The Ultimate Guide to the Halfling Race!

[NotEvilAtAll 9926]

 

Ultimate Guide to the Halfling Race

 

 

 

 

 

Contents:

~The origin of the Halfling culture

~How to Halfling

    ~Halflings, what are they?

    ~Should I play a Halfling?

    ~How to create a Halfling

    ~How to talk like a Halfling

    ~How to join the Halfling village

    ~How to build a Halfling burrow

    ~Things to do as a halfling

~The Halfling Festival

    ~How to Shog

~How to build Halfling villages (Coming soon)

~Other cool Guides

 

 

The Origin of the Halfling Culture

Spoiler

 

Halflings first came to LOTC as a sub-race of the Humans when sub-races were added to the server during Aegis. They were short with thick-soled hairy feet, fun-loving, and nearly impossible to predict. The first Halflings lived among Human settlements, making a living through thievery and adventure, staying true to their Human sub-race roots.

 

However, one day three Halflings known as Len, Kipp, and Gimblo set out to create the first Halfling village Aegis had ever seen: DUNWOOD! Dunwood soon became the center of the Halfling race, although it was not without competitors. The villages of Thistledown and Greenshire were also founded and had their own populations, leadership, parties, etc.

 

Facing all of these rival villages and the loss of some prominent Halflings, Dunwood soon fell into a state of prolonged inactivity. The village stayed empty for a good while, until one day Petyr (drplat) decided to revive the village with LotC’s most well-known festival ever: DUNFEST! Dunfest brought activity and life back to Dunwood (as well as plenty of people just there for the fireworks), and helped guarantee that the village culture of Dunwood would persist for years to come.

 

The culture of Dunwood was roughly as follows:

-Living in circular buildings surrounded by dirt, called “burrows”

-Not using swords or other weapons unless absolutely necessary.

-Living off of farm produce primarily instead of mining, smithing, lumberjacking, etc.

-Being kind to one another, and valuing fun and enjoyment over conflict and intense character building.

-Not wearing shoes or hoarding excessive amounts of materials/coinage in one’s burrow.

 

Some time passed, and after 2.0 came to LOTC and the village of Branborough was founded, the halflings took on newer characteristics. Many ex-Undead players flocked to the halfling race after the end of Aegis, yearning for an end to all the conflict and strife they roleplayed constantly as Undead. This led to the supposed “Halfling Golden Age” and firmly set halflings as a sort of “vacation race” to serve as a break for those tired of the rest of LOTC.

 

From there onwards, Halflings have waxed and waned in activity and hilarity. Many Halfling villages, such as Willow Hollow/Reedsborough, Mapleshire, Dunshire, and Gimblewood had stable roleplay and loads of fun, whereas others either only had activity for short periods of time or fell into long droughts of any meaningful content.

 

Currently, the Halflings live in the village of Honeyhill near Haense's capital city, Karosgrad, under the leadership of their Thain, Iris Peregrin.

 

How to Halfling

Spoiler

 

Halflings, what are they?

~Merridolph Applebrook, a Halfling from Pendlemere~

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.”

-J.R.R Tolkien

Height: Halflings are the smallest race in all of Arcas, ranging from 2 feet 6 inches tall to 3 feet tall. Due to this small size, Halflings make for excellent thieves and poor hand-to-hand fighters.

Appearance: Halflings strong, thick, and hairy feet that protects them from harm as they walk barefoot. Their hair ranges from dark browns and reds to light blondes, and almost never sticks up straight. Their eye colors are the same of humans, except that Heterochromia is very common in halflings, with Heterochromia being where the two eyes have different colors.

Clothing: Halfling clothes are usually simple wool-cloth or leather garments made by fellow Halflings designed to fit their small stature. Green and Yellow are common colors, followed by brown and the dull white of undyed cloth. Overalls are common in Halflings who farm frequently, and more adventurous Halflings might wear simple capes and hoods.

Aging: Halflings are usually around 3 feet tall and have very hairy feet. They grow to maturity at the age of 33, live to 150, and show signs of old age after around 100-120. However, many Halflings artificially increase their lifespan through Druidism or other methods.

Characteristics:

1: Halflings love eating food, often eating more than characters twice their size!

2: Halflings love to drink alcohol and smoke pipeweed. Most Halflings build up a strong alcohol tolerance from an early age, and thus beating a Halfling in a Drinking Competition is no easy feat! Meanwhile, pipeweed is just a simple crop similar to tobacco but with less negative health effects.

3: While shunning violence in most situations, Halflings can be quite dangerous if cornered! Nobody wants to face an angry midget with a big stick, of course!

4: While more adventurous/non-village Halflings love to steal from bigger races, Halflings rarely steal from other Halflings.

5: For unknown reasons, Halflings prefer to fight with Shovels whenever forced to fight. For village Halflings this is symbolic of their desire to return to a peaceful life, whereas for Halflings outside of Halfling villages this is due to the desire to whack things real hard with the shovel!

6: Halflings almost never wear armor, partially due to the non-existence of Halfling-sized armor, but also due to Halflings’ peaceable nature.

7: Halflings shun on the use of locks and the hoarding of resources, instead preferring a more open and sharing community.

 

Should I play a Halfling?

Halflings aren’t for everyone. Those who enjoy more violent characters will be disappointed in the small size of Halflings, and those who like getting rich will not enjoy the more communal lifestyle of Halflings.

 

However, Halflings still manage to appeal to many by providing things other races cannot. Halflings are never at war, host frequent parties and celebrations, and never cease to amaze with their frequent antics!

 

To re-state Petyr’s words on whether or not you should play a Halfling:

Some points to Note:

If you really enjoy PvPing, a halfling is probably not for you.

If you rage or have a temper, being a halfling is not for you.

If you want to be a Mary Sue or be a super duper badass, halflings are not for you.

If you get really bored really quickly, halflings might not be for you.

If you want to mine, halflings might not be for you.

If you are too serious, halflings are not for you.

HOWEVER:

If you enjoy farming, drinking, fishing, and laughing, be a halfling.

If you are tired of powergamers, poor RPers, or just tired of conflict, be a halfling.

If you want some peace and some good friends, be a halfling.

If you are drawn to short and weak races like hobbits and gnomes, be a halfling.

If you like the sound of an Irish accent, be a halfling.

If you want a community that is more focused on fun over items, be a halfling.

If you've always wanted to live in a hobbit burrow, be a halfling.

 

How to Roleplay a Halfling

Spoiler

 

Roleplaying a Halfling is a unique experience on LOTC. No other race is as short, and no other communities party in such copious quantities. In spite of these differences, halflings are not that difficult to roleplay, and anyone can pull it off with minimal practice and a good bit of pipe smokin’!

 

How to create a Halfling

1: Read up on Halfling lore! A quick glance at this Guide and the wiki page should be plenty!

2: Get a skin! This can be an unused skin from Planetminecraft, a skin you made yourself, or a skin you got a halfling skinner to make for you! Halfling skins aren’t that hard to make, and many non-Halfling skins can be turned into Halfling skins by removing all armor, making it barefoot, and adding in more Halfling-like attire like overalls, for example!

3: Get a name! This can be done by stealing the name of a lesser known hobbit from Lord of the Rings, mashing together some random nature words until you get something that sounds cool (“Stump Mossbranch”, for example), or by visiting https://chriswetherell.com/hobbit where you can generate both male and female Halfling names for free!

4: Create your persona and start RPing!

 

How to talk like a Halfling

While no two halfling accents are alike, most share a few common characteristics

 

1: Don’t use T in the middle or end of a word, replace it with an apostrophe instead.

Example: “Tha’s terrible!

Translation: “That’s terrible!”

 

2: Don’t use H at all, unless it’s combined with another consonant. Replace them all with apostrophes as well.

Example: “‘elp me! Me ‘airy fee’ be on fire!”

Translation: “Help me! My hairy feet are on fire!”

 

3: Replace -y with -eh if you feel like it, although this is not required.

Example: “The mos’ vereh nice ta’ers always be slimeh!”

Translation: “The best potatoes are always slimy!”

 

4: When drunk, sleepy, or otherwise impaired, replace the letter I with “oi” or “o” wherever it seems appropriate.

Example: “Oi nay b-beh drunk! T’is os ‘ow oi normalleh speak! Moind yer manners!”

Translation: “I’m not drunk! This is how I normally speak! Mind your manners!”

 

5: -ing turns into -in’ in most accents.

Example: “Runnin’, jumpin’, swimmin’, these be me favori’e thin’s!”

Translation: “Running, jumping, swimming, these are my favorite things!”

 

6: Add in your own extra flairs! Many halflings like to replace “the” with “t’eh” or “t’a”, or turn “my” into “me”, “mah”, or “meh”. The more it sounds like something a country bumpkin would say, the better!

Example: “Buh wha’ abou’ t’eh droid a’’ack on t’a wookies?”

Translation: “But what about the droid attack on the wookies?”

 

How to join the Halfling village

1: Create a Halfling character, duh! (See “How to create a Halfling”)

2: Go to the Halfling village. Sometimes the location of the Halfling village is a secret, and sometimes the Halfling village is right in the open for everyone to see! Whatever the case may be, you’ll eventually find the village is you ask and look around a bit! Check the forums to see if its location is put there, and try to contact the Halflings themselves on the forums if you are still confused!

3: Find an Authority Figure within the village. This is easier said than done, as the Halfling leadership isn’t online all the time (They have to sleep as well ya know)! If none of the Halfling leadership is online, try to find the village’s noticeboard to see if any OOC contacts are listed. If they are, then contact the leadership via the Discord, Skype, Forum Profile, etc. that is listed to try and be online at the same time.

4: Do whatever is required in order to get a home! Normally Halfling burrows are free, but that hasn’t always been the case! Back in Dunwood new Halflings had to fill out some fancy paperwork before being able to live there! Hopefully you will be able to get your burrow in no time flat!

 

How to build a Halfling burrow

There are many different ways to make a Halfling burrow. I shall list a few guides below:

Here is Petyr’s guide to making burrows way back in Asulon

Spoiler

This treatise is to be used as a guide for whenever a master architect is not present.

 

 

 

The Three Keys to Burrowing:

 

1. Cozy

 

2. Circular

 

3. Covered by Dirt

 

 

Cozy: A burrow must be cozy. A burrow that is too spacious is a burrow begging for unwanted guests. Cozy is not the same as cluttered. A halfling should never have too much room or too little room. Huge basements or vaults or spare rooms are not encouraged.

 

Circular: Burrows should be rounded, not built with the crude edges of other barbaric races.

 

Covered by Dirt: If there is no dirt on top of a burrow, it is merely a house, and a house is not proper for a halfling.

 

 

 

 

 

Standard Building Procedures:

 

 

Most burrows will have between three and five rooms. This is typically two large rooms and one bed room, perhaps adding a storage room or, in exceptional cases, another large room. A room is qualified as large if the surface area of the floor is greater than or equal to twenty four meters squared.

