Post by Head Moderator on May 20, 2013 4:51:40 GMT -5
(info provided by nobilisarcanus)
Halflings, also known as hin amongst themselves or the good folk amongst other races, are humanoid creatures similar in shape to humans, who halflings call the "Big Folk," but around half the size. Halflings get along well with most of the other races and are known for their curiosity and tendency to collect things.
The term “halfling” is derived from the fact that a halfling is around half of the size of a human, but otherwise very similar in appearance.
Physical Description
Halflings are small in comparison with the members of most other races, standing between 3'10" and 4'2" tall and weighing on average between 75 and 85 lbs. In many ways, halflings resemble small humans and usually have the same proportions as the typical human adult. Most halflings have dark hair and eyes, regardless of their skin complexion which, although commonly ruddy in hue, has a similar range to humans.
Nearly all male halflings are incapable of growing true beards, though many have long sideburns. Halfling hairstyles are often complex, with strands woven together or braided. Although halflings have an affinity for collecting valuables, they do not prefer to wear these on their person, instead preferring more comfortable clothing.
Halflings have lifespans comparable with, but slightly longer, than humans. A halfling is typically considered an adult in their early twenties and some live into their 150s.
Abilities
Halflings are quick and dexterous humanoids, even given their size, with quick reflexes and an ability to recover easily from sudden danger. Halflings, who by large have a strong force of personality, are also intensely courageous and are more likely to retain their valor than most other humanoids, even when under the effects of a spell or other power. Beyond this, halflings have what can be best described as a lucky streak and have an ability known as second chance, that makes it less likely for them to be injured in perilous circumstances.
Additionally, the small size of halflings has an effect on their abilities. Halflings are, for instance, incapable of wielding larger weapons like greatswords or halberds.
It is sometimes said that halflings are weaker for the wear than other humanoids, and as a trend, halflings tend to be weaker. However, this is not a universal truth of the race. Similarly, although many have an excellent sense of hearing, not all do.
Psychology
Halflings are by nature joyful and friendly in their dealings with others. Because they live in a world where they are surrounded by larger creatures, halflings tend to avoid notice, often deliberately, or at the very least, act cordial towards the larger races. Halflings appear deceptively harmless, meaning they are often beyond the notice of enemies that might otherwise pose a threat to them.
The halfling mind is practical and halflings concern themselves with their immediate surroundings. They take pleasure in simple things, with few aspiring to greatness in the same manner as humans. Some halflings do become adventurers, but usually this is a practice taken up for reasons of necessity rather than personal drive. Because of this love for home and family, halflings make loyal and courageous allies, willing to put their own lives at risk for the sake of others.
While many halflings do not have the ambition for adventure that some races do, most prefer trouble to boredom; the race is notoriously curious. Halflings are courageous, moreso than many races, and their daring is often difficult to match. Many halflings also have a strong appetite for food and drink as well as narcotics and clothing. Similarly, many halflings are enthusiastic collectors, and love to hold on to possessions won through skill and daring.
Culture
Halfling communities are tightly-knit groups found around the world, usually near the settlements of other races. Most halflings don't recognize the claims of kings or nobles as sovereign rulers but instead look primarily to their family elders to guide them. This focus on bloodlines has enabled halfling traditions to continue for millennia relatively intact.
Halfling culture has a fondness for stories and legends and is rich in the oral tradition. So much care is put into the retelling of traditional stories and their preservation that halflings often unwittingly have access to lore about ancient and long gone cultures or empires that others have long since forgotten about. Many halflings are able to recall some detail of the ancient past, though it is usually wrapped in the shrouds of legends.
Halflings have undergone something of a cultural and philosophical change throughout the Hundred Years of Chaos. During this time, the typical halfling aversion to adventure for its own sake has been overcome by a powerful sense of wanderlust. Halfling-run adventure companies are now common in many major cities of Faerûn.
Relations with other races
Halflings, in general, try their best to get along with everybody, though exceptions do exist and ghostwise halflings are notoriously xenophobic. Lightfoot and strongheart halflings, however, are friendly and outgoing and are uncommonly adept at fitting into communities of humans, dwarves, elves, or gnomes. Most halflings, in fact, don't live in communities of their own but instead regions dominated by other races. This is particularly true in human societies, which attract halflings due to the comparative rapidity with which they change.
