Editing Halfling (section)

==Usage in fantasy fiction==

Halflings are found in some [[fantasy]] [[novel]]s and [[game]]s. In ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] occasionally used the term "halfling" to describe hobbits, since they are beings that are half the height of men. For instance, when the hobbit [[Pippin Took]] appears in a royal guard's uniform in [[Minas Tirith]], the people of that city call him the "Prince of Halflings".<ref>Tolkien, J. R. R. (1955) ''[[The Return of the King]]'', book 5, ch. 1 "Minas Tirith"</ref> The term has since been used in other fiction works as an alternate name for hobbit-like peoples inspired by [[Tolkien's legendarium]].<ref name="tyler2014">{{cite book |last1=Tyler |first1=J. E. A. |author-link=Tony Tyler |title=The Complete Tolkien Companion |page=77 |edition=3rd |publisher=Macmillan |year=2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DiuAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT77 |isbn=978-1466866454}}</ref>

Halflings have long been one of the playable humanoid races in ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' (D&D),<ref name="tresca2010"/> starting with the original 1974 Men & Magic,<ref>{{Cite book |last=by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/152411087 |title=Dungeons & dragons : fantasy role playing game : basic rules |date=1986 |publisher=TSR |isbn=0-9511444-0-5 |edition=3rd ed. / rev. by Frank Mentzer |location=Place of publication not identified |oclc=152411087}}</ref> where the term ''hobbit'' was used.<ref name="tresca2010" /> Later editions of the original D&D box set began using the name ''halfling'' as an alternative to ''hobbit''<ref name="weinstock2014">{{cite book |title=The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters |editor1-first=Jeffrey |editor1-last=Weinstock |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2014 |isbn=978-1409425625 |page=193 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NI1zBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA193}}</ref> for legal reasons.<ref name="langford2005">{{cite book |title=The Sex Column and Other Misprints |first=David |last=Langford |page=188 |publisher=Wildside Press |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n78kYbvUd_8C&pg=PA188 |isbn=1930997787}}</ref> Besides licensed D&D novels, halfling characters have appeared in various tabletop and video games.

Some fantasy stories use the term ''halfling'' to describe a person born of a human parent and a parent of another race, often a female human and a male [[elf]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clute |first1=John |last2=Grant |first2=John |title=The Encyclopedia of Fantasy |date=1999 |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |isbn=9780312198695 |page=447 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mfjAjibERF0C&q=halfling}}</ref> [[Terry Brooks]] describes characters such as [[Shea Ohmsford]] from his ''[[Shannara]]'' series as a halfling of elf–human parentage. In [[Jack Vance]]'s ''[[Lyonesse Trilogy|Lyonesse]]'' series of novels, "halfling" is a generic term for beings such as [[fairy|fairies]], [[troll]]s and [[ogre]]s, who are composed of both magical and earthly substances.<ref>{{cite book |last=Vance |first=Jack |title=Lyonesse: Book I: Suldrun's Garden |year=1983 |publisher=Grafton Books |isbn=0-586-06027-8 |page=Glossary II: The Fairies}}</ref> In [[Clifford D. Simak]]'s 1959 short story "No Life of Their Own", halflings are invisible beings in a parallel dimension who, like [[Brownie (folklore)|brownies]] or [[gremlin]]s, bring good or bad luck to people.{{cn|date=November 2020}}