Besides Height, How Do Halflings Differ From Humans

[ondonaflash]

One thing I like to do when I make a world of my own is give each race specific traits that differentiate them from humans. Just like not all animals, or world cultures have the same qualifiers for beauty, cuisine, dietary concerns, etc. Neither should all races. For example orcs in my world:

Orcs are carnivorous, and eat their meat raw. Some orc cultures are known to feast on the flesh of their foes, but others make a habit of eating (only) the hearts of mighty enemies and animals. For males the size of tusks tends to be looked on as a sign of a viable mating partner, while for females most males prefer smaller tusks, but muscular arms and backs, for carrying the young.

Make up your own stuff, but have a reason for why its true.

If you want some background stuff to build off of, in my campaign Halflings are jungle born, and use their smaller size and natural agility to flee predators. They use stealth attacks and poisons to take down larger animals, but in general eat smaller creatures, insects, and vegetables that grow naturally in the jungle. They have heightened senses, developed over centuries of being hunted and build their townships in treetops, away from the forest floor predators.

[NecroRebel]

Traditionally, hobbits had much thicker, leatherier skin on their feet than humans. The same might be true of halflings, and it might be true of their hands, as well. This would be a cause of their normal lack of shoes, and if they also have thicker-skinned (but slimmer-fingered) hands, that would imply that they rarely wear gloves or gauntlets.

Halflings probably run at a hotter temperature than humans as well. Now, normally, smaller creatures would have a lower volume/surface area ratio, meaning that they would lose heat more efficiently, making them run colder. But, halflings are not normally especially vulnerable to cold climates, so they must be roughly as resistant to cold as humans, thus, they would have to run at a higher temperature normally.

Higher temperature also implies that their diet is relatively high in caloric value, to fuel the heat. It may also mean that halflings are hairier, overall, maybe even somewhat furry, to conserve more heat.

If halflings are very hairy, relative to humans, that might mean that they would value well-groomed body hair. It's a justification for the traditionally-long sideburns halfling men cultivate; well-groomed hair is, even moreso than for humans, a major beauty mark.

Also, halflings are traditionally very stealthy to survive, so traits that benefit stealth - short stature, soft voices that don't carry far, and, hey, leathery feet!, all would be attractive.



Edit: Just saw your edit about them being arboreal. Long arms and long fingers, beneficial for treetop living, would be extremely valued, as would compact builds for the same reasons.

[ondonaflash]

That's just my version, I'm not averse to anyone posting their own kinds. What customs do you think might develop in that kind of culture? Maybe limb stretching, corsets, treetop races? They probably have a lot of practice with knots and the like.

[Tsotha-lanti]

Everybody knows that halflings are man-eating jungle-dwelling savages from the Forest Ridge from over the Ringing Mountains. Not everyone knows that in ages past they were the masters of the world, using mighty psionics to bend and shape life itself to their wishes.

[ondonaflash]

Everybody knows that halflings are man-eating jungle-dwelling savages from the Forest Ridge from over the Ringing Mountains. Not everyone knows that in ages past they were the masters of the world, using mighty psionics to bend and shape life itself to their wishes.

I see. And how has this affected the development of their culture? Do they regularly practice meditation? Are meditative training exercises part of the regular life, or even education systems? Do they have specific rituals involved in the hunting of men?

[NecroRebel]

That's just my version, I'm not averse to anyone posting their own kinds. What customs do you think might develop in that kind of culture? Maybe limb stretching, corsets, treetop races? They probably have a lot of practice with knots and the like.

I was actually making a campaign setting a while back which involved arboreal halflings, though I've largely abandoned the project since due to schoolwork and such. Um. I largely assumed "vanilla" 4E halflings.

I assumed that, culturally, the halflings would be largely nomadic, though with largely permanent networks of treetop rope bridges crisscrossing their entire forest. It's difficult to subsist entirely in the treetops if you stay in one area, hence the nomadic lifestyle. You'd probably have them eat mainly tree-grown fruits, leaves, birds, and eggs, as well as the insects and tree-climbing creatures.

If halflings as a species in general tend to live in the treetops, they're probably going to be more monkeylike than the apelike humans, though what exactly that would entail as far as physical differences is difficult to say. They probably wouldn't practice limb stretching, though; their limbs would be naturally elongated due to evolutionary necessity.

