Halflings of the Inner Sea

For as long as there have been humans in the Inner Sea region, there have been halflings nearby—small, quick, keen-eyed people only half as tall as humans and determined to construct an easy life in the shadows of larger people. Halflings are known for luck and bravery that overshadow their humble size. Although many halflings make their livings as traders or storytellers, most prefer to stay safely in the background. They enjoy being useful to others—and to their own families in particular—but they generally dislike receiving public accolades for their efforts.

Halflings in the Inner Sea region tend to share communities with members of taller ancestries, and quite a few halflings live in cities with their extended families. Young halflings are prone to wanderlust, however, and often strike out on their own across the land with little other than the few coins they’ve scraped together, a lucky memento or two, and their irrepressible personalities.

These young halflings are lean and quick, and most are, by human standards, a little bit larcenous in their habits. This inclination to thievery doesn’t arise from inherent greed; instead, halflings love lighthearted mischief and also tend to have more communal notions of property. Most halflings simply pick up a tool or bauble when it’s useful and return it once they’re done with it, though halflings are quick to return an item or pay for a replacement to the best of their ability if asked.

Older or more established halflings may take on supporting positions in a community, working as valets, shopkeepers, or artisans, but they retain their keen senses, deft fingers, and cheery outlook even as they age. Older halflings often enjoy doting on younger ones, passing down tools, weapons, and stories, and family bonds among halflings are particularly strong.

Halflings place an inordinate amount of trust in their inherent luck, which neighbors view with amazement and slight envy. Most halflings have so many lucky breaks in their lives—minor scrapes from would-be deadly falls, unseen arrows missing their mark, or serendipitous meetings in a busy city—that they rarely even remark upon them. Halflings rely on their good fortune to always be there to support them, and fortune rarely disappoints them for long. Halflings consider luck a personal attribute, like height or hair color, and many conclude that their surfeit offsets their smaller size. Many halflings like to collect items they consider lucky, such as berries and buttons, and are a bit unnerved by unlucky portents, such as birds of prey and splintered wood.

Halfling adventurers in the Inner Sea region are usually younger halflings who haven’t yet settled down, although tragedy might send an older halfling into the world to rebuild her fortune or recover a lost legacy. The former are likely to be bards, fighters, rogues, or sorcerers, while the latter might be alchemists, clerics, or wizards. In any case, halflings are brave and affable folk who enjoy keeping the spirits of their adventuring companions high.

The halflings of the Inner Sea region primarily developed alongside the people around them. Halflings living alongside other ancestries soon mimicked these groups in more than just cultures and traditions. These halflings developed into cultures and ethnicities that were distinctly halfling, yet quite similar to those of the other peoples with whom they shared their lives. Many halfling ethnicities are thus close reflections of other ancestries’ ethnicities, with halflings sharing the same physiology and cultural traditions of their compatriots, who are often humans.

However, even as halflings grew alongside other ancestries, some lived independent lives and developed cultures all their own.

Chelaxians

Halflings have long been slaves in Cheliax, where they are forced to labor in occupations that exploit their keen eyes and quick fingers to produce quick profits for their overseers, such as textile production or orchard picking. Others serve as household slaves, often as cooks or valets; these slaves typically are required to perform less arduous tasks but suffer frequent abuse and dreadful personal accommodations, as when forced to sleep in cupboards. In Cheliax, halflings are derisively called “slips,” and their cramped slave quarters are called “slip kennels.” Legal punishments for beating, mutilating, or killing a halfling in Cheliax are appallingly light and classified as property crimes, even when perpetrated against the nation’s few free halflings.

Halflings in Cheliax often band together for protection, such as by working hard to cover for a sick comrade or sharing the burden of an unfair punishment. Halflings take joy in spending time with family, even when they live as slaves, and their desire to protect their family members is, unfortunately, something cruel overseers learn to exploit. A halfling slave who betrays another for personal gain is labeled an “impkin” among them and earns a reputation so tainted that most impkin are essentially ostracized by all other halflings.

