Halflings and Gnomes

[brian c]

Okay, it's been a long time since I've posted anything about my homebrew setting, but I'm putting out a few more things now and hopefully more soon. Everything I've posted so far is linked in my sig (and this will be soon).

These are the Halflings and Gnomes of Suraen. Two types of halflings, basically lightfoot and strongheart. Gnomes are a very intellectual race, inclined to learn magic as wizards. Anything else mentioned here should be explained in my other posts for the setting, or feel free to ask me if you're interested.

As always, you're welcome to use these in your game, or to take some ideas. These races are specifically intended for my homebrew setting, so if you put them someplace else they may step on toes (metaphorically) or feel out of place.

Oh, and everything is designed for 3.5ed, though the setting has some houseruled things. I'll eventually do a partial conversion incorporating some elements of 4e, but it should remain compatible with the base 3.5 rules

Coming up next, by the end of the week maybe: Orcs and Half-Orcs. Other races include (and are limited to) Goblins, Hobgoblins, Giants, Half-Giants, Kobolds, and Half-Dragons. I'll probably do them in pairs, in that order

[brian c]

Halflings

The Goddess Sholana created halflings as miniature versions of the humans created by Baal and Rabel. Halflings also are divided into two subraces, though unlike humans the halfling races can be very different from each other. Each race mimics and idolizes a group of humans: Lightfoot halflings with Rabelians, Strongheart halflings with Baalites. Sholana hoped that these friendly and innocent little people would prevent feuds between humans.


Lightfoot Halflings

Personality: Lightfoot halflings are cheery and playful. They look up to humans, literally and figuratively, and try to emulate everything that they do, especially the city-dwelling Rabelians. Lightfoot halflings are enthusiastic and friendly, slow to anger and quick to forgive. They are not unintelligent, but do tend to be somewhat gullible and naive.

Physical Description: Lightfoot halflings stand between 3 and 3-1/2 feet tall, and weigh about 30-40 pounds. Physically, they resemble humans, though they have comparatively longer fingers and rarely develop noticeable muscle. Lightfoot halflings almost always have curly hair, usually black or brown but red hair is not unknown.

Relations: Lightfoot halflings get along particularly well with Rabelian humans and gnomes, with whom they share many similarities. They also respect their fellow halflings the Stronghearts, though do not always agree with them. Lightfoot halflings often find dwarves to be far too serious, but when a situation must be serious the two races cooperate gladly. Halflings generally fear and distrust orcs, and are easily intimidated by the much taller giants and half-giants.

Alignment: Lightfoot halflings are orderly but free-spirited; most are Neutral Good in alignment. They are almost always willing to help out others, but expect kindness in turn when they are in need.

Lightfoot Halfling Lands: Lightfoot halflings have few lands of their own, mostly living in gnomish or human cities. They do involve themselves in government, but always recognize that they are the secondary (or tertiary) inhabitants of the land, and do not press their customs onto others.

Religion: Lightfoot halflings mainly worship their creator, Sholana. Those living in human or dwarven lands may give primary worship to Rabel, and those among gnomes (or any wizards) will praise Thosas. It is very rare for a lightfoot halfling to worship a god outside of these three, but warrior-types may revere Kashil, and evil lightfoots could be dedicated to Nalat or Brask.

Language: Lightfoot halflings speak Halfling and Common. Those living among other races will often learn their language, mostly Gnome and Dwarven. Some lightfoots are more attuned with nature and speak Sylvan or Elven, and as with any race wizards learn Draconic. The dialect of the halfling language spoken by Stronghearts is understandable but distinct from that spoken by Lightfoots.

Names: Lightfoot halflings borrow the naming conventions of Rabelian humans. First names are sometimes taken from relatives or famous historical heroes, while last names generally indicate a profession or hometown, and are passed down within a family. Lightfoot names tend to be shorter than human names though.

Adventurers: Lightfoot halflings are likely to become adventurers to fulfill their natural curiosity about the world and its inhabitants. Lightfoot halfling adventurers are friendly, inquisitive, carefree and often easily distracted. They are unlikely to crusade for any great cause other than personal satisfaction.