I'm... really not sure what else to say. The problem is that you're getting farther and farther away from the normal conception of halflings, which means that others' conceptions of halflings will increasingly differ from yours, and thus be less useful. It's one issue with modifying a standard race rather than making your own from scratch

[ondonaflash]

Well I don't want to rules change anything. I just want each of my cultures in game to be unique, and I also want to see how people developed their own in-game cultures. I chose halflings because they are shorter than humans, and I wanted to ponder how that would change their lifestyle and customs, and furthermore, what evolutionary sequence would cause this.

This is a prelude to a homebrewed world where each of the major races are at war, trying to exterminate the others, as part of an evolutionary competition. They have developed an instinctive hatred for one another, which I think might have happened had their been any other intelligent races to compete with humans as they developed (BBC did a special on how the Cro Magnon might have driven the Neanderthals to extinction)

[Hat-Trick]

They actually speculate that Neanderthals were stronger and SMARTER than Cro Magnum, but were unable to adapt, maybe to changing climate or disease, not sure, but that's the new stuff.

[ondonaflash]

They actually speculate that Neanderthals were stronger and SMARTER than Cro Magnum, but were unable to adapt, maybe to changing climate or disease, not sure, but that's the new stuff.

IRRELEVANT!

But yeah, you don't get an entire race of midgets just for the fun of it, they generally have to have some edge over the evolutionary competition, and usually our customs develop around that. (Or obscure medical practices from the middle ages.)

And as for that world of genocidal races, the theory behind that is that each one would be vying for the evolutionary peak, instinctively, and thus, they would have an instinctive hatred for the other races which prevent the greatest threat.

[Tallis]

Stealth is highly valued, therefore tests of bravery and manhood revolve around it. Hunting down a dangerous animal or enemy alone is not considered brave, just stupid. If a halfling wants to prove he's brave he sneaks into an enemy camp and steals something.
This mindset also extends to courtship rituals. Normally a female will initiate courtship by sneaking into the male's residence and stealing something personal. Returning it shows her interest in romantic a relationship.
Villages tend to be far apart because of the scarcity of resources. This leads to males frequently be gone for long periods hunting, trading, or making war (by stealing supplies from enemy villages). Therefor the society is matriarchal. Females run the village because they are the ones that are there all the time. Children are raised communally so that the women can get on with running the village rather than being stuck at home with the kids.
Small monkeys and flying squirrels are frequently kept as pets since they can survive in the trees with the halflings. Chameleons are thought to be agents of the gods with their ability to blend in and observe the world.
Generally coloration that blends into the environment is considered attractive as are small size and nimbleness. Intelligence is much more valued than brute strength.

EDIT: I see now that you want race wars. Should a halfling find it necessary to kill, rather than just driving foes away, they would certainly be ambushers. Paralytic or sleep poisons delivered from a distance would immobilize the target before the halfings move in for the kill. If for any reason the poison doesn't work they will run away. Traps are also frequently used against stronger enemies.

[ondonaflash]

I postulate, that lacking stable resources they'd be nomadic, having a series of platforms interlacing their forests, which they use as staging points for their clans. I like your idea that war is a matter of stealing resources.

Coming of age? What if it weren't, say to steal something, but to vine jump down and grab some resource from the forest floor? (Something ridiculously exciting.)

[Tallis]

My previous post has been edited with combat tactics.

Climbing down to the floor as a coming of age could work. What about stealing a kitten from a leopard's den (is that the correct term for a leopard's home?) or some other animal that could be trained as a guard? Or gathering plants used for poisons?

[Tsotha-lanti]

I see. And how has this affected the development of their culture? Do they regularly practice meditation? Are meditative training exercises part of the regular life, or even education systems? Do they have specific rituals involved in the hunting of men?

Heck no. They wear paint and loincloths, beat on drums, climb in trees, kill and eat the giant spiders found on the Forest Ridge (and pretty much anything else, including travelers), and have a religion of bloody rituals. Their chiefs are preserver-psionics and capable warriors; these rare psionics and magicians no doubt practice meditation, but it's unlikely to be common among the rest. Funnily enough, Tallis' poisons make an appearance - in blowguns, naturally, but also in darts or javelins and arrows.

Then there's the ones who've moved on into the open deserts and badlands of the Tyr region, who apparently mostly live as packs that run down or ambush anything that they think they can kill and eat (just like the thri-kreen, funnily enough).


