Halfling
The comforts of home are the goals of most halflings' lives: a place to settle in peace and quiet, far from marauding monsters and clashing armies; a blazing fire and a generous meal; fine drink and fine conversation. Though some halflings live out their days in remote agricultural communities, others form nomadic bands that travel constantly, lured by the open road and the wide horizon to discover the wonders of new lands and peoples. But even these wanderers love peace, food, hearth, and home, though home might be a wagon jostling along an dirt road or a raft floating downriver.
Small and Practical
The diminutive halflings survive in a world full of larger creatures by avoiding notice or, barring that, avoiding offense. Standing about 3 feet tall, they appear relatively harmless and so have managed to survive for centuries in the shadow of empires and on the edges of wars and political strife. They are inclined to be stout, weighing between 40 and 45 pounds.
Halflings' skin ranges from tan to pale with a ruddy cast, and their hair is usually brown or sandy brown and wavy. They have brown or hazel eyes. Halfling men often sport long sideburns, but beards are rare among them and mustaches even more so. They like to wear simple, comfortable, and practical clothes, favoring bright colors.
Halfling practicality extends beyond their clothing. They're concerned with basic needs and simple pleasures and have little use for ostentation. Even the wealthiest of halflings keep their treasures locked in a cellar rather than on display for all to see. They have a knack for finding the most straightforward solution to a problem, and have little patience for dithering.
Kind and Curious
Halflings are an affable and cheerful people. They cherish the bonds of family and friendship as well as the comforts of hearth and home, harboring few dreams of gold or glory. Even adventurers among them usually venture into the world for reasons of community, friendship, wanderlust, or curiosity. They love discovering new things, even simple things, such as an exotic food or an unfamiliar style of clothing.
Halflings are easily moved to pity and hate to see any living thing suffer. They are generous, happily sharing what they have even in lean times.
Blend into the Crowd
Halflings are adept at fitting into a community of humans, dwarves, or elves, making themselves valuable and welcome. The combination of their inherent stealth and their unassuming nature helps halflings to avoid unwanted attention.
Halflings work readily with others, and they are loyal to their friends, whether halfling or otherwise. They can display remarkable ferocity when their friends, families, or communities are threatened.
Pastoral Pleeasantries
Most halflings live in small, peaceful communities with large farms and well-kept groves. They rarely build kingdoms of their own or even hold much land beyond their quiet shires. They typically don't recognize any sort of baffling nobility or royalty, instead looking to family elders to guide them. Families preserve their traditional ways despite the rise and fall of empires.
Many halflings live among other races, where the halflings' hard work and loyal outlook offer them abundant rewards and creature comforts. Some halfling communities travel as a way of life, driving wagons or guiding boats from place to place and maintaining no permanent home.
Exploring Opportunities
Halflings usually set out on the adventurer's path to defend their communities, support their friends, or explore a wide and wonder-filled world. For them, adventuring is less a career than an opportunity or sometimes a necessity.
Halfling Names
A halfling has a given name, a family name, and possibly a nickname. Family names are often nicknames that stuck so tenaciously they have been passed down through the generations.
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: Brushgather, Goodbarrel, Greenbottle, High-hill, Hilltopple, Leagallow, Tealeaf, Thorngage, Tosscobble, Underbough
Affable and Positive
Halflings try to get along with everyone else and are loath to make sweeping generalizations —especially negative ones.
Dwarves. "Dwarves make loyal friends, and you can count on them to keep their word. But would it hurt them to smile once in a while?"
Elves. "They're so beautiful? Their faces, their music, their grace and all. It's like they stepped out of a wonderful dream. But there's no telling what's going on behind their smiling faces —surely more than they ever let on."
Humans. "Humans are a lot like us, really. At least some of them are. Step out of the castles and keeps, go talk to the farmers and herders and you'll find good, solid folk. Not that there's anything wrong with the barons and soldiers—you have to admire their conviction, And by protecting their own lands, they protect us as well."
Halfling Traits
Your halfling character has a number of traits in common with all other halflings.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
Age. A halfling reaches adulthood at the age of 20 and generally lives into the middle of his or her second century.
Alignment. Most halflings are lawful good. As a rule, they are good-hearted and kind, hate to see others in pain, and have no tolerance for oppression. They are also very orderly and traditional, leaning heavily on the support of their community and the comfort of their old ways.
