Wizard; the Halfling is better for a Rogue who wants to hide behind allies.
• Monstrous races: the Goblin trades Lucky for Nimble Escape and Fury of the Small, which suits a caster or archer more than a Rogue. The Kobold trades it for Pack Tactics and a sunlight penalty.

The Halfling's lack of darkvision is its main weakness against these options. In a dungeon-heavy campaign, a party member with darkvision or a reliable light source matters more for a Halfling than for most races.

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Multiclassing Considerations

Lucky applies to every d20 roll regardless of class, so it keeps its value in any multiclass. Key dips:

• Rogue 1: Sneak Attack, Expertise on two skills, and Thieves' Tools proficiency: any Dexterity Halfling benefits.
• Bard 3: Expertise and Bardic Inspiration from level 1, and College of Lore's extra skills and Cutting Words at 3.
• Fighter 1-2: Action Surge, Second Wind, and the Archery fighting style (+2 to ranged weapon attacks). Any ranged Halfling benefits.

Avoid builds that split your ability scores. A Dexterity Halfling multiclassing into a Strength-heavy class wastes its best bonus and runs into the heavy weapon penalty.

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Example Build: Lightfoot Halfling Arcane Trickster (Levels 1-10)

Race: Lightfoot Halfling | Class: Rogue (Arcane Trickster) | Background: Criminal

Ability Scores (Point Buy): STR 8, DEX 15 (+2 = 17), CON 14, INT 13, WIS 12, CHA 10 (+1 = 11)

Stat priorities: DEX, then INT, then CON. Hide behind an ally with Naturally Stealthy and Cunning Action, then attack with advantage for a reliable Sneak Attack. Magical Ambush gives a creature disadvantage on its save against a spell you cast while hidden. Skulker at level 10 keeps you hidden after a missed ranged attack.

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FAQ

How much is Lucky worth?

It rerolls the 5% of d20 rolls that come up 1, which is worth about +0.5 on a typical roll. It has no limit on uses and matters most on death saves.

Which subrace is better, Lightfoot or Stout?

Lightfoot is generally stronger for most builds because Naturally Stealthy is uniquely useful and +1 CHA opens social play. Stout earns its place on Dexterity martials who get hit frequently.

Can Halflings be effective Fighters or Paladins?

Dexterity Fighters work well. Paladins are harder because Small size rules out heavy weapons, but a Lightfoot Dexterity Paladin is workable.

Does Lucky apply to death saving throws?

Yes. A natural 1 on a death save counts as two failures, and Lucky lets you reroll it.

Does Lucky reroll Sneak Attack damage?

No. Lucky only rerolls the d20 of an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.

How does Naturally Stealthy interact with Stealth proficiency?

Naturally Stealthy lets you attempt to hide when obscured only by a creature one size larger. Stealth proficiency adds your proficiency bonus to the roll, so you can hide behind your Fighter ally mid-fight.

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Final Notes

The Halfling is a race that rewards patient, tactical play. Lucky isn't flashy and its effect on any single roll is small, but it never costs anything and never runs out. The design lesson the Halfling teaches is that raising the floor on every roll is worth more than it looks.

Lightfoot is the stronger pick for the vast majority of builds, and a Lightfoot Rogue is one of the strongest race-class pairings in the Player's Handbook. Stout suits Dexterity martials who take hits, and Ghostwise or Lotusden open up the Wisdom classes. Across the class lineup, the Halfling delivers quiet, reliable value.