For serious, though, how can people not recognize Athasian halflings from a description that obvious? Such is the ignominy that mighty setting has fallen to.

[Tallis]

For serious, though, how can people not recognize Athasian halflings from a description that obvious? Such is the ignominy that mighty setting has fallen to.

Well it's been a long time since Dark Sun was published. Did it ever get updated for 3.X outside of Dragon magazine? If it makes you feel any better I did recognize them in your first post... never more than one session of Dark Sun myself, but it was an interesting idea.

[ondonaflash]

Well, I just wanted more than that which was already handed to you in the settings fluff. I want cultural development and how being a species causes their culture to differ from human culture. I just added a few qualifiers to help the process along.

[Origomar]

As children they play games like throw the stick and throw the stone. Also they hold sheets of lead in front of themselves as a test to their manhood.

[The Rose Dragon]

For serious, though, how can people not recognize Athasian halflings from a description that obvious? Such is the ignominy that mighty setting has fallen to.

If it helps, I recognized them the moment you said "man-eating". Blame the D&D PSAs for that.

[Hat-Trick]

Halflings are considered adults when their ability to draw a tower shield sized sheet of lead faster than a human can stumble their way through the words "Detect Evil." :P

Halfling society refers to anything bigger than Small size as some sort of derogatory term for either clumsy or slow. They only consider other Small races as worthy opponents and judge enemies by their stature, usually with smaller being better. Their exceptional hearing is highly valued, in fact, the entire race holds tournaments to test the hearing of all it's warriors, including such activities as a modified version of hide and seek, where It is blindfolded and placed in the middle of the clearing and must tag each other player one-by-one as they try to tag It. Thrown weapon contests. climbing races, and jumping challenges are also popular, with the participants usually betting dibs on food, mates, or duties depending on the group or tribe. Once every few months, a small group of individuals are chosen to test their bravery by taunting dangerous predators on the forest floor, the most common methods include hitting a sleeping target in close range or interrupting one on a hunt.

[ondonaflash]

Reminds me of an interesting OoTS scene, where Belkar recognized a femanized Roy by his scent, so perhaps its not just sight and hearing, but all five senses of a halfling, which are sharper than those of mere Large creatures. After millenia of being prey and the smallest of the races their senses are sharp enough to sense humans coming on the wind. Differentiate the races nearby by their scent, and track prey through the forest without the use of their sight. Should larger foes approach they could conceal themselves completely with a series of pre-trained maneuvers which every halfling learns from early childhood.

[ImmortalAer]

OOTS taught me everything I know ;

• Halflings can smell incredibly well with thier little noses.
• Thier supposed to be jolly.
• Cannot be hung.
• May or may not carry a lead sheet as a rite of adulthood.
• Enjoy food.
• Have hairy feet.
• Are somewhat self-centered.
• Write diaries that get used by evil liches in an attempt to take over the world. (Someone ought to warn Bilbo.)

[BobVosh]

For serious, though, how can people not recognize Athasian halflings from a description that obvious? Such is the ignominy that mighty setting has fallen to.

I got it instantly. In fact I was going to post a very similiar post. Whelp. That can't be done.

I enjoy having cannabilistic halflings/savage ones. I kinda use them like Tucker's Kobolds: forest edition. Replace tiny tunnels with ropes that break with more than 45 pounds, etc.

[Dagren]

Halfling society refers to anything bigger than Small size as some sort of derogatory term for either clumsy or slow.

What, even elves? They're just as dextrous, and, not being burdened with short stubby little legs, are faster too.

[Piedmon_Sama]

I actually don't use Halflings in the setting I currently DM. Nobody wanted to play one and we already had added Half-Ogres to the standard races so I didn't put them anywhere, and we've played about two years now without them.

But if I did, I've honestly always preferred the isolated, unassuming farmers of Tolkien to the Kender-lite of 3.x's fluff. Halflings are a pastoral people who work hard but live comfortably, out of the way from the politicking and wars of human kingdoms. They're big eaters, and those who care to know appreciate the richness of Halfling-grown tobacco and their hoppy beers. Every Halfling is part of a big, extended family where relatives always look after each others' business (whether they're wanted or not!) and while there are rich and poor among them, they're not so elitist as to bar anyone from a village dance or feast.

Most don't make much of them, and any would-be conqueror would hardly factor them into his plans. But they've got a certain resiliance which even most Halflings don't know they have, which will surprise you in a pinch if they're put to the test.

