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Notes Concerning The Hin

by Scott Moore

The following guidelines are presented to offer a few more options for advancing halfling characters in OD&D, as well as some background on the NPCs that protect the halfling relics and harness them to produce magic items.

Knighthood

Upon reaching 8th level, halflings may choose to gain Knight status. In order for a halfling to become a Knight, the halfling must meet the same requirements as a human fighter who wishes to enter Knighthood (see the Players Companion, page 17, or Rules Cyclopaedia, page 18). Once knighted, the halfling gains all the privileges of the title except for the Fighter Combat Options, which are not attainable until attaining Attack Rank D.

Attack Ranks

In the D&D Companion Set, dwarves and elves may attain a maximum Attack Rank of M while halflings can only reach Attack Rank K. Since elves divide their time between mastering combat and learning spells, it stands to reason that halflings, like dwarves, should be able to attain at least equal Attack Ranks with respect to elves, since they can dedicate more time to learning new and varied styles of combat. Therefore, for halfling characters that have reached Attack Rank K, the following chart shows additional progression to Attack Ranks L and M, as well as an improved bonus to missile fire.

Attack Rank Halfling XP (in thousands) Target's Armour Class  
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 -11 -12 -13
L 3,300

3,600

 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
M (e) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

(e) Gains a total bonus of +2 to all hit rolls when using a missile weapon.

Halfling Elders

The council of elders for a given halfling clan will consist of 3-10 sheriffs, all of all 8th level. This council is made up of the Clanmaster (Cha: 14 + 1d4, Required Skill: Leadership), the Keeper of the Flame (Int: 12 + 1d6, Dex: 12 + 1d6, Cha: 12 + 1d6, Required Skills: Alternate Magics, Craft (Web Of Shadows), Craft (Weapon Making), Leadership), along with 1-7 Keeper's Aides (2d4 total, one of which is the Clanmaster himself, Int: 8 + 1d10, Required Skills: Alternate Magics).

Magic Weapon Creation

The Keeper of the Flame, with some assistance from his aides, is able to construct magical weapons, such as daggers, slings, and swords, by using the Crucible and Blackflame relics. Time and cost for these items are as follows:

·         3000gp per "plus" of the weapon.

·         1000gp per spell level of any spell-related talents of the weapon (treat non-spell-like effects as a first level spell), multiplied by 5 for any permanent effects.

·         1000gp additional for silver weapons.

·         Time required is equal to one week plus 1 day per 1000gp of cost.

For examples, a +4 sword of slowing would cost 27,000gp (+4 bonus x 3000gp plus 3rd level spell x 1000gp x 5 for permanency = 27000gp) and require 34 days (1 week plus 27 days) to make. Success is determined by an appropriate Craft (Weapon Making) check by the Keeper, made with a bonus of -1 to the die roll for each aide that assisted him.

The cost in gold and time for preparation of these magical weapons varies slightly from the normal cost of magic item production given in the standard rules. The reason for this is that the halfling Keeper is not an experienced cleric, druid, or magic user, but is instead experienced in manipulating the magic energies of the clan relic, which require different amounts of resources in order to produce a desired result.