Halfling
"I'd watch your pocket if I was you. I seen a lotta bare feet at this wedding." - Unknown Hope's Helm Guard
Basic Information
Anatomy
Halflings resemble humans quite a bit. Aside from their height, there is little difference between the two. Halflings often wear no footwear at all most of the time due to the hard pads on the bottom of their feet. They also have more hair on their body than the average human. Most have Lightbrown or blonde hair with shades of red also being semi-common.
Genetics and Reproduction
Halflings gestate at the same rate as humans. They normally mate for life.
Growth Rate & Stages
Halflings are usually raised by their parents for the first year or so, and then adopted by their community after. They take the phrase "It takes a Caravan to raise a child" quite literally.
Ecology and Habitats
Halflings prefer open fields and hills to make their temporary home. They are not against light forests but would prefer the open to be able to see all around them. Halfling communities often travel for weeks at a time before finding a place to settle down for up to two years. They often travel in larger groups made up of a number of interbred families.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Halflings love all mushrooms they can get ahold of, safe ones preferably but some are not against experimenting. They also enjoy fruits and vegetables but enjoy river fish and eggs as well. Being as short as they are, alcohol can affect them quite quickly. Halflings prefer quality over quantity when it comes to alcohol and pipeweed as well as food. Many Halflings become talented cooks surviving and perfecting what they can find around them.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Halfing parents often name their child after animals they see during their travels while expecting child. It's not too uncommon to have a number of people be named after the same animal in a caravan.
Courtship Ideals
Halflings often ask one another out with a small handmade trinket, usually made from stone or wood. If they are to be wed the entire caravan celebrates.
Common Dress Code
Halflings can wear anything between a princely suit and a potato sack. Nearly all halflings don't wear any sort of footware other than perhaps footwraps during the snow season. Some can even develop a rash if they attempt to wear shoes for more than a few hours.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Halfling caravans all do their part in raising a child. Each one will show the child a number of tasks that they do around the camp each day. Not only to train the next generation how to do them, but to get out of work as well.
Halflings are driven to be nomadic by nature. Even those who build or buy a house in a town often only visit it once or twice a year. Rumor has it that there are even halfling houses. Houses a number of halflings will rent out or build and switch residents though out the year, even in different caravans.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
A halfling wedding, which is a brief occasion followed by a full day of merriment, is attended by all members of a caravan. Oftentimes the couple is gifted a wagon of their own to start a family with.
Historical Figures
- Worrik was a halfling man who served as the first court mage for the Kingdom of Brennis. He also wrote a number of theories on the Void Beings.
- Sparrow was a halfling woman who became a prophet for Derevis, the God of Travel and Trailblazing.
- Stork was a halfling female who led a gang of halfling outlaws. One of their most notable heists was stealing a massive amount of Iron coins outside of Green Grove.
- Jack was a halfling man who contracted Taxidea Lycanthropy. He fought at the Battle of The Blood Stained Spire
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Halflings tend to get along with other races just fine in one way or another. Many outsider races can find traces of their own culture within them and can make friends with them easily enough.
Halflings rarely look for trouble themselves, and usually when they are met with it, they will always try to talk things down peacefully before attempting anything else.
Lifespan
80
Average Height
3-3.2 Feet
Average Weight
45-65 Pounds
Geographic Distribution
Related Ethnicities