I mean don't get me wrong, Dark Sun's cannibal pygmies are cool but The Shire is the kind of place I'd like to live.

[ondonaflash]

Point, I just got bored with Tolkien-esque. So i decided mine were different! And I wanted to see how everyone else's were!

[Quietus]

I actually don't use Halflings in the setting I currently DM. Nobody wanted to play one and we already had added Half-Ogres to the standard races so I didn't put them anywhere, and we've played about two years now without them.

But if I did, I've honestly always preferred the isolated, unassuming farmers of Tolkien to the Kender-lite of 3.x's fluff. Halflings are a pastoral people who work hard but live comfortably, out of the way from the politicking and wars of human kingdoms. They're big eaters, and those who care to know appreciate the richness of Halfling-grown tobacco and their hoppy beers. Every Halfling is part of a big, extended family where relatives always look after each others' business (whether they're wanted or not!) and while there are rich and poor among them, they're not so elitist as to bar anyone from a village dance or feast.

Most don't make much of them, and any would-be conqueror would hardly factor them into his plans. But they've got a certain resiliance which even most Halflings don't know they have, which will surprise you in a pinch if they're put to the test.

I mean don't get me wrong, Dark Sun's cannibal pygmies are cool but The Shire is the kind of place I'd like to live.

If anything, I'd see Gnomes more like this than Halflings.

[mistformsquirrl]

My primary homebrew world doesn't use halflings >.< nothing against em, but I couldn't find a niche for them that I wasn't more satisfied with something else filling.

However if I did use halflings, they'd be something like this -

Halflings are tribal nomads who spend most of their time criss-crossing the vast plains of western Aster*. They make heavy use of riding dogs as mounts, and are known to be crack shots in the saddle, making good use of powerful composite shortbows. They're also skilled beastmasters, and when facing a halfling war party one should expect wolves and various predatory birds at the least.

Generally they're willing to help travelers or at least leave them be, but when times are lean and game is scarce, occasionally they'll begin to raid settlements for supplies; assuming they can't simply extort what they need.

Though most of the continent is rather civilized, the halflings refuse to settle for several reasons. The simplest and most obvious is that most halflings greatly enjoy their wandering ways - there is simply no inclination to stop.

There is also lingering animosity between more civilized groups and the halfling tribes due to their occasional use of extortion or raiding to survive during harsh times. Some of it is also related to larger folks sometimes deciding that clearing the plains of the tribes would be good for trade... which has resulted in several small wars; none of which have gone well for the large folk.

Of late the tribes have been in decline however, as the civilized kingdoms encroach more and more on their territory, leaving them less and less space to hunt unmolested; and some of the tribe's youth have left to seek their fortune in lands far from home, leaving tradition behind.


--- Essentially a cross between Native Americans and Pre-Genghis Khan Mongols. Probably could toss in a little bit of Russian steppe nomads as well for the most northerly groups.

*Aster - Most north-western continent on the primary map of my world. The upper lattitudes are positively frigid (thing Siberia); though the lower latitudes can be rather pleasant (midwestern US roughly).

(This was all thought up at 5am while enduring a pounding headache <,< please forgive me if it sounds ridiculous)

[Kaiyanwang]

In my campaings, halfling eat like a medium size creature.

[Faleldir]

• Cannot be hung.

I really hope you mean "hanged".

[mistformsquirrl]

OOTS taught me everything I know ;

• Halflings can smell incredibly well with thier little noses.
• Thier supposed to be jolly.
• Cannot be hung.
• May or may not carry a lead sheet as a rite of adulthood.
• Enjoy food.
• Have hairy feet.
• Are somewhat self-centered.
• Write diaries that get used by evil liches in an attempt to take over the world. (Someone ought to warn Bilbo.)

You forgot a really important one! >.>

* Make hats out of sentient creatures. Also salsa bowls. Also potentially litter boxes.

[Tsotha-lanti]

Well it's been a long time since Dark Sun was published. Did it ever get updated for 3.X outside of Dragon magazine? If it makes you feel any better I did recognize them in your first post... never more than one session of Dark Sun myself, but it was an interesting idea.

Athas.org is an absolutely wonderful conversion project. They were, unfortunately, rejected for publication under the OGL because they had published their material online already (beta versions, essentially, but there you go), so they kept doing it online as an open project.