Size. Halflings average about 3 feet tall and weigh about 40 pounds. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Lucky. When you roll a 1 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll.
Brave. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened. Milling Nimbleness. You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Halfling. The Halfling language isn't secret, but halflings are loath to share it with others. They write very little, so they don't have a rich body of literature. Their oral tradition, however, is very strong. Almost all halflings speak Common to converse with the people in whose lands they dwell or through which they are traveling.
Subrace. The three main kinds of halfling; lightfoot, ghostwise, jungle, river, and stout, are more like closely related families than true subraces. Choose one of these subraces.
Lightfoot
As a lightfoot halfling, you can easily hide from notice, even using other people as cover. You're inclined to be affable and get along well with others. In the Forgotten Realms, lightfoot halflings have spread the farthest and thus are the most common variety.
Lightfoots are more prone to wanderlust than other halflings, and often dwell alongside other races or take up a nomadic life. In the world of Greyhawk, these halflings are called hairfeet or tallfellows.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Naturally Stealthy. You can attempt to hide even when you are obscured only by a creature that is at least one size larger than you.
Ghostwise
Ghostwise halflings trace their ancestry back to a war among halfling tribes that sent their ancestors into flight from Luiren. Ghostwise halflings are the rarest of the hin, found only in the Chondalwood and a few other isolated forests, clustered in tight-knit clans.
Many ghostwise clans select a natural landmark as the center of their territory, and members carry a piece of that landmark with them at all times. Clan warriors known as nightgliders bond with and ride giant owls as mounts.
Because these folk are clannish and mistrustful of outsiders, ghostwise halfling adventurers are rare. Ask your DM if you can play a member of this subrace, which has the halfling traits in the Player's Handbook, plus the subrace traits below.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by l.
Silent Speech. You can speak telepathically to any creature within 30 feet of you. The creature understands you only if the two of you share a language. You can speak telepathically in this way to one creature at a time.
Stout
As a stout halfling, you're hardier than average and have some resistance to poison. Some say that stouts have dwarven blood. In the Forgotten Realms, these halflings are called stronghearts, and they're most common in the south.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Stout Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.
Jungle
The halflings of the deep forest and jungle are the most isolated of the halfling populations. In most worlds, they live a lifestyle that focuses on obtaining the most elusive and delicious foods of the forest, foraging and hunting in tight-knit groups. In other worlds, these halflings are less isolated, and focus more on acting as jungle and forest guides for the other races, especially when other halflings happen to travel through. And there are even worlds like that of Dark Sun, where these halflings are mostly lawful evii mercilessly hunting and devouring outsiders that wander into their jungle territory - even other humanoids.
As a jungle halfling, you have keen senses, you have spent much of your life climbing the branches and trees of your homeland, and you've been trained in the ways of foraging and hunting with your tribal weaponry.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Brachiator. You have a climbing speed of 30 feet.
Hunter's Weapon Training. You have proficiency with the blowgun, net, spear, and whip.
Tropical Resilience. You're naturally adapted to hot climates, as described in the Dungeon Master's Guide.
River Halfling
Traveling by raft, barge, or even large aquatic beast, the halflings of the bays, rivers, and lakes are by far the most nomadic families of halflings. These halflings are known for their swimming ability, and for their skill upon any manner of aquatic vessei performing rigging, navigating, or fishing tasks with ease. The riverfolk in many worlds are guides, traders, and hunters that move up and down their ancestral waterways, enjoying a slow-flowing life. In other worlds, they are known for their sharp distrust of outsiders and lack of wanderlust, features that are truly exceptional among most halflings, and they live as an insular community. And there are worlds where they are known as ocean halflings, carrying out long voyages from island to island on communal boats across a vast and seemingly endless ocean.
As a river halfling, you were born on the waters, and you grew up surrounded by the working knowledge of the boat and river you lived on. You've also practiced both swimming and holding your breath so long that they've become second nature to you.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Fisher's Weapon Training. You have proficiency with the lance, net, spear, and trident.
River Traveler. You have proficiency with water vehicles, and you have advantage on ability checks made to forage or navigate near a natural body of water.
Waterborne. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet and you can hold your breath for twice as long as normal
Homebrew Changes
Subrace Changes
- Added the Jungle and River halfling from The Elements and Beyond Compendium