 

Standard rooms include:

Bedroom (always)

Living Room (always)

-typically the fireplace goes to this room

Entry Room/Hallway (typically)

Eating Room/Party Room (sometimes)

Separate storage room (sometimes)

 

A standard four-room burrow will consist of two large rooms (entry room and living room) and two small rooms (storage and bedroom).

 

Carefully consider the placement of doors, windows, and fireplace before construction begins.

 

 

Walls should be made of wooden planks stacked two meters high upon some sort of sturdy log.

http://i.imgur.com/Xn68h.png

Darkwood and standard planks are preferable.

 

The floors should always be covered by a thin layer of wooden planks or some sort of wool carpet.

http://i.imgur.com/O4ujf.png

 

 

Ceilings should be layered inward from the walls as such (depending on the shape of the room):

http://i.imgur.com/kTc28.png

http://i.imgur.com/LJktP.png

http://i.imgur.com/k9hlh.png

 

 

After construction, burrows should be covered by a layer of dirt, as to be made inconspicuous and natural-looking. Plant flowers and tall-grass after all dirt is placed.

 

 

Some notes:

Small basements are okay, but a basement too large will collapse the burrow from lack of support.

 

Experimentation should of course occur; no two burrows should be identical, and each burrow must be built to the needs of the particular halfling.

 

Sometimes it is wise to build into the ground a bit, as to avoid too large of a hill and too much similarity between burrows.

 

Different rooms can be different elevations, connected by a stairwell.

 

Cutting wooden planks in half allows for very inventive ceiling shapes, adding to the overall cozy factor.

 

 

*The author of this treatise may later edit it if the need for advice of a greater detail comes up.*

And here’s Larry’s guide to more modern burrows

Spoiler

Halfling Guide to Burrow building!

So with the change of maps, the halflings are once again forced to build their cozy, little burrows for their family. However, many of you reading this may not know how to make one of the nicer looking burrows.

This guide aims to change that... Hopefully.

If it doesn't, please give feedback on how to improve the guide.

~*~

There are three main rules to follow when building your burrow.

- Make it cozy, remember, you are short.

- Circular, this will be explained later.

- And an obvious one, covered by dirt.

 

Cozy : Your burrow must be cozy, who wants to have a nice sip of their tea if they don't feel like they are at home. If you are wondering what I mean by cozy then pay attention. If your burrow is too spacious, such as wide hallways or tall ceilings, then you are asking for bigguns to come and cause trouble. A halfling should build their burrow depending on the size of their family, no halfling should have too much room to use.

See how in this image, the burrow is small and compact, it gives it a small feel to it, making it feel more Halfling.

Circular : Burrows should be rounded, this means your rooms should not have sharp corners like those pesky bigguns running around in their fancy cities. Check the picture below for an example.

In this image you can see how the burrow is rounded, even in a small room such as this the room has been brought to a point by curving it in with slabs, this could also be done with stairs if done right.

Covered by Dirt : If your burrow has some of your wood showing from above, it is just a poorly roofed house, and Halflings live in burrows, if you see wood or your burrow from above, cover it.

In this image, you can see the burrow has been covered by a layer of dirt with no wood visible other than the glass skylights, this is an effective way to light up a room.

~*~

Standard Building Procedures

Most burrows tend to have between 3-6 rooms, this obviously depends on the size of the family and how much space you have. Your burrow will usually consist of two to three larger rooms and one bedroom for whoever you decide. You may have more like I said depending on your family or other exceptional circumstances, please ask your neighbors or Elders before expanding near another burrow. A large room is classified as any room more than or equal to 12x12 blocks.

 

Common Rooms a Halfling might include

- A bedroom

- Living room (Often where the fireplace goes, and yes, a fireplace is a necessity)

- Entry room/Hallway 

- Dining room, eating room etc

- Storage room (However we have a storage burrow, make use of that instead if possible)

- A small little study/library

~*~

A standard burrow will usually consist of two large rooms, often being the entry room and living room with two smaller rooms often consisting of a bedroom and personal choice depending on your persona.

Attempt to plan out your burrow prior to building, this helps to save you time later on if you don't like what you have created. This could include placement of doors, windows, fireplace, room placement etc.

Walls would typically be made from wooden planks, exceptions can be made if you have made a storage room for your ale/wines and you're known to spills. Often, however not always common is that your planks, usually being slabs will be placed upon a sturdy log.

Your floors should always be covered in either wooden planks or some colorful wool, this is much easier with the addition of carpets. 

Your ceilings should be rounded from the outside and upwards in the middle to make it more circular, this is common in burrows and should be attempted. 

Below you will find what is a big no no.

See how in this image the ceiling isnt rounded, the burrow is too spacious and the color is all the same. Makes it boring, and hard to look at. Burrows need more than one singular large room with a flat ceiling and one color. FOLLOW THE STEPS!

(Sorry for publicly shaming whoever built this)

After your construction, your burrow should be covered in a layer of dirt, this is to make it look more natural, make sure to terraform the outside, otherwise it will ruin the inconspicuous look you were going for. After you have covered your burrow you can decorate the outside by planting trees, grass, haybales, etc.

~*~

There are a number of steps you should try to follow to make your burrow building process run as smoothly as possible!

Step 1 : Dig the floor out and make a plan. Decide where you want each room, you can make your rooms at different levels but don't go crazy.

Step 2 : You can either decide to slab the floors or make the floors full blocks, it is up to you, but build your flooring, you can change plank type to give it some variety and a little bit of color. In this step you also want to place your door and entry point and decide on where you want your fireplace to go.

Step 3 : Here you want to build your walls, keep in mind you want the ceiling to be close to your head as well as wanting your ceiling to curve to be rounded. So aim for your walls to be 2-3 blocks and round it from there. With your walls you can either have them as normal planks or try to 'spice' it up a bit by making shelves with stairs or slabs.

Step 4 : Finish off your burrow's fireplace by completing the chimney and finishing the decorations of the fireplace. ALL burrows must have a fireplace.

 Hide contents

Step 5 : Place dirt over your completed work, bonemeal it, trees or haybales or whatever you want, add those now.

 Hide contents

Step 6 : Decorations. This is more of a personal touch, this should be easy, you will need a bed, chests, workstations, windows, dining table, carpet, paintings, flower pots, bookcases, etc. This is up to you and there are plenty of people who would be willing to help if you asked.

 Hide contents

~*~

Notes

- Small basements are alright, they can be used to store your ale/wine or be used for storage, however do not make these too large for fear of a cave in.

- No two burrows should be identical, you may gather ideas from others, but you need to make yours different for your persona.

- Different rooms can be different elevations, this can be done through the use of a staircase.

- Use wooden slabs/stairs to assist in rounding out your ceiling, remember, make it rounded.

~*~

Once again, credit to cmack1028 who originally wrote the guide and who is one of the best burrow builders (And Matt011011) and his burrow where I took most of the images.

Thank you to zach211w who didnt let me show you his burrow layout.

~*~

http://i.giphy.com/IhotPbGaFligM.gif

And here’s my own guide on how to make burrows in RP

Spoiler

Roleplaying burrow construction

So, you’ve decided to build a halfling burrow, but you, unlike most other halflings, want to go the extra mile and prove that you’ve worked hard to make this burrow of yours. In this case, we’ll be making a burrow while emoting every step of its construction (And by we, I mean you).

 

First thing first, you’ll need trees. Lot’s of trees, preferably.

A tree like this one will do just fine, Let’s get chopping!

Some emotes you can use when chopping down a tree

Emote 1: *swings his axe at the tree, hoping chip away at it.

Emote 2: *rushes away from the tree as it falls down the the ground, yelling “TIMBERRR!”.

 

Now that you’ve cut down the tree, you’ll need to size it properly by using a saw

Some emotes you can use when sawing logs.

Emote 1: *grabs ahold of the two person saw, yanking it closer to himself.

Emote 2: *pushes the saw inwards, away from himself.

 

Attach the log to whatever animals, family members, or other sources of labor you may be using. In this case, we’re using pigs. Now you can haul these logs to wherever they will be stored.

Some emotes you can use when hauling logs

Emote 1: *pulls hard on the rope attached to the log, dragging it a few inches across the ground.

Emote 2: *yells “HEAVE!”, the cue for everyone else to begin pulling, and begins to pull the log along with the others.

 

Now that you have the logs needed to make your burrow, start digging out the floor for your burrow, and don’t forget to pile the dirt you’re digging up close to the spot of your burrow. You’ll need that dirt later.

 

 

Some emotes you can use when digging

Emote 1: *jams the shovel into the hard earth, pushing it further down into the soil with one foot.

Emote 2: *levers some soil from the earth, lifting it up and away.

 

Start dragging your logs into position so that they stand upright in the ground.

 

 

 

 

Some emotes you can use when standing logs upright

Emote 1: *hollers out “HEAVE!” as everyone starts to pull the log into its position, contributing the bare minimum amount of work needed to not get scolded by the others for being a slacker.

Emote 2: *grunts as he pulls the log into a more upright position, sweat already forming on his brow.

 

Take some small log sections and create a ring around your burrow site with them, digging out dirt to make room for them wherever it’s needed.

Some emotes you can use when making a ring of logs around the pit that soon will be your burrow.

Emote 1: *lifts up a smaller log segment, and tries to carry it over to where it needs to be,

Emote 2: *lowers down the log segment into its position, sighing out of relief now that the task is done

 

You now have the foundation for your burrow! But we still need to make walls and a roof!

(And a floor, unless you like dirt floors for some reason)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some emotes you can use when building the walls and roof for your burrow

Emote 1: *hammers in a few nails with a hammer, yelping out as one of the nails is horribly bent!

Emote 2: *carefully puts a few boards into place so that they can be hammered in later to form a cozy ceiling.

 

Take the dirt that you dug up earlier, and start burying your construction underneath it. You’ll probably need more dirt that what you just dug up to create your burrow.

 

 

Some emotes you can use when piling dirt on top of your burrow

Emote 1: *quickly tosses some dirt onto the burrow with a shovel, and sighs as he realizes this is going to take a long while.

Emote 2: *whistles a tune as he carts over a wheelbarrow filled with dirt to where it will be dumped onto his burrow.

You’ve done it! You’ve made a burrow! And it only took you two months to make it! However, you probably want to furnish and decorate your burrow, unless you like sleeping on the cold hard floor.

 

The emotes that you would use to furnish a burrow are wide and varied. Here’s a few examples

Emote 1: *carefully places a small pot onto a countertop, brushing it off slightly with a finger.

Emote 2: *lays one brick on top of another as the slow process of making a fireplace begins.

Emote 3: **After having finished the furnishings on most of his burrow, a dark look would cross his face as he looks at the old spot of his beloved chair, given to him by his grandmother. He’d run around saying “WHERE’S MEH CHAIR! SOME’UN STOLE ME CHAIR!”

