Halfling (hălf lĭng)
Being of a positive and merry nature, gifted with miraculous good fortune, and given an insatiable lust for travel, halflings though short in stature, are full of bravery and curiosity. Being at once, high-strung, and laid-back, halflings tend to stay calm with an eye for opportunity and are less prone to savage and passionate outbursts than some other races. A halfling’s sense of humor never disappears no matter how dire the circumstances. This ability to find illogical humor when catastrophe is striking all around them, usually allows them to ever so slightly distance themselves from the situation. This disengagement, though slim, can provide protection from horrors that might paralyze their friends.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Typical adult halflings average 3 feet tall and have two arms and two legs. They are warm-blooded omnivores with internal skeletons. Both hands have four fingers and one opposable thumb, which allows them to grip and use tools. Their arms are jointed at the shoulder, elbow, and wrist. Their legs are similar, being jointed at the hip, knee, and ankle. Halflings walk upright.
Their skin tends toward a rich cinnamon color and their hair toward light shades of brown. A halfling’s ears are pointed, but proportionately not much larger than those of a human. Most halflings have hair covering the top and back of the head as well as the tops of their broad, tanned feet, and males also have hair on their chins and throats. Human females have only one pair of mammaries which they use to nurse their young. They prefer to walk barefoot, leading the bottoms of their feet to become roughly calloused.
Their skin tends toward a rich cinnamon color and their hair toward light shades of brown. A halfling’s ears are pointed, but proportionately not much larger than those of a human. Most halflings have hair covering the top and back of the head as well as the tops of their broad, tanned feet, and males also have hair on their chins and throats. Human females have only one pair of mammaries which they use to nurse their young. They prefer to walk barefoot, leading the bottoms of their feet to become roughly calloused.
Genetics and Reproduction
Halflings reproduce sexually, are viviparous, and have an average gestation period of 109 days, roughly three and two thirds months. Halflings generally produce only a single child with each pregnancy though 1 in 100 pregnancies result in twins. It is not unheard of for halflings to bear triplets, quadruplets, or even more.
Growth Rate & Stages
Halflings have an average lifespan of 153 years with some living to the age 200. Halflings are considered as having reached adulthood at around the age of 20. Halflings, slightly longer-lived than humans are considered middle-aged at around 50 years and are considered old when they reach the ripe age of 75.
Ecology and Habitats
Halflings seem to be best adapted for tropical and sub-tropical plains. Much like humans they are known to inhabit and thrive in every environment and temperature zone, often dwelling in small communities inside larger human dominated ones. Many halflings lead perfectly fulfilling lives in the shadow of their larger neighbors, while some prefer more nomadic lives, traveling the world and experiencing all it has to offer. Halflings claim and control no settlements larger than rural assemblies of free towns.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Halflings are found throughout the Old Kingdoms, New Kingdoms, and Frontier Lands. Essentially anywhere humans can live halflings can live their too.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Halflings have color vision, sensing the spectrum between infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths. They have good depth and motion perception. Their hearing is keen, with good separation and direction-sensing qualities. Their skin is touch-sensitive. Their senses of taste and smell are not as highly developed as their sight.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
The halflings pattern of naming consists of a given name followed by a family name. The family name is passed down through paternal lineage, and typically remains constant over time. Females take the family name of their husband upon marriage.
Beauty Ideals
Halflings tend to adopt beauty ideals similar to the races around them. Men typically don’t grow facial hair except for long, often bushy sideburns. Men are as apt to wear their hair short as long, with most females preferring to wear their hair long, though not all. Halfling hairstyles are often complex, with strands woven together or braided. Both sexes typically have pleasant round faces, and big cheery smiles.
Gender Ideals
Gender roles can be confusing to other races when it comes to halflings. Typically, it is expected for the male to work outside the home, and the woman to work inside the home, raising the kids. However, it is not unheard of for the roles to be reversed, with the male doing the bulk of the childrearing while the female works outside the home. This is more common in urban settings where the female can find work that doesn’t rely so much on physical strength. In the rural halfling communities it is normally the male who tends to the farm. When it comes to warfare, both genders are equally trained and will man the barricades or equivalent together when their communities are threatened. Indeed, to the halfling to leave half the fighting force home seems crazy. As a consequence both genders are equally likely to set out adventuring and to some halfling troupes to set out on and adventure before settling down is seen as a rite of passage.
Courtship Ideals
Courtship amongst halflings tends to bear similarities to nearby human customs though with their own twists. Typically, in halfling communities it is normal for either gender to initiate courtship. Usually, the male has established himself as a farmer, businessman or tradesman before he thinks about marriage. Women on the other hand may or may not establish themselves at a trade before beginning courtship. Courtship generally involves the exchange of gifts as well as the couple spending time together to determine compatibility. Once the couple feels that they are compatible, one will typically propose marriage to the other. Unlike most races clerics of Mudutu are the most common ones to perform ceremonies, followed by clerics of Arammu or Narum.
