A History of Halflings

Chris 'StripeyDave' Nodens shares the first of a series exploring and explaining the lore of different Blood Bowl teams, starting with everyone's favourite Gluttons, the Halflings. Force of Hobbit

Before the “Tiny Titans” tournament 2025, I decided it was time to tick Halflings off my NAF list. After a mediocre time with their evil green Goblin cousins, I figured it'd be worth doing some homework. With a rich, storied (and bloody) history in the sport, I delved into the lore of this quintessentially terrible team to learn a bit about the hearty homuncular heroes & find out what I was getting myself into...

A History of Halflings

In the past, Halfling teams were always considered beatsticks for the more violent teams:

• Who can forget the 2482 match when the Greenfield Grasshuggers played the Asgard Ravens resulting in a record 734 casualties (or perhaps deaths?) - after which a limit on the number of players in a squad was introduced?

• Or 2467’s Blood Bowl VII where the Shiretown Stuffers were defeated (and then eaten) by the Chaos All Stars?

• Or the 2422 debut of the Darkside Cowboys where the entirety of the Pinkfoot Panther squad mysteriously disappeared following the Cowboys’ first game?

With such a low life expectancy, it is often wondered why Halflings even took up Nuffle’s sacred game… 

To find the answer one only need to learn of the customary Halfling post-game feast:“According to Halfling tradition, everyone who plays in a game gets to join in a gigantic slap-up feast after the game is over! It is not unusual to see injured Halflings get up from their stretchers and tear off in the direction of the dressing room when the final whistle is blown!”

However, despite their pudgy frame and docile nature, Halflings can be roused to furious anger should their precious food supply be threatened. For instance in 2470 the entire squad of the Marienburg Fishers quit after finding out there were no oranges in the dugout at half time. Also a throwaway comment during a match between the Greenfield Grasshuggers and Bluebay Crammers from Bob Bifford about a scarcity of buns caused a riot - ending in 74 fatalities.

High points

There have been occasions, however, where Halflings have done something noteworthy. Halfling teams have reached the Blood Bowl finals twice: in 2467 (the unfortunate Shiretown Stuffers) and 2476 (Greenfield Grasshuggers). Indeed at least one Halfling player has lifted the coveted trophy: Puggy Baconbreath - who was on the winning Reikland Reavers side in 2485.

Helpers

Initially Halfling teams consisted solely of Halflings players, but in 2423, Deeproot Strongbranch became the first Treeman to take the field for a Halfling team. Practically overnight Halfling teams became a lot more resilient as - inspired by tales of Deeproot’s exploits - more and more of their forest-dwelling allies took to the field.

In recent times, Halflings have embraced not only Treemen on their roster, but have actively sought out extra assistance from more established stars from across the Old World. Until recently the likes of Morg ‘n’ Thorg or Griff Oberwald wouldn't have considered an offer from the Moot (or would have demanded such an exorbitant fee that the Halfling would have been hard-pressed to raise the required cash), but nowadays the prospect of being the best player on the pitch by a country mile, the certainty of an easy game and the guarantee of a good meal after the game have convinced even the game's top stars to turn out for Halfling teams occasionally. Even players from as far afield as Norsca and the World’s Edge mountains have turned out in Halfling colours - such is their reputation for hospitality.

Hooligans

In addition to coaxing the game’s best players to the Moot to improve their teams’ fortunes, Halflings have also finally cottoned on to the sport’s “dark arts” - fouling and other forms of cheating. The theory goes that what’s the use of a post-game feast if you don’t have any teeth to eat it with? To that end, many teams have adopted the infamous “Halfling Hit Squad” tactic - the Halfling players wait for one of their treemen to lay out an opponent and then the rest of the team proceed to give them a good kicking! One anecdote that perfectly encapsulates the resulting change in fortunes was when the Norsca Rampagers coach Mad Jake McDeath died of apoplexy while bawling the team out after a 5-0 loss to the Moot Mighties.

Hopefuls

What does the future hold for everyone's favourite pint-sized, portly punters? While it's unlikely Halflings will be taking the upper echelons of the sport by storm, it's certain that- given enough calorific cajoling- they'll be plugging away gamely and thoroughly enjoying every minute.