And here’s Faldo’s guide to making burrows

Spoiler

 

Ok so step 1:

 

Dig the floor out. You can have the floors at different levels too but don’t go too wild. Also you can vary where the corridors go off but there aren’t too many ways you can do it differently

 

https://i.imgur.com/OqVfHcM.png

 

Step 2:

 

Slab it up on the floors, and surround it with spruce logs and also make the logs look as if they are the supports of the structure. You can also build the fireplace at this point along with your door.

 

https://i.imgur.com/ONl2Trf.png

 

Step 3:

 

Raise the walls one block higher in general and begin to roof it up. Use slabs and go around the outside of the burrow at one y level and then once you make the circle of slabs, go up another y level and so on to make the curvy circular roof.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 4:

 

Now you can make the chimney stack and finish the fireplace with whatever decorations you choose. ALL BURROWS MUST HAVE FIREPLACES AND CHIMNEYS.

 

 

 

Step 5:

 

Dump dirt all over the roof and bonemeal it, making sure that every wood block is covered (other than the door of course)

 

 

 

Step 6:

 

Now it’s down to you to decorate it. It should be fairly easy, you have the standard bed, chest, furnace, crafting table, and you can also put in windows. Importantly, every burrow MUST HAVE DINING TABLE AND A FIREPLACE, to refuse to do so makes you a ****. Here is an example of a dinner table I made in that burrow that I quite liked.

 

 

 

Things to do as a Halfling

1: Have parties! You can never party too much as a Halfling! Ideally there should be at least one event, party, or festival every weekend, but if there isn’t one you can easily plan your own! ((See: How to plan Halfling parties))

2: Fishing, farming, baking, brewing etc. Of course, not every day can be a party, so every Halfling character should have some personal activity they can perform when things are quieter. Whether or not you want to roleplay these activities or do them out of character is up to you. ((For brewing, if you screenshot the roleplay of your booze-making, you could get the Moderators to rename bottles for you))

3: Small talk, small adventuring. As with all races, the majority of Halfling roleplay consists of relaxed chatter between characters. However, Halfling roleplay is more interesting when there’s a sense of direction and light-hearted urgency to it. If you ever get bored when chatting with your pals, you can simply invent some non-existant problem that has to be solved, be it evil gnomes stealing all of the booze, or chemicals in the water turning all the frogs gay!

4: Event builds within the village! Halfling villages are usually filled with small secrets that can be used for more interesting roleplay. Some secrets contained within Halfling villages include…

~A giant chicken protecting its lair!

~Tunnels filled with rats underneath the fields!

~A secret passageway to the edge of the world!

~Secret shrines to the Pumpkin Lord!

~A toilet that flushes you into the dark realm of Arugula, the evil Squid Lord!

 

The Halfling Festival

~The Dunshire Harvest Festival~

Halfling Festivals are always massive events, drawing large numbers of players to the Halfling village for a good ol’ time! There are several features in common with Festivals, although almost every Festival is unique in some way!

 

Common features of Halfling Festivals:

1: Shogging, Darts, Pie Eating, and other games. Halflings love playing fun little games! For instance, Shogging, a common halfling sport played on two logs, is a part of almost every Festival! Pie-Eating is also common, as Halflings are fond of food and often wish to turn it into a competition! Darts are a bit less common, but still fun nonetheless!

2: Drinking! If there’s anything Halflings love more than food, it’s booze! It’s not uncommon for Halflings to drink an entire barrel of booze in one sitting! Due to this, massive amounts of booze are consumed in practically every Halfling Festival worth writing home about!

3: Another main attraction! While drinking and games may appeal to many, many Halfling Festivals go beyond this! Some Festivals include massive events like Pig Races, Boat Racing, Scavenger Hunts, and entire adventures as the main attraction for the Festival!

 

How to Shog

Shogging is a very common Halfling Sport that most Halflings wish to master. Here are the basic rules:

1: Begin with one person on each log.

2: The goal is to knock your opponent off of their log without falling off of your own!

3: No jumping from one log to the other! Stay on your own log!

4: You must wear a pumpkin on your head and use a shovel to try and knock your opponent off.

5: No finding extra holes through your pumpkin! (Don’t use third person camera or hide your user interface to avoid the pumpkin penalty!)

 

Some tips and tricks:

1: It’s useful to sneak so that you don’t fall off by accident.

2: However, you can suddenly stop sneaking to rapidly move forwards to catch your opponent by surprise!

3: Playing defensively is usually better than playing aggressively, but sometimes being aggressive can pay off!

 

 

 

Other cool guides:

The Halfling Information Mega-Thread (which this thread is replacing)

Spoiler

 

 

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xslyQmbqX0E#t=0

 

 

 

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http://i.imgur.com/wHbRM.png

 

http://i.imgur.com/zdb4tbS.png

 

Hello and welcome to the halfling forum section! This particular thread will be used not only as an introduction to the halfling race, but as a general all-in-one information hub as well. This thread will contain tons of useful information, designed to help you learn all about our race and help you become one of our own! Let’s get started, shall we?

 

Halflings. The lovable little farmers. The mischievous little thieves. The halfling community has always strived to create a fun, laid back and stress-free roleplay environment inside LoTC. The halfling race is a very unique one, but it may not be a good choice for everybody.

http://i.imgur.com/UELT7PT.png

http://i.imgur.com/8Dcu3t2.png

 

Petyr’s guide can be used to help you determine whether the halfling race is or isn’t for you.

 

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Some important points to note:

 

• If you really enjoy PvPing, a halfling is probably not for you.

• If you rage or have a temper, being a halfling is not for you.

• If you want to be a Mary Sue or be a super duper badass, halflings are not for you.

• If you get really bored really quickly, halflings might not be for you.

• If you want to mine, halflings might not be for you.

• If you are too serious, halflings are not for you.

 

HOWEVER:

 

• If you enjoy farming, drinking, fishing, and laughing, be a halfling.

• If you are tired of powergamers, poor RPers, or just tired of conflict, be a halfling.

• If you want some peace and some good friends, be a halfling.

• If you are drawn to short and weak races like hobbits and gnomes, be a halfling.

• If you like the sound of an Irish accent, be a halfling.

• If you want a community that is more focused on fun over items, be a halfling.

• If you've always wanted to live in a hobbit burrow, be a halfling.

http://i.imgur.com/hpjAoDm.png

http://i.imgur.com/pfpMxHj.png

 

Roleplaying a halfling can be fairly difficult for newer players or those that do not know much about the halfling race. In order to be a proper halfling, you should know:

 

• Halflings are usually around three feet tall and have large, hairy feet

• Halflings live in small, cozy homes carved into the hillside known as burrows

• Halflings mature at the age of 33 and can often live longer than most humans due to ancient dwarven blood, sometimes up to even 250 years old

• Halflings have a distinct accent that sounds similar to a modern-day Irish accent

• Halflings are known to be some of the best farmers in the land and often wear farmhand clothing

• Halflings typically do not wear any form of shoes due to their large feet, and are much more comfortable going barefoot

• Halflings can sometimes have two different colored eyes

• Halflings have very big stomachs despite their smaller stature and are often very hungry

• Halflings never wield or equip blades or armor, and their go-to weapon and tool is always the shovel

• Halflings prefer to barter and typically don't use minas or any other currencies

• Halflings do not particularly frown upon thieving things from the outside races, however as a community, they generally choose not to steal from one another

• Halflings frown upon locks and instead prefer an open and trusting community

• Halflings frown upon violence, however they are not considered pacifists

 

You should also read the halfling wiki, found here: https://wikia.lordofthecraft.net/index.php?title=Halflings

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http://i.imgur.com/RomVD0F.png

 

The general appearance of the halfling race can be summed up very well by Bili's guide on how to look the look. 

 

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Halflings are unique when it comes to their stature. They are said to resemble children, although they have the features of adult humans. Due to this, they are often called halfmen, and referred to as the smallest beings of all the races. The average height for a halfling is about three feet tall.

 

Halflings are not known for their combat skills due to this size, coupled with their lack of burliness. Unlike dwarves, who are short and stout, this race is short and less built. It is not uncommon to see an obese halfling, though, for they do love food and lazing about.

The Little Folk are famous for their hardy feet. It is a well-known fact that they avoid wearing shoes. Doing so is quite uncomfortable, as they have much thicker and more leathery feet than humans. This extra layer of skin can withstand thorns and sharp rocks. The foot of a male halfling has a curious amount of hair, that spreads over its top. Little is known why they have so much foot hair, but the halflings do not seem to question it. Their feet, in proportion to the rest of their body, are quite large.

The hair of halflings is often curly, or wavy, and almost never straight. It tends to range from blonde to dark brown, and on rare occasions, black. Black hair is rarely seen, and brown seems to be the color in most abundance.

Halflings' eyes are also quite a curious spectacle. Their eye color is about the same as a humans', ranging from brown, to green, to blue, with the addition of less common colors, such as violet. The most intriguing eye color is, well, in fact, a mixture of two different colors. The condition "Heterochromia iridium" is common in halflings. This means that both eyes are different colors. It is seen more often in she-halflings than in male halflings, for reasons unknown.

 

 

Fumble's guide on clothing will help you dress for success!

 

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Halfling clothing tends to vary from halfling to halfling. Some halflings prefer to wear jackets if they are feeling fancy that particular day. Others might wear some sort of farmhand trousers combined with a vest or shirt if they need to work or travel. Overalls are also common. The more relaxed and nature-loving halflings will wear casual or very short clothing. Most female halflings wear short dresses or skirts.

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http://i.imgur.com/QXrgLDS.png

 

Rupert’s guide can be used to help you master the halfling accent.

 

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Typically, halflings have a sort of Irish accent from the modern world today, however there are some notable differences.

 

• Halflings have a difficult time pronouncing the letter T during mid-statement, however they can easily pronounce it as the first sound of a statement, for example:

 

Normal: This is a test statement.

Halfling: This is a tes' sta'emen'.

 

Notice how in “statement,” the first T isn't replaced with an apostrophe. The “st” sound remains pronounceable.

 

• Halflings typically don't pronounce the H sound when speaking. You can also drop the “oo” sound in words, and instead replace it with “e” or “a” (You -> Ye, Ya), for example:

 

Normal: How are you?

Halfling: 'ow are ye?

 

• Some accents don't allow the halfling to pronounce the sounds “to” and “too”, and instead would replace them with “ter,” for example:

 

Normal: What do you have to do today?

Halfling: Wha' do ya 'ave ter do terday?

 

• Lots of times, Halflings won't pronounce the "er" sound at the end of a word and instead replace it with "a", for example:

 

Normal: How are you, Mister Proudfoot?

Halfling: 'ow are ye, Mista Proudfoo'?

 

Again, the "st" sound will remain strong, but in the word "foot," it would drop the T.

 

• Halflings typically don't pronounce "ing", and instead only pronounce the "in'" sound, for example:

 

Normal: How are you doing today?

Halfling: 'ow are ya doin' terday?

