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HALFLING

ANCESTRY

SMALL

HALFLING

HUMANOID

Hit Points 6

Size Small; Speed 25 feet

Ability Boosts Dexterity, Wisdom, Free; Ability Flaw Strength

Languages Common, Halfling

Additional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive). Choose from Dwarven, Elven, Gnomish, Goblin, and any other languages to which you have access (such as the languages prevalent in your region).

Senses Keen Eyes

Claiming no place as their own, halflings control few settlements larger than villages. Instead, they frequently live among humans within the walls of larger cities, carving out small communities alongside taller folk. Many halflings lead perfectly fulfilling lives in the shadows of their larger neighbors, while others prefer a nomadic existence, traveling the world and taking advantage of opportunities and adventures as they come.

Optimistic and cheerful, blessed with uncanny luck, and driven by powerful wanderlust, halflings make up for their short stature with an abundance of bravado and curiosity. At once excitable and easygoing, they are the best kind of opportunists, and their passions favor joy over violence. Even in the jaws of danger, halflings rarely lose their sense of humor.

Many taller people dismiss halflings due to their size or, worse, treat them like children. Halflings use these prejudices and misconceptions to their advantage, gaining access to opportunities and performing deeds of daring mischief or heroism. A halfling’s curiosity is tempered by wisdom and caution, leading to calculated risks and narrow escapes.

While their wanderlust and curiosity sometimes drive them toward adventure, halflings also carry strong ties to house and home, often spending above their means to achieve comfort in their homelife.

If you want to play a character who must contend with these opposing drives toward adventure and comfort, you should play a halfling.

You Might...

  • Get along well with a wide variety of people and enjoy meeting new friends.
  • Find it difficult to resist indulging your curiosity, even when you know it’s going to lead to trouble.
  • Hold a deep and personal hatred of the practice of slavery and devote yourself to freeing those who still labor against their will.

Others Probably...

  • Appreciate your ability to always find a silver lining or something to laugh about, no matter how dire the situation.
  • Think you bring good luck with you.
  • Underestimate your strength, endurance, and fighting prowess.

Physical Description

Halflings are short humanoids who look vaguely like smaller humans. They rarely grow to be more than 3 feet in height. Halfling proportions vary, with some looking like shorter adult humans with slightly larger heads and others having proportions closer to those of a human child.

Most halflings prefer to walk barefoot rather than wearing shoes, and those who do so develop roughly calloused soles on their feet over time. Tufts of thick, often-curly hair warm the tops of their broad, tanned feet. Halfling skin tones tend toward rich, tawny shades like amber or oak, and their hair color ranges from a light golden blond to raven black.

Halflings reach physical adulthood around the age of 20. A typical halfling can live to be around 150 years old.

Society

Despite their jovial and friendly nature, halflings don’t usually tend to congregate. They have no cultural homeland in the Inner Sea region, and they instead weave themselves throughout the societies of the world. Halflings eke out whatever living they can manage, many performing menial labor or holding simple service jobs. Some halflings reject city life, instead turning to the open road and traveling from place to place in search of fortune and fame. These nomadic halflings often travel in small groups, sharing hardships and simple pleasures among close friends and family.

Wherever halflings go, they seamlessly blend into the society they find themselves in, adapting to the culture of the predominant ancestry around them and adding their uniquely halfling twists, creating a blend of cultural diffusion that enriches both cultures.

Alignment and Religion

Halflings are loyal to their friends and their family, but they aren’t afraid to do what needs to be done in order to survive. Halfling alignments vary, typically closely in keeping with the alignment of the other ancestries that live around them. Halflings favor gods that either grant luck, like Desna, or encourage guile, like Norgorber, and many appreciate Cayden Cailean’s role as a liberator, as well as any religions common among other ancestries around them.

Names

Halfling names are usually two to three syllables, with a gentle sound that avoids hard consonants. Preferring their names to sound humble, halflings see overly long or complex names as a sign of arrogance. This goes only for their own people, however—halflings have names that suit them, and they understand that elves and humans might have longer names to suit their own aesthetics. Humans in particular have a tendency to refer to halflings by nicknames, with “Lucky” being common to the point of absurdity.

Sample Names

Anafa, Antal, Bellis, Boram, Etune, Filiu, Jamir, Kaleb, Linna, Marra, Miro, Rillka, Sistra, Sumak, Yamyra

