Races of Theril: The Arachne

Arachne

Created as a twisted image of halflings, these grotesque humanoids are favoured by Belough for their sadism and cruelty. Obsessed with misfortune, these four armed tricksters have a talent for bringing about woe wherever they go.

Twisted Fates

The last created of the dark races, Belough revealed in the preservation of halfling pluckiness in the creation of these horrendous monstrosities. Arachne share a similar outlook on life as their surface kin, with the exception of being obsessed with misfortune where the halflings have a love of luck in general. The two races are starkly different in appearance though. About the same height as their kin, Arachne poses two pairs of arms each with three joints. Their hand have three long spindly fingers each with four joints one of which is opposable. Arachne eyes are compounded and a pair of mandibles extend out of their mouths, with females possessing larger mandibles than males. Almost all Arachne have black hair, though some have dark brown hair, many possess a bright streak of colour.

A Clutter of Kin

Much like their surface dwelling kin, Arachne form large familial structures, and tend to live within the same household. These units are ruled by a matriarch, who is often either the oldest or most physically dominant arachne in the clutter. Arachne are almost strictly non-monogamous, the male partner often being exiled from the household after producing offspring. Family units tend to live in isolation from other Arachne, though hostile nature of the underdark does force several family units to leave within proximity to each other. This generally causes tension between the clutters, starting fights over shared resources.

Spider-like Grace

Their most prominent feature is also the Arcahne’s greatest advantage, their pair of arms are highly dexterous and capable of acting independently. Arachne tend to be quite capable at using multiple weapons, or those that learn to use magic tend to be capable to of using weapons as well as casting spells. This advantage is also one of their greatest drawback, their form makes it impossible to wear clothes worn by other races, and their strange hands necessitates that they make extensive modifications to weapons before using them. Also much like the spiders their form is based on, they have the ability to sense fine vibrations through their feet, allowing them to sense creatures that move nearby.

Appetite for Misfortune

Much like their surface kin, Arachne have a love of taking risks, but gain more enjoyment when it fails. Even more than their kin, Arachne love to see others take risks and fail, they often need to make others get into risky situations, or come to misfortune. When put into a situation where they could cause misfortune or woe to befall another, no matter how minor, they find it incredibly difficult to resist such an opportunity.

Masters of Hexes and Curses

Given their disposition towards misfortune, Arachne take to learning magic that manipulate fate well. Like the other dark races, the Arachne were taught the use of Caris’ shadow weave. Like all of Belough’s creations, the Arachne are infused with malignant energies making them immune to it’s mutating effects, though they are capable of using its power.

Ensnared in Relationships

Arachne have a strange way of dealing with others, tending to treat all others they encounter as prey. Even within their clutters siblings and parents as sources of future food. Among Arachne this is not an issue, but this makes others quite uncomfortable.

Clutches of Children

Arachne are typically born as twins or triplets, with quadruplets being more common than single born children. The group often lack any real individuality as they grow up, with a clutch sharing a single name until they get older. The development of the child depends on their gender, male arachne rapidly develop physically, growing to their mature form in about 4 years but not reaching mental maturity for another sixteen or so years. Female arachne grow slower but reach mental maturity long before their male siblings. Irregardless of their gender, they are considered adults after about twenty years, for male arachne this means they leave home, trying to secure lodgings with another Clutter, and for females this corresponds with the time they are given control over other Arachne in the Clutter. Both tend to take a name that encapsulates their greatest failure, a form of bragging in Arachne culture.

Worship of Recollection

For the Arachne, worship of events is far more likely than the worship of any deity. This takes the form of recording tales of misfortune and recounting them on special days. Some do offer worship to Belough and Caris.

Spirits of Misfortune

Arachne are driven by their nature to experience misfortune both their own and others. The shape of their form also seems to channel luck in some way, those experiencing misfortune in their presence empower the Arachne in some way.

Chittering the Darkspeak

The Arachne speak a dialect of Undercommon, which replace difficult to pronounce consonants for Arachne with mandible clicks.