 

Friendly tips:

• Your character will be able to pronounce the random consonants in the beginning of words. "Green" is not "'reen,” "more" is not "'ore,” etc.
• Many halflings choose not pronounce the “th” sound, and instead replace it with a D (That -> Dat). This is completely up to you, however when I learned in mid-Asulon, it was not a typical thing to do.
• Have fun with it! Mix and match to make your accent unique!

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/R08O0w9.png

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/9euG30U.png

 

Making your new halfling character is fairly simple and can be done in some easy steps.

 

• Know your stuff
• Get your name
• Get your skin
• Start RPing

 

Know your stuff! Read up on the halflings in this thread and the wiki!

 

Get your name! The best way to get a name would be to join a family, such as the Brandybucks, Willowswamps, Herbwallows or Tooks. (It would be wise to ask a member of the family to join beforehand!) Names can also be created through creative thinking or a name generator, such as one found here: https://www.chriswetherell.com/hobbit/

 

Get your skin! Skins can easily be obtained by searching the Internet, however we would recommend that you have your skin custom-made by yourself or somebody else on the forums. Stealing another player’s skin and editing it is frowned upon and is extremely awkward when you see the other player in-game!

 

Start RPing! Throw your skin on, make your character card (persona) and head for the halfling village!

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http://i.imgur.com/8Y2z9TB.png

 

Bili's guide on courtship is a wonderful read on how traditional halfling marriages are arranged.

 

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Halfling courtship and marriage are similar to that of the human race, but it also has a few differences. Here are some specifications. 

When a halfling finds an attraction to the opposite gender, he or she will usually approach the other, eventually asking them to go on a date of some sort. They might go to any location (the pub, a nice picnic etc). On this "date," the two will get to know each other better. The halflings might find that they enjoy the others company, in which they will go on another "date." Or, they might find that they dislike the other, in which they will head off in search of a new person.

Barring that there are any mishaps, fights, or loss of interest, the two halflings will eventually fall in love, and start to get on a more personal level. After an even longer time, the halfling's love might become so strong that they feel they can spend the rest of their lives together. If so, the male halfling will offer the female halfling an item of significant importance, and ask for her to marry, and spend the rest their lives together. If the female accepts the two will begin preparations for a wedding (It is very rare for a pair of halflings not to have the wedding ceremony, but in a few cases halflings have skipped in altogether). 

These ceremonies will be held (normally) in an outside area, as most halfling communities have no large church or building to hold it in. These weddings will have large amounts of people (nearly the whole town, for halflings like to party), food and drinks. Once the initial party is over, the weddings begin. In these, the betrothed stand close to each other with an Elder in the middle. The two wear fine clothes as do the rest of the onlookers. Rings are then brought out by a first man and lady. The husband's is often inlaid with refined lapis and the wife's is inlaid with a diamond. The two exchange rings then their vows are read by one of the Elders. The two seal their vows by drinking some of the towns finest vintage wine from the same cup. A toast is then raised by the onlooking crowd for the well-being of the relationship. 

The party then resumes with traditional halfling jigs and other dances, carrying off late into the night. After the couple is happily married they will indulge on a search for a home they can live in together (note, they skip the honeymoon as halflings don't like to travel as much as other races). The couple will then raise a family and resume their happy halfling lives together.

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If you are looking for an enjoyable halfling read, you should definitely take a peek at Petyr’s history.

 

 

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A History of Halflings - by Petyr Brandybuck

 

Preface

 

As is common knowledge, the origins of the halfling race reside began with couples consisting of a human and a dwarf. Nowadays, the halflings have distinct traits of their own, practically unmistakable when compared with the modern counterparts of their progenitors. The purpose of this book is to educate the populace about the culture and history of the halflings. The information in this book has been preserved either in ruins, in literature, or in folklore.

 

Chapter 1 - Beginnings - Years 0-300

 

Though there are many conflicting accounts regarding the creation and following years of Aegis, most records agree that the race of humans and that of dwarves most likely had contact before Year 50. And, as when any two cultures collide, so do their blood, and so at some point in time, humans began to mate with dwarves. We can trace some traits back to this point, such as brewing and farming talents, but as we will see, other generic halfling traits developed over time.

 

Indeed, it is hard to pinpoint the first halfling. After researching animal breeding as well as magical oddities, I would propose that, intially, the children of a dwarf/human couple would not be classified as a halfling. You see, it would make much more sense if halflings were a height in between that of a dwarf and human, but instead, they are actually shorter! This would indicate that, some time in the past, a great outer influence caused the future children of these mixed couples to have this odd height.

 

It is reasonable to conclude that halflings as we know them today were present by Year 300, based on folklore and literary records.

 

Chapter 2 - Early Developments - Years 300-600

 

A combination of small stature and inherant greed drove some of the first halflings to thievery, a very viable profession for nimble hands in the cities. They gained a reputation for being mischievous and devious, and thus gained little respect for their brewing or farming prowess. There was some prejudice against them, no doubt; never once in history or literature does one hear of a heroic or powerful halfling. To say that they were suppressed would be incorrect, but people did find them a thing to be "tolerated".

 

Over time, of course, most halflings developed a sort of fear of violence and arguments, reducing the number of thieves. As well, most halflings moved to Oren to escape the war-mongering attitude of the dwarves. This is estimated to have taken place over the time span of Years 400-600 The humans were little better, though. And, over time, halflings began to move to more rural areas, escaping those that would persecute them. Small communities on the very border of human cities were formed, and there halflings began to develop customs to cheer them up. Indeed, good food and good times seemed to become the goal of every halfling.

 

Chapter 3 - Later Developments - Years 600-1200

 

Halflings continued migrating farther and farther out of the city. It came to be that small communities of halflings were spread out in the vast plains surrounding Oren, with the halflings only revealing themselves occasionally to trade goods. Over time, the negative connotation towards halflings mostly disappated, but the halflings enjoyed their semi-solitary lifestyles.

The countryside is where the art of halfling brew and cooking truely matured into the art form that it is today. Indeed, the herbs and spices that could be found in the countryside of Oren had never been truely used to their full potential, and so halflings were the first to utilize them. Some of these herbs include the yellow wildflower, spice of apple, and fern dust. The ale, while very potent, began to develop more of a focus on flavor and aftertaste. This also was the case with halfling bread and cider.

 

It is important to note that there were still some halflings living in cities at this point (~Year 800). Most halflings were born of halfling/halfling, but some were still born of a human/dwarf couple. These halflings enjoyed a much easier life than their ancestors.

 

Around this time in history, the number of halflings had indeed grown to a point where surnames were required to identify with, as previously, only single names were used. Names, both first and last, were usually one or two syllables. Notable surnames and houses that began at this time were the houses of Took and Brandybuck, founded by Tulkan and Grombadook, respectively. The Tooks had the traits of what might be called the quintessential halfling - friendly, yet shy, of average height and demeanor. The Brandybucks, however, were a tad more adventurous, with darker hair than most halflings. Each family lived in a single burrow hill, most of them in the general vicinity of another. These family hills were the closest thing to a town as had truely ever existed yet in halfling culture.

 

However, in around Year 1010, some families started to break apart from population pressures. Families like the Brandybucks eventually spread all througout the lands.

 

By around this time, halflings had been isolated enough that, not only did this unique culture of peace and merriment develop, but the halflings actually forgot or disbelieved in the creation stories and of Aenguls, Daemons, and God. Indeed, the halflings didn't really develop a totally obscure faith, but instead took on a quasi-religious outlook that revolved around the things they held dear: harvest and food, companionship, nature, and peace. No "gods" were ever named, nor was worship very common, but there was a common belief that, if a halfling betrayed his tight-knit community, that the harvest and the tranquility of life would be lost.

 

Chapter 4 - The Rise and Decline of the Village Era - Years 1200-1304

 

Around the year 1200, a small group of halflings, from both Took, Brandybuck, Goodbody, and other families, decided to form a self-sufficient community apart from the family burrows. They had decided to make it a collection of hills, hidden from society by the waters and hills surrounding it. This community eventually came to be named "Dunwood", and it remains the most notable halfling town to date. There are massive wheat fields and a beautiful, clean lake. This town was always notable for being quite territorial, for as the humans began to urbanize more and more, family burrows were abandoned, and Dunwood was one of the last retreats for the country-loving halflings. As word of the town's existence came to be, spread by the word of the Wandering Wizard, halflings from both cities and family hills came to try and gain a burrow here. The founders of Dunwood were initially very welcome, but soon, the onrush of want-to-be residents came to such a high number that it was impossible to distinguish which would be beneficial to the community. The aspect of companionship was always very emphasized, and as a later resident of the town, I can vouch for this fact. By the time that I moved to Dunwood, it was impossible to walk through the streets of Al'Khazar without being pestered for the town's semi-secret location.

 

Envious of the town, many halflings and non-halflings alike began making similar towns in the surrounding hills, a more known one by the name of Thistledown.

 

I am now qualified, at this point, to tell the history from a first-person perspective. Yes, for I arrived in Dunwood during a small population boom, when the town was thriving and more inhabitants came every day. The Elders of the town at the time were Kip Took, Len, Gimblo. I was first escorted to the town by Gimblo, who took Bell and I for a visit. And, as I mentioned earlier, we were pursued through the streets of Al'Khazar by nosy people! Gimblo turned a corner, snapped his finger, and suddenly Bell and I were in Dunwood (a trick I have yet to emulate perfectly). The smell of hot bread and ale wafted from the ale garden, and I could hear a halfling singing with a lyre in the distance. Indeed, it was truly the ideal place for a halfling. Indeed, soon, the whole town took a trip to Al'Khazar to pledge allegiance to the newly-kinged Edmund.

 

After many a year of drinking, story-telling, and visitor-shoveling, the town seemed to go into a cultural decline. The Elders grew a tad sickly, and so they appointed Owen Sturdyfoot II as the Mayor to help govern. However, even his efforts did not maintain the vitality of the town, as Brian left to become an Ascended, Biodoc passed away, Rusty moved to Al'Khazar, and Lilly was kidnapped. This decline occured in other towns, too, leaving an area surrounding Dunwood filled with empty hill-homes and the likes. I, too, left after a call from the Druids, though the years of countryside living would have a profound influence on me for my entire life.

 

Chapter 5 - Up to Modern Day - Years 1304-Present Day

 

After many years, around 1340, I decided along with a few relatives to restore the popularity and culture of Dunwood, and so we hosted DunFest, a large festival with much merriment. There was drinking, dancing, singing, and the likes, of course. However, afterwards, it did not have the profound influence on the town population that I would have liked. And so, I went back to Malinor, only to try another festival later. Indeed, it appeared that our selective ways way long ago had a profound influence on the interest in the town, and so many gave up their hopes of moving and settled in the city. Many halflings have forgotten the joy of the simple and clean life, to my surprise. While I certainly traveled and was no typical halfling, the air off of Lake Dunwood in the early morn still stirs my soul like very little else does.

