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Playing a Halfing

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.

Halflings are wanderers and travelers, merchants and sailors, storytellers and poets, often seen in the communities of other species. Though many halflings are nomadic, and rarely settle in one place for long, they are deeply connected to each other by a unique ancestral consciousness mediated by their gods, the First Ones, which allows them to communicate telepathically and remember fragments of their ancestors’ knowledge and lives. Halflings, while not as numerous as humans, are frequent sights across the realms of many species of Taelgar. Cheerful and friendly with outsiders, but private and protective of their kin and traditions, halfling traders, wanderers, and storytellers keep the world connected. 

Creating Your Halfling Character

When you create your halfling character, you might want to consider how your past influenced your character. Many halflings are wanderers, with no fixed home, traveling in caravans, or ships, often in family groups. Sometimes these might follow regular or semi-regular paths, although others wander where whims take them. Other halflings settle, usually among other species, and often in crossroads or places where many travelers and stories cross their paths. Halfling villages or towns are exceedingly rare; there are no settled halfling realms known in Taelgar.

Halflings also usually have close ties to their kin and family, especially as many halflings effectively work in the family business running a trading ship or a merchant caravan. You might want to think about your family and what they do. Did you come from a traveling family, merchants or sailors? How did your travels impact your choices to become an adventurer? Or, are your origins from a settled community? 

A simple answer if engaging with the lore of halflings is not of interest to you is that your family runs a merchant caravan, or perhaps sailing ship, traveling a routine route in safe places, perhaps from somewhere close, but not too close, to where your adventures begin.

Halfling Names

Halflings have given names and family names, which are often derived from nicknames, professions, or family lore. To choose a name for your Halfling character, you might consider using one of the choices below, looking at a name list for inspiration, or you might invent your own, which might not follow typical halfling naming customs.

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

Basic Traits

Creature Type: Humanoid
Size: Small (about 2–4 feet tall)
Speed: 30 feet
Age: Halflings mature at roughly same rate as humans, and typically a little longer than humans, often reaching 100 with a rare few living substantially longer. 
Languages: The frequent travels and ancestral memory of halflings exposes them to many languages. You may select five languages during character creation, which should likely including Halfling and Common. Like all characters, you may choose to replace one of these language proficiencies with a tool proficiency. 

Halfling Traits

As a Halfling, you have these special traits.

Silent Speech

You have Telepathy with a range of 120 feet. You must share a language to communicate with a creature in this way. You can include more than one target in your telepathic communication as long as all targets share this trait.

Memory of the Ancestors

Your telepathic connection to the halfling’s ancestral memory can aid you when you seek to recall knowledge. When you take the Study action, you can expend one use of this feature to add a d6 to the roll, potentially turning a failure into a success. Alternatively, you can expend 3 uses of this feature to treat the roll on the d20 as a 20. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Proficiency bonus, and regain all uses when you finish a Long Rest. 

Luck

When you roll a 1 on the d20 of a D20 Test, you can reroll the die, and you must use the new roll.

Halfling Talent

Halflings are generally small, quick, charming and adaptable wanderers. You may choose one of the following talents to represent your connection to the First Ones: Nwana, the Stranger/Child; Obito, the Music Maker/Merchant; or Jemghari, the Storyteller/Wanderer.

  • Nwana’s Grace. You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours, and you can use your Dexterity modifier, instead of your Strength modifier, for any Strength check to climb, swim, or jump. This does not change your default jump distance.
  • Nwana’s Stealth. You can take the Hide action even when you are obscured only by a creature that is at least one size larger than you.
  • Obito’s Charm. You can use a Bonus Action to project a minor telepathic aura that extends to the range of your Silent Speech. Choose one creature you can see that is within the aura. The next time you take the Influence action against the target, while the target is in your telepathic aura, you have Advantage on the d20 Test. Once you use this ability, you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
  • Obito’s Knowledge. You have a knack for picking up new things. You gain your choice of one tool proficiency. In addition, you can act as an assistant when crafting items, as if you were proficient in a tool, even if you lack proficiency.
  • Jemghari’s Bravery. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
  • Jemghari’s Speech. You have a intuitive understanding of speech and language patterns. You learn two languages, and you may communicate one to three word sentences with any creature, as long as it speaks a language, even if you do not understand the language.