Races of Wild

and one or more bedrooms. All have earthen floors, but thewalls are plastered or paneled with wood.The current leader of Fanta’s Meadow is Justicia Wainwright,great-great-granddaughter of Fanta. Justicia lives ina modest burrow home with her family and tends to townbusiness from an office in the east commercial sector.Farms surround the settlement on all sides, providinggrain, vegetables, and meat animals for slaughter. Each farmfeatures a small house for the family.Central Temple: On the west side of town, just before thetree line, stands a building with several wings radiating outfrom the middle like the spokes of a wheel. These “spokes”are connected by a ring of open gardens. This buildinghouses shrines to each of the halfling deities—Arvoreen,Brandobaris, Cyrrollalee, Sheela Peryroyl, Urogalan, andDallah Thaun—along with their resident clergy. Each spokeis devoted to a different god, but the one that contains Dallah’sshrine is concealed behind a secret door. The round centralchamber is Yondalla’s shrine.The central chamber can contain the whole communityif need be, and the temple is stocked with enough suppliesin underground larders to support the community fora month.Caravan Circle: This large open area on the south endof town is provided as a place for halfling caravans to camp.It can accommodate up to sixty wagons comfortably. Whencaravans stop here, they usually unpack all their gear, inspecteverything and repair whatever needs it, trade for what theyneed, cache money with the banker (see below), and restocktheir food supplies. Then they pack everything back intotheir wagons and continue on their way. The average stay istwo weeks.At present, two caravans, each with twenty wagons, arecamped at this site. One plans to leave in three days; the otherhas just arrived.Party Tree: In a clearing in the wooded section of townstands a huge oak tree with spreading branches that form acanopy of sorts. The community uses this area for revels ofvarious kinds, often hanging lanterns from the boughs ofthe tree and decorating its trunk and branches with stringsof beads, braided leather thongs dyed in various shades, andother embellishments suitable for the occasion at hand.East Commercial Buildings: This area houses a blacksmith,a wainwright, a wheelwright, a general store, a potter, abutcher, a bakery, a candle shop, a guide service, a mapmaker,a cobbler, and a cabinet-maker who doubles as the town’sbanker. It also contains the office of the community leader,Justicia Wainwright.West Commercial Buildings: This area houses a tinker, ajoiner, a tailor, a weaver, a moneychanger, a jeweler, a weaponsmithand armorsmith, an herbalist, a miller, a magic shop,a woodworker, and an animal trader/trainer.Stockyard: Atop the ridge is an immense paddock dividedinto several sections to house various livestock. Horses,ponies, donkeys, cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, rabbits, and chickensare kept here for trade to caravans or for sale to residents.A large barn and chicken coop on the north side providesshelter for the animals in inclement weather and storage fortheir tack.Taverns: The Pin Oak and the Merry Rogue both providemeals and a typical selection of wines, ales, and beers, butthe Merry Rogue has the better selection of drinks, whilethe Pin Oak has the better food. Below the Pin Oak is a safehouse and thieves’ guild for rogues. Each inn has ten roomsfor rent plus a common room.School: At the west end of Burrow Ridge stands a smallbuilding that serves as a school for youngsters both of thecommunity and of the caravans that stop here. It providesa modicum of book learning for those who would nototherwise get much. Reading, writing, and arithmetic aretaught here, along with the history of the halfling race andother races.CREATING HALFLINGCHARACTERSA halfling can quickly make herself unwelcome in a party ofadventurers if the character is roleplayed to the full extent ofher racial personality. No one wants to be in a group with ahalfling who is constantly running off in search of trouble orstealing from her companions. However, when they are usedin moderation, such halfling traits as curiosity, fearlessness,larceny, and wanderlust can make for an interesting characterand a welcome adventuring companion. Halflings can holdtheir own in melee combat, but they truly shine in rangedcombat, particularly with thrown weapons.Though halflings are familiar to just about anyone who hasplayed in fantasy settings, halflings in the D&D game donot have all the characteristics of their literary and cinematiccounterparts. They are generally neutral in alignment, whichgives a wide range of options for character traits and professions.The halfling rogue is a classic type, but halflings canfunction well in a number of roles.No matter what class you choose for your halfling character,consider spending some skill points on Climb, Hide, Jump,Listen, and Move Silently, even if those are cross-class skillsfor you.As a halfling, you qualify for some specific feats and prestigeclasses (described in this book and elsewhere) that areunavailable to PCs of other races.Feats: Dallah Thaun’s Luck, Yondalla’s Sense.Prestige Classes: Halfling outrider (see Complete Warrior),luckstealer, whisperknife.HALFLINGS AS CHARACTERSDue to their racial abilities and cultural norms, halflingsmake exceptional rogues. Nevertheless, the halfling’s bonusto Dexterity also stands her in good stead as an archer ora member of any fighting class, opening a wide array ofclass options.Barbarian: Halfling barbarians are not common; mosthalflings thrive on regular contact with other societies andCHAPTER 2HALFLINGS63