Halflings

Halflings are a kind and affable people, even more dispersed than Gnomes, Halflings are adept in settling into any environment they are allowed to. Most see them as harmless and as such they attract little attention, but should one find themself in danger, they are the first to retreat, unless they must save their friends first. 

The Halflings see all races as jolly people whom they can buy a beer or make a meal for and have a good long talk about almost anything. But they do shy away from Orcs, Tieflings, Lizardfolk and Dragonborn as they look scary. They seem to enjoy the company of elfs and dwarves more so than others, for they have deep insight in the matters of history, but still enjoy the company of regular humans.

It is highly debated on whether a halfling can understand the concept of death. Indeed, Halflings rarely let fear get the better of them, even when faced with perilous situations. If one is about to die, they will think “Oh well, at least I had a big breakfast today, bigger than most days. And my nephew can inherit my wealth! Won’t he be happy!” but try their best anyways to get out of the situation so that “If I survive this, I’ll get myself an even bigger breakfast tomorrow morning!” They also are usually able to talk their way out of situations with their kind and jovial voices and songs of merriment, and also because they would much rather avoid confrontations as much as they can.

Halflings do work, but only to a minimum and with plentiful enjoyment. Their work and economy in general can function autonomously with little import or exports for goods save for the more exotic or foreign fruit or furniture, thus they farm, build, till, wash, bake, rake, forge and so on. Furthermore, most Halflings generously give one another many presents whenever they have to (Not that they enjoyed it), and as a result most Halflings never need to spend a lot. With little work and more play, Halflings almost never get stressed, and when combined with much walking along the local river or through a small forest, their bodies are more healthy than one might think and they live longer. Because of this, most other races envy the Halfling’s way of life.

Some halflings enjoy adventure and exploration, and their kind and curious nature is almost always why one can find a Halfling in almost any town, city or village. But this is a minority, as most Halflings are comfortable where they are and see adventuring as a dangerous and volatile action that could deny a halfling of a day or two of breakfast. This refers to exploration outside of their towns or territories, and rarely for the inside.

Halflings are as adept in fighting as they are in performing trigonometry on an Elf’s leftmost finger. They will punch, kick and charge at enemies, all with little to no effect, and use the technique of blindly striking anything within reach. As such, a halfling’s ability to kill is laughable, and a tale of one succeeding it will more likely shame the victim than the killer.

However, killing a Halfling is another story altogether. As mentioned, a Halfling will turn tail and run at the first instance of danger, and with their small size, are quite nimble and agile enough to weave their way out of an enemy’s hands or through blockages and terrain. Pitch a raging orc against a halfling, and the orc will erupt even more as he simply cannot catch the small Halfling. This is not usually in cowardice, but with the intention that if they save themselves first, they will be able to help the rest. And this is what a halfling would usually do when a friend or relative is in danger.

If left with no other option, a Halfling will fight back with the best of their abilities. Their most common tactic is to use any who how attack and look for an opening, because in the words of their cherished adventurer Bagworm: “If I haven’t the slightest clue of what I’m doing, then neither do they!”

Halflings can also put their skills to creative and good use that sometimes improve or worsen the situation. Some halflings practice archery as a leisurely sport, and as such have quite the deadly aim. Others who find themselves in a fight may find themselves a long weapon, and liken fighting to playing a game of tennis, and swing their weapon as such. Some Halfling who do ‘magic tricks’ may perform a trick or two in an attempt to confuse them. There was one case where a halfling had offended a Tiefling high mage, who was ready to burn the Halfling down with unholy fire, when the halfling said that he could do magic too, and pulled a coin from behind the Tiefling’s horn, separated his thumb then reattached it, and levitated a coin using a thin piece or thread. The high mage was so confused on whether the Halfling was mocking her more or that he was genuinely trying to battle her with household tricks that she did not notice the Halfling immediately slip away and bolted out the door. From this, halflings have amazing life preservation, and one can always count on a halfling to get out of almost any situation.