Subraces
Ghostwise Halflings
Ghostwise halflings are easily the most uncommon of the three subraces of halfling living on Arith. They are elusive and do not welcome strangers to their lands. Instead, they prefer to pursue a nomadic way of life within their adopted homelands, associating mainly with those of their own clan. Those who seek out the ghostwise most often fail to achieve their goal; the fortunate among them live to regret their intrusion into their territory.
Unlike other halflings, ghostwise halflings do not have a special name for themselves, as they are often only vaguely aware that other subraces exist, referring to themselves only as the general racial name hin.
Physical Characteristics
Because of their reclusive nature, ghostwise halflings exhibit several unique traits. Among the most unusual of these is their speak without sound ability, which allows ghostwise to use a very limited form of telepathy in order to communicate silently with any creature within twenty feet of themselves. The ability is limited in that a ghostwise can only communicate in such a way with one creature at a time and that creature must share a common language with them. However, fortune seems not to favor the ghostwise as well as their other halfling kin.
Culture
Because clan is the focus of the ghostwise culture, it is not surprising to find it the central factor in their society as well. The wanderlust that is one of the most readily discernible traits of both the lightfoot and strongheart subraces still survives in the ghostwise, but on a more limited scale.
Many ghostwise clans designate a natural feature – a distinctive rock, a lightning-struck tree, a stretch of a particular stream – as the center of their territory and base their wanderings on their relative distance from this place. Some clans carry a tiny portion of this central feature with them as they travel, to reinforce their spiritual connection with their territory and their homeland. Such tokens might take the form of clay vials filled with stream water, small leather pouches filled with dirt from a specific spot, small bits of rock broken from a boulder and worn as a necklace, or even bits of tree bark carried in the hollowed end of a deer's antler.
Among these clans such tokens are considered a sacred charge: to lose or misplace one is a mistake requiring that the transgressor atone in a manner designated by the clan leader. If the halfling who makes the error is a cleric or druid, the penance is assigned by a representative of his faith. The act of atonement – often a quest of other dangerous mission or errand – must be completed successfully before the halfling may obtain another portion of the clan's central feature. Willfully destroying a clan token is a grievous crime, punishable by exile (a fate far worse than death in the culture of the ghostwise halflings). The only permissible use of the tokens is when a member of the clan falls in battle. In that event, all nearby hin who share the same tribe as the fallen scatter their tokens, be they wood, water, or stone, around the corpse. The hin believe that doing so calls the attention of He Who Must Be and ensures that no fell spirits will disturb the body of their fallen clan member until it can be attended to properly. The ghostwise hin clans cremate their dead rather than inter them.
While clans keep to themselves, they do not shun one another when they meet in their travels. Instead, they exchange news and information about the forests' conditions and creatures. Indeed, the matriarchs and patriarchs who lead the clans often meet formally to discuss matter of mutual interest and importance. Multiple clans cooperate for the purpose of mutual defense when they are threatened by a common enemy, whether it be a band of destructive humanoids or a marauding band of trolls.
Relations with Other Races
The defining characteristics of the ghostwise halflings is their reverence for and devotion to their clans.Family is important to most halflings and halfling communities, but the ghostwise hin regard the familial bond with a degree of respect some might call obsession. Following their self-imposed exile from their homelands, the ghostwise congregated into groups demarcated along family lines. Those hin without surviving family joined one of these groups. As the hin pursued their quest for atonement, their clan system evolved into the all-encompassing social structure it is today.
Lightfoot Halflings
Lightfoot halflings are the most common type of halflings seen in the world, in large part due to their famous wanderlust, which sets them apart from the relatively sedentary ghostwise and strongheart halflings. Lightfoots are most comfortable living alongside other cultures, even adopting their cultural practices, right down to their deities.