 

At the most recent DunFest, I did meet some fellows quite interested in culture, but none were halflings. I have tried to embrace the city-dwelling halflings with open arms, but very few have answered the call.

 

With the division of Oren, I as one of the only remaining Elders of the town decided to not immediately pledge our allegiance to either faction, instead remaining independent for some time. I did, however, set up a trade caravan of goods between Dunwood and Galahar, trying to make use of our overstocked wheat.

 

At the time of writing this, the state of the world grows dim as the Undead continue to win victory after victory. The future will surely deserve another tome of halfling history, perhaps more in depth, as this was merely a general overview. Hopefully this has been an informative and enjoyable read.

 

Petyr Brandybuck

 

 

 

For those who would like to learn how to build proper burrows, Petyr’s guide on burrowing is another fantastic halfling guide to read and learn from. You can also check out Faldo's burrowing guide, found HERE.

 

 

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The Three Keys to Burrowing:

 

1. Cozy

 

2. Circular

 

3. Covered by Dirt

 

Cozy: A burrow must be cozy. A burrow that is too spacious is a burrow begging for unwanted guests. Cozy is not the same as cluttered. A halfling should never have too much room or too little room. Huge basements or vaults or spare rooms are not encouraged.

 

Circular: Burrows should be rounded, not built with the crude edges of other barbaric races.

 

Covered by Dirt: If there is no dirt on top of a burrow, it is merely a house, and a house is not proper for a halfling.

 

Standard Building Procedures:

 

Most burrows will have between three and five rooms. This is typically two large rooms and one bed room, perhaps adding a storage room or, in exceptional cases, another large room. A room is qualified as large if the surface area of the floor is greater than or equal to twenty four meters squared.

 

Standard rooms include:

 

• Bedroom (always)

• Living Room (always) (typically where the fireplace goes)

• Entry Room/Hallway (typically)

• Eating Room/Party Room (sometimes)

• Separate storage room (sometimes)

 

A standard four-room burrow will consist of two large rooms (entry room and living room) and two small rooms (storage and bedroom).

 

Carefully consider the placement of doors, windows, and fireplace before construction begins.

 

Walls should be made of wooden planks stacked two meters high upon some sort of sturdy log.

 

http://i.imgur.com/UTiA5Sv.png

Darkwood and standard planks are preferable.

 

The floors should always be covered by a thin layer of wooden planks or some sort of wool carpet.

 

http://i.imgur.com/rQUfksT.png

 

Ceilings should be layered inward from the walls as such (depending on the shape of the room):

 

http://i.imgur.com/XuHjXay.png

 

http://i.imgur.com/b4rYJuq.png

 

http://i.imgur.com/MKpVlTc.png

 

After construction, burrows should be covered by a layer of dirt, as to be made inconspicuous and natural-looking. Plant flowers and tall-grass after all dirt is placed.

 

Some notes:

• Small basements are okay, but a basement too large will collapse the burrow from lack of support.

 

• Experimentation should of course occur; no two burrows should be identical, and each burrow must be built to the needs of the particular halfling.

 

• Sometimes it is wise to build into the ground a bit, as to avoid too large of a hill and too much similarity between burrows.

 

• Different rooms can be different elevations, connected by a stairwell.

 

• Cutting wooden planks in half allows for very inventive ceiling shapes, adding to the overall cozy factor.

 

 

 

 

Feel free to ask any questions you might have about the halflings below!

An unofficial Halfling guide to Hosting Guests (still relevant)

Spoiler

Hello everyone! I've sort of disappeared from Lord of the Craft for a while, but I've missed the Halfling community as of late. I found something I had started to write about Halflings as hosts, and thought I'd share it. A lot of it is from a book I picked up titled "The Unofficial Hobbit Handbook," and I think that it could help out with roleplay. So, here's an unofficial guide to being a good host as a Halfling. Enjoy! (~Rolo Bucketfoot~)

 

On Entertaining Guests

 

Although the race of Halflings oft go under the noses of tall folk near and far, they are not anywhere close to isolationist or unsocial beings; In fact, they are just the opposite! In fact, a Halfling should find himself or herself lucky to have visitors! A visit from someone for a spot of tea or a quick morsel of seed-cake can be the bright spot of any day. Guests should always be held in the highest regard and treated with the proper decorum. A Halfling takes his duty to the well-being of his guests very seriously. One should make a guest feel welcome, with hearty greetings and plentiful refreshments.

 

In our own lives, we far too often take the easy path and eat out at a local restaurant or tavern. We avoid entertaining in the home, opting instead for a quick happy hour at the local pub (actually, that sounds like a valid choice when thinking like a Halfling). But having visitors can be a great pleasure, despite the work involved. Consider storing a few extra bottles of wine and a stock of beer, keeping some extra snacks on hand, and soon you'll be entertaining in a true Halfling style. Remember to always keep your ice-box full, and form the habit of offering a little something whenever someone stops by. Your friends will think you very resourceful and will appreciate your generous hospitality.

 

Welcoming Guests

 

Never keep a guest waiting on the doorstep. Make sure to invite them in quickly and offer to take their coats, hats, cloaks, hood, or outer garments of choice. Offer them a place to sit straightaway--a guest's comfort should be your utmost concern.

Next, offer refreshments. If it is a quick visit, tea and cakes are usually appropriate. If the visit is a lengthy one or if it is close to a mealtime, invite your guest to join you for the meal.

In the case that the visit isn't a social one, but instead a matter of business, you may wait until after matters have been discussed to offer refreshment.

 

The Host's Duty

 

Halflings are highly concerned with making their guests feel wanted. Even when Bilbo Baggins found his home filled with dwarves who were seeking adventure, of all things, he did his best to entertain them.

As a host, one should always offer guests the first choice of all refreshments. In the unfortunate instance that there isn't enough for everyone, the host should politely do without, making excuses of having had a rather large second breakfast. This may be a difficult sacrifice; however, be careful not to show disappointment. Look to your duties and be gracious.

 

Overnight Guests

 

When one has overnight guests, make every attempt to provide proper accommodations. If possible, guests should have a room of their own, even if the host has to give up his own room and sleep on the couch.

Be sure to provide fresh bed linens, towels, washcloths, and a tumbler of drinking water for your overnight guest.

 

Passersby

 

One should greet folks passing by with a hearty "Good day!" (or a substitute, depending on the time of day). 

Small talk about the weather is recommended, especially if it is a fine day. Offer the person a spot of tea or a pipe of whatever leaf you're smoking. Nothing can complement a fine day more than sharing in life's little pleasures.

Greeting strangers is more than just a kindness; you never know who a stranger may turn out to be. 

 

Unexpected/Unwelcome Guests

 

When an unexpected guest drops by for a visit, one should do one's best to make them feel welcome and comfortable. Invite them to sit and offer them whatever refreshments you have on hand.

In the case of an unwelcome guest, it is still important to uphold your duty as a host. Though you are in a difficult position, you should remain pleasant and cordial. It is still advisable to make time for a polite conversation and offer refreshment. Anything less would be rude!

Halflings have an interesting approach to dealing with guests who stay longer than what is considered a reasonable time (for half-folk this is more than a month; as a human, it's considerably less). Halflings rarely ask someone to leave. Instead, when a guest shows no signs of leaving, a host will inform them that they are now a member of the household and begin to assign them household duties.

You may want to employ this tactic with guests who stay too long. You'll likely find that it works like a charm, and they'll be looking for somewhere else to go rather quickly!

When dealing with solicitors, you should employ a measure of politeness and decorum. Thank them for extending their gracious offer, even if it is something as deplorable as being involved in an adventure. After thanking them, you may decline their kind offer and wish them "Good day."

Halfling Activities Guide (outdated, but great for inspiration!)

Spoiler

Following in the style of Valon's extremely helpful guide and Cmack's absolutely brilliant guide, I'm going to go ahead and try to make one o' dem Halfling guides.

 

 

"So wot's 'his guide 'bout?" you may ask in a peculiar medieval accent. So I would so kindly respond with the sentence "Well wot ye bloody 'hink i's 'bout? Read 'he blinkin' title ye troll faced pig!" and if you were to read the title it would state that this is a guide about Halfling activities! "Righ' 'en, so who's 'his guide made fer?" you might respond, "Fer 'ose 'ha' be thinkin' 'bout makin' an 'Alflin', bu' don' know wot types o' fun we ge' up 'o." I would then reply in a heavenly voice. "Okay, okay." you would possibly respond "Wha' types o' stuff do ye li'le uns ge' up 'o?" you would quickly say, "Well lo's o' stuff-- Eh I'm just gonna drop the whole dialogue thing. 

 

We Halfling do a lot of things, all of them fun I can assure you, whether it be having a nice cold brew with your friend or playing a friendly game of Shogs, fun Roleplay is almost always guaranteed. So, let me start this guide by going (sort of) in-depth into what could very well be my favorite part of being a Halfling.

 

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Yes of course! Ale drinking is perhaps the most important part of a balanced Halfling diet, and not only does it work to sustain the life of this adorable little creatures, but it also brings some of the funnest Roleplay! Now in Lenfarthing there are plenty of ales to drink, whether it be the usual Apple Spice at the Lumpy Pumpkin Inn or some of Dudo Boundwise's home brew, all of them can get you nice and drunk (and what's a Halfling if not a drunkard?).  So once you have found a good friend -or perhaps someone you just met- and have chosen a proper decent Halfling ale to drink, what do you do? Halflings are known for their good company, story telling, and ale; so do one of those things! Tell a story whilst you get drunk, the tale getting progressively more far-fetched the more ale you drink. Sing a song whilst you do a little jig! Gossip about local residents and maybe even start a little rumor! What's the best and at the same time worst part about ale? Getting drunk. And what is it that people do when they're drunk? Drink more ale! Sing a terrible drinking song! Stumble out into the night with you drinking buddy, then making your way to the Hollyfrost Brewers and drink all the ale they have in storage! Ale drinking, and getting drunk for that matter, has produced some of the funnest RP I've ever had and is a very common Halfling activity.

 

Alright well, you've gotten drunk, had your little ale induced adventures, and have drank all the ale you could find. You don't really want to die of alcohol poisoning, so how about we move on to a different activity.

 

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Yup! Halflings play games inside of a game, I'm not gonna do the Inception joke. Now the games they play are not only enjoyable but also creative. Sometimes these games incorporate Minecraft Mechanics, such as Shogs, and sometimes they are played purely through emotes. The games Halflings play are light hearted and sometimes even games that we play in real life. Some of the more popular games include:

Shogs, a game in which you stand on a floating log and try to knock your opponent off their log.

Hide n' Seek, no explanation needed.

Darts, get drunk and throw darts at a board.

Bumper Boats, hop into a boat and try to break other people's boats by crashing into them.

 

All these games are incredibly fun, and if you can find someone to play them with it's almost certain that you will have a good time.

 

Alright, alright that's pretty cool. But as much as you might like games your character will get tired after his thirty third round of Bumper Boats. That's fine after a good day of ale drinking and game playing how about you ...