Wretched Hives of Misfortune

The Arachne tend not to form large communities. The strict matriarchal structure falling apart as the size of the hive grows to large. There are some exceptions to this, arising around a singular queen who acquires sufficient power to rule over a number of clutters.

The Scattered Clutters. Most Arachne grow up in semi-isolated clutters ruled by a single matriarch, who commands over her direct descendants. These clutters are found in otherwise deserted parts of the underground, and tend to sustain themselves by ensuring travellers and raiding them for supplies.

The Entbark Monarchy. A rather enterprising young queen was able to forge a stable collective of clutters by killing and harnessing the power from a guardian of Telair Viael. This move not only cemented one of the larges Arachne dynasty but also established a surface Kingdom of Arachne. Arachne beastmasters have called forth giant arachnids from the caverns below to populate this new domain, who have flourished under this rule. The Entbark Monarchy continues to wage a war against the Guardian elves of the forest, but after the breaking both have agreed to an uneasy truce.

The Daemonnest. Eldest of the Arachnean dynasties can be found in the Daemonnest. A vast chasm palpably drenched in Malign energies. A powerful Arachnean warlock-queen built her clutter within the malign cave, and produced a brood of powerful warlocks and deadly beasts of war. This singular clutter grew into a vast city suspended with the nest, commanding sufficient power to repel drow invaders who wished to capture the site of such raw power.

The City of L’lalth. This drow city has long been a place of union between Arachne and Drow. Known as the city of Spiders in the common tongue, this joint home was built within the carcass of L’lath the great spider, a beast the size of a city. The great spider was slain centuries ago but her carapace is stronger than stone and shows no sign of degradation. Ruled by a dual monarchy; an Arachne queen and a Drow Priestess, much of the trade through the city is material harvested and processed from L’lalth herself.

Arachne Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Age. Arachne reach maturity at the age of 20 and generally live to see the half their second century.

Alignment. Arachne communities are fragmented and dangerous. Arachne tend towards individuality and destruction, but tend away from order.

Size. Standing between 3 and 4 feet tall and weigh 40 pounds on average. Your size is small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Tremorsense. You can detect and pinpoint the origin of vibrations within 30ft, provided that you and the source of the vibrations are in contact with the same ground or substance.

Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.

Four Armed. You possess two pairs of arms. You can use this extra set of arms to equip an additional two handed weapon or two additional one handed weapons. You cannot use this ability to carry weapons with the heavy quality, or additional shields. You can duel wield on either or both pairs of arms but are subject to the usual penalties on each independent pair.

Dual Strike. When you make a melee attack with one of your pairs of arms you can make an additional attack as a bonus action using your other pair of arms.

Strange Form.  With your strangely shaped hands when you use weapons or tools that have not been built for Arachne you cannot add your proficiency bonus when using it. Further due to your vastly different form clothes and armour must be modified to be worn. Modifying equipment costs a quarter of the price of the original.

Carrions of Ill Fate. When a creature you see suffers a critical failure you gain advantage on your next roll or heal an additional hit die during your next rest, whichever comes first.

Female Arachne

Females Arachne are much taller than the males tending to be just under four feet. Their limbs are more filled out and their mandibles are almost twice the size of their male counterparts.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.

Powerful Bite. You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d6 piercing damage on a hit.

Male Arachne

Male Arachne are much smaller than the females only just reaching over 3 feet. Their their forms are incredibly spindly, but their hands tend to be larger with shorter fingers. This allows them to push soils and even stone so long as there are cracks to be exploited.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Tunneler. You have a burrowing speed of 15 feet.

Races of Theril: The Elves

Elf

Scholars debate whether the elves hold claim to the title of second born of mortal races, though this does not stop them from claiming so. Dragons had long fought the dwarves before the first elves walked the forests, but the dragonkin and elves appeared at about the same time.

Sentinels of The Woods.

