Luctias' Races: Halflings

[Johnny Wraith]

[note]It's been a while since I posted here because college has prevented me from doing so. I've never posted anything from my CS here, so I thought I'd start by showing the races. Please, if you find some things to be worded funny, by all means correct me (My grammar in english isn't as good as I'd want it to be). Also, if anyone wants to take a shot at drawing any of my races feel free to do so, I'll help you out if needed. I appreciate any kind of feedback and I am open to changes.[/note]

Halflings

Undoubtedly, halflings were one of the races that went through the most changes after the Lost Concord. Halflings used to be city dwellers known for their dexterity and opportunism. They are now infused with an unnerving patience which only matches the pace of the forests they live in. Halflings have gone through major physical changes as well, to the point where they are actually part of their surroundings.

Personality: Even though halflings have lost most of their former tendencies, they retain some in one way or another. For instance, halflings do not care much for wealth anymore, yet they remain avid collectors. Life has become much slower for halflings, so boredom does not trouble them as much as it did before (Not that it doesnâ,¬,,¢t anymore, just not to the same extent). Nonetheless, curiosity is still the main driver for their actions. Halflings rarely leave their forests but it is not entirely surprising if one is seen roaming the countryside following something that caught their attention. They donâ,¬,,¢t stray too far away from their homes though, since that would make them more vulnerable to attackers. One thing halflings particularly enjoy is finding lost travelers; they often ask them for something to add to their collections in exchange for help. Halflings enjoy games and seldom refuse the opportunity to be silly.

Physical Description: Halflings still stand about 3 feet tall. Their weight however has now been increased and ranges between 50 and 60 pounds. Their anatomies have greatly changed to the point where it would be more accurate to call them plants rather than mammals. Their hair has been replaced with long vines, which actually grow on every part of their bodies. Their bodies are made of solid wood which varies in color, usually matching that one of the trees around them. Halflings donâ,¬,,¢t grow hair at all, but mold which grows on their faces is kept so that it resembles long sideburns. They still have the same black or brown eyes. They wear clothing, but it is usually just one set which they never take off. These outfits are usually passed down with each generation or they are taken from lost or dead adventurers they may find in the forest. Halflings reach adulthood at age 50 and according to recent reports, they live into their third century.

Relations: Halflings seldom need things that canâ,¬,,¢t be found in woods, this on top of the fact that most people wonâ,¬,,¢t go near forests makes relations with other races a rare instance. Most humans, for example, usually live their whole lives without ever seeing one. Despite all of this, halflings tend to be amicable with strangers. Fey get along well with halflings and they usually help each other when danger arises.

Alignment: Halflings have inherited a sense of balance from nature and tend towards neutrality. They are very faithful to their clan/family yet itâ,¬,,¢s easy for them to act random at times if it will lead to their entertainment.

Halfling lands: Halflings live in forests, though it wouldnâ,¬,,¢t be wrong to say they are a part of them. They do not have houses or live inside structures of any kind. Halflings living in the same forest are all aware of each other and generally each individual has small areas which they most frequent. Clans of halflings that have settled in a forest have a specific place of reunion (Usually a small clearing or waterfall) to gather to discuss recent events or to perform rituals to Nyamé. They are rarely found in other lands.

Religion: In past years, it was common for halflings to worship Eirene, (Mother of halflings), Karta (Lady Luck) and Pérkele (Goddess of Thieves) in equal manner. Nowadays, halfling faith is centered on Nyamé, the Singer in the Forest. Eirene slowly started to lose followers after the Lost Concord, when halflings were forced to escape from human lands. Her former children were upset since they felt their goddess wasnâ,¬,,¢t helping them enough. Nyamé, having started to lose her sanity, saw Eireneâ,¬,,¢s weakness and began to charm her, convincing her that she had nothing to worry about. Eventually, Nyamé murdered the goddess and gave halflings a new home and a second birth, turning them into what they are now.

Language: Halflings speak sylvan. They seldom write anything, since their history is based on oral tradition. The former halfling language is all but lost, and creatures of this race which are familiar with it are but a handful. Young halflings are taught Luctian in order to deal with any strangers they may find although they prefer to use sylvan if they can.

Names: Halflings possess a name, a nickname and a family name. Most family names are based on the type of forest they live in (Redwood, for instance). Their nicknames are given to them as they grow up, based on a peculiar feature they may have. Most often, halflings first names are forgotten and replaced in favor of their nicknames. Anyone who is a good friend of a halfling is given the knowledge of their first names.

Adventurers: Curiosity is the primary reason a halfling may leave her forest to explore the world. Halfling families usually expand their homes (As their goddess suggests them to do) and while doing this, a young one may stumble upon creatures she had never seen before (Most often, in the form of lost adventurers). All these encounters may awaken former instincts of the race, driving them out of their homes. Some of the more avid collectors may leave their forests to further increase their possessions, after all, showing off is one trait halflings have not lost.

