Originally Posted by Sharp
Originally Posted by mrfuji3
It is a bit unrealistic, but what is the solution? Should halflings be limited to a maximum strength of 16 or 18? Or be allowed to have STR 20, but have disadvantage on all STR checks (including str-based weapon attacks)?

These changes would make the races more 'realistic', but they come at a high cost for player options.
A sacrifice that I personally, am perfectly fine with making.
Originally Posted by spectralhunter
The answer is yes. There should be limits. If people seek immersion then the answer is yes. If people want to min max at the expense of immersion then the answer is no. The choice really comes down to what the player really wants.
Okay. Good luck changing the details about every single race--their max scores, what abilities have disadvantage vs advantage, etc--AND keeping things balanced. I don't agree that this "increased immersion" is worth the reduction in simplicity and character flexibility.

Originally Posted by Piff
Older editions had a lot more pro/cons going on for smaller characters. Smaller characters got bonuses to dodge AC and other benefits, while also having penalties to other things like lifting, carrying, or even what weapons or armour you were allowed to wear. weapons used to have sizes, and unless you invested your feats into doing so, a Halfling or Gnome could never properly wield a large weapon. ...
Important here is "pros/cons." I'd be more fine with restricting halfling strength if they also got some bonus, like dodge bonus to AC you mentioned. But, currently, D&d 5e does not have those bonuses, so you can't just slap on a strength penalty to halflings/gnomes/etc (Hafling nimbleness doesn't count because it's a trait specific to Halflings, not all Small Creatures). Which brings me back to my previous point: currently halflings can achieve a STR score of 20, the exact same max as other characters. Thus, they should be allowed to start with STR 16.