Relationship Ideals
In halfling culture, marriage is a lifelong commitment to a single partner, with divorce being rare and requiring special dispensations and extenuating circumstances. Once a couple has married, they will setup house, usually in the male’s home, as females typically, though not always, remain with her parents until they marry. Once married the female usually sets up housekeeping while the male continues working. However, in situations where the female has her own job and own house, they will generally take the bigger house and sell the smaller one. Both will continue to work until the first child comes along, at which point the female will usually retire to raise the children, though in some circumstances the male will retire, and the female will continue to work.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
The halfling language, named Apersid is common to all halflings whether in the Old Kingdoms, New Kingdoms, or Frontier Lands. While the language is uniform, regional variations do exist, however these variations tend to be minor, and do not hinder the understanding of the language. There are no major dialects of Apersid though the further one travels the mor minor variations one will notice.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Halfling communities are tightly knit groups often found near, if not in, the settlements of other races. While halflings will pay lip service to the local ruler, however they put more importance in the words of their elders to guide them. This focus has enabled halfling traditions to continue for millennia relatively intact. Halflings also value a sense of community, with neighbors looking out for neighbors. 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 two types of communities, troupes and towns. Troupes can be extended families of up to fifty member or multifamily caravans numbering as many as one hundred members. Towns are permanent communities that number between five hundred and one thousand halflings. A county is two or more towns within walking distance and can number as many as five thousand halflings. In between troupes and towns are shires. These are semipermanent communities of up to five hundred halflings. It is said that a town forms when a shire grows too large to easily pack up and move.
During their younger years, halflings often feel drawn to leave their stable and altruistic communities and strike out on their own to seek their fortune. This leads many young ones to become vagabonds, traveling about and living by their wits and what they can steal. Once this wanderlust wears off, they often discover a profound longing for home and hearth, and spend years maintaining and improving their domicile, and taking joy in the simpler things in life.
Halflings often work in service professions such as maids, cooks, and innkeepers, which leaves them in the perfect position to observe the world around them. This knowledge is invaluable to a halfling, given their generally defenseless position. Despite their often-menial work, halflings on the whole (and especially younger halflings) tend to always keep an eye open for the next opportunity, hoping to improve their lot. This can make them seem danger-seeking to other races, and while it is true that halflings can take extraordinary risks if they believe it will bring them great reward, they are also better at spotting danger. This has given them the reputation for being lucky, but halflings generally dismiss these claims as resulting from their superior reflexes, cunning, and broad skill base. There are a few halfling individuals, however, who seem to be magnets of bad luck, and they are generally avoided. Instead of a being a curse, most halflings think of these individuals are being blessed by Osa, and young people bearing this gift are often encouraged to study magic.
Halflings have two types of communities, troupes and towns. Troupes can be extended families of up to fifty member or multifamily caravans numbering as many as one hundred members. Towns are permanent communities that number between five hundred and one thousand halflings. A county is two or more towns within walking distance and can number as many as five thousand halflings. In between troupes and towns are shires. These are semipermanent communities of up to five hundred halflings. It is said that a town forms when a shire grows too large to easily pack up and move.
During their younger years, halflings often feel drawn to leave their stable and altruistic communities and strike out on their own to seek their fortune. This leads many young ones to become vagabonds, traveling about and living by their wits and what they can steal. Once this wanderlust wears off, they often discover a profound longing for home and hearth, and spend years maintaining and improving their domicile, and taking joy in the simpler things in life.
Halflings often work in service professions such as maids, cooks, and innkeepers, which leaves them in the perfect position to observe the world around them. This knowledge is invaluable to a halfling, given their generally defenseless position. Despite their often-menial work, halflings on the whole (and especially younger halflings) tend to always keep an eye open for the next opportunity, hoping to improve their lot. This can make them seem danger-seeking to other races, and while it is true that halflings can take extraordinary risks if they believe it will bring them great reward, they are also better at spotting danger. This has given them the reputation for being lucky, but halflings generally dismiss these claims as resulting from their superior reflexes, cunning, and broad skill base. There are a few halfling individuals, however, who seem to be magnets of bad luck, and they are generally avoided. Instead of a being a curse, most halflings think of these individuals are being blessed by Osa, and young people bearing this gift are often encouraged to study magic.
History
Halflings first appeared in the Old Kingdoms dwelling in isolated settlements, where they come from in uncertain, according to halfling legend they were a special creation of Mudutu who created them to seek out all the secrets of the world. Whether or not there is any truth to this is unknown. What is known is they followed human expansion, with whole troupes migrating to the New Kingdoms with humans, and then to the Frontier Lands. Once new land was discovered by their human cousins, they were apt to migrate wholesale first. As in the Old Kingdoms they didn’t establish kingdoms of their own, instead preferring to establish small communities in human kingdoms, or to dwell in small sections of human communities.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
A typical halfling prides himself on his ability to go unnoticed by other races—a trait that allows many halflings to excel at thievery and trickery. Most halflings know full well the stereotypical view other races take of them as a result, and go out of their way to be forthcoming and friendly to the bigger races when they’re not trying to go unnoticed. They get along fairly well with gnomes, although most halflings regard these eccentric creatures with a hefty dose of caution. Halflings respect elves and dwarves, but these races often live in remote regions far from the comforts of civilization that halflings enjoy, thus limiting opportunities for interaction. By and large, only half-orcs are shunned by halflings, for their great size and violent natures are a bit too intimidating for most halflings to cope with. Halflings coexist well with humans as a general rule, but since some of the more aggressive human societies value halflings as slaves, they try not to grow too complacent. Halflings strongly value their freedom, especially the ability to travel in search of new experiences and the autonomy this requires. However, practical and flexible as always, enslaved halflings seldom fight back directly against their masters. When possible, they wait for the perfect opportunity and then simply slip away. Sometimes, if enslaved for long enough, halflings even come to adopt their owners as their new families. Though they still dream of escape and liberty, these halflings also make the best of their lives.
Lifespan
153 years
Average Height
Males 3'1", Females 2'11"
Average Weight
Males 35 lbs., Females 30 lbs.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Halflings tend to be uniformly colored across their body, except where the sun darkens the exposed skins. Their skin tends to be somewhere between a rich almond color and a pale nut-brown with a rich cinnamon brown the most common. Halflings don’t have the range of skin colors seen in their human cousins.
Geographic Distribution
Related Organizations
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments