Although there are many ha lfling communities , pa r-
ticul a rly in the la nds in a nd a round Luiren, ha lflings fr e-
que ntly fit themselves into dwarven , gnomis h, elven , and
huma n societi es. Lightfoots breeze into communities
as they travel, ma ke friends easily, a nd then move on
as the wind or whimsy ta kes them. Stronghearts settle
in, ma ke the mselves at home, a nd weave the mselves
so deftly into the fabric of a community that it becomes
ha rd for folk to think of a time without them.LIGHTFOOT·HALFLINGS
For lightfoot ha lflings , neither th e journey nor the des-
tination matters more; the importa nt thing is to keep
movin g. The life of a lightfoot is one long exploration
with each new horizon , new town , o r new face a cha nce
to find something delightful.
Lightfoot ha lflings typically travel in s m all bands, us -
in g whatever conveyance is convenient but jus t as ea sily
s triking out on foot. Bands consis t of loosely related in-
dividuals, and when ba nds meet, me mbe rs hip fr equently
s hifts. Lightfoot ha lflings typically excel at t asks r elated
to travel- be it navigation, ha ndling pack anima ls, for-
aging, sailing, and cartwr ight work-having tried the ir
ha nd at all s uch things before or learned fr om othe r
lightfoots met during the ir journeys.
Lightfoot ha lflings a re highly social, ofte n as curious
about othe r peopl e as th ey a re about what might lie
a round the next bend. They characteristically possess
a n easygoing and open attitude, curious about other s
a nd willing to sha re of themselves, which enable s them
to make friends easily. Their facile friends hips and eas e
with partings can m ake lightfoot ha lflings seem dis in-
genuous to othe rs. Li ghtfoot ha lflings get s tereotyped as
flighty, easily distracte d, fickl e, a nd unrelia ble. But the ir
friends hips and courts hips, if brief, tend to be genuine.
The staid a nd stable life tha t most othe r people desire
jus t i s n't pa rt of their character.
Li ghtfoot halflings have all the racial traits of lightfoot
ha lflings in the Player's Handbook. T hey s ha r e the skin,
ha ir, and eye tones of huma ns, but most lightfoot ha l-
flings have hazel or brown eyes a nd brown ha ir. Light-
foot ha lflings don't grow facia l ha ir except that male s
a nd fema les typi cally grow short s ideburns.
STRONGHEART HALFLINGS
--------
Creatures of the earth who love a warm hearth and
pleasant compa ny, s tronghear t ha lflings a re folks of few
enemies a nd m a ny friends. Stronghearts a re sometimes
re ferred to fondly by members of othe r races as "the
good folk," for little upsets stronghearts or corrupts
their s pirit. To many of the m , the greatest fear i s to live
in a world of poor compa ny and mean intent, where one
lacks freedom a nd the comfort of friends hip.
Whe n strongheart ha lflings settle into a place, they
inte nd to s tay. It's not unus ua l for a dynasty of strong-
hearts to live in the same place for a few centuries.
S trongheart ha lflings don't develop these homes in
seclus ion. On the contra ry, th ey do their best to fit into
the local commu nity and become an essentia l part of
it. T heir viewpoint stresses cooperation above all othe rtraits, a nd the ability to work well with others is the
most valu ed behavior in their lands.
Pus hed fr om their nests , s trongheart ha flings typi-
cally try to have as ma ny com forts of home with them as
possible. Non-s tronghearts with a more p racti cal be nt
can find s trongheart travel habits madde ning, but their
lightfoot cousins typi cally enjoy the nove lty of it- so long
as the lightfoots don't have to carry any of the ba ggage.
While often s tereotype d as fat a nd lazy due to their
homebound mindset a nd obsession w ith fine food,
s trongheart halfings a re typically quite indus trious.
Nimble hands, their patient mindset, and thei r emphasis
on quality makes them excellen t weavers, potter s , wood
carvers, basket ma ker s, pa inters, a nd farme rs.
Strongheart ha lflings have all the racia l traits of
s touts in the Player's Handbook. Strongheart ha lflings
are shorter on ave rage th a n the ir lightfoot kin, and te nd
to have rounder faces. They have the skin tones a nd ha ir
colors of humans, with most having brown hair. Unlike
their lightfoot cous ins, strongheart ha lflings ofte n have
blond or black ha ir a nd blue or green eyes. Ma les don't
grow beards or mus taches, but both ma les and fema les
can grow sid eburns down to mid-cheek, a nd both gen-
de rs pl a it them into long braid s.HALFLING DEITIES
The hin have a sm all but intima te pantheon of deities,
which a re honore d prima rily at household a ltars, road-
s id e shrines, and wooded groves.THE BLESSED SISTERS
The hin mother-goddess and the head of the pa ntheon
is Yondalla, the Blessed One, goddess of bounty and
fe rtility, protector of hearth, home, a nd family. Sheela
P e ryroyl i s the Green Siste r of Yondalla. S he is a nature
goddess, the lady of field s, stream s, a nd the wilds found
in shire and glen , and the weathe r in s uch places. She is
a ls o a goddess of love, s ong, a nd d a nce.CHAPTER 3 I RACES OF THE REALMS