 

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Another thing Halflings are famous for is their huge appetite! So how about after a long day of merriment you sit down and have a nice warm meal. I suggest reading this brilliant guide or this equally as brilliant one on cooking RP. Remember that Halflings are very serious when it comes to their food, they only use the freshest ingredients and don't let food go to waste. Halfling foods often consist of mushrooms, chewy meats, and cooked vegetables, actually an entire guide could probably written about Halfling foods! So after you have cooked a meal for yourself and perhaps a guest, get to eating! First scarf down the delicious twice baked taters, then go for the honey soaked pork sausages, perhaps you then gulp down a few spiced shrooms, and then after all that you serve the double fudge strawberry cake. Of course you eat all this with your hands, for a proper Halfling doesn't have time for silverware. During this delicious meal you might talk with your guest about the current goings ons in the world. "I 'eard from un o' 'he Elders 'ha' 'he Woods be'ind 'he Kip burrows be 'aunted!" *munch munch* "Nay way! I go 'here 'o pick shrooms all 'he time!" *nom nom*

 

Alright so you've finished your meal, and now you feel like doing something else. You want to feel productive with what you do, so how bout you go and do your job!

 

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You've finished your meal and now it's time to get back to work. Halfling jobs are varied, you could be a typical farmer, a redstone engineer, or a poet! A proper Halfling can have just about any job that you can think of, besides something like a knight or a politician. We have woodworkers, gatekeepers, gardeners  writers, and even a doctor! Just remember when picking a job for your Halfling, a proper Halfling's motto is "Why do anything if it isn't fun?". Also remember that Halflings don't really value Minas, so everything is free and you'll most likely end up getting paid in ale and cake.

 

Cool, cool, I'm having fun so far. But your Halfling might be a bit more adventurous. 

 

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Woah there buddy! Not just yet, before you go on a grand adventure helping some Dwarves reclaim their home or tossing an expensive piece of jewelry into a fire, read this. Halflings are mostly peaceful creatures that usually keep to themselves and usually dislike change and the outside world. However this doesn't mean that your Halfling can't go on an adventure! Just keep the journey small, don't go traveling all the way to the North and then joining an army, a poor little Halfling would be far too frightened to do that. Instead, plan a little journey with some of your Halfling pals to look for rare shrooms in the Witch Woods, maybe contact an event team member to make the quest a bit more exciting. Don't go all the way to the Orcish Badlands and investigate, climb the Elder peaks and play bumper boats up in the big lake. But always remember to come back to Lenfarthing and keep the adventures few and far between. Basically just make sure that Halfling adventures are kept within reason.

 

Welp, besides that I ain't got much else to say. Also you might want to check out the other amazingly brilliant Halfling guides.

Like the guide by Dalek 

The guide by SuperSodaPops

And of course all the fantastic stuff in the Halfling Roleplay section

So you want to be a Halfling (outdated)

Spoiler

So, You Want to Be a Halfling?

 

Lovely! Halfling roleplay is simple, fun, easy, and gets you invloved with one of the most fun communities on Lord of the Craft! I'm writing this guide to give everyone a Anthos-dated, recent guide that can give the accurate scoop on the Anthos halflings. Now, lets delve into what makes halfling roleplay tick.

 

 Elders

 

The halfling elders are currently a group of five. They handle management of the community both IC and OOC. These are the people to talk to if you:

 

 Want a burrow - You need a place to live! Burrows are cozy and make for a home that is so sweet it rivals chocolate. All of these burrows are managed and well built. And make sure you don't edit them a lot. I'll get to that later.

 

 Have a good idea for a small event - Want to throw a party? In the mood for a drinking contest? The elders will set you up! 

 

 Need anything - The elders will pretty much help you with anything that pops into your little mind. Be it a restock of the inn, or tidy up an area, they handle the misc. category well.

 

The current elders are:

 

Dr_Dovahkiin - Elder Bolo Willowbottom - Dovah is fun, helpful, generous, and works a lot with halfling events. He also works with forum management of the halflings.

 

Matt011011 - Elder Milo Herbwallow - Milo handles the IG administration of burrows and land. He is a great elder, and we honestly couldn't survive without him.

 

TMdeath - Elder Aris Snowbird - Aris is a newer elder, and a member of the halfling community before me. He is just as friendly and great as the other elders, and works a lot IC. He used to be the sheriff, so he knows how to handle his shovel. 

 

Dalek348 - Lenmaster Faldo Featherfoot - Dalek is a long-time elder, semi-active. He has done a bunch in the past, and simply holds the position for the most part.

 

Sorsby - Elder Tibb Fairfield - Sorsby has been elder a long time, and, like Dalek, holds the position mostly honorarily. He's an elder in not-so-retirement.

 

So yes, that's our list of brilliant elders! I'd also like to mention that you not be too overbearing. They have roleplay they'd like to accomplish too! Shall we move on to the other concepts of our roleplay?

 

Location

 

 Now, the halflings have, and will always live in the most beautiful towns in Lord of the Craft. Lenfarthing is incredible, full of nature, and gives the full halfling experience. Lets go over some misconceptions and cool stuff about Lenfarthing.

 

 The lands of Lenfarthing are not called The Vale. In fact, the Vale was Asulon. Lenfarthing is in the Dales.

 

 Lenfarthing is home to the Melon Trees, actual trees that grow melons.

 

 All burrows are round, cozy, and small. Greatest homes in Anthos.

 

 There is plenty to explore around Lenfarthing. If you go looking, you will find a bountiful harvest of builds around Lenfarthing with interesting backstories.

 

 WHAT ELSE COULD LENFARTHING HOLD????

 

Ale

 

 Drink till you drop. Down in Lenfarthing, we have all the ale, lager, wine, whiskey, brew that you could dream of. what else is there to say?

 

Character

 

 Halflings are short, between 2-3 feet in upper adolesence and adulthood. They generally have brown hair, blonde and black being more rare. Red hair is the most uncommon. Their eyes are the same colors as humans, for the most part, and they can have freckles. Halflings do NOT have pointed ears, simply rounded human-like ears. Their clothes are usually soft, weaved fibers like cotton or wool. They wear shades of green, olive, yellow, white, grey, and a wider variety of purples and blues. Their clothes are designed as vests, long-sleeved shirts, and coats. They DON'T wear shoes. I made this mistake on my first halfling. 

 

 Their appearance is not the only interesting aspect of the character. Halfling's personality's are powerful qualities in your character. A halfling is cheerful, likes to drink and eat, has a sweet tooth, and loves nature. If you include these things, you have plenty of room for your character's own qualities and quirks. 

 

END OF GUIDE  

 

Well, this brings us to the end of this guide. I hope after reading you consider making a halfling character. We get a LOT of newcomers and one day characters, so don't get a burrow unless you plan on keeping the character. Now comes the most important part of playing a halfling character. HAVE FUN WITH IT. There's no point in having any character if it doesn't entertain you. Now shoo. Go make yourself a halfling.

The Official Halfling Guide (Outdated but still good!)

Spoiler

The Halfling Guide

 

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- Ancient Halfling History -

 

A History of Halflings - by Petyr Brandybuck

 

Preface

 

As is common knowledge, the origins of the halfling race reside began with couples consisting of a human and a dwarf. Nowadays, the halflings have distinct traits of their own, practically unmistakable when compared with the modern counterparts of their progenitors. The purpose of this book is to educate the populace about the culture and history of the halflings. The information in this book has been preserved either in ruins, in literature, or in folklore.

 

Chapter 1 - Beginnings - Years 0-300

 

Though there are many conflicting accounts regarding the creation and following years of Aegis, most records agree that the race of humans and that of dwarves most likely had contact before Year 50. And, as when any two cultures collide, so do their blood, and so at some point in time, humans began to mate with dwarves. We can trace some traits back to this point, such as brewing and farming talents, but as we will see, other generic halfling traits developed over time.

 

Indeed, it is hard to pinpoint the first halfling. After researching animal breeding as well as magical oddities, I would propose that, intially, the children of a dwarf/human couple would not be classified as a halfling. You see, it would make much more sense if halflings were a height in between that of a dwarf and human, but instead, they are actually shorter! This would indicate that, some time in the past, a great outer influence caused the future children of these mixed couples to have this odd height.

 

It is reasonable to conclude that halflings as we know them today were present by Year 300, based on folklore and literary records.

 

Chapter 2 - Early Developments - Years 300-600

 

A combination of small stature and inherant greed drove some of the first halflings to thievery, a very viable profession for nimble hands in the cities. They gained a reputation for being mischievous and devious, and thus gained little respect for their brewing or farming prowess. There was some prejudice against them, no doubt; never once in history or literature does one hear of a heroic or powerful halfling. To say that they were suppressed would be incorrect, but people did find them a thing to be "tolerated".

 

Over time, of course, most halflings developed a sort of fear of violence and arguments, reducing the number of thieves. As well, most halflings moved to Oren to escape the war-mongering attitude of the dwarves. This is estimated to have taken place over the time span of Years 400-600 The humans were little better, though. And, over time, halflings began to move to more rural areas, escaping those that would persecute them. Small communities on the very border of human cities were formed, and there halflings began to develop customs to cheer them up. Indeed, good food and good times seemed to become the goal of every halfling.

 

Chapter 3 - Later Developments - Years 600-1200

 

Halflings continued migrating farther and farther out of the city. It came to be that small communities of halflings were spread out in the vast plains surrounding Oren, with the halflings only revealing themselves occasionally to trade goods. Over time, the negative connotation towards halflings mostly disappated, but the halflings enjoyed their semi-solitary lifestyles. ::

The countryside is where the art of halfling brew and cooking truely matured into the art form that it is today. Indeed, the herbs and spices that could be found in the countryside of Oren had never been truely used to their full potential, and so halflings were the first to utilize them. Some of these herbs include the yellow wildflower, spice of apple, and fern dust. The ale, while very potent, began to develop more of a focus on flavor and aftertaste. This also was the case with halfling bread and cider.

 

It is important to note that there were still some halflings living in cities at this point (~Year 800). Most halflings were born of halfling/halfling, but some were still born of a human/dwarf couple. These halflings enjoyed a much easier life than their ancestors.

 

Around this time in history, the number of halflings had indeed grown to a point where surnames were required to identify with, as previously, only single names were used. Names, both first and last, were usually one or two syllables. Notable surnames and houses that began at this time were the houses of Took and Brandybuck, founded by Tulkan and Grombadook, respectively. The Tooks had the traits of what might be called the quintessential halfling - friendly, yet shy, of average height and demeanor. The Brandybucks, however, were a tad more adventurous, with darker hair than most halflings. Each family lived in a single burrow hill, most of them in the general vicinity of another. These family hills were the closest thing to a town as had truely ever existed yet in halfling culture. ::

However, in around Year 1010, some families started to break apart from population pressures. Families like the Brandybucks eventually spread all througout the lands.

