A race characterised by their cultural indulgences, Halflings, or ‘The Folk’ as they often style themselves, are a people frequently underestimated. Due to their short stature and jovial outlook, other races tend to regard them like children, obsessed with food and unable to comprehend the dangers of the world they live in.
The truth of the matter however, is more complex. Long ago the ancestors of the Halflings understood that the best way to avoid persecution was to appear unworthy of hostile attention, and that by inserting themselves into the fabric of a larger society, they could find a niche in which to flourish.
Halflings rarely gather in large numbers, with their settlements tending to have populations in the low hundreds. Rural Halflings assemble in villages and build their houses under mounds of earth, which are then covered with sod, and wild plants allowed to flourish over it.
In the case of city-dwelling Halflings, there may be more than one small community of them in a town of any great size; but while these communities are friendly to one another, each group tends to keep to itself, maintaining its own customs and traditions. Halfling families are often matriarchal, with extended groups of relations all run by a dominant female figure.
This can create fierce competition between differing branches of Halfling families who all compete for the favour of the central relative – which can be the inspiration for Halflings to leave home and seek fame and fortune amongst the adventuring community.
The costume requirement for Halflings is two prop hairy feet.