HALFLINGS RACIAL TRAITS
â,¬Â¢   +2 Con, -2 Dex. Halflings have resilient bodies but are usually slow to act.
â,¬Â¢   Small: As a small creature, a halfling gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide Checks, but she uses smaller weapons than humans use, and her lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
â,¬Â¢   Halfling base land speed is 15 feet.
â,¬Â¢   Low-Light Vision: A halfling can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
â,¬Â¢   Natural Armor +1. Halfling skin is as hard as bark from a tree.
â,¬Â¢   Vulnerability to fire: Halflings suffer 50% more damage from fire based attacks
â,¬Â¢   Immunity to sleep effects.
â,¬Â¢   +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison: Halflings are hardy and resistant to toxins.
â,¬Â¢   Haflings eat and breathe, but do not sleep.
â,¬Â¢   Automatic Languages: Sylvan and Luctian.
â,¬Â¢   Spell-like abilities: at will â,¬' Tree Shape (Small shrub form only) . Halflings with a wisdom score of at least 11 can also cast the following spell-like ability: 1/day - entangle. Caster level 1st. Save DC 11 + halfling's Wis modifier.
â,¬Â¢   Favored Class: Druid. A multiclass halflingâ,¬,,¢s druid class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing. Halflings have become one with nature and it is in their best interest to protect it from anyone who might threaten its balance.

[Ra-Tiel]

Seems good to me. Definitively some very interesting flavor going there. :D

The only thing I'd correct is this: "â,¬Â¢ Vulnerability to fire: Halflings receive one and half the damage from a fire-based attack on a failed save." I'd change it to "â,¬Â¢ Vulnerability to fire: Halflings suffer 50% more damage from fire based attacks." to make it compliant with DnD v3.5 rules. The "on a failed save" clause can lead to some strange situations, like a normal character either suffering 50% if he makes the save, or suffering 150% if he fails the save, thus making the ability more a "vulnerability to fire half the time". ;)

[Johnny Wraith]

Ah yes... I was trying to find a creature that had that vulnerability (Since I remember seeing it before) but couldn't find one. In any case thank you... I was beginning to think no one was gonna comment on it.

[Epic Meepo]

I would recommend that you replace the spell-like ability "alter self", with "tree shape (Small shrub form instead of Large tree form)". That would save you from having to include the two sentences that follow alter self.

Also, in my experience, entangle is a relatively powerful spell for its level. The ability to use entangle once per day needs to be balanced by at least one more drawback than halflings already have, or it needs to be restricted to only halflings that have a special connection with nature (those that have one or more druid levels). (Giving entangle once per day to a character who can already cast entangle as a spell is less overpowering than giving it to someone who can't cast it as a spell.)

[Johnny Wraith]

Well yes, entangle can be overpowering but do take into consideration that this race not only has a fire vulnerability but also a speed penalty. Now, you could argue with me that the vulnerability to fire can be negated by means of rings of protection against elements (or something along those lines), but by the time they get their hands on one of those, entangle isn't that big a thing anymore.

I will change the alter self spell to tree shape, though, I never realized that spell existed, lol...

[Ra-Tiel]

Looks great. :D May I ask what inspired you to such a quite unusual design (the plant-like stuff and all)?

[Tangential]

I must agree with Meepo here. And go further to say that this race is on par with gnomes balance-wise. That is to say at the top, due to SLAs. I wouldn't go so far as to give it LA +1 just for the entangle.

Tree Shape (a 2-3rd level spell) at will however, pushes it over the +0 line. It's a bit of a get of jail (semi)free card.

Lowering it to 1/day and granting alter-self 1/day so that they might come closer but I'm still iffy on that "high" of a spell level as an SLA for a base LA+0 race, let alone @ will.

[Johnny Wraith]

I must agree with Meepo here. And go further to say that this race is on par with gnomes balance-wise. That is to say at the top, due to SLAs. I wouldn't go so far as to give it LA +1 just for the entangle.

Tree Shape (a 2-3rd level spell) at will however, pushes it over the +0 line. It's a bit of a get of jail (semi)free card.

Lowering it to 1/day and granting alter-self 1/day so that they might come closer but I'm still iffy on that "high" of a spell level as an SLA for a base LA+0 race, let alone @ will.

So in your opinion, I should change Tree Shape so it's 1/day and leave entangle as it is? I know it's a high level spell for a LA +0 race... but do consider it's relatively hmm.. how should I say... specific? I mean... You can't do nothing while in that shape, plus you can employ it on forest/wilderness areas opposite to say, a dungeon... I mean, all of a sudden there's a shrub in the middle of the corridor... which is made of stone... and in a place where the sun doesn't get to it...

@Ra-Tiel: Well, I didn't really like the whole thing where halflings live in human cities... I don't know, they just didn't seem an interesting enough race for me, ever... In my CS elves no longer live in forests, so that left a space open for them. Now, one thing that happened to forests after this Lost Concord is that they drive people insane when they enter them. Kinda goes with the whole "Charmer" thing Mother Nature (Nyamé) has.

Originally halflings were set to be these forest hunters who were inmune to these charms. It occurred to me, though, that if I made them to be that way they'd end up being like small elves :P hehe... So I threw that idea away and well.. I kept having this image in my head of small creatures kinda covered in vines that moved slowly in a creepy sorta way... So I dunno, I decided what the hell, there aren't many plant races out there, so it could work out. Of course, they aren't that creepy... But considering all people in Luctias are afraid of forests and woods and dare not enter them... Looking at small creatures covered in vines who approach strangers at a slow pace... well, you get the picture, hehe

I'm really really glad you liked them :)