A lesser known, but equally important race, halflings are a more diminutive folk who often stand in the shadows of other races. A common misconception of halflings paints them as lazy, gluttonous, bumpkins who aren’t good for much at best and might pick your pockets at worst. This is an unfair assessment and occasionally is used as an excuse to steal from other players in RPGs. This does an immense disservice to the little fellows. Halflings have more to them than meets the eye, though many of them would say they like being overlooked. By the end of this post, you’ll know ways to bring out the iconic in the inconspicuous, because if you’re not killing it, you’re not playing it to the hilt.
To start with the most obvious thing, halflings love food. They love cooking, they love brewing, they love seasons and spices, they love the act of gathering together and eating their meals. This is the easiest thing to emphasize about a halfling character because everyone eats and enjoys food. The simple act of infrequently asking, “Is it lunch time yet?” can get the point across, but you could also pick a food your halfling loves the most (preferably one that’s not too messy) and bring it to the table as both a character prop and a snack to share with the table. That, in particular, ought to go a long way to living up to the halfling lore and making him or her a more welcome character at the table.
Next, halflings are a more peaceful and gentle people by their nature. They want to take care of each other and themselves, but also strive to avoid unnecessary trouble. Many mistake this for laziness or a lack of ambition, as more than a few halflings are quite happy living a quaint life farming, fishing, and feasting. In truth, this is more of a part of their survival strategy than their own laziness (though the laziness is a factor). Halfling are small, averaging between 2-1/2 to 3 feet tall. They got along in the world by going unnoticed and holing up in a burrow. Their lack of higher valued goods and tendencies to hide well make them less desired targets among orcs and goblins, not that that would stop such villains if there weren’t better options. Still, more often there’s a human city to ruin, an elvish forest to burn, or a dwarven mine to ransack. This leaves the halfling alone, playing into their strength. To embody this in your halfling character, you might decide to speak meekly and state you’re hopping up and down to try and get some attention, “Um, excuse me… excuse me! Oh, terribly sorry. I don’t mean to be rude…” Politeness and manners go well with halflings, so saying your “please” and “thank you’s” rounds out your habits nicely.
One of the most overlooked and underappreciated value inherent to halflings is their courage. Despite their tendency to hide, courageous hearts beat within halflings. Meekness is not cowardly. When diplomacy fails, halflings can readily stand up for themselves. Bravery can be somewhat difficult to portray. Mechanically, you’re at the mercy of the dice, but in role playing you need to show and not tell. To that end, when there’s some place dangerous to go into, your halfling could be the first volunteer. In fact, if anybody looks afraid to do something, be the one to take up the challenge. You might be in danger, but broadly speaking most of the time your party can pull you back out again. The times they can’t are likely times a trap killed you instantly or you got separated or something similar. Though, before heading on, one other detail bears mentioning, but you really have no direct control over it, and that’s how extraordinarily lucky halflings can be. You might attribute a few of your successes in the course of your adventure to luck and that’s about all you can really do.
Halflings are a wonderfully warm and charmingly small folk. Don’t let their laid back nature or rounded bellies fool you, for behind it all is guile, bravery, and a little bit of luck. The next time you consider a halfling character, think back to these points. Because if you’re not killing it, you’re not playing it to the hilt.
-The Clark Side