Jarics

Jarics are boisterous halflings who live hidden among the Barrier Wall mountains of northern Garund. Their rugged lifestyle among the peaks has shaped their features. Their skin is deeply tanned and weathered from spending most of their lives outdoors, and their bodies are slightly shorter and stockier compared to other halflings. Jarics are particularly muscular due to traversing the cliffs and rock walls of the Barrier Wall. This prowess steers Jarics toward more physical pursuits such as combat, with many Jaric children growing up wrestling one another for fun. The rough nature of their endeavors leaves many Jarics with black eyes or scars, something they wear with pride. Jarics sport dark brown eyes and darker hair colors, such as black and brown. They enjoy adopting bombastic hair styles and—among men—impressive facial hair. Jarics tend to wear loose-fitting clothing that permits a wide range of physical movement, although they prefer to eschew clothing altogether when doing so won’t make their neighbors uncomfortable.

Jaric society is a scattered thing, with most Jarics forming small groups and tribes on their own respective mountains. These groups usually number in the dozens, though some reach into the hundreds. These groups usually form hunting and gathering parties, moving across the peaks as they require to survive, with some groups keeping closer to the base of mountains where food and game are more plentiful. Though most Jaric tribes remain mobile, they do maintain a few settlements, most notably the halfling city of Limani in the central Barrier Wall. The city is a hub for thousands of Jaric halflings and is known for its seasonal festivals where Jarics trade food, stories, and blows in the name of friendly competition.

Like-minded Jarics in a community often join together in friendly, lively groups called bill-bands. A bill-band is a cross between a club and a gang, and most have pugnacious names like “Winkle’s Freedom Fighters” or “Futharc’s First Fist.” Although many bill-bands are groups of swaggering bravos who come together for sparring, sports, or similar pursuits, others form to engage in spirited debates and create collaborative art pieces.

Mihrinis

In the distant region of Iobaria, just east of Avistan, live the Mihrini halflings. These halflings developed among the colder climates of the region and have a unique appearance, with sharper chins and wider ears. They are also thinner than most halflings. Their skin is often pale, though some darker tones appear among Mihrinis, especially those living in the River Kingdoms.

Most Mihrini halflings have long, fine hair that grows black with white streaks or vice-versa, and they cannot grow facial hair. In addition, the hair on their feet tends to be finer and lighter than that of other halflings. Eye colors among Mihrinis tend to be on the lighter side, with blues and grays being most common. Mihrinis prefer many-layered clothing, particularly garments with several buttons in different styles and textures. Many keep their hair long and loose when not out of place in the local culture, save for small braids close to the scalp that are hidden by hair or a hood.

Unfortunately, Mihrini culture is not what it once was. The Choking Plague in Iobaria thinned the numbers of Mihrini halflings over five centuries ago, and the population never truly recovered. The Mihrini survivors soon scattered throughout Iobaria and beyond, partly in hopes of escaping the constant plagues in the region. Today, many Mihrinis live along the eastern edge of Avistan, particularly near Brevoy, Galt, and the River Kingdoms.

Mihrini halflings move in large tribes and are typically a nomadic people, uprooting at the first sign of possible disaster. These tribes maintain few written records and instead keep oral histories, telling tales from previous homes and lessons learned from previous dangers.

Due to the constant, unpredictable movement throughout their lives, many Mihrinis are predisposed to an anxious disposition. To help stay at ease or remain occupied, many Mihrinis keep a small piece of sturdy string in a pocket or tied around a wrist. Called a hallinette, this string gives the halfling something to keep the fingers occupied, whether in tying or re-tying knots, arranging complicated loops, or even simply twisting it among the fingers.

Othobans

With the return of Xin-Edasseril and the rise of New Thassilon near Varisia came a number of Thassilonian people displaced from time. Among these were a small population of Othoban halflings. These halflings lived in ancient Thassilon and were the precursors to many of the halflings that live in Varisia today. Their displacement preserved their unique traits, such as their range of skin tones from pale to dusky. Othoban hair is typically wavy, with colors as varied as their skin, though they are unable to grow facial hair except for thin sideburns. Much like other Thassilonians, Othobans like to wear the latest styles and enjoy having multiple outfits to choose from, often overspending on clothing. However, even Othobans of limited means keep a few well-tended articles of clothing they can mix and match to create different looks, and they frequently share clothing with their neighbors—whether their neighbors appreciate it or not.

