Halfling

### Hairstyles

Curled and wavy hair for both, men keep it at a short or medium length and women grow it to just beyond the shoulder

### Distinctions

* Joyful demeanors, hairy feet, naturally dexterous and acrobatic

**Halflings** are small race native to the Small Country in Cannor and Fahvanosy in Sarhal known for their wit, positivity, and adventuring spirit in addition to their exemplary agricultural and culinary expertise.

## Appearance

Like their cousins the gnomes, halflings are among the shortest of the races of Halann and can be mistaken for them at a distance. A noted difference between the two is their ears: gnomish ears are larger and slightly pointed while a halfling's are rounded. Halflings also have hairy and proportionally-large feet, a point of pride for many, leading to them eschewing footwear except when necessary. Much like one may style the hair on one's head, halflings will do the same with their feet hair, brushing it into neat little curls and occasionally decorating it with braids and beads; halfling nobles in particular might wear elaborate powdered wigs for their feet, carefully secured and decorated with ribbon. Unlike gnomes and the similarly-short dwarves, facial hair can be difficult for halfling men to grow beyond sideburns; while there are exceptions, keeping a clean-shaven face remains the predominant fashion.

Among Cannorian halflings, skin tones range from fair to tanned. While brown curly-to-wavy hair is the most common, shades of blonde and red do exist albeit much rarer. Physical differences can be observed among the descendants of the various older Cannorian halfling ethnicities: Hillfoots and Moonfoots, whose traits define the quintessential bucolic and cheerful halfling archetype, are of the typical soft yet resilient halfling build; the well-fed Ciderfoots tend to be rounder and plumper, especially those of Butterburn; the martial Royfoots are stronger, sturdier, and stockier; Oakfoots tend to be lean and rangy due to the relative scarcity of food in the Approach; and Beefoots are small, even by halfling standards, and certain family are noted to be more hirsute and capable of growing fuller facial hair.

The Vyzemby of Sarhal are darker-skinned with hair in tighter curls.

## Biology

Halflings live about as long as humans do with an average lifespan of 80 years though there are some exceptions. The region of Thomsbridge is known to harbor many centenarians due to an easy-going local lifestyle. In terms of body build, halflings metabolize quickly and retain excess as fat, giving a healthy halfling a layer of pudge. This high metabolic rate is why halflings need to consume so much food, resulting in up to seven meal times in a single day.

Having diverged from halflings, interracial couples of halflings and gnomes can still have gnomeling children, who are sterile.

## History

Though it is unclear exactly where, when, and why they diverged, the halflings of Cannor and Fahvanosy can trace their origins to the latter region. It is theorized that the ancestors of the Cannorian halflings migrated north by ship along the western coasts until they reached the Shattered Bay. There, a population settled on the damestear-laden archipelago of the Splinters to eventually become the gnomes while the majority settled on the mainland, giving rise to the Cannorian halflings.

The Age of Awakening was a time of strained gnome-halfling relations as Gnomish folklore suggests they were pushed out of the fertile Dragondowns into the poorer highlands of the Dragonspine by halfling tribes, only retaking them around 1100 BA. The unification of the Gnomish Hierarchy included the participation of halflings alongside humans as raiders who were used by the city-state of Royvibobb in their gambit to weaken their rivals. Despite these hostilities, the gnomes did trade with them in peacetime; the city of Portnamm was founded as such a trading post. In what would eventually become the Small Country, halflings mingled with proto-Lencori humans, occasionally acting as their allies, other times as foes.

From the rise of the Hierarchy to its fall in the Dragonwake, the halfling tribes of Cannor would be subservient to their gnomish overlords, only gaining sovereignty with the founding of the Small Kingdom in 478. Groups fleeing the chaos of their homelands found refuge across the Dameshead as Dameria offered lands in the Luna River valley in exchange for their cultural expertise, establishing the Moonfoot community. The halfling tribes settled into petty-kingdoms under the Small Kingdom, one for each of the Old Cannorian Halfling cultures.

As part of the League of Free Realms during the War of the Sorcerer-King, halflings fought to defend their homelands during the invasion of Lencenor. At its end, the old petty-kingdoms were restored at the Grand Ball of Anbenncóst in 1021, only to fall over the following centuries due to the Lorentish-Gawedi Wars of Dominion. Compounded with the formation of the Empire of Anbennar in 1221, the old cultures developed under foreign influence into the contemporary Bluefoot, Redfoot, Visfoot, and Imperial Halfling identities by the time of the Lilac Wars.

Halfling nationalism would develop in the Free City of Viswall, culminating in the failed Viswall Rebellion in which the city was partitioned, leaving no sovereign halfling state standing. Though the separatist sentiments remained, the rebellion's failure encouraged migration into Escann for the founding of Newshire as well as into the rediscovered continent of Aelantir, the latter resulting in the colonies of Thílvis and West Tipney.

