ightfoot Halflings

Lightfoot Halflings (Base Race-HALFLING, Sub Race- leave blank or Lightfoot Halfling)

The most common type of halfling seen in the world, the lightfoots are the most likely to give in to their desire to wander. They are at home living side by side with folk of many different races and cultures. Lightfoot halflings are more likely to worship non-halfling deities than any other halfing subrace.

* Ability Adjustment: +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength.

* Small: As a Small creature, a halfling gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus to attack rolls, and a +3 size bonus to Hide checks, but she uses smaller weapons then humans use, and her lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of Medium character.

* Stealthy: +2 racial bonus to Move Silently checks.

* Fearless: +2 morale bonus to saving throws against fear.

* Good Aim: +1 racial bonus to attack rolls with thrown weapons and slings.

* Keen Hearing: +2 racial bonus to Listen checks.

* Lucky: +1 racial bonus to all saving throws.

* Favored Class: Rogue. A multiclass halfling's rogue class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing. Halflings have long had to rely on stealth, wit, and skill, and the vocation of rogues comes naturally to them.

Regions: Any human region, Luiren

The folk of Faerun are more familiar with the lightfoot hin than with either of the other two subraces, primarily because the lightfoots are the more numerous and widely traveled of all the halflings. Nearly every human community of any size larger than a village has at least a few halfling residents. When most Faerunians think of halflings, the lightfoots are the people that most often leap to mind.

History

Most lightfoot halflings trace their ancestry back to the days when a great tribe of their subrace populated the territory known today as Luiren. Following the events of the Hin Ghostwars, the majority of the lightfoot halflings departed their homeland and spread out across northern Faerun in a great diaspora (see the FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Setting, page 196). Though some lightfoot halflings remained in Luiren, the subrace has become ubiquitous throughout the settled lands of Faerun.

Outlook

Lightfoot halflings may be the most common of all subraces, but their behavior is also the most varied. It's impossible to describe the “typical" lightfoot halfling because, much like humans, the race embodies individuals that are the absolute antithesis of on another. This diversity of behavior is mirrored in a diversity of outlooks. Some halflings adopt views and beliefs about the world that are very close or even identical to whatever human community they happen to dwell in, while others retain distinctive points of view that separate them from other races and groups (including other halflings). It's not uncommon to meet halflings who, because they spend the greater part of their lives roaming from place to place, have outlooks that are amalgams of those from multiple cultures and environments.

The aspect of the lightfoot outlook that most nonhalflings notice, however, is that they are the hin subrace that is more likely to wander out of an innate desire. It is not unknown for individual lightfoot halflings or even entire families to decide that, after living in the same place for decades, they want to move on to someplace else. Some learned folk speculate that the lightfoot hin experience a habitual need to see many different places and enjoy a variety of experiences. Other sages and loremasters wonder if the lightfoot penchant for the semi-nomadic lifestyle is socialized behavior, learned from centuries of practice. These scholars theorize that the lightfoot hin who left Luiren because of the Ghostwar massacres were unable to find a new homeland that suited them as well, so they wandered. After so many hundreds of years of wandering, the behavior is not natural to the lightfoot hin, or so this school of though holds. Whatever the case, there's no denying that many lightfoot halflings seem determined to see a great deal of Faerun and have many interesting experiences during their lifetimes.

Lightfoot Halfling Characters

As befits their name, lightfoot halflings often take classes that work well for wanderers, such as rogue and bard. Favored Class: Rogue. Lightfoot halflings often pick up an impressive array of skills during their travels, and with their small size and low strength, they need the advantages of stealth and cleverness.

Lightfoot Halfling Society

Lightfoot halfling society is hard to quantify, because lightfoots can be divided into three groups: those who live among humans, those who live among other lightfoots, and those who wander from place to place. Some lightfoot halfling families live their entire lives in one place, sometimes as part of a human community, and sometimes in a settlement populated almost entirely by halflings. Others live their entire lives on the roads and byways of Faerun, never remaining in one place very long.

Language and Literacy  

Lightfoots speak Halfling, Common, and the language of their home region – which, given lightfoot wanderlust, could be almost anywhere. Wandering lightfoot halflings pick up the languages of the places they live, and often learn other widely spread tongues. All lightfoot nonbarbarians (the vast majority of the race, in other words) are literate.

Lightfoot Halfling Magic and Lore

Lightfoot halflings tend to be generalists when it comes to magic, using a broad array of spells and magic items to make their travels – or their hearths – more pleasant. They are skillful clerics and sorcerers, but sometimes lack the discipline to become accomplished wizards.

Spells and Spellcasting

Because they're almost always fighting foes who are larger than they are, lightfoot halflings favor spells that help them move around the battlefield and negate the physical strength of their foes. Expeditious retreat, fly, haste, various polymorph spells, and especially Evard's black tentacles are common spells in a halfling spellcaster's arsenal. 

Lightfoot Halfling Magic Items

Lightfoot halflings are fascinated with magic that makes travel easier in some way. It's useful to travel faster, of course, but speed isn't' always a priority to a lightfoot who's wandering anyway. Items that make travel more comfortable or safer are especially cherished. Common Items: Bags of holding, Heward's handy haversack, carpets of flying, and any magic boots can be purchased in lightfoot communities for 10% less them the normal cost.

Iconic Items: One of the most consistent disadvantages halflings face is that their size makes it difficult for them to make use of certain types of weapons. In response to this difficulty, a halfling wizard created the first hornblades – deceptive magic weapons that inflict more damage that their size would suggest (see the appendix). These weapons seem to be in the possession of lightfoot hin more frequently that the ghostwise of strongheart, giving rise to speculation that perhaps the original hornblade inventors was of the lightfoot subrace.

Lightfoot Halfling Deities

The diversity evident in the lightfoot halflings' outlook and society is also reflected in their religious beliefs. Of all the hin subraces, the lightfoot are the most likely to worship deities other than those belonging to Yondalla's Children. In addition to the deity they most favor, many lightfoot households – particularly those that prefer life on the road to a more settled existence – often venerate a household patron, often inspired by some matriarch or patriarch in the family's history.

Brandobaris, the Master of Stealth, is much beloved by the lightfoot hin for his realistic and good-humored view of lire. Brandobaris is a common patron deity of those halflings who trust to their luck to see them though as they wander from place to place. The worship of Cyrrollalee, the Hearthkeeper, is widely popular among lightfoot halflings born within the last two generations. Her message of the ascendance of the halfling race to a station of respect and power in Faerun had fallen to receptive ears. The ranks of her clergy have swelled with the number of lightfoot hin seeking to spread her message and contribute to the search for a new lightfoot homeland.

Yondalla's faith is popular with the lightfoot halflings, both those who wander and those who prefer to settle in more permanent communities. Recently there has been some tension between her clergy and those serving Cyrrollalee: Yondalla is not at all certain that this younger deity's call for a halfling homeland is wise.

Equipment

These halflings favor the lightfoot warsling, a deadly and powerful version of the common sling (see the appendix). The warsling fires skiprocks, which halflings delight in throwing with great accuracy as well.

Lightfoot Animal and Pets

Lightfoot halflings make up for their small stature by domesticating some of the largest and most powerful hounds in Faerun. A towering human brigand had a hard time pushing around a halflings traveler with a pair of loyal hounds at his side. See Mastiff Hound, in the appendix.