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{{trope}}
[[File:93654 hobbit l 8132.jpg|frame|link=The Hobbit (animation)|They rarely operate heavy machinery.]]
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While ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' has defined the modern interpretation of most of the races in fantasy fiction, hobbits are unique in the sense that they were nearly completely Tolkien's own creation, and were adopted to other fantasy worlds from there (notably ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', where they were called ''halflings'' [[Serial Numbers Filed Off|to avoid lawsuit]].)
See ''[[The Hobbit (novel)|The Hobbit]]'' for the book by [[J. R. R.
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==▼
▲== [[Anime and Manga]] ==
* The Grassrunners from ''[[Record of Lodoss War]]'' fill the halfling niche, but have a bit of [[The Fair Folk]] about them as well: Maar, the heroes' token smallfellow, has a playful exterior but is capable of treachery and subterfuge and sometimes wields magic underhandedly. The Grassrunners are separate from Halflings in the published RPG, though.
* The Prum from ''[[Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?]]'' fill this role in their setting. They're a race that has seen better days, but Prum who choose to become adventurers can become very well-known.
==
* ''[[Magic: The Gathering|Magic the Gathering]]''▼
** When designing the ''Lorwyn'' block, a fairytale setting that focuses heavily on the [[Planet of Hats|races and jobs of creatures]], the design team didn't feel quite ready to make a card that [[This Loser Is You|cared about the "Human" type]]. Their solution? The kithkin, who are—take a guess—short, quick villager-types. They are a bit more [[Buffy-Speak|fighty]] than the standard model, but this is ''Magic: The Gathering'' we are talking about, non-fighty groups [[The Law of Conservation of Detail|don't get cards printed]]. (For the sake of originality they threw in a dash of [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same|dwarf]] as well. The actual dwarves of Lorwyn are called Duergars.) Kithkin actually originated a decade earlier in ''Legends'' with the card Amrou Kithkin... which in design was named "Hobbit".▼
** ''Magic'' also has two kithkin cultures that diverge from the standard Hobbit theme: The kithkin of Amrou on the world of Dominaria are close-knit nomads in a [[After the End|post-apocalyptic wasteland]], while those of Shadowmoor (a sort of [[Bizarro Universe|Bizarro-Lorwyn]]) are [[Torches and Pitchforks|violently xenophobic]] [[Hidden Elf Village|castle-dwellers]] with unnaturally large, blank eyes and a [[Hive Mind]].▼
** They're only in a post-apocalyptic wasteland [[Captain Obvious|after the apocalypse]]. They debuted on a card in ''Legends'' (which in design was called "Hobbit"), although they weren't seen again until ''Time Spiral''.▼
* ''[[The Hobbit (animation)|The Hobbit]]'' (animated) is the source of the trope image, of course.
== Films -- Live-Action ==
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* The Gelflings from the movie ''[[The Dark Crystal]]'' are equal parts elf and hobbit. {{spoiler|Gelfling women actually [[Bizarre Sexual Dimorphism|have fairy-like wings]]}}. The Podlings in the same movie are a more traditional example.
* Although considerably furrier than usual, the Ewoks of ''[[Star Wars]]'' certainly count.
== [[Literature]] ==
* The trope name comes from the race of small people who act as surrogates for middle-class Englishmen in the works of [[J. R. R.
** However, this trope is also ''subverted'' somewhat by Tolkien's description of Hobbits seeming soft because they lead comfortable lives, not that they're ''inherently'' weak. Much like Englishmen, they are just about as likely to be adventurous (Frodo's crew) as they are to be assholes (Lotho Sackville-Baggins). Early role-playing games featuring halflings banked on Tolkien's description that they used to wander from place to place, and that their skill in games and sports has a lot to do with being pretty tough. Hobbits within the Tolkien mythology are also curiously resistant to the effects of [[The Corruption]] caused by Sauron's powers - particularly the One Ring, which they were the only ones capable of handling without being ''completely'' ensnared by its power. That said, they aren't immune to its effects; for example, Smeagol/Gollum was consumed by the One Ring's power when he found it, and at the climax of ''The Return Of The King'' the One Ring is able to prevent Frodo from throwing it into Mount Doom.
* Hilariously parodied by the Boggies of ''[[Bored of the Rings]]'', who are gluttonous, cowardly, slovenly, and slothful. And mentally handicapped even by the (underwhelming) standards of the setting.
* The Warrows from Dennis L. McKiernan's ''[[Mithgar]]'' books fit Tolkien's Hobbit mold (one of them is even named Pippin!), although they tend to be more adventurous than Tolkien's Hobbits and were more quick to defend themselves, having a well-organized militia.
* ''[[The Witcher]]'' plays them entirely straight... with a small helping of [[Beware the Nice Ones]].
* The ''[[Crimson Shadow]]'' series has halflings. Especially the awesome character of Oliver deBurrows.
* David Weber's ''[[The War Gods
* The Fiia of [[Ursula K. LeGuin]]'s ''[[Rocannon's World]]'' fit this trope to a T, being a small child-like race that just wants to enjoy a simple communal life free of care and fear.
* The Athsheans of ''The Word for World is Forest'' are also something like this (they are assumed to look rather like Ewoks, only green). They're a peaceful bunch until [[Humans Are the Real Monsters|humans]] turn up.
* Jody Lynn Nye's ''[[An Unexpected Apprentice]]'' features the race of "smallfolk", who are Tolkien's hobbits in all but name. The sole difference that This Troper can see is that instead of having large, hairy feet, the smallfolk have no toes.