TABLE 1: HALFLING HERITAGES
Exclusive Heritages Description
gutsy halfling Your family line is known for keeping a level head and staving off fear when the chips were down, making them wise leaders and sometimes even heroes.
hillock halfling Accustomed to a calm life in the hills, your people find rest and relaxation especially replenishing, particularly when indulging in creature comforts.
jinxed halflingAPG You were born with a strange blessing: bereft of the typical halfling luck, you can instead manipulate the fortunes of others.
nomadic halfling Your ancestors have traveled from place to place for generations, never content to settle down.
observant halflingLOCG Your finely honed senses quickly clue you in to danger or trickery.
twilight halfling Your ancestors performed many secret acts under the concealing cover of dusk, whether for good or ill, and over time they developed the ability to see in twilight beyond even the usual keen sight of halflings.
wildwood halfling You hail from deep in a jungle or forest, and you’ve learned how to use your small size to wriggle through undergrowth, vines, and other obstacles.
Versatile Heritages Description
AasimarAPG You descend from celestials or were touched by the celestial realms, gaining an air of awe and grace, as well as features distinctive to your celestial forebears.
AphoriteLOAG You were born with a connection to Axis, the Plane of Law.
ArdandeRE Your elemental heritage is reflected in the oils and fragrances of plants, in tree resin that fossilizes into amber, or in the gentle smell of a flower.
BeastkinLOAG The blood of a beast flows through your veins, granting you the ferocity and might of animals.
ChangelingAPG Your mother was a hag.
DhampirAPG You are the scion of a vampire, half living and half undead, gifted with uncanny charm and grace, a bloodless pallor, and elongated incisors.
DuskwalkerAPG Thanks to an ancient bargain, your soul has been reborn as a duskwalker, a planar scion with a connection to psychopomps and the Boneyard.
GanziLOAG Your blood is touched by primal chaos.
IfritLOAG You descend from fire elementals or bear the mark of the Inner Spheres, and your features illustrate the influence that elemental fire has over you.
OreadLOAG An earth elemental ancestor has influenced your bloodline, and your features highlight this elemental planar connection.
ReflectionDA You were created as a duplicate of another creature, intentionally or accidentally, though you might not know of your origins.
SuliLOAG You are descended from a janni or otherwise embody a dichotomy of opposing elemental planar forces.
SylphLOAG You are descended from air elementals or were born under the element’s influence.
TalosRE Your physical features reflect the influence a zuhra or other metal elemental has had over your bloodline.
TieflingAPG You descend from fiends or bear the mark of the fiendish realms, manifesting as some unusual feature that belies your heritage, such as horns or a tail.
UndineLOAG A water elemental ancestor influences your bloodline.
draconic scionBAD You possess the power of dragons, whether you descended from dragons, learned from dragons, were transformed by exposure to draconic energy, or reincarnated from a past life as a dragon.
TABLE 2: HALFLING ANCESTRY FEATS
Ancestry Feats Level Prerequisites Benefits
Adroit ManipulationLOCG 1 — You’ve fiddled with knots, locks, and blacksmith’s puzzles since you were a child to give your hands something to do.
Distracting Shadows 1 — You have learned to remain hidden by using larger folk as a distraction to avoid drawing attention to yourself.
Folksy PatterAPG 1 — You are adept at disguising coded messages as folksy idioms.
Halfling Lore 1 — You’ve dutifully learned how to keep your balance and how to stick to the shadows where it’s safe, important skills passed down through generations of halfling tradition.
Halfling Luck 1 — Your happy-go-lucky nature makes it seem like misfortune avoids you, and to an extent, that might even be true.
Halfling Weapon Familiarity 1 — You favor traditional halfling weapons, so you’ve learned how to use them more effectively.
InnocuousLOCG 1 — Halflings have been unobtrusive assistants of larger folk for untold ages, and your people count on this assumption of innocence.
Intuitive CooperationLOCG 1 — You are accustomed to working alongside others, relying on each other to get by.
Prairie RiderAPG 1 — You grew up riding your clan’s shaggy ponies and riding dogs.
Sure Feet 1 — Whether keeping your balance or scrambling up a tricky climb, your hairy, calloused feet easily find purchase.
Titan Slinger 1 — You have learned how to use your sling to fell enormous creatures.
Unassuming DedicationLOCG 1 — Your family instilled the values of care and patience into you from a young age.
Unfettered Halfling 1 — You were forced into service as a laborer, either pressed into indentured servitude or shackled by the evils of slavery, but you’ve since escaped and have trained to ensure you’ll never be caught again.
Watchful Halfling 1 — Your communal lifestyle causes you to pay close attention to the people around you, allowing you to more easily notice when they act out of character.
Cultural Adaptability 5 — During your adventures, you’ve honed your ability to adapt to the culture of the predominant ancestry around you.
Easily DismissedLOCG 5 — You are practiced at blending into the background of the streets and halls of larger folk to ensure that you are overlooked.
Halfling IngenuityLOCG 5 Halfling Luck While your willingness to dig into a task you know little about might get you into trouble, your incredible luck often saves you from danger.
Halfling Weapon Trickster 5 Halfling Weapon Familiarity You are particularly adept at fighting with your people’s favored weapons.
Shared LuckLOCG 5 Halfling Luck You are evidence that it’s lucky to travel with a halfling.
Step LivelyAPG 5 — You are an expert at avoiding the lumbering footsteps of larger creatures.
Cunning ClimberLOCG 9 — Whether you are climbing a ship’s rigging, a jungle tree, or a clock tower, you have an uncanny knack for finding footholds and handholds where larger creatures can’t.
Dance UnderfootAPG 9 Step Lively You dart under the legs of your enemies in combat.
Fade AwayLOCG 9 Easily Dismissed (page 44) Your ability to blend into the background allows you to fade away entirely or appear innocuous even to magical effects.
Guiding Luck 9 Halfling Luck Your luck guides you to look the right way and aim your blows unerringly.
Helpful HalflingLOCG 9 — When you aid a friend with a task, you find many ways to help and avoid interfering.
Irrepressible 9 — You are easily able to ward off attempts to play on your fears and emotions.
Unhampered PassageAPG 9 — You won’t allow others to restrain you.
Ceaseless Shadows 13 Distracting Shadows You excel at going unnoticed, especially among a crowd.
Cobble DancerLOCG 13 — You know how to take advantage of foes thrown off-balance by unstable flooring, loose cobblestones, or similar impediments.
Halfling Weapon Expertise 13 Halfling Weapon Familiarity Your halfling affinity blends with your class training, granting you great skill with halfling weapons.
Incredible LuckLOCG 13 Halfling Luck Even other halflings consider you to be particularly lucky.
Toppling DanceAPG 13 Dance Underfoot While sharing a creature’s space using Dance Underfoot, your weapons and unarmed attacks gain the trip trait, but only against the creature whose space you share.
Shadow SelfAPG 17 legendary Stealth With a powerful talent for misdirection, you slip from your adversaries’ notice so thoroughly you appear to be somewhere else.