Physical Characteristics
A typical lightfoot halfling stands around four feet tall and weighs around 80 pounds.Their skin colors range from light pink to slightly reddish or bronze, and their hair color is typically auburn, brown or black. Males usually wear their hair short on the sides, often with a mullet or bowl cut. Facial hair among males is rare except for extremely old halflings. Females rarely allow their hair to grow beyond shoulder length. When not adventuring or entertaining others, halflings prefer simple, well-made clothes that are comfortable to wear yet look attractive.
Psychology
The impression a lightfoot halfling always tries to project is that of a mirthful, friendly individual who is always interested in making new friends. Sometimes this light-hearted attitude is genuine, but other times it is facade to lull people into a false sense of security so that they might reveal secrets that will benefit the halfling. Halflings are extremely social towards their own kind and tend to form neighborhoods within cities they inhabit, both for companionship and for mutual protection. While not exactly greedy, halflings do enjoy wealth and respect the power and pleasures that it can bring. However they are careful not to let greed compromise themselves or their society. In addition to information gathering many halflings become collectors of different objects, ranging from mundane items like books or weapons to more exotic interests such as artifacts and other ancient secrets.
Strongheart Halflings
The strongheart halflings are, like the ghostwise and lightfoot hin. They trace their ancestry back to the same long-lost days as the other subreaces, but unlike their cousins, the stronghearts elected to remain in their homeland following the events of the Hin Ghostwar. The legacy of Chand, the strongheart war chieftain who galvanized his tribe against the threat of the feral ghostwise, lives on today in a nation that both reinforces and defies many of the expectations nonhalflings have of this race.
Psychology
Prior to the Hin GHostwar, the stronghearts were like their brethren, mostly a nomadic hunter-gatherer people. During the centuries that followed that terrible conflict however, the stronghearts gravitated toward a more agrarian-based lifestyle centered around permanent communities. But if the communities were stationery, the stronghearts were not moving from established community to established community.
The strange duality of nature, consisting of a desire to move about freely with a liking for permanent structures and settlements, has produced some unusual outlooks among the stronghearts. Their viewpoint stresses cooperation above all other traits, and the ability to work as a team is the most valued behavior in their land. Cooperation transcends many boundaries, and even strangers of whoom the locals are suspicious can earn themselves considerable credit and tolerance by demonstrating a willingness to cooperate.
Halflings, also known as hin amongst themselves or the good folk amongst other races, are humanoid creatures similar in shape to humans, who halflings call the "Big Folk," but around half the size. Halflings get along well with most of the other races and are known for their curiosity and tendency to collect things.
The term “halfling” is derived from the fact that a halfling is around half of the size of a human, but otherwise very similar in appearance.
Physical Description
Halflings are small in comparison with the members of most other races, standing between 3'10" and 4'2" tall and weighing on average between 75 and 85 lbs. In many ways, halflings resemble small humans and usually have the same proportions as the typical human adult. Most halflings have dark hair and eyes, regardless of their skin complexion which, although commonly ruddy in hue, has a similar range to humans.
Nearly all male halflings are incapable of growing true beards, though many have long sideburns. Halfling hairstyles are often complex, with strands woven together or braided. Although halflings have an affinity for collecting valuables, they do not prefer to wear these on their person, instead preferring more comfortable clothing.
Halflings have lifespans comparable with, but slightly longer, than humans. A halfling is typically considered an adult in their early twenties and some live into their 150s.
Abilities
Halflings are quick and dexterous humanoids, even given their size, with quick reflexes and an ability to recover easily from sudden danger. Halflings, who by large have a strong force of personality, are also intensely courageous and are more likely to retain their valor than most other humanoids, even when under the effects of a spell or other power. Beyond this, halflings have what can be best described as a lucky streak and have an ability known as second chance, that makes it less likely for them to be injured in perilous circumstances.
Additionally, the small size of halflings has an effect on their abilities. Halflings are, for instance, incapable of wielding larger weapons like greatswords or halberds.
It is sometimes said that halflings are weaker for the wear than other humanoids, and as a trend, halflings tend to be weaker. However, this is not a universal truth of the race. Similarly, although many have an excellent sense of hearing, not all do.
Psychology
Halflings are by nature joyful and friendly in their dealings with others. Because they live in a world where they are surrounded by larger creatures, halflings tend to avoid notice, often deliberately, or at the very least, act cordial towards the larger races. Halflings appear deceptively harmless, meaning they are often beyond the notice of enemies that might otherwise pose a threat to them.