Different types: Halflings can be classified into Lightfoot and Stout Halflings. This can be due to genetics, how one lives their life, or both.

Lightfoot Halflings are halflings who are fast, active and rowdy. Most Lightfoots go exploring and wander around plains and riverbeds rather than lazing on a couch smoking their favourite pipe. As such, they favour jobs that require moderate physical stress, like runners or farmers. They are also quick witted, and a smart remark is almost always ready during arguments.

Strout Halflings are quite the opposite, as they are halflings that don’t do much and instead enjoy life for what it’s worth, which is essentially alcohol, hence their names. There is a running joke that Stout halflings do so much wine tasting or feasting with relatives or friends that their blood runs on alcohol only. It would be believable though, given that these halflings are quite strong and sturdy, and do not talk back during arguments, instead striving for peace between the two parties. Whether this is because they are not properly sober and ignore the pain, or has experienced such things that they can roll with it, is unknown.

Tales and stories:

Naskeem the questionable: Naskeem was a name synonymous with the boogeyman equivalent in Halfling culture. But it was based on a true story. There lived a certain Halfling who loved poetry, stories, and most of all, riddles. Whenever one talked to him, they were sure to hear a riddle or two. He spoke in rhyme and riddles whenever he could, and it entertained or annoyed other halflings. All was well for a while; after all, everyone has their own unique traits, but the Halfling over the years became more and more obsessed with it. He started to demand the other party in a conversation to tell him a riddle or he would not talk. Upon passing by someone else, he would suddenly turn and ask them a riddle. The halflings began to call him Naskeem and he was ostracised from most others, which only caused Naskeem to grow more and more hideous in his dealings with riddles and questions. He cried out from his home or in public, about how the gods have blessed him with knowledge of riddles and the fun of questions. The others tolerated him, though they were determined to find some excuse to throw him out, and it came when they found Naskeem by the river eating a fish and a raw rabbit, which he later claimed that he had no time to cook them and must instead save time for questioning. He asked the constable who arrested him a riddle, to which the constable ignored. The following day Naskeem was banished from the small town, and at night, the Constable was found dead with his throat torn out. Men arrived from another human town nearby and confirmed that it was Naskeem who did it, and with the help of some magic. A wild search was enacted, but Naskeem had scurried off so deep into the forest that the search stopped after two days. 

Sightings of Naskeem have sometimes arisen in human or Halfling villages that die down as time goes on. Soon, Naskeem became the stuff of legend and myths, and a story that Halfling mothers tell their children to scare them from staying out too long.

Bagworm Shortmouth: Bagworm is one of if not the most well known halfling next to the owner of the best wine the Halflings drink. He was a great Halfling adventurer that participated in the Dragon Wars, and is rumoured to have brought down a dragon as he operated a ballista. Bagworm journeyed throughout the lands of Allurian with a small party of other travellers of different races and occupations, and together, the small party did many amazing things together. His stories became stuff of legend, and upon the tale of Naskeem, children would cry out for the story of Bagworm to ease them to sleep.

The Jolly Ol’ Grasschewer:

The Jolly Ol’ Grasschewer is the nickname of Morgusberry Caddle, because he is very jolly and regularly chews grass when he is bored or contemplating something. Caddle is a Halfling who is so jolly and happy that Halflings actually find him annoying. He was never said to have cried, not even at his child’s funeral when he passed from strong currents in a river. Caddle is mostly known for once reading through the story that cannot be named, but said it was, in his words, “The darndest piece of literature I have ever read, I’ll say!” wizards and clerics from the high mountains of () came and investigated him, and he innocently disclosed the narrative to them, which made them believe him but also die. Caddle was unaffected by the papyrus that contains the demise of many, and before the scholars came, he went around finding copies and taking them away, saying that it was a bad thing to read. It is still unclear as to why he was unaffected. “Perhaps he was drunk,” one wizard said. “Or high,” said another. They tested this and both died.