Race: Halfling

The halfling race, sometimes referred to as Hin, is one of the most peaceful in Kymlun. The pastoral communities they inhabit are nearly free of trouble, and family ties are tight. The main community is presently located in the Shire of Lushleaf and the Shire of Winterbloom with another Shire within Babylon and one high up the Plume Edus. and led by the Matriarch Franny. Its people are slowly recovering from vicious clashes with orcish warbands.

Appearance
At first glance, Halflings look a lot like down-sized humans. They stand 3 feet tall and weigh some 30 or 40 pounds. Their males are particularly proud of sideburns and moustaches, though beards are less popular.

They often dress in plain, well-made clothing, preferring natural colours. Their feet are often bare, as they have a dense leathery sole and hair on the top to keep them warm. A halfling's hands meanwhile sport long, almost elf-like fingers which they use with great agility, and their ears, too, are sooner tipped than rounded.

Mentality
Halflings are a quiet and peaceful race. They like nothing better than to live humble lives in self-sufficient communities, away from the worries of the world. In these quiet corners of the world their passion lies in food and drink, and entire families can dedicate themselves to cheese-making, cow herding or wine brewing. Because of their nimble fingers, the quality of their stitching and woodcarving is also outstanding, though the colours and materials are seldom flashy enough for those of the most expensive of tastes.

Food and drink are often used as currency in their pastoral settlements. The generous gift of bread to one family will be repaid by a donation of apples from another, those who help mend their neighbour's home will often get a thank-you pie, and if halflings want to attend a party, invited or not, they simply bring the host a potato salad.

The name halfling is of human origin, and halflings don't feel like they're half of anything at all. They call themselves the Folk, or Hin in the halfling tongue, considering humans and other races Too-talls.

Because they are a sober people of simple pleasures, halflings rarely trouble to learn magics and sorcerers are rare. Theft is very much frowned upon within the community, unless it is from strangers - and even then they will repay the loss with other generosities.

The most important thing to a halfling is his or her family, and the feeling of home represented by a cosy, crowded fireplace. It is very common for four generations to live in the same house, despite the strain that puts on the privacy of married couples. Sometimes however, a halfling is suddenly possessed with the spirit of adventure, seeking to get out of that house, out of that village, and into the world. They are always given a hearty send-off, because once a hin gets an idea in the head it's almost impossible to dissuade them. The wandering halfling may at some point settle in other societies, or perhaps try to leave a mark on history. But eventually, they always return home with their knapsacks full of tales, and a strange, foreign trinket or two.

Ecology
Halflings can survive in almost all societies. Most prefer a rural setting, where they can grow their own food and pass through life free of worries, but others will travel to cities.There they often live in the same part of town as their fellow hin, but because of their open and friendly nature they mingle freely with other races.

Halflings have a high metabolic rate, which means they will eat as much as a human twice their size. Alcohol rarely leaves them drunk, though they do get pleasantly drowsy after a few. And then there is the pipeweed they smoke to get really laid back.

As a peace-loving people, they will rarely use weapons or get involved in fights, but if the existence of one of their own is threatened they can become a very menacing mob in a hurry. Because of constant exposure to orc attacks, recently halflings have begun to adopt the notion of a militia.

Language
The halfling language revolves around food, labour and the labour of preparing food. It has no obvious connection to any of the other spoken languages, although some grammatical overlap is found in the elvish tongue. Words have much in common with bird calls, in that syllables are shouted one after another in quick order with little pause for breath, being stretched or compressed for emphasis and leaving listeners wondering where a word or sentence ends and the next begins. That is the sound of an excited halfling.