Halflings

"If your plants aren't growing, well, I suggest you ask a halfling. They're a friendly people, will probably help you if you promise to invite them to dinner- but you better be ready for them to eat everything you have- politely, of course" - On the Growing of Green Things

Halflings are, much as their name suggests, a very short race. Standing at just 3.5 feet on average, they often escape the notice of larger races, aided by their natural ability to move almost unnoticed. It can be very difficult to find a halfling who doesn't want to be found, which halflings use to their advantage. While naturally inclined to be honest and generous, halflings can easily adapt to a life of crime thanks to this ability. While halfling thieves are fairly common in urban areas where they have migrated to, it is rare to see in their native Halyren or other areas where a strong presence has been established. Many former rouges and other scoundrels who operated in Cyclops-controlled regions have now fallen out of favor as those regions were reintegrated into halfling nations. For their short stature, Halflings are surprisingly large- typically being wider than other short races. They have rounded ears and curly hair, and overall look most similar to short humans.

Halflings have a number of talents besides the aforementioned skulking. They have an immense green thumb, and an unmatched ability for farming, which has led to the misconception that they are simple farmers who are unable to defend themselves. But halflings are also well-equipped to run businesses and can be much more cunning than they seem. They are very connected to the earth and prefer to live in low dwellings, cliffside tunnels, or terraformed caves. Due to their dirt-digging skills, they tend to live in hilly areas, though not as much as dwarves are concentrated in mountains. Most often, wealthy halfling nobility will claim the best hills in the region, while lower class halflings farm in the valleys. Halflings have a lot of local pride and when fighting to defend their homes they are notably more enthusiastic than when fighting wars of expansion. They are willing to sacrifice themselves for their community, friends, and families, but not for the sake of some sovereign advancing their goals. If their homes are conquered, they often migrate to new areas as a community, a cultural holdover from their migratory past. Many of the halfling diaspora communities formed from refugees that can trace their origins to being conquered by cyclops many years ago.

Another important fact about halflings is that they have appetites that far outmatches their weights. The halfling meal structure typically looks something like this: breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea, and dinner. All of these are full course meals, and each have traditional cuisine. This is usually followed more by upper class halflings as the lower classes eat whatever they happen to have around. Breakfast is usually eggs and toast with honey and jam while brunch consists of salads and pancake-like creations, all with plenty of fresh fruit on top. For lunch, halflings break out cheeses, potatoes, and more fruit; in particular grapes are a great favorite at lunch time. Halflings that can get meat usually eat it around lunch time as well, but this is limited to rabbit and pork for the most part. At tea time, they of course drink tea, but also eat a full meal of scones, pasties, and nuts. After their discovery of olive oil and vinegar, bread is often dipped into those substances and supplants the meal. Then, for dinner, they traditionally serve stew made up of vegetables, meats, and sometimes more exotic additions. This is usually mopped up with yet more bread. Halflings do not usually eat desserts, preferring more earthy flavors, but in some cases they have adopted dessert at a sixth meal. Halflings in regions that practice dessert are notably rounder than their already round fellows. Thanks to their constant consumption and culture surrounding food, halflings very rarely run out as they usually stockpile it. However, when they do they can actually do quite well without it, at least physically.

The halfling peoples have a broad diaspora across the realm, much of which can be traced back to the Great Calamity. During that time, with magic all out of whack and seasons messed up, the early halfling agrarian societies struggled to produce enough crops to feed their people. They were then struck with two more unfortunate events- the cyclopes were united by the warlord Čynag Blue-eye, while the gnolls of the desert were briefly elevated out of their insanity. With both cyclops and gnoll coveting the halfling lands, Blue-eye made a pact with several of these new gnoll pack leaders to divide the halfling lands between themselves. With cyclopes landing on the shores and gnolls rushing from the desert, the halfling realms were overwhelmed in just a few short years, with only a few holding out past 20 SC. Thus began the darkest age for the halflings, with gnolls ritually sacrificing many and eating others, and the cyclopes appropriating halfling crops to feed their own population, leading the starvation. Waves of refugees fled north, remaining destitute even in the remaining halfling nations. Luckily, many of these halflings found openings as crew members on gnomish ships, with these sailors escaping Halyren for good, and eventually establishing new homes on other continents, such in on Telgren or Ærellion, in climates which reminded them of home. There also remains a large halfling population in the southern gnomish isles, a remnant of this time.

Lifespan

90 years

Average Height

3'6

Related Organizations

Magical Aptitude
Average
Physical Strength
Average
Societal Organization
High
Birth Rate
Average
Lifespan Classification
Average
Technological Progress
Average

Halflings

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