Quick and resourceful wanderers, small in stature but great in courage
AW at-will · ENC encounter · DLY daily |
Fields: Req requirement · Trig trigger · Tgt target · Atk attack · Hit/Miss/Eff · 1°/2° primary/secondary · Sust sustain · After aftereffect · Spec special |
Shorthand: Str/Dex/Con/Wis/Int/Cha = ability mod · EONT/SONT = end/start of your next turn · sq = square(s) · CA combat advantage · OA opp. attack · MBA/RBA melee/ranged basic attack · HP hit points · tgt target · [W] weapon dice
| ENC | Second ChanceHalfling Racial PowerImm Intr Pers | Luck and small size combine to work in your favor as you dodge your enemy’s attack. Eff When an attack hits you, force an enemy to roll the attack again. The enemy uses the second roll, even if it’s lower. |
Halflings are a small race known for their resourcefulness, quick wits, and steady nerves. They are a nomadic folk who roam waterways and marshlands. No people travel farther or see more of what happens in the world than halflings.
Small characters follow most of the same rules as Medium ones, with the following exceptions.
Halflings stand about 4 feet tall and weigh about 80 pounds. They resemble small humans and are proportioned like human adults. Halflings have the same range of complexions as humans, but most halflings have dark hair and eyes. Halfling males don’t have beards, but many have long, full sideburns. Halflings of both genders often wear complicated hairstyles, featuring complex braiding and weaving.
Halflings typically dress in clothes that match their surroundings and prefer earth tones and various shades of green. Their clothing and gear feature woven textures and stitching. Birds, river patterns, boats, and fish are common images in halfling art and decoration.
Halflings have life spans comparable to humans.
Halflings are an affable, warm, and cheerful people. They survive in a world full of larger creatures by avoiding notice or, barring that, avoiding offense. They appear harmless and so have managed to survive for centuries in the shadow of empires and on the edges of wars and political strife.
Halflings are practical and down-to-earth. They concern themselves with basic needs and simple pleasures, harboring few dreams of gold or glory. Adventurers are no more rare among halflings than among other races, but they usually pursue the adventurer’s life for reasons of community, friendship, wanderlust, or curiosity. Halfling adventurers are brave and faithful companions, relying on stealth and trickery in battle rather than raw might or magic. Tight-knit halfling communities are found near the settlements of other races, often along or even on the surface of a body of water. Halflings have never built a kingdom of their own or even held much land. They don’t recognize any sort of royalty or nobility of their own, instead looking to family elders to guide them. This emphasis on family and community has enabled halflings to maintain their traditional ways for thousands of years, unaffected by the rise and fall of empires.
According to halfling legend, Melora and Sehanine created the halflings together, giving the race a love of nature and the gift of stealth. When their interest waned, Melora and Sehanine stopped looking after the race, or so the legends go, and halflings made their own way in the world. They say Avandra, the god of luck, admired their resourcefulness and adopted them, favoring them with good fortune. Not all halflings worship Avandra, but nearly all breathe a prayer of thanks to her when fortune favors them.
Halflings are fond of stories and legends such as the myth of Avandra, and their culture is rich in oral tradition. Few members of other races realize that halfling folktales contain a vast amount of lore about people and places long past. Many halflings are able to dredge up knowledge about the history, religion, or culture of other races, but that knowledge is usually wrapped in a fable.
Three sample halfling adventurers are described below.
Lidda is a halfling rogue with a quick wit and an acid tongue. At a young age, she left her family out of a desire to see more of the world and experience firsthand the wonders described in the stories she grew up hearing. She has joined several different adventuring groups during her career, and even though her displays of sarcasm and wry humor at her companions’ expense would suggest otherwise, she counts each of them as a close friend.
Garret is a halfling ranger. Several years ago, his grandfather sent him to look for a distant branch of his family that had stopped responding to messages. Garret found the whole clan had been killed, and he returned to bring the sad news to his family. From that time, he has been unable to stay in one place for long. He doesn’t know who or what killed his relatives and doesn’t dream of vengeance, but he hopes to do some good in the world that might somehow balance out the atrocity of their murders.
Verna is a halfling warlock—and among the most cheerful and gregarious of halflings. The infernal powers she channels seem to leave no mark on her spirit or mind. She takes no delight in killing but uses lethal powers as a practical matter, to protect herself and her allies. She doesn’t often talk of the event that propelled her into a life of adventuring and a pact with infernal powers: Without warning, a devil appeared to her and offered her power, in exchange for a favor to be named later. In what she still regards as a moment of folly, she accepted. Nightmares of her unknown future haunt her sleep, but she never speaks of them.
“The bigger they are, the easier they topple.”
The greatest heroes of halfling legend are those who defeat giants, dragons, or other oversized threats to their homes and communities, using their wits, their agility, and a hefty dose of audacity. These heroes aren’t necessarily armored warriors wielding legendary swords, and they don’t have lands or noble titles. They are ordinary folk who rise to the challenge of the times, proving that size and strength aren’t needed to come out on top. You’re one of these heroes. Like most halflings, you have found that the best way to get by in a world full of much larger creatures is to stay out of their way. Doing that might mean keeping out of their sight or staying on their good side. It might also mean keeping out of their reach, or dodging their attacks. Stealth and trickery might not be weapons and armor by themselves, but they are a useful supplement to the finest steel. Coupled with your natural daring and determination, these strengths are enough to bring you victory against any foe, no matter how large.
Compared to the legendary heroes of other races, you might come across as a scamp or a scoundrel. But the fact that you’re crafty, resourceful, and sometimes sneaky doesn’t make you any less of a hero. Avandra has blessed you with courage beyond question, ingenuity sufficient for any challenge, and the stealth you need to survive.
| ENC | Sly OffensiveHalfling Scoundrel Attack 11Std Melee wpnWeaponTgt One creature | Your weapon ends up exactly where the enemy didn’t expect, leaving that foe off balance. Atk Dex or Cha vs Reflex · Hit 2[W] + Dex or Cha dmg, and tgt takes a –2 penalty to attack rolls against you until the end of its next turn. If tgt misses with any attack during its next turn, you can shift a number of sq equal to your Dex or Cha as an opportunity action. Spec When you gain this power, choose Dexterity or Charisma as the ability you use when making attack rolls and dmg rolls with this power. You use the same ability to determine the number of sq you shift. |
| ENC | Problem SolverHalfling Scoundrel Utility 12Imm Intr Ranged 10Tgt The triggering ally | You find solutions to the thorniest problems. Trig An ally within 10 sq of you fails a check with a skill in which you’re trained · Eff Tgt can reroll the skill check with a +2 pwr bonus. |
| DLY | Halfling’s TauntHalfling Scoundrel Attack 20Std Melee wpnWeaponTgt One creature | You enrage your foe with a chuckle and a taunt. That foe’s fury swells as its attacks miss you and you whack it in response. Atk Dex or Cha vs AC · Hit 5[W] + Dex or Cha dmg. Eff Until the end of the encounter, if tgt attacks, it must include you as a target if none of your allies are nearer to it than you are. You gain a +2 bonus to all defenses against tgt’s attacks. If tgt misses you with an attack, you can make a basic attack against it as an opportunity action. Miss Half dmg. · Spec When you gain this power, choose Dexterity or Charisma as the ability you use when making attack rolls and dmg rolls with this power. |