Halflings

Banding together in small communities burrowed into the ground, halfling towns are generally peaceful, orderly places where nothing much ever really happens. Most halflings want nothing more than a peaceful, quiet existence and tend to look down on rabble rousers, ne'er do wells and "weirdos" as undesirables. For this reason, many adventurous halflings have strained relationships or loose ties to their family at best.

For halflings, one's outward appearance to the community is paramount, and one of the most desirable qualities is reliability. Most halflings work family farms, tend family businesses or inherit family titles, caring little for what it is they do in favor of the dedication, efficacy and dependability with which they execute their profession. For this reason most halflings are seen as somewhat singularly minded, often viewing the world through the lens of their profession.

Halflings are not tireless workaholics by any means, however. They enjoy relaxation time alone or with a small number of close friends, but as the circle of guests for any event becomes slightly larger the formality of the affair, even simple tea, begins to increase, and one's status within the various social circles of halfling society can suddenly be put on the line during what was supposed to be a quiet meal between friends. For this reason the drunken carousing and partying of other races is often eschewed for devotion to personal hobbies or intellectual pursuits as a method of unwinding. Halflings are most at ease when they are set about a task, rather than engaging niceties or navigating the minefield of extended social interaction.

Halflings also form the majority of residents in the urban slums of the Castle City, colloquially known as Smalltown precisely for this reason. Halflings are much more content with smaller living spaces than the larger races of the Kingdom, and so the cheaply priced lots and houses of the congested district became quite appealing to them. The intermingling of these city dwelling halflings and the humans who lived amongst them due to poverty has led to the halfling language becoming a sort of thieves cant, and while most halflings aren't criminals, their close association with the rough part of town has led to many erroneous stereotypes about them within the city walls. Of course, some halflings are criminals, and those who set upon that path find themselves with a natural advantage for moving about undetected, slipping in and out of tight spaces, and scraping through dangerous situations by the skin of their teeth.