Alignment: Tends toward Good, Lawful
Abilities: +4 Dexterity, -2 Strength, -2 Wisdom
Size: Halflings are Small sized; they gain a +4 to Hide, +1 to attacks and +1 to AC, movement speed of 30ft
Racial Bonuses: +2 on Move Silently, +1 on ranged attack rolls, +1 on all saving throws, +2 on Listen checks, +2 morale bonus on saves vs. fear
Civilized: All Lightfoot Halfling may choose one Craft skill and one Profession skill to count as a class skill if their class does not have Craft or Profession as class skills. If these are already class skills, this has no effect.
Languages: Common, Halfling. Bonus languages: Gnome, Dwarven, Sylvan, Terran.

[brian c]

Wild Halflings

Personality: Strongheart Halflings are, as their name indicates, strongwilled and stubborn. Just as their cousins the Lightfoots look up to Rabelian humans, Stronghearts look up to Baalites. Strongheart Halflings do their best to be self-sufficient, and value survival skills highly. Overall they are friendly, but often have misunderstandings due to foreign customs.

Physical Description: Strongheart Halflings are slightly larger than Lightfoots, standing from 3 ½ – 4 feet tall and weighing 40-50 pounds on average. They are generally well-muscled with calloused hands and feet, thick necks, and dark hair and eyes. They bear some resemblance to dwarves, but no one could confuse the two. Clothing is minimal and generally made of animal skins, imitating trends of Baalite humans.

Relations: Strongheart Halflings share good relations with Baalites and Lightfoots, and also to a lesser extent Rabelians. Some become good friends with dwarves, but most are cordial at best. The same goes for gnomes, who value book-learning more than most Strongheart halflings are comfortable with. Stronghearts have limited contact with the tree-dwelling elves, but there is a bond of friendship between the two races.

Alignment: Strongheart Halflings are chaotic and free-spirited, but also lean towards Good as a race. They are hospitable, but not overwhelming with friendship.

Strongheart Halfling Lands: Strongheart Halflings are generally nomadic, like Baalite humans. They move from place to place, living off the land. Occasionally stronghearts live and travel with Baalite human tribes, but are most often on their own.

Religion: Strongheart halflings mainly worship their creator, Sholana. Many also worship Baal or the god of strength Kashil. A small number of stronghearts woship Gosal, Vonak or Thosas. Evil halflings, rare but not unheard of, are likely to revere Srohlaz or Kifan. There is also a small but dedicated group of halflings who follow the teachings of the giant god Bensun.

Language: Strongheart halflings speak Halfling and Common. Many also learn Elven or Sylvan. Halflings learn the language of the races which they have the most contact with, most commonly Dwarven, Orc, Giant and Draconic, but sometimes Goblin or Gnome also. The dialect of the halfling language spoken by Stronghearts is understandable but distinct from that spoken by Lightfoots.

Names: Strongheart Halfling names take the same pattern as those of Baalite humans, growing in length as an individual grows older. The names themselves tend to be quite different, and are generally in the halfling language. Most nicknames are monosyllabic, and unlike with humans this may be a shortened version of a full name.

Adventurers: Strongheart halfling adventurers are not uncommon, as they are a glory-seeking race. Stronghearts particularly like to disprove certain stereotypes that "little people" cannot be effective warriors.

Alignment: Tends toward Chaotic
Abilities: +2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence
Size: Halflings are Small sized; they gain a +4 to Hide, +1 to attacks and +1 to AC, movement speed of 20ft.
Quick to Master: Bonus feat at 1st level.
Racial Bonuses: +2 on Move Silently, +1 on ranged attack rolls.
Attuned to Nature: All Strongheart Halflings treat Knowledge (Nature), Survival, and Animal Empathy as class skills. If these are already class skills, this has no effect.
Languages: Common, Halfling. Bonus Languages: Elven, Sylvan, Dwarven, Orc, Giant.

[brian c]

Gnomes

Personality: Gnomes are curious and friendly. They value knowledge over all else, but at the same time they are extroverted. Gnomes are fun to be around, tolerable, and inoffensive. They can be obsessive at times. Though they favor good over evil, they are not judgmental and refuse to condemn anyone without definite proof.