The halfling mind is practical and halflings concern themselves with their immediate surroundings. They take pleasure in simple things, with few aspiring to greatness in the same manner as humans. Some halflings do become adventurers, but usually this is a practice taken up for reasons of necessity rather than personal drive. Because of this love for home and family, halflings make loyal and courageous allies, willing to put their own lives at risk for the sake of others.
While many halflings do not have the ambition for adventure that some races do, most prefer trouble to boredom; the race is notoriously curious. Halflings are courageous, moreso than many races, and their daring is often difficult to match. Many halflings also have a strong appetite for food and drink as well as narcotics and clothing. Similarly, many halflings are enthusiastic collectors, and love to hold on to possessions won through skill and daring.
Culture
Halfling communities are tightly-knit groups found around the world, usually near the settlements of other races. Most halflings don't recognize the claims of kings or nobles as sovereign rulers but instead look primarily to their family elders to guide them. This focus on bloodlines has enabled halfling traditions to continue for millennia relatively intact.
Halfling culture has a fondness for stories and legends and is rich in the oral tradition. So much care is put into the retelling of traditional stories and their preservation that halflings often unwittingly have access to lore about ancient and long gone cultures or empires that others have long since forgotten about. Many halflings are able to recall some detail of the ancient past, though it is usually wrapped in the shrouds of legends.
Halflings have undergone something of a cultural and philosophical change throughout the Hundred Years of Chaos. During this time, the typical halfling aversion to adventure for its own sake has been overcome by a powerful sense of wanderlust. Halfling-run adventure companies are now common in many major cities of Faerûn.
Relations with other races
Halflings, in general, try their best to get along with everybody, though exceptions do exist and ghostwise halflings are notoriously xenophobic. Lightfoot and strongheart halflings, however, are friendly and outgoing and are uncommonly adept at fitting into communities of humans, dwarves, elves, or gnomes. Most halflings, in fact, don't live in communities of their own but instead regions dominated by other races. This is particularly true in human societies, which attract halflings due to the comparative rapidity with which they change.
Subraces
Ghostwise Halflings
Ghostwise halflings are easily the most uncommon of the three subraces of halfling living on Arith. They are elusive and do not welcome strangers to their lands. Instead, they prefer to pursue a nomadic way of life within their adopted homelands, associating mainly with those of their own clan. Those who seek out the ghostwise most often fail to achieve their goal; the fortunate among them live to regret their intrusion into their territory.
Unlike other halflings, ghostwise halflings do not have a special name for themselves, as they are often only vaguely aware that other subraces exist, referring to themselves only as the general racial name hin.
Physical Characteristics
Because of their reclusive nature, ghostwise halflings exhibit several unique traits. Among the most unusual of these is their speak without sound ability, which allows ghostwise to use a very limited form of telepathy in order to communicate silently with any creature within twenty feet of themselves. The ability is limited in that a ghostwise can only communicate in such a way with one creature at a time and that creature must share a common language with them. However, fortune seems not to favor the ghostwise as well as their other halfling kin.
Culture
Because clan is the focus of the ghostwise culture, it is not surprising to find it the central factor in their society as well. The wanderlust that is one of the most readily discernible traits of both the lightfoot and strongheart subraces still survives in the ghostwise, but on a more limited scale.
Many ghostwise clans designate a natural feature – a distinctive rock, a lightning-struck tree, a stretch of a particular stream – as the center of their territory and base their wanderings on their relative distance from this place. Some clans carry a tiny portion of this central feature with them as they travel, to reinforce their spiritual connection with their territory and their homeland. Such tokens might take the form of clay vials filled with stream water, small leather pouches filled with dirt from a specific spot, small bits of rock broken from a boulder and worn as a necklace, or even bits of tree bark carried in the hollowed end of a deer's antler.
