Halfling

The Halfling of Eberron varies from nomadic dinosaur riding barbarians to wily urban merchants and professionals. With the broad expanse of the Talenta Plains, the shelter of urban havens spread across Khorvaire and the potency of House Jorasco and House Ghallanda the halflings are as pervasive as any other racial group across Khorvaire.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Halflings rise to a humble height of 3 feet. They prefer to walk barefoot, leading the bottoms of their feet to become roughly calloused. Tufts of thick, curly hair warm the tops of their broad, tanned feet.
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.

Civilization and Culture

Major Organizations

The halfling House Ghallanda carries the Mark of Hospitality, granting its members magical abilities related to food, drink, and shelter. Members of this house operate inns and restaurants, prepare food for royalty, or conjure food for their fellow nomads in the Talenta Plains. House Jorasco carries the Mark of Healing, enabling its members to provide curative services in cities throughout Khorvaire.

History

No one, not even the elders of the Talenta tribes, is certain where the halfling race originated. They simply have been living on the plains for thousands of years maintaining a traditional lifestyle. Their encounters with Humans and the emergence of the Dragonmarks of Healing and Hospitality caused many clan members to adopt human lifestyles, which eventually lead to the creation of the Houses Ghallanda and Jorasco. In the modern day, Halflings can be found in every city, town or village on the continent.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

A typical halfling prides himself on his ability to go unnoticed by other races—it is this trait that allows so many halflings to excel at thievery and trickery. Most halflings, knowing full well the stereotyped view other races take of them as a result, 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 coexist well with humans as a general rule, but since some of the more aggressive human societies value halflings as slaves, halflings try not to grow too complacent when dealing with them. Halflings respect elves and dwarves, but these races generally live in remote regions far from the comforts of civilization that halflings enjoy, thus limiting opportunities for interaction. Only half-orcs are generally shunned by halflings, for their great size and violent natures are a bit too intimidating for most halflings to cope with.