Better Halflings

A fresh take on halflings that makes the species more interesting and enjoyable, complete with original lore in line with The Homebrood universe.

Developed by Quill.

Appearance

Halflings are diminutive humanoids that range in height from 3 - 4 feet tall, typically. Their size for the sake of mechanics is Small. They have sharp teeth, claws, and tails. Due to the tapetum lucidum layer behind their retina, they are able to see in the dark. Their ears are large and pointed, and they have control over their movement, like their tails. Some halfling ears are furred and some are not. Halfling skin tones, body types and facial features vary greatly. Halfling skin tones tend to be like human natural tones, so halflings can be very dark or light skinned and all in between. Halflings tend to have large portions of their bodies covered in fur including their legs, thighs, chest, belly and forearms. They also have manes though the length and coverage vary.

Humble Beginnings

Halfling-run cities are almost unheard of. They prefer the humble nature of a village - which halflings refer to as a warren. Halfling warrens rarely grow above a few thousand in terms of population, and that is considered large. They prefer to spread their communities out all over the world, in small bunches. They have no official governing body, and instead, each warren is mostly left to its own devices. They may have a matriarch, mayor, chief, or some other similar role overseeing the warren, but usually the warren simply obeys the governing body of the region in which they live.

Halflings are amazing farmers, and can manage to grow or raise something to eat even in the harshest conditions. Most warrens are surrounded by farmland, which is overseen as a community. Some warrens have been observed as being entirely nomadic.

Cuisine

Though halfling cuisine varies culture-to-culture, one thing halflings seem to share particularly in common is their renowned cooking. Obviously not all halflings are chefs, but if your chef is a halfling, you're probably in for both a very delicious and filling meal. Cooking is just one of the many ways creativity has permeated halfling culture. Halflings also rarely have kitchen measuring tools or cutlery as they simply use their hands for both measuring and eating food (and yes, their recipes are written according to hand measurements).

Gender, Sexuality, and Sexual Dimorphism

Halfling society (and society in general in our canon) widely regards gender as the spectrum that it is. Gender and sexual identity is not something hotly debated in halfling society as it's simply accepted as a normal part of one's identity. All pronouns, names and identities are perfectly acceptable. For instance, a halfling typically wouldn't assume someone's identity right away by seeing them - they would ask first, like a name, what they want to be referred to as.

As for the biological aspects, all halflings regardless of sex grow fur in the same areas on their bodies, including their face and jaw. There are a few sexually dimorphic differences as well, which are mostly similar to our own.

Family Life

Halflings have litters! Single babies are uncommon, whereas twins are most common. Triplets, quadruplets, etc are more common than single-born halflings. Most halfling families that choose to have children have several, common numbers being 5-15 children. Halflings have no trouble being the most population-dense of any other race, as polyamory and big families are fairly common across all halfling cultures, and family is regarded as important - but family can be what a halfling makes of it and is not defined by blood relation alone.

Halfling newborns are tiny, almost entirely covered in fur, and have a strong urge to cling on to things, so most halfling parents will simply let their babies cling to their clothes while they go about their day.

A faun child & baby halfling. Artwork by Ashley Grace @willowsquest

Oz, halfling leymancer

In 2017, I began developing my take on halflings. At first, they weren't intended to have a lot of lore, but as time went on and The Homebrood's setting became more fleshed out, I found fun ways to tie halflings into the history of the universe.

Why halflings? Well, I was looking to play something new, and my friends suggested I play a halfling, since I'm short as fuck irl and have terrible luck with dice. Being the shallow jerk I am, I hated the bobble-headed things in all the popular settings, so I took it upon myself to take canon and slow bake it at 200 degrees for 10 hours.

The result was my halfling Oscar, otherwise known as Rook. Now I would literally die for him and he lives in my head rent free. What started as pin the tail on the halfling, turned into... whatever this is! So here you go, a much requested informational site.

.Helflin

A primeval ancestor of modern halflings, the Helflin was a small mammal-like devil. They possessed sapient intelligence, were almost entirely furred, and grew to a maximum of two feet tall when standing bipedally.

.Ley

Pure and raw magic, a naturally occurring resource in the universe.

.Leymancer

A powerful mage capable of using and manipulating ley.

.Litter

A group of baby halflings born to a parent at a single time, such as twins or triplets or more.

.Mischief

A group of halflings.

.Warren

A halfling village or settlement.