Customised 5e Glantri Part 3: Halflings
by Caius of GlantriHALFLINGS in GLANTRI
Halflings of the Known World (the "Hin")are outgoing but not unusually brave, seeking treasure as a way to gain the comforts of home, which they so dearly love. They prefer to live in pleasant woodland areas near rolling hills and gentle streams. When not adventuring or working, they spend most of their time eating, drinking, talking with friends and relaxing. Due to their stature and easy-going disposition, halflings are often thought of as childlike and immature, unimportant in terms of international warfare and diplomacy. Nowhere is this stereotype more widely held than in Glantri where they are rare and highly sought-after for magical research. These experiments are not strictly legal, but few constables would challenge a respected wizard over such a charge. The only native-born Glantrian halflings come from Vyonnes, where a small community of Hin live under Prince Etienne's personal protection (he appreciates Hin cuisine). However, occasional young foreign halflings are to be found visiting Glantri, especially in the Elven principalities and Nouvelle Averoigne, for Hin legend tells of a lost clan that settled in the Highlands long ago: they were destroyed by an ancient dragon and their relics were never recovered...
Halflings look similar to stout rustic humans with slightly pointed ears. They tend to have ruddy to tanned skin, thick brown or black hair and lively brown or green eyes. Beards are rare and in the south, they often go barefoot.
HALFLING TRAITS
Ability Score Increase: Your Dexterity increases by 2 and your Charisma by 1.
Age: A Hin reaches adulthood at 20 and typically lives to the middle of his or her second century.
Size: A halfling stands about 3 foot tall and weighs about 50 pounds. Your size is small.
Speed: Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Halfling Resilience: Halflings have advantage on Saving Throws against Poison and have resistance against poison damage.
Halfling Magic Resistance : The Hin have advantage on Saving Throws against magic. In addition, every level that they get an Ability Score Improvement, a halfling also gains resistance against one type of damage, (the player's choice) but only when caused by spells.
Poor Arcane Casters :Because of their magic resistance, the Hin generally make poor arcane spell-casters : they cannot cast spells as bonus actions or reactions and need double the usual time to cast other spells (usually 2 rounds). During this time they must maintain concentration. This penalty doesn't apply to Divine Spells granted by an Immortal to his or her clerics and paladins.
Halfling Nimbleness: You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.
Naturally Stealthy: You can attempt to hide even when only obscured by a creature that is one size larger than you.
Unambitious: While Halflings are as quick to learn as other races initially, they do not have the drive to push themselves to the extremes of perfection that other races reach; after reaching 8 levels (in any mix of classes) they only gain half the normal amount of experience from their adventures.
Hin Names: The Hin usually have a first name and a nickname to identify themselves. They commonly also use "son of-" or "daughter of-". For example, a typical Hin name would be Rory Runnerguts, son of Dluth Alehill. In addition to the first names in the PHB, the following are common names in the Known World:
Male Names: Bleth, Bungo, Dlotho, Dluth, Flink, Gundulf, Hob, Jaervosz, Joam, Marintor, Multhum, Mulgor, Nob, Rory, Sperren, Ulam.
Female Names: Arcathae, Delune, Delz, Jalassa, Jatha, Maeragh, Meermegra, Navrilstar, Shanysar, Sildil
Halfling Backgrounds : Few halflings visit Glantri by choice. If you choose to play a halfling in Glantri you can expect a tough time involving a lot of hiding and bluffing, especially if you leave the Isoile Valley to Belcadiz corridoor. A Charlatan or Urchin masquerading as another race is possible, as is an Acolyte, Criminal, Mystic or Rebel attached to an underground brotherhood. Other halflings could exist in Glantri, but their survival and freedom would constantly be under threat.