Halflings
Base 8, Agility +2, +1 Appraise, +1 Intuition
Halflings are optimistic and cheerful by nature, blessed with uncanny luck and driven by a powerful wanderlust. Halflings make up for their short stature with an abundance of bravado and curiosity, and it is said they represent The Creator’s spirit of hope.
At once excitable and easy-going, Halflings like to keep an even temper and a steady eye on opportunity, and are not as prone as some of the more volatile races to violent or emotional outbursts. Even in the jaws of catastrophe, a Halfling almost never loses their sense of humor.
They are opportunists at their core. Unable to physically defend themselves from the rigors of the world, they know when to bend with the wind and when to hide away. Yet a Halfling’s curiosity often overwhelms their good sense, leading to poor decisions and narrow escapes. While their curiosity drives them to travel and seek new places and experiences, they do possess a strong sense of house and home, often spending above their means to enhance the comforts of home life.
Physical Description
Halflings rise to a humble height of three feet. They prefer to walk barefoot, leading to the bottoms of their feet being roughly calloused. Tufts of thick, curly hair warm the tops of their broad, tanned feet. Their skin tends toward a rich almond 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.
Longevity
Halflings live just as long as the average human, are considered adults at the age of sixteen, and are considered elderly beyond the age of seventy-five years. Few live to be one hundred years of age.
Language
Halflings typically speak the common trade language of the area they inhabit, and those who have access to scholarly education may also learn their ancestral language: Halfling.
Society
Halflings generally control no settlements larger than rural assemblies of farming villages and free towns. Far more often they dwell in human cities, eking out livings from the scraps of larger societies. Many Halflings lead perfectly fulfilling lives in the shadow of their larger neighbors, while some prefer nomadic lives on the road, traveling and experiencing all it has to offer.
Relations
A typical Halfling prides themselves on their ability to go unnoticed by other races, and it is this trait that allows so many to excel at thieving and trickery. Most, 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 try not to grow too complacent when dealing with them.
Religion
Halflings generally accept The Creator as their deity, but avoid the organized religions of the larger races.
