Best of the short races?

[LegionOfTheForgotten]

I really want to play a shorter race and I'm stuck on which to choose. I want a melee build so I know thematically Dwarf makes sense but half-ling and gnome have good race bonuses. I've already got the look I want for all 3 just need any help tipping the scales to one of them

[LegionOfTheForgotten]

Build suggestions are welcome too, I'm open to trying fun or theme builds

[Pat Fenis]

halfling luck is the best racial

[Doppelganger]

duergar assassin is pretty fun after lvl 5

[Koala 4peace]

Dwarfs. They have axes, they have hammers, and they kill elves.

[TaKo]

halflings get to re-roll 1s on attack rolls, ability checks and saving throws, stronghearts get resistance and adavantage against posion while lightfoots get advantage on stealth checks

gnomes get advantage on mental(int, wis cha) saving throws and forest gnomes notably get a free speak with animals while deep ones get stealth check advantage

dwarves get a few extra weapon profficiencies, shield ones get light and medium armor prof. regardless of class which can be useful while duergaar get a once/l.rest enlarge that doesnt use concentration and advantage on saving throws against illusions, charms and paralysis

quite simply it boils down to RP decisions and what class you plan on running

shield dwarf extra profficiencies can be really useful for some classes, light foot halfling and deep gnome stealth check can be really good for a sneaky character, duergars can be fun barbarians who enlarge then rage

[seeker1]

Dwarves can be tossed, making them awesome improvised thrown weapons. Just make sure to ask Gimli first.
Gnomes can be punted, and they are usually all over your garden. They make really good inventors and illusionists. Ask Jan Jansen. Barcus really is basically an artificer.
Hobbits have furry feet, live in little round homes, and have like 7 meals a day. And defeated Sauron. So?

They are all obvious choices.

[AokiYakumo]

+1 to Tako, there's really not much of a mechanical difference between the three unless you specifically plan to make use of the gloves you can buy from the Ironhands (in which case, Gnomes get an extra +1 DEX from those gloves that the other races don't get; it's REALLY meh when compared to the other glove options you can pick up mostly because gloves are a hotly contested item slot).

Other than that, it's a pickad*qk situation. If you're going melee, ironically, only reason to go dwarf is Duergar for the enlarge and invisibility; otherwise Gnome's the best bet for the 3 save advantages. If you're doing anything stealth related, Halfling. If you want the magic, Shield Dwarves let you wear medium armor regardless of class, so you can do the Radiant Orb build on a Lore BRD if you wanted.

It REALLY boils down to personal preference at the end of the day. All of the answers are valid and there's no reason not to use any of the options, so if nothing else . . . Dwarves have the best rizz, maybe? (Even that's subjective tho, so take it with the whole ahh salt shaker).

[AokiYakumo]

Originally posted by seeker1:

Dwarves can be tossed, making them awesome improvised thrown weapons. Just make sure to ask Gimli first.
Gnomes can be punted, and they are usually all over your garden. They make really good inventors and illusionists. Ask Jan Jansen. Barcus really is basically an artificer.
Hobbits have furry feet, live in little round homes, and have like 7 meals a day. And defeated Sauron. So?

They are all obvious choices.

Sidenote, I love how all the actual players of BG3 are basically like "follow your heart" on this, it's genuinely funny to me.

[TheClosetSkeleton]

Halfling's are the best, but I pick dwarves any days because I don't want to look like someone hit me in te face with a frying pan

[Detective Costeau]

Play a halfling barbarian. Let the Realms fear your tiny fury!

[Mike Garrison]

Duergar get free invisibility, which is pretty nice for some classes.

[Hex]

A mad Gnome wild mage dark urge.