 

By around this time, halflings had been isolated enough that, not only did this unique culture of peace and merriment develop, but the halflings actually forgot or disbelieved in the creation stories and of Aenguls, Daemons, and God. Indeed, the halflings didn't really develop a totally obscure faith, but instead took on a quasi-religious outlook that revolved around the things they held dear: harvest and food, companionship, nature, and peace. No "gods" were ever named, nor was worship very common, but there was a common belief that, if a halfling betrayed his tight-knit community, that the harvest and the tranquility of life would be lost.

 

Chapter 4 - The Rise and Decline of the Village Era - Years 1200-1304

 

Around the year 1200, a small group of halflings, from both Took, Brandybuck, Goodbody, and other families, decided to form a self-sufficient community apart from the family burrows. They had decided to make it a collection of hills, hidden from society by the waters and hills surrounding it. This community eventually came to be named "Dunwood", and it remains the most notable halfling town to date. There are massive wheat fields and a beautiful, clean lake. This town was always notable for being quite territorial, for as the humans began to urbanize more and more, family burrows were abandoned, and Dunwood was one of the last retreats for the country-loving halflings. As word of the town's existence came to be, spread by the word of the Wandering Wizard, halflings from both cities and family hills came to try and gain a burrow here. The founders of Dunwood were initially very welcome, but soon, the onrush of want-to-be residents came to such a high number that it was impossible to distinguish which would be beneficial to the community. The aspect of companionship was always very emphasized, and as a later resident of the town, I can vouch for this fact. By the time that I moved to Dunwood, it was impossible to walk through the streets of Al'Khazar without being pestered for the town's semi-secret location.

 

Envious of the town, many halflings and non-halflings alike began making similar towns in the surrounding hills, a more known one by the name of Thistledown.

 

I am now qualified, at this point, to tell the history from a first-person perspective. Yes, for I arrived in Dunwood during a small population boom, when the town was thriving and more inhabitants came every day. The Elders of the town at the time were Kip Took, Len, Gimblo. I was first escorted to the town by Gimblo, who took Bell and I for a visit. And, as I mentioned earlier, we were pursued through the streets of Al'Khazar by nosy people! Gimblo turned a corner, snapped his finger, and suddenly Bell and I were in Dunwood (a trick I have yet to emulate perfectly). The smell of hot bread and ale wafted from the ale garden, and I could hear a halfling singing with a lyre in the distance. Indeed, it was truly the ideal place for a halfling. Indeed, soon, the whole town took a trip to Al'Khazar to pledge allegiance to the newly-kinged Edmund.

 

After many a year of drinking, story-telling, and visitor-shoveling, the town seemed to go into a cultural decline. The Elders grew a tad sickly, and so they appointed Owen Sturdyfoot II as the Mayor to help govern. However, even his efforts did not maintain the vitality of the town, as Brian left to become an Ascended, Biodoc passed away, Rusty moved to Al'Khazar, and Lilly was kidnapped. This decline occured in other towns, too, leaving an area surrounding Dunwood filled with empty hill-homes and the likes. I, too, left after a call from the Druids, though the years of countryside living would have a profound influence on me for my entire life.

 

Chapter 5 - Up to Modern Day - Years 1304-Present Day::

 

After many years, around 1340, I decided along with a few relatives to restore the popularity and culture of Dunwood, and so we hosted DunFest, a large festival with much merriment. There was drinking, dancing, singing, and the likes, of course. However, afterwards, it did not have the profound influence on the town population that I would have liked. And so, I went back to Malinor, only to try another festival later. Indeed, it appeared that our selective ways way long ago had a profound influence on the interest in the town, and so many gave up their hopes of moving and settled in the city. Many halflings have forgotten the joy of the simple and clean life, to my surprise. While I certainly traveled and was no typical halfling, the air off of Lake Dunwood in the early morn still stirs my soul like very little else does.

 

At the most recent DunFest, I did meet some fellows quite interested in culture, but none were halflings. I have tried to embrace the city-dwelling halflings with open arms, but very few have answered the call.

 

With the division of Oren, I as one of the only remaining Elders of the town decided to not immediately pledge our allegiance to either faction, instead remaining independent for some time. I did, however, set up a trade caravan of goods between Dunwood and Galahar, trying to make use of our overstocked wheat.

 

At the time of writing this, the state of the world grows dim as the Undead continue to win victory after victory. The future will surely deserve another tome of halfling history, perhaps more in depth, as this was merely a general overview. Hopefully this has been an informative and enjoyable read.

 

Petyr Brandybuck

 

 

 

 

- Modern Halfling History -

 

 

Halflings arrived in Asulon on the same boats that carried the rest of the survivors from Aegis. Shortly after the first of the boats arrived, Petyr, the leader of the halflings at the time, went searching for a suitable location to rebuild what the halflings once had. He found the perfect plot of land to the far south of the continent, called the Vale, to create his village.

 

Meanwhile, the surviving halflings were lost within the camps of other races. Slowly but surely, they found their way back to the halfling village, given the name Branborough.

 

All was fine in the first years of Branborough's existence. Burrows were happily built for the new halfings, and the village prospered. After eight years, Petyr left the Vale, leaving it in the hands of his young nephew Frerry. Shortly after Petyr's resignation, Frerry was threatened by humans living in the mountains to the north of the Vale. The town was in outrage, but all was settled with a meeting of humans and halflings.

 

The Vale returned to its quiet state before the human threats. Nothing significant happened for years upon years, not until Petyr returned to the Vale. A few festivals were had, as well as the construction of the Branborough Workshop in his short visit back to the Vale.

 

After Petyr's second leave of the Vale, humans attacked again, this time threatening the halflings to join their empire. With a note from their king they let the halflings alone. It is likely that because of the attention from this incident, more halflings found their way to the Vale, repopulating it to as it was when the town was created.

 

The town flourished with life once more, and currently the halflings are at peace.

 

Recently, the first Branfest was held, a tradition lost since Aegis.

 

 

 

 

- How to Roleplay a Halfling (Accents, cultures, views, etc.) -

 

 

Halflings are like any other race, however they are much like the orcs in a lorewise sense. Even though they are a human subrace, their culture and lore is different to that of a regular human. Their lifestyle is completely different. It’s free. They pay no taxes, they work together, they are a community and anybody who decides to RP a Halfling should honour the lore. It will make for better RP, rather than having a Halfling that lives like a human, for example.

 

Accent:

The accent used for many Halflings comes from Yorkshire. For example:

 

Normal: Hello, how are you?

Halfling: ‘Lo, ‘ow are yer?

 

Halflings tend not to pronounce their “t’s” very strongly, along with their “g’s”. For example:

 

Normal: I am not liking this Orc’s breath.

Halfling: I ain’ likin’ this Orc’s breath!

 

Link to more examples: https://www.yorkshiredialect.com/

 

This is only by personal opinion, and the dialects will vary depending on the player and their interpretation of the language. Not all Halflings even speak like this, some speak in pure common. Since learning a new language or dialect like this can be testing, some avoid it. Which is fine, as it can be difficult. It will also depend on their characters background.

 

 

 

 

- Appearance and Physique -

 

 

Halflings are unique when it comes to their stature. They are said to resemble children, although they have the features of adult humans. Due to this, they are often called Halfmen, and referred to as the smallest beings in Asulon. The average height for a Halfling ranges from 3 to 4 feet.

 

Halflings are not known for their combat skills due to this size, coupled with their lack of burliness. Unlike Dwarves, who are short and stout, this race is short and less built. It is not uncommon to see an obese Halfling, though, for they do love food and lazing about.

 

The Little Folk are famous for their hardy feet. It is a well-known fact that they avoid wearing shoes. Doing so is quite uncomfortable, as they have much thicker and more leathery feet than humans. This extra layer of skin can withstand thorns and sharp rocks. The foot of a male Hobbit has a curious amount of hair, that spreads over its top. Little is known why they have so much foot hair, but the Halflings do not seem to question it. Their feet, in proportion to the rest of their body, are quite large.

 

The hair of Halflings is often curly, or wavy, and almost never straight. It tends to range from blonde to dark brown, and on rare occasions, black. Black hair is rarely seen in the Vale, and brown seems to be the color in most abundance.

 

Halfling's eyes are also quite a curious spectacle. Their eye color is about the same as a human's, ranging from brown, to green, to blue, with the addition of less common colors, such as violet. The most intriguing eye color is, well, in fact, a mixture of two different colors. The condition "Heterochromia iridium" is common in Halflings. This means that both eyes are different colors. It is seen more often in she-Halflings than in male Halflings, for reasons unknown.

 

 

 

 

- Courtship and Marriage -

 

 

Halfling Courtship is and marriage is similer to that of the human race, but it also has a few differences. Here are some specifications.

 

When a Halfling finds an attraction to the opposite gender, he or she will usually approach the other, eventually asking them to go on a date of some sort. They might go to any location (the pub, a nice picnic etc). On this "date," the two will get to know each other better. The Halflings might find that they enjoy the others company, in which they will go on another "date." Or, they might find that they dislike the other, in which they will head off in search of a new person.

 

Barring that there are any mishaps, fights, or loss of interest, the two Halflings will eventually fall in love, and start to get on a more personal level. After an even longer time, the Halfling's love might become so strong that they feel they can spend the rest of their lives together. If so, the male Halfling will offer the female Halfling an item of significant importance, and ask for her to marry, and spend the rest their lives together. If the female accepts the two will begin preparations for a wedding (It is very rare for a pair of halflings not to have the wedding ceremony, but in a few cases halflings have skipped in altogether).

 

These ceremonies will be held (normally) in an outside area, as most Halfling communities have no large church or building to hold it in. These weddings will have large amounts of people (nearly the whole town, for Halflings like to party), food and drinks. Once the initial party is over, the weddings begin. In these, the betrothed stand close to each other with an Elder in the middle. The two wear fine clothes as do the rest of the onlookers. Rings are then brought out by a first man and lady. The husband's is often inlaid with refined lapiz and the wife's is inlaid with a diamond. The two exchange rings then their vows are read by one of the Elders. The two seal their vows by drinking some of the towns finest vintage wine from the same cup. A toast is then raised by the onlooking crowd for the well-being of the relationship.

 

The party then resumes with traditional Halfling jigs and other dances, carrying off late into the night. After the couple is happily married they will indulge on a search for a home they can live in together (note, they skip the honeymoon as halflings don't like to travel as much as other races). The couple will then raise a family and resume their happy halfling lives together.

 

 

 

 

- The Vale -

 

 

The Vale is the county that the Halflings live in, and features rolling hills, lovely twisting rivers, burrows, and thick forests. Another landmark of the Vale is Branborough’s great party tree, which is much like the trees of the Elves. Of course, though, the most important part of the Vale is Branborough. Here is what Branborough is like, taken from the Lord of the Craft wiki:

 

Branborough is a Halfling town founded by Petyr Brandybuck in Year 0 of Asulon. The location of Branborough is intentionally hidden, in accordance with the naturally secretive nature of Halflings. However, it can be visited by taking the Salty Salmon from the Cloud Temple Docks. The architecture consists of traditional Halfling burrows, similar to those of Dunwood.

