Halflings (Hobbits)

Only a handful of humans know the secret of the halflings' origin. That they once dwelled in the Shadow World, the realm of faerie enchantments that exists parallel to Cerilia. That their homeland was poisoned by the rise of the Usurper, who Anuireans call the Cold Rider, from which they fled to the daylight world. A small number of halflings arrived in Cerilia in time to witness the Battle of Mount Deismaar. In the early years of the Anuirean Empire, halflings arrived in small groups throughout Cerilia and settled wherever they were welcome. After the fall of the Empire the stream of halfling refugees has dwindled to almost nothing; those halflings that are alive today are many generations removed from the Shadow World and few have ever set foot in that dread realm.

Personality

Halflings always prefer boredom over trouble, or so they would have you believe. Most halflings love their homes and would never consider leaving unless forced to, but sometimes halflings are taken by wanderlust; they frequently take up adventuring. While seemingly a harmless, good-natured folk, the halflings posses a core of cold-forged steel. Halflings have ample appetites, both for food and other pleasures. They like well-cooked meals, fine drink, good tobacco, and comfortable clothes. While they can be lured by the promise of wealth, they tend to spend their gold on themselves and their friends rather than hoarding it. Halflings are also famous collectors, and wealthy halflings can go to great lengths to retrieve exotic objects they feel are missing from their collections.

Physical Description

Cerilian halflings stand about 3 ½ feet tall and resembles small humans. At first glance one might mistake them for children, but when looking more closely their true nature is quickly revealed. Halflings are wiry and quick, and move with a cat's measured grace. They are excellent climbers. Halflings have rather large feet for their size, and males have rather more body hair then do humans. They often prefer to walk barefoot as halfling feet are rugged and better insulated than those of humans. Halflings mature and age at about the same rate as humans do. They tend to live longer on the average, but this may have more to do with lifestyle and a lack of violence and disease in halfling communities.

Relations

The halflings are not a numerous people, but they are found nearly everywhere humans live. Halflings don't see the sense in a government larger than that of a village or extended family, thus they are happy to consider themselves citizens of whatever land surrounds them. It's not entirely unusual to find a handful of halfling farmers near a human village, or a neighborhood of halfling craftsmen in a larger town.

Alignment

Halflings can have any alignment, but most halflings are good. It is not in their nature to be selfish or cruel - those are the very things they fled the Shadow World from. Many halflings are neutral; while they value an orderly society, they are also very conscious of the needs of the individual. Halflings are often neutral good.

Classes

Most halflings are content to remain with their families and friends. Thus adventurer classes are quite rare among halflings. Some become fighters, but getting decent training can be difficult, so most martial halfling end up as warriors. There exists a small number of halfling clerics, but most religious halflings are priests.

The only class at which the halfling excels is the rogue - halflings are easily the best burglars in Cerilia. Halfling bards are also quite common, many of those taken by wanderlust become bards. Still, halflings follow many paths, and halfling wizards, sorcerers certainly exist, but are very rare.

Halfling Lands

The halflings aren't a numerous people, but they are found nearly everywhere humans live, except among the Vos. There is only one true halfling realms in all of Cerilia; the Burrows in north-central Khinasi. Here halflings live according to their own customs, but elsewhere they readily adapt to mimic the human inhabitants. There are also several bands of nomadic halflings who roam all over Cerilia, never stopping long in one place.

Religion

Halflings in Cerilia are not especially religious, but the Burrows has its own unique view of the spiritual world that reflects their special tie with the land and that which lies beyond. Their entire religion centers on respect for the land and maintaining the barriers between this world and that of shadow. Halflings that live among humans generally follow human gods, Avani is especially popular, but Laerme and Nesirie also see some worship. Halflings are generally on good terms with the temples of Ruornil, and often have contact with Aeric's wandering druids. It has been speculated that halflings worshipped their own pantheon of gods before the Exodus, but on this matter they remain silent.

Language

Halflings speak the same language as the people around them. This goes even in the Burrows where they speak Khinasi. The only halflings that do seem to posses a language of their own is the nomadic families. Not much is know about it, but that it is both a spoken language and a sign language.

Names

A halfling has a given name, a family name, and quite often a nickname. Names vary widely, as halflings also take up the naming conventions of their adopted homelands. Among the halflings of the Burrows there exists a naming convention that has roots back to every part of Cerilia, but that is distinctly halfling.

Male Names

Alton, Beau, Cade, Corben, Elan, Eldon, Garret, Jollid, Kylan, Lyle, Milo, Osborn, Roscoe, and Welby

Female Names

Amaryllis, Berrauberna, Charmaine, Cora, Edvara, Euphemia, Hollisande, Jillian, Lavinia, Merla, Portia, Seraphina, and Verna

Family Names

Baggins, Brushgather, Fairbarn, Garrelban, Holltropple, Innkeeper, Leagallow, Onmeadow, Thorngage, Tosscobble, and Underbough.

Adventurers

Halflings sometimes set out on their own to make their way in the world. Halfling adventurers are typically looking for a way to use their skills to gain wealth and status. The distinction between a halfling adventurer and a halfling just looking for "the big score" can get blurry. For a halfling, adventuring is often less of a career than an opportunity. While halfling opportunism can sometimes look like fraud or larceny to others, a halfling adventurer who learns t trust her fellows is worthy of trust in return.

Halfling Racial Traits

*+4 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -4 Strength: Halflings are nimble and quick but lack the physical strength of the Big Folk. Most halflings are also quite wise, a testament to their innate connection to nature and the trials they have faced as a race.
*Small-size Humanoid (Halfling) [Shadow]: As small creatures, halflings gain a +1 size bonus to AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on hide checks. They must also use smaller weapons, and carrying limits are three-quarters those of Medium-size characters.
*Base Speed: 20 feet.
*Acute Hearing (Ex): +2 racial bonus on Listen checks. Listen is always a class skill.
*Great Agility (Ex): +2 racial bonus on Climb, Jump, and Move Silent checks. Halflings are excellent athletes despite their small size. Climb, Jump, and Move Silent are always class skills.
*Fearless (Ex): +2 racial bonus on saving throws against fear. Having experienced the horrors of the Shadow World, thus few things can truly scare a the halfling race.
*Nature Sense (Ex): +2 racial bonus on Hide, Move Silent, and Wilderness Lore checks when in gentle natural surroundings. A summer wood or a ripe grain field would count, but not the craggy peaks above a dwarfhold or the endless snowfields of a great glacier. Hide and Wilderness Lore are always class skills.
*Resistance (Ex): +1 racial bonus to all saving throws. Halflings are tough little fellows and can take more punishment than most people would think.
*Shadow Feats (Su): The halflings’ link to the shadow world is not entirely severed, and some halflings develop the ability to detect the influence of the shadow or even to walk between the worlds. Halflings may take the Shadow Sight, Shadow Walk and Shadow Guide.
*Sure Aim (Ex): +1 racial attack bonus with thrown weapons. Halfling have exceptional hand-eye coordination, and practice rock-throwing from an early age.
*Class Restrictions: Any except aristocrat or barbarian.
*Level Adjustment +1: Halflings, while small, have many special abilities that make them formidable opponents.