Halflings

Halflings are the hillfolk of Tal’Dorei, and have lived as farmers in the Dividing Plains and the foothills of the Cliffkeeps for many generations—some since the end of the Calamity. After surviving such harrowing times, halflings began to wish for a simpler, happier life away from such dark deeds and higher purpose. Centuries have passed, and contentment and peace have become the core of halfling culture. Wanderlust nevertheless simmers beneath many a halfling’s contented demeanor, and as the empire of Drassig pushed eastward, halfling communities found themselves swept up in the evolving new age. When the Scattered War engulfed the continent, halfling society was fractured: the Stoutheart Clan supported fighting against Drassig, while the Lightfoot Clan prefered staying at home and waiting for this war to blow over. Halflings across the realm aligned themselves with one of the two clans—but in the end, even the Lightfoots supported Zan Tal’Dorei’s rebellion against Trist Drassig. After the war, many halflings returned to their farms, but others began to assimilate with the human townships that now dotted the land. Adventuring halflings, regardless of their allegiance, found the need to seek their potential too strong to ignore. This has led to many an outstanding halfling hero striking out into the world and marking their place in the local history books as champions, leaders, and even notorious criminals. The Mornset Countryside has become a new home for halflings who seek the older ways, though the price for this untethered life is proximity to dangerous wilds, and it’s common for farmers here to be forced to take up arms and learn to defend their land fiercely.

Lightfoot

The Lightfoot Clan dissolved into its many component families after the war, but the spirit of the Lightfoots still survives. They look out for number one first, and are more prone to running away from conflicts than meeting the oncoming storm with courage. Yet within the Lightfoot spirit there is a contradiction; for all their love of the comforts of home, there is a certain unquenchable hunger to explore. Most adventuring halflings are Lightfoots who have given into this compulsion.

Stout

The Stoutheart Clan also dissolved in the wake of the Scattered War, and its ideals and identity have not survived in the same way as the Lightfoots’ have. Halflings who display the same brash personality as the Stouthearts of old are merely described as stout, and in certain communities, that is a very great tal’dorei campaign guide honor. Even stoutness that is all bluster—like a halfling shouting “Fight me!” at a creature more than three times its size—is respected if it can be molded into true courage. Stout halflings tend to surprise humans who know of their kind from experiences with meek Lightfoot homebodies, and can be truly cunning diplomats when using this surprise to their advantage. Seeker Assum Emring, for instance, is proud to claim that his first meeting with Sovereign Uriel Tal’Dorei II shocked the sovereign so greatly he was very nearly arrested—but was offered a position on the Sovereign’s staff the very next day!