Among these clans such tokens are considered a sacred charge: to lose or misplace one is a mistake requiring that the transgressor atone in a manner designated by the clan leader. If the halfling who makes the error is a cleric or druid, the penance is assigned by a representative of his faith. The act of atonement – often a quest of other dangerous mission or errand – must be completed successfully before the halfling may obtain another portion of the clan's central feature. Willfully destroying a clan token is a grievous crime, punishable by exile (a fate far worse than death in the culture of the ghostwise halflings). The only permissible use of the tokens is when a member of the clan falls in battle. In that event, all nearby hin who share the same tribe as the fallen scatter their tokens, be they wood, water, or stone, around the corpse. The hin believe that doing so calls the attention of He Who Must Be and ensures that no fell spirits will disturb the body of their fallen clan member until it can be attended to properly. The ghostwise hin clans cremate their dead rather than inter them.
While clans keep to themselves, they do not shun one another when they meet in their travels. Instead, they exchange news and information about the forests' conditions and creatures. Indeed, the matriarchs and patriarchs who lead the clans often meet formally to discuss matter of mutual interest and importance. Multiple clans cooperate for the purpose of mutual defense when they are threatened by a common enemy, whether it be a band of destructive humanoids or a marauding band of trolls.
Relations with Other Races
The defining characteristics of the ghostwise halflings is their reverence for and devotion to their clans.Family is important to most halflings and halfling communities, but the ghostwise hin regard the familial bond with a degree of respect some might call obsession. Following their self-imposed exile from their homelands, the ghostwise congregated into groups demarcated along family lines. Those hin without surviving family joined one of these groups. As the hin pursued their quest for atonement, their clan system evolved into the all-encompassing social structure it is today.
Lightfoot Halflings
Lightfoot halflings are the most common type of halflings seen in the world, in large part due to their famous wanderlust, which sets them apart from the relatively sedentary ghostwise and strongheart halflings. Lightfoots are most comfortable living alongside other cultures, even adopting their cultural practices, right down to their deities.
Physical Characteristics
A typical lightfoot halfling stands around four feet tall and weighs around 80 pounds.Their skin colors range from light pink to slightly reddish or bronze, and their hair color is typically auburn, brown or black. Males usually wear their hair short on the sides, often with a mullet or bowl cut. Facial hair among males is rare except for extremely old halflings. Females rarely allow their hair to grow beyond shoulder length. When not adventuring or entertaining others, halflings prefer simple, well-made clothes that are comfortable to wear yet look attractive.
Psychology
The impression a lightfoot halfling always tries to project is that of a mirthful, friendly individual who is always interested in making new friends. Sometimes this light-hearted attitude is genuine, but other times it is facade to lull people into a false sense of security so that they might reveal secrets that will benefit the halfling. Halflings are extremely social towards their own kind and tend to form neighborhoods within cities they inhabit, both for companionship and for mutual protection. While not exactly greedy, halflings do enjoy wealth and respect the power and pleasures that it can bring. However they are careful not to let greed compromise themselves or their society. In addition to information gathering many halflings become collectors of different objects, ranging from mundane items like books or weapons to more exotic interests such as artifacts and other ancient secrets.
Strongheart Halflings
The strongheart halflings are, like the ghostwise and lightfoot hin. They trace their ancestry back to the same long-lost days as the other subreaces, but unlike their cousins, the stronghearts elected to remain in their homeland following the events of the Hin Ghostwar. The legacy of Chand, the strongheart war chieftain who galvanized his tribe against the threat of the feral ghostwise, lives on today in a nation that both reinforces and defies many of the expectations nonhalflings have of this race.
Psychology
Prior to the Hin GHostwar, the stronghearts were like their brethren, mostly a nomadic hunter-gatherer people. During the centuries that followed that terrible conflict however, the stronghearts gravitated toward a more agrarian-based lifestyle centered around permanent communities. But if the communities were stationery, the stronghearts were not moving from established community to established community.
The strange duality of nature, consisting of a desire to move about freely with a liking for permanent structures and settlements, has produced some unusual outlooks among the stronghearts. Their viewpoint stresses cooperation above all other traits, and the ability to work as a team is the most valued behavior in their land. Cooperation transcends many boundaries, and even strangers of whoom the locals are suspicious can earn themselves considerable credit and tolerance by demonstrating a willingness to cooperate.