As Othobans are now stepping into a new and strange world, many of them are doing their best to learn about the new time in which they live, pursuing new, exciting, or pleasing sensory experiences. They seek out a variety of local cultures, enjoying as many different variations of art, food, and pageants as their means allow. Many Othobans also thirst for knowledge and delve into reading. These Othobans collect stories, whether from books they’ve read or tales they’ve heard in their travels, and spend time contemplating disparate stories to discover common themes. The excitable nature of these Othobans sometimes makes it difficult to keep up with them in conversation, as the halflings continually and energetically jump from topic to topic.

Song’o

Many halflings live in the Mwangi Expanse, but few are as reclusive as the Song’o halflings of the Laughing Jungle. Unlike most halflings, who adopt the culture of the humanoids near them, Song’o halflings are reclusive and keep their own traditions. Already cautious due to the prevalent dangers of their jungle home, the Chelaxian establishment of the former colony of Sargava taught the Song’o to distrust and flee from outsiders. Today, with the overthrow of that government and the founding of Vidrian, Song’o are just beginning to explore beyond their own communities once more. They still distrust unfamiliar people, prefer to stay out of sight and observe their surroundings, and readily uproot their temporary villages and relocate to new regions deeper in the jungle if they suspect danger is nearby.

Because of their skittishness and reluctance to interact with others, Song’o halflings preserve a rich and ancient culture that developed in isolation in the Laughing Jungle. They enjoy fleeting art, such as music made with impromptu items, or sculptures of earth and leaves. Song’o halflings share the dark skin of their Mwangi human neighbors, with black or dark-brown eyes and dark, curly hair. Most Song’o halflings like to paint their bodies, especially their faces, and they enjoy showing off their designs to others, although they are reluctant to compliment even skillful work because they think compliments bring bad luck. They are very fond of flowers and use them to adorn their homes, wagons, and clothing. Song’o halflings wear multiple layers of patterned clothing when possible, with stories about how each layer provides protection from predators, insects, or weather. From a practical standpoint, however, these layers must be lightweight so the halflings don’t overheat in their warm jungle; their gauzy but resilient clothing is particularly prized by the few traders who have befriended Song’o halflings. They don’t tend toward any particular class, but usually have the Wildwood halfling heritage.

Uhlams

Among the depths of the Verduran Forest live Uhlam halflings. These halflings have lived in and around the forest for centuries, enjoying simple lives. Uhlam skin tones range from pale for those who live within the forest to tan tones for those living on the fringes. Most Uhlams are somewhat squat and heavier compared to other halflings. They tend to have hair mostly of lighter tones like blonde, brown, and red, and most Uhlams have trouble growing much facial hair, though sideburns are common. Uhlam eye colors have a wide spectrum including more common colors like blues, browns, and greens to more vibrant coloration like lavender and dark yellow. Uhlam halflings tend to keep their hair short and enjoy simple, functional clothing that is useful and reliable. Such clothing tends to have several flaps and pockets, each containing some useful tool, bit of food, or other sundry item.

The relatively stable Uhlam lifestyle, with few external threats, leads many of these halflings to seek out simple comforts and pursuits that they find extremely fulfilling. They often adopt professions that require dedication and discipline, such as farming, sewing, or banking. They also eagerly take on tasks that require planning and hard work, such as shipbuilding or construction. Although Uhlams like the long process of creation, they are often very free with the fruits of their labors. They enjoy crafting comfortable homesteads for family and friends, making a decent living from well-tended crops, and seeing their family fortunes grow from patient investing. While an Othoban halfling might extol the complex flavors of a meal, an Uhlam would instead focus on the many steps to create it and savor seeing loved ones enjoy it.