Halflings

The whistle of the wind in the sails, on a ship crashing through the waves far from land. The clink of coin changing hands at the market. The crackle of the campfire and the smell of bacon and tomatoes sizzling after a long day of walking. The creak of a wagon lumbering to the next village, with a cheery tune emanating from within. Halflings love these things. A nomadic people who rarely settle in one place for long, halflings come and go with the rhythm of the seasons, making money, friends, or both along the way.

Small and Charming

Halflings are short and stout, usually standing between 3 and 3 ½ feet tall and weighing between 40 and 50 pounds. Surrounded by larger races, they survive on their charm, and when that fails, their talent for quickly slipping out of sight. Halflings are quite variable in appearance, although all tend towards stoutness and curly hair. Those who ply the trade routes of the Inner Sea tend towards darker, deeply tanned complexions, while the merchants and travelers west of the mountains are paler and more likely to have blond or red hair. All halflings have bright eyes, usually green or hazel or brown. They favor practical clothing, made for traveling, although they are not above a few colorful flourishes; a halfling in a muted, sturdy clothes in browns and grays with a brightly colored cloak is not an uncommon sight.

Haflings live only slightly longer lives than humans. A halfling reaches adulthood around 20, and generally lives into to reach 100, but some lucky few live longer.

Adaptable Communities

Halflings have no homeland of their own, and those who do settle down usually do so side-by-side with other races. Halfling communities can be found in dwarven villages high in the hills, small farming communities of humans, large cities full of diverse races, and even on the outskirts of the villages of the Lizardfolk. The occasional halfling village will grow up around a crossroads or sometimes a prominent tavern on the road, somewhere that will attract a steady stream of new travelers from outside. Halflings love a good tale, told in front of a roaring fire with hearty food and drink, and make excellent innkeepers for this reason.

Most halflings, however, simply never settle down. Whether they sail the Green Sea, traveling from port to port, or wander the roads of Taelgar, small communities of halflings can be found moving from town to town, rarely staying more than a season or year in any one place. Welcomed wherever they go, but driven by wanderlust to avoid putting down roots, these communities trade stories and goods for company, food, and drink. They are generous and sharing, free with aid when they encounter travelers in need. They are also loyal to their companions, whether halfling or not, knowing that on the open road in a dangerous world, trust and loyalty can be all that keep you alive.

Wanderers Connected

Living in small family groups usually apart from others of their race, halflings have no formal government or organized political structure. However, they remain connected to each other no matter how far apart via the collective memory of their ancestors, the halfling soulmind. This consciousness is central to halflings’ self conception as race. In significant ways, halflings see themselves not solely as individuals: they are also always part of this whole. Some halflings describe it as like waves on the ocean: individuals are patterns that arise, and come together, and move and come apart, distinct, but fundamentally part of one ocean. This conception of a shared soulmind, a shared racial consciousness, profoundly shapes their encounters with each other: that they’re one single family, connected even if they haven’t met.

This racial consciousness is guarded, watched over, and nurtured by the First Ones, the Firstborn gods of the halflings: Nwana, the Stranger and Child; Obito, the Music Maker and Merchant; and Jemghari, the Storyteller and Traveler. While halflings do not have deep traditions of prayer, or organized religious practice, the First Ones are an ever-present backdrop to halfling life. Every experience, every memory of a halfling’s life will eventually contribute in some small way to the greater halfling consciousness, and for many halflings simply acknowledging and paying attention to their experience as they go through life is all that is needed to pay homage to their creators.

Sailors, Traders, Storytellers

As travelers driven by wanderlust, most halflings find themselves in professions that lend themselves to this lifestyle: traders, merchants, sailors, wandering bards, and sometimes even pirates or bandits. Natural sailors, ships crewed by halflings sail to far-away ports across the ocean and return with rare trade goods and unbelievable tales. Halflings love stories, both the telling and the hearing. They have little use for material wealth, preferring not to accumulate more than they can comfortably carry with them, but will often value a few precious mementos highly. As traders and merchants they seek unusual goods, whether rare magics or beautiful art or exotic spices. They enjoy living life to its fullest no matter where they may be, and are eternal optimists even in dire times.

Halflings are also noted musicians and bards and storytellers. Halfling artists and musicians, in particular, tend to embrace the notion of music as unique and improvised experience which expresses a universal form – that the musical changes are the changes but the thing created over them is always unique – which mirrors halfling understanding of selfhood: that each individual is both unique and, at the same time, merely an expression of an undifferentiated universal oversoul of halfling-ness. Halfling music is usually improvisational because of this, and, in Taelgar, they are the originators of jazz and related musical traditions.njoy living life to its fullest no matter where they may be, and are eternal optimists even in dire times.

Sea Shanties

Halflings sing on their ships. Here are two popular halfling songs.

The Green Sea Calls:
The Dyes of Tollen:

Halfing Names

Halflings have given names and family names, which are often derived from nicknames, professions, or family lore.

Male Names: Alton, Ander, Cade, Corrin, Eldon, Errich, Finnan, Garret, Lindal, Lyle, Merric, Milo, Osborn, Perrin, Reed, Roscoe, Wellby

Female Names: Andry, Bree, Callie, Cora, Euphemia, Jillian, Kithri, Lavinia, Lidda, Merla, Nedda, Paela, Portia, Seraphina, Shaena, Trym, Vani, Verna

Family Names: Quicktongue, Longwalker, Wetshire, Sailsinger, Crafter, Singer, Strider, Riverfoot, Undertree, Charmheart, Goodbarrel, Greenbottle, Wanderhome, Hillcobble, Tallspinner