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
=== Board Games ===
* The strain of [[Mutants|Abhuman]] in ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' called Ratlings fit the bill as Space Hobbits, but they don't get much play in the lore or game. Mostly, they serve in the Imperial Guard as cooks, quartermasters, and snipers.▼
* The version in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle|Warhammer Fantasy]]'' are much closer to Tolkien's Hobbits, although they are technically part of the Empire and their land is not so well-protected. They're stereotyped as being either thieves or excellent cooks.▼
** They also naturally appear in ''[[Blood Bowl]]'', where they are essentially the [[Joke Character]]s of the game. In-universe, the Halfling team is so bad they once managed to lose a game where the other team '''failed to show up'''.▼
=== Card Games ===
▲* ''[[Magic: The Gathering|Magic the Gathering]]''
▲** When designing the ''Lorwyn'' block, a fairytale setting that focuses heavily on the [[Planet of Hats|races and jobs of creatures]], the design team didn't feel quite ready to make a card that [[This Loser Is You|cared about the "Human" type]]. Their solution? The kithkin, who are—take a guess—short, quick villager-types. They are a bit more [[Buffy-Speak|fighty]] than the standard model, but this is ''Magic: The Gathering'' we are talking about, non-fighty groups [[The Law of Conservation of Detail|don't get cards printed]]. (For the sake of originality they threw in a dash of [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same|dwarf]] as well. The actual dwarves of Lorwyn are called Duergars.) Kithkin actually originated a decade earlier in ''Legends'' with the card Amrou Kithkin... which in design was named "Hobbit".
▲** ''Magic'' also has two kithkin cultures that diverge from the standard Hobbit theme: The kithkin of Amrou on the world of Dominaria are close-knit nomads in a [[After the End|post-apocalyptic wasteland]], while those of Shadowmoor (a sort of [[Bizarro Universe|Bizarro-Lorwyn]]) are [[Torches and Pitchforks|violently xenophobic]] [[Hidden Elf Village|castle-dwellers]] with unnaturally large, blank eyes and a [[Hive Mind]].
▲** They're only in a post-apocalyptic wasteland [[Captain Obvious|after the apocalypse]]. They debuted on a card in ''Legends'' (which in design was called "Hobbit"), although they weren't seen again until ''Time Spiral''.
=== Tabletop RPG ===
* ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]''
** "Halflings" started life as Tolkien's Hobbits with the serial numbers filed off; indeed, the game originally used "hobbit" back in the 1970s, but Tolkien Enterprises (the independent company in charge of licensed materials, no association with Christoper Tolkien) waved its lawyers at TSR and the term was changed. Traditionally, halflings are separated into three subraces, all [[Pragmatic Adaptation|transparent]] [[Captain Ersatz|Captains Ersatz]] of Tolkien's three strains of hobbits: the standard ''hairfoots'', the forest-dwelling ''tallfellows'', and the crafty ''stouts'' or ''deep halflings''.
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** Fourth Edition splits the difference, with Halflings being half thieving nomads and and half simple Louisiana-style bayou and swamp-dwelling rednecks. Really.
** The ''[[Pathfinder]]'' campaign world "Obsidian Twilight" has halflings who are essentially garbage-dwelling [[C.H.U.D.|CHUDs]]. For some reason.
▲* The strain of [[Mutants|Abhuman]] in ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' called Ratlings fit the bill as Space Hobbits, but they don't get much play in the lore or game. Mostly, they serve in the Imperial Guard as cooks, quartermasters, and snipers.
▲* The version in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle|Warhammer Fantasy]]'' are much closer to Tolkien's Hobbits, although they are technically part of the Empire and their land is not so well-protected. They're stereotyped as being either thieves or excellent cooks.
▲** They also naturally appear in ''[[Blood Bowl]]'', where they are essentially the [[Joke Character]]s of the game. In-universe, the Halfling team is so bad they once managed to lose a game where the other team '''failed to show up'''.
* ''[[Old World of Darkness]]''
** ''[[Changeling: The Dreaming]]'' features boggans, a kith of short, sociable folk who are very good at craftwork and reading any social gathering and understanding all the connections therein.
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== Toys ==
* The Matoran of ''[[Bionicle]]''. They have no powers to speak of in a world where superpowers are the norm and [[Applied Phlebotinum]] is used on a daily basis. They are, however, extremely hardy and can take pretty much whatever the world throws at them. Their personalities, though, can range from the hot-headed Fire tribe to the cool, collected Ice tribe, and from the wise, sensible Earth tribe to the fun-loving Air tribe. They do most of the manual labor in their world and are often overlooked by more [[Genre Blind]] villains. They can also be transformed into Toa, Bionicle's default hero, by [[Power Crystal]]s, [[Lightning Can Do Anything|space lightning]], or the [[Powers That Be]], usually [[Because Destiny Says So]].
== [[Video Games]] ==
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== Other Media ==
* The [[Wiki Encounters|WikiFaunas]] known as the [[WikiHobbit]] tropers
** Other WikiHobbits are also found in other wikis.
▲* The [[Wiki Encounters|WikiFaunas]] known as the [[WikiHobbit]] tropers, who share some characteristics of with Tolkien's Hobbits when it comes to editing.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Characters As Device]]
[[Category:Fantastic Sapient Species Tropes]]
[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]
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