Physical Description: Gnomes grow to be 3 to 3-1/2 feet tall, and weigh 25-35 pounds. They are physically more or less smaller-scale humans. Gnomes do have slightly large ears and noses for their size, and tend also to be quite skinny. Most gnomes have brown or black curly hair, but usually wear some sort of hat. Gnome skin tones and eye colors are similar to those of humans. Gnomish dress is usually bright-colored and loose, but gnomes also will dress in gnome-sized versions of clothing from other cultures when away from gnomish lands.

Relations: With their genial nature and intelligence, gnomes are well-liked by other races. They get along particularly well with their fellow small people the halflings. Any aspiring mage respects gnome wizards, and in turn gnomes encourage others to learn magic and use it to make the world a better place. Good-aligned dragons don't mind that gnomes are curious about magic, but evil dragons, demons and devils resent what they see as gnomes meddling in their arena.

Alignment: Gnomes are generally studious and organized, leaning toward Lawfulness, though there are some Chaotic gnomes. Gnomes also tend to enjoy helping others, and as such they are very unlikely to have evil alignments.

Gnomish Lands: Gnomes live in grassy plains and coastal areas; they like to be able to see the sky and the horizon. Gnome cities are organized around the magical colleges which are so well-known. The Headmaster of the school effectively acts as the Mayor of the city, leading to the very high literacy rates and good education among gnomes.

Religion: Almost universally, gnomes revere Thosas, the gnome god of wizardry. Gnomes have respect for many other gods though, especially Sholana. Vonak has a special place in gnomish religion, as he brought into the world arcane magic and doesn't object to its usage by gnomes.

Language: All gnomes speak Gnome and Common. Learning other languages is very important in gnomish culture, and it is rare to meet a gnome who speaks less than four languages. The most common languages learned are Halfling, Dwarven and Draconic, though depending on an individual gnome's lifestyle and habitat he may opt to learn Elven, Sylvan, Goblin, Giant, or any other language.

Names: There are very few different gnomish first names, but a great variety in surnames. Gnomish last names are taken from places, possessions and professions, and may be in any language; thus even two gnomes from the same town have different last names because one is the gnomish name and the other is the Common name (while more people yet may use the Dwarven name or the Halfling name). Gnomes honor their forefathers by using the same names within a family for generations. Names often use the sh, th and v sounds, honoring Sholana, Thosas and Vonak respectively. A typical gnomish name might be Shovath Hilltop III.

Adventurers: Gnomes love to meet new people, and most gnomes do extensive travelling in their lives. Combined with the widespread magical training in gnomish lands, this makes gnomes extremely likely to adventure for at least some part of their lives.

Abilities: +2 Charisma, +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength, -2 Constitution.
Size: Gnomes are Small sized; they gain a +4 to Hide, +1 to attacks and +1 to AC, movement speed of 20ft.
Racial Bonuses: +2 to Diplomacy,Listen and Craft(Alchemy) checks, Speak Language is always a class skill, +2 racial bonus on Will saves. Low-light vision

[Prophaniti]

Looks pretty good so far, plenty of thought into the story of the races, which would be the more important part, since you're not doing that much to the stats. Quick one on the skills, though. In the section for the first halfling group, the Civilised ability - aren't Craft and Profession skills always class skills? At least, I can't think of a class that doesn't have them listed, though I don't have the books handy. Same for the Gnomes and Speak Language. I could be wrong, I'm just wondering.

[brian c]

Looks pretty good so far, plenty of thought into the story of the races, which would be the more important part, since you're not doing that much to the stats. Quick one on the skills, though. In the section for the first halfling group, the Civilised ability - aren't Craft and Profession skills always class skills? At least, I can't think of a class that doesn't have them listed, though I don't have the books handy. Same for the Gnomes and Speak Language. I could be wrong, I'm just wondering.

As a quick example, look at the barbarian (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/barbarian.htm), which has none of those three as class skills.

I'm pretty proud of my flavor texts, especially the little details like names and geography (although I've yet to work up a map that I can be pleased with). I think that I've done a nice job of elaborating beyond just the standard fantasy tropes.

[brian c]

Good morning bump