 

Branborough is run by one Thane, who accepts any newcomers and oversees the town in general, and three Elders, who advise the Thane. Thaneship is typically passed down in a family, but Elders are those who have proven their worth and wisdom overtime. There are truly no classes in Branborough, however. The Thane and Elders are of equal standing with all other citizens.

 

Community is highly valued part of all Halfling towns. Homes are free, but only given to kind and productive Halflings. There is little conflict between town members, and no chests or doors are locked. Since such a society can hardly exist among other races and civilizations, the Halflings are wary of outsiders, though try not to be rude. Citizens of the town do not disclose their location except to other prospective Halflings, for with other races comes conflict and strife.

 

Most Halflings either fish or farm, but there are job positions such as tailors, painters, writers, and brewers. There is no mining near the town, and lumberjacking only occurs in a particular forest away from the town. This is for several reasons; the land and trees offer concealment of the town, and Petyr was a Druid, discouraging the defilement of land from the beginning.

 

The most prominent feature of the town is the Tookwater River, which cuts through the very heart of Branborough. The curvy river offers the fastest transportation available and provides a place for both fishing and swimming. However, there are rumors of a river monster who eats any unwanted guests, so many avoid swimming.

 

Surrounding the river are rolling hills, burrowed out as living quarters for the Halflings. Wild animals can be seen everywhere.

 

Nearly all of the buildings in the town are circular, a Halfling tradition that dates back hundreds of years to the origin of Halfling culture in Aegis. Non-Halflings may find such buildings cramped, but they are a perfect size for their residents.

 

 

 

 

- The Tookwater Terror -

 

 

The Tookwater Terror was originally a beast spawned for Iblees' great army. It fought in a great battle at sea with the grand human armada. Eventually the beast was defeated and the commander of the grand fleet decided to take it as a trophy. They loaded it up in one of the largest ships in the fleet and took it back to be kept in a large underground lake. The terror was then beaten, slashed, starved, and burnt until it cowered at the sight of man.

 

In the fall of Aegis, the Terror was forgotten about in the commotion. It escaped its watery prison and swam to what is today the southern sea of Asulon. From there, it swam inland into the Tookwater River for the great amount of fish and animals that drank along the river bank. One day, it was spotted by our very own Petyr on one of his many fishing trips.

 

They were both afraid of each other at first, but after a while, Petyr worked up enough courage to go out and feed the Terror. The two slowly approached each other, and the rest was history. They became "friends," in a way. The Terror gained the name of the Tookwater Terror as that is where it resides. It will occasionally be seen by Haflings and has been known to help out Halflings who cant swim; saving their lives.

 

 

 

 

- Halfling Architecture -

 

 

The homes of Branborough are called burrows, and are carved fluidly in the rolling hills of the Vale. Nearly all of the buildings in the town are circular, a Halfling tradition that dates back hundreds of years to the origin of Halfling culture in Aegis. Non-Halflings may find such buildings cramped, but they are a perfect size for their residents. They are very cozy, to the Halfling folk, and often feature hallways, and of course, kitchens.

 

Arguably the most luxurious home in Branborough is that of Elder Faldo Featherfoot’s.

 

 

 

 

- The Orc/Halfling Relationship -

 

 

To sum up the Halflings and Orc’s relationship in one word is: Vile. Frankly, Halflings and orcs hate each other. The cause of this is usually the fact that Orcs tend to devour the Hobbit folk on a regular basis, which sours the friendship of both of the races. Orcs easily overpower the little folk, which has made the fear of “Greenskins”, as Halflings call it, very, very evident. Due to this, Hobbits tend to avoid Orcs at all costs, and often tell tales of them to spread fear and entertainment through Branborough. The same goes for Goblins, but Halflings have an easier time coping with them due to their similar size.

 

 

 

 

- Current Citizens and Leadership of the Vale -

 

 

This is being worked on by SuperSodaPops. Please help by listing your character's job here: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forum/index.php?/topic/62578-the-branborough-census/

 

 

 

 

-More Helpful Halfling Links-

 

 

Halfling Forum - https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forum/index.php?/forum/117-halfling-roleplay/

 

Why You Should Roleplay a Halfling, by Dalek348 - https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forum/index.php?/topic/60630-why-you-should-be-a-halfling/

 

 

 

 

 

-Credits-

 

 

SuperSodaPops

TMdeath

Lirinya

Strawberry114

Drplat

Dalek348

The Lord of the Craft Wiki

Why you should be a Halfling (Outdated but an excellent read!)

Spoiler

A Guide to Halflings - Why you should play as a Halfling

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/S7YtT.jpg

 

The Halflings of The Vale are a generally quiet and industrious people, with little or no desire to travel or experience the hardships of the outside world. Quiet and peaceful, most halflings are quite happy to spend their lives enjoying the comforts of home: good food, good ale, good stories, and good company. Halflings are infamous for their love of food and ale, consuming copious amounts of the stuff throughout the day. They are peaceful farming folk, leaving great matters of the world to larger, more foolhardy races. They are somewhat of a reclusive and private race, not wanting too much bother amongst their quiet village.

 

The River Mead flows steadily through the centre of the village, winding lazily about to the southern seas. A paddle boat by the name of The Salty Salmon carries visitors to and from the Cloud Temple docks. The Drunken Sheep Inn is the centre of the village’s daily life, you can often find a drunken kerfuffle going on in there most days. The Vale is renowned amongst many for its peace and serenity.

 

So, why should you play as a Halfling? There are many reasons:

 

 

 

Friendly and helpful players:

 

 

Never as a Halfling will you find yourself in poor company. If, as a Halfling, you are inexperienced in roleplay then the Halflings will be sure to help you along the way. Many of our players are month-old players who are apt in the ways of roleplay and will always be there to smack you upside the head with a shovel if you happen to roleplay poorly, we are here to help and develop your roleplay, not reject it utterly.

 

The best thing about our open and friendly community is that we never quarrel amongst ourselves, we share everything with each other, and always are open to have a drink with each other. By playing a Halfling you will be avoiding the unnecessary drama, poor roleplay and no-RP kills which may come with other zones and towns.

 

http://i.imgur.com/vBkyM.png

 

 

 

Fun roleplay:

 

 

I can safely say that if there were a competition for the most humourous and enjoyable roleplay, then the Halflings of The Vale would win it by a country mile. We do not care for epic loot, swords, armour, or minas, our roleplay is centred entirely around fun, just as it should be. We dot not seek epic conquests of all the little pixel blocks, we exist to create enjoyable and funny situations while maintaining an intelligent level of roleplay.

 

Whether defending the town from an invasion of spiders, traveling across the seas to peddle our goods, or merely feasting and having a good time, the halflings rarely participate in an activity that is in any way unfun. And the more of you that become a halfling, the more of these events that can be had.

 

http://i.imgur.com/OBuI9.png

 

 

 

The beautiful land of The Vale:

 

 

Rolling green hills, a pristine river, and every other aesthetic pleasure a player could want. No other places in Asulon retain such a natural beauty, and nothing rivals the purity and serenity of The Vale.

 

http://i.imgur.com/7lHDR.png

http://i.imgur.com/zO65n.png

http://i.imgur.com/xYkG6.png

http://i.imgur.com/ovPSA.png

http://i.imgur.com/wHbRM.png

 

 

 

Unique and awesome architecture:

 

 

Tell me you never wanted to live in a hobbit hole after watching Lord of the Rings. You'd be lying. Well, there isn't a single home in the Vale that isn't cozy and round. Most homes are custom built for each halfling; of course, you'll have to earn your home first. One of the many joys of Halfling life is the satisfaction of warming yourself in front of the nice toasty fire and reading a good book.

http://i.imgur.com/zve37.png

http://i.imgur.com/5PlEL.png

http://i.imgur.com/DLFO7.png

http://i.imgur.com/cFitH.png

 

 

 

Why Not to be a Halfling?

 

If your goal is to PVP a ton, you should probably head over to the orcs.

If you just really want to mine until your eyes bleed, head to the dwarves.

If you want to bicker OOC and IC, head to another human nation.

If you want to build in whatever style you choose, you should probably head to the Wilds.

 

Being a halfling means something. It means being merry and jolly most of the time. It means farming and drinking and cooking. It means flaunting your best shovel to your neighbor. It means sometimes being scared, and sometimes conceding in physical fights. It means sometimes being honest and kind, and sometimes being a mischievous thief. Think about some of this before immediately clicking halfling.

 

I recommend reading A History of Halflings in the Halfling Roleplay Section, as well as the Halfling wiki page.

 

Thank you for reading this post, and we hope to see you in the Vale!

 

Signed Elder Faldo Featherfoot, of The Vale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s all for now! I’ll keep on adding to this guide until I am satisfied with it. It’s just that I wanted to post it sooner so that new Halflings wishing to live in Brandybrook (and, more recenty, Bramblebury) may see it!

[Dont_Advertise 1602]

Lil Footnote -

 

Don’t make a halfling with little to no goals or motivation outside of being proper. Make a halfling who you can enjoy the personality and interactions with, else you’ll just find yourself bored very quickly.

 

That being said.. you should

 

MAKE A HALFLING

[Vindicant 641]

pet all halflings

[Forestdwarfman 298]

Well this is almost as epic gamer style as forest dwarves, I approve +1

[Bluee 443]

wheres the part where they get raided by the orcs daily

[Kaiser 1357]

1 hour ago, Bluee said:

wheres the part where they get raided by the orcs daily

Orcs almost never raid us, and if they do it’s an RP raid and we usually have fun. Orcs are have, ironically, always been on good terms with halflings OOCly!

[NotEvilAtAll 9926]

Changes:

-Added “Should I play a Halfling?”

-Added Faldo’s guide to burrow making.

[Fiyaleh 72]

Great post, big ol’ plus one from me. As a temporary/ex-halfling and general RPer, I wish all groups would make a fun and informative post like this one. It’s nice to get a glimpse into the lifestyle of a race or settlement and get a lot of information from the current population’s point of view. Great job, guys! ?

[NotEvilAtAll 9926]

Changes:

-Added “The Halfling Festival”

-Added “How to Shog”

-Added “Other cool Guides”

     -Included every major Halfling Guide ever made in “Other cool Guides”

[Nonival 146]

Awesome guide! Big ol’  +1

[NotEvilAtAll 9926]

Changes

-Added “Things to do as a Halfling”.

-Fixed Faldo’s Guide to Burrowing so that it shows images instead of links.

[NotEvilAtAll 9926]

Changes:

-Fixed formatting to make it easier to read.

-Fixed colors so it works with the forums better.

-Fixed a few typos.

[NotEvilAtAll 9926]

Changes:

-Edited Brandybrook into Bramblebury, updated leadership