Halfling Be wary of the forest ridge. The halflings who live there would as soon eat you alive as look at you. Chances are you won’t even notice them until you’ve become the main course. -- Mo’rune, half-elven ranger Halflings are masters of the jungles of the Ringing Mountains. They are small, quick and agile creatures steeped in an ancient and rich culture that goes back far into Athas’ past. Although they are not common in the Tablelands, some halflings leave their homes in the forests to adventure under the dark sun. As carnivores, halflings prefer to eat flesh raw. Personality: Halflings have difficulty understanding others’ customs or points of view, but curiosity helps some halflings overcome their xenophobia. Little concerned with material wealth, halflings are more concerned with how their actions will affect other halflings. Physical: Halflings are small creatures, standing only about 3 ½ feet tall and weighing 50 to 60 pounds. Rarely affected by age, halfling faces are often mistaken for the faces of human children. They dress in loincloths, sometimes with a shirt or vest, and paint their skins with bright reds and greens. Forest halflings rarely tend to their hair, and some let it grow to great lengths, though it can be unkempt and dirty. They live to be about 120 years old. Relations: Halfling’s culture dominates their relations with others. Halflings relate very well to each other, since they all have the same cultural traits and are able to understand each other. Halflings of different tribes still share a tradition of song, art and poetry, which serves as a basis of communication. Creatures that do not know these cultural expressions are often at a loss to understand the halfling’s expressions, analogies and allusions to well-known halfling stories. Halflings can easily become frustrated with such “uncultured” creatures. Halflings abhor slavery and most halflings will starve themselves rather than accept slavery. Lands: Halflings villages are rare in the tablelands. Most halflings live in tribes or clans in the Forest Ridge, or in the Rohorind forest west of Kurn. Many dwell in treetop villages. Non-halflings typically only see these villages from within a halfling cooking pot. Adventurers: Exploring the tablelands gives curious halflings the opportunity to learn other customs. Although they may at first have difficulty in understanding the numerous practices of the races of the Tablelands, their natural curiosity enables them to learn and interact with others. Other halflings may be criminals, renegades or other tribal outcasts, venturing into the Tablelands to escape persecution by other halflings. Role-playing Suggestions Remember to consistently take your height into account. Role-play the halfling culture described above: eating opponents, treating fellow halflings with trust and kindness, suspicion of big people, and general lack of interest in money.