## Society

### Beliefs and Values

Halfling society values hearth and home above all else: family and friends, good food and drink, and comfortable living. These manifest as close-knit communities, especially in rural settlements. Even if the stereotypes of halflings being soft and craven have some truth to them, they are willing to defend their homes when threatened and engage in long-term guerilla warfare when needed.

Though typically warm and hospitable to guests, their love of close kin can result in a clannish and provincial mindset; the most infamous example of this is the Cider Feud between the Appleseeds of Appleton and the Peartrees of Pearview, a long-lasting succession dispute over the petty-kingdom of Ciderfield which led to the fall of the Small Kingdom.

The famous exploits of the hero Finnic Shadowhand during the War of the Sorcerer-King led to a dramatic rise in the number of halfling thieves and rogues; the romanticization of adventure, intrigue, and larceny remains a common trend among halfling youth.

Out in the country, many halflings retain certain traditionalist beliefs. For example, halflings have strong taboos against men handling milk, leading to the production of butter and cheese being professions exclusive to women, resulting in Butterburn's dairy guilds being dominated by the Butter Baronesses. The Redfoots of Bigwheat in particular hold to superstitions regarding lucky charms to ward off danger and the rite of "breaking bread" to signal that no harm is to be done over a shared dinner table, both stemming from the legacy of their Royfoots ancestors.

### Relations with Other Races

Halflings in Cannor have generally had two main races they have interacted with throughout history: humans and gnomes. In both cases, it has been a relationship of subjugation. As tribes, the halflings often paid tribute to the various human tribes of Lencenor, such as the Lorenti peoples (the predecessors of Lorent) or under governance of the Gnomish Hierarchy (who did the same to their human neighbors too). Despite these long-running relationships, most halflings generally saw this as something of a political nature rather than race, and in times of peace halflings were protected and generally left to their own devices by their overlords.

There have been few occasions of halflings rising up against their non-halfling masters, and most have combined halfling patriotism with nationalistic motivations to make a unified Small Country. The first of which was the Small Kingdom, which was a rump state of a collapsing Gnomish Hierarchy. While dominated and led by halflings, the Kingdom actually welcomed fleeing gnomes into their lands, who went on to form the industrial backbone of the fledgling kingdom. The second was the formation of the Small Country itself, which unified the divided halfling lands under the control of the Kingdom of Gawed and Kingdom of Lorent.

As a whole, halflings have a cordial relationship with most of the traditional 'non-monstrous' races, even if those races seem to treat halflings with less respect due to their stature. In multiracial cities, some halflings have even bonded with goblins and kobolds who have also suffered ridicule or prejudice due to their small size.

## List of Halfling Cultures

### Cannor

#### Old Cannorian Halfling

* Old Halfling †
	+ Beefoot - The largely urbanite culture of the halflings of Beepeck and Orston; more naval, mercantile, and cutthroat than other Cannorian halflings
	+ Oakfoot † - The reclusive forest halflings of Elkmarch and Uelaire; skilled hunters and trappers with a grudge against Uelaire
	+ Royfoot † - The stodgy, honest, and stalwart folk of Roysfort and Bigwheat; famed pony breeders, grain farmers, and castle defenders
	+ Ciderfoot † - The feuding aristocratic farmers of Appleton, Pearview, and the western counties; prosperous, passive-aggressively polite, and proud of it
	+ Hillfoot † - The quintessential barrow-dwelling halflings of Greymill, Coppertown, and Thomsbridge; mixed farmers and city-dwellers at the heart of Small Country culture
	+ Moonfoot - A culture descended from Dragonwake refugees who were granted refuge in the Luna River valley; assimilated much of Damerian culture, use legalities to protect themselves

#### Modern Cannorian Halfling

* Imperial - An umbrella term for all halflings living in the Empire of Anbennar, namely those of Beefoot and Moonfoot descent.
* Bluefoot - The Gawedi-influenced halflings living in the northern Small Country, known for their archers and family businesses
* Redfoot - The Lorentish-influenced halflings living in the southern Small Country, known for their pony cavalry and courtesies
* Visfoot - The colorful and cultured city-dwellers of Viswall with a dramatic style of speech and love of the arts
* Newfoot - Descendants of Escanni adventurers, infamous for their Chloromancers and their tea culture

### Aelantir

* Towerfoot
* Pipefoot
* Plumfoot

### Sarhal

* Vzemby
	+ Amezetany
	+ Fomarati
	+ Mboala
	+ Mazava
	+ Lonanofi

† = Extinct