The elves were created by Nyph from her farthes prized trees. They were a gift to him; guardians of his great woods and sacred forests. Mysth took interest in her daughter’s creations, and blessed them with a high sensitivity to the ebbs and flow of power. Their forms are quite dynamic, changed by the nature of the ambient magic. Elves steeped in the powers of the forests remain mostly unchanged, standing around and after above six feet tall. With lithe forms. Their skin resembling that of bark in coloration with hair in shades of green. Those steeped in the more arcane sources tend to be shorter by about a foot, with a stunning variety of pigmentation. All elves share a common feature, pupilless white eyes that glow with latent power.

Divided by Power.

There was once a time where there was only one kind of elf; those created to guard Arbus’ creations. But there would be a schism in elfdom between those who would keep their divine purpose and those who desired mastery over Mysth’s gift. In the first great schism those elves who had forsaken their ancestral bonds were forced out of the forests and had to find new places to make their homes. The exiles built their cities on well springs of arcane power, where ley lines intersect and arcane pools could be established. Each city was attuned to different arcane sources and warped the occupying elves in different ways. These communities became very insular, and became further fragmented and splintered. Several of these communities had the misfortune of building their cities above wellsprings of malignance, more so than other races this rapidly transformed the elves into something entirely new. They’re corruption caused further fracturing among the arcane elves as the Fallen were universally hated by the Arcane and the Guardians, but also further drove the Arcane and Guardians further apart as the guardian saw the fallen as the inevitable fate of all those who forsook their true purpose.

Masters of Magic

Even if the Guardian elves deny their innate connection with it, every elf has the potential to be a highly capable mage. Their longevity and heighten awareness are both a result of their natural attunement to Mysth’s weave.Elves see the natural ebb and flow of magic in the land as clearly as a human would see the flow of a river. It was the elves who first learnt of Mysth’s weave, and first mastered the arcane arts, a fact that elven mages often used to boast their superiority over other races. The lose of magic and the resulting Soul Plague gutted most elven communities, but did have a strange effect on the equilibrium of power. With many feeling the loss of magic too strong joining the Fallen bolstering the ranks of the once hated kin. On old Theris each of the three elven factions have roughly equal power, forcing the Guardians and Arcane elves to reconsider old prejudices.

Guardians of Nature

All Elves share a powerful connection with nature, though they choose to express this in different ways. The guardian Elves feel compelled to live among nature, preserving it’s natural form corruption and change. The Arcane elves also feel compelled to live in unity with nature but instead of leaving it as it were they sculpt nature into forms of beauty that they appreciate. To the Arcane elves the Guardians seem backwards, but to the Guardians the Arcane are seen as corruptors of what they should preserve. The Fallen have no particular connection with nature, all they care about is the nature of the power they feed on.

Formality even among Friends

Elven society is highly structured and complex, but most confusing o outsiders is the strange way they are obsessively formal at all times. In the elven language there is a bewildering array of honorifics and augmentations to words depending on relative stations. It is impossible to translate these into common, but the rigours and structure of this conversational formality still transfer over. Elves are often described as somewhat cold our distant even to close friends. Elves raised outside of elven communities through, or in the more liberal community of Telor Val almost oppose this stereotype, tending towards being incredibly relaxed even compared to members of other races and are considered excellent company by most.

The Long Discovery

An elf is not considered responsible enough to have children and be involved in the running of an elven community until they have lived for about a century, this is despite reaching physical maturity at a similar age to humans. The additional 80 years are spent in a process known as the Long Discovery. Though Elves are highly ordered, they also possess a strong sense of individualism, this is resolved by each elf finding their own order during their long discovery. The 80 years are filled with self directed study, a sampling of a wide variety of possible lives they could live and of course the ordeal of truly mastering the elven language and ways. When they feel they have discovered themselves they cast of the mantle of child by replacing the name their parents gave them with a name more suited to whom they have chosen to be and join the ranks of adult elves. From there an elf would expect to see at least another seven centuries unless tragedy strikes them down in their prime. They show no signs of age, but their age can be inferred by how they hold themselves in conversation and the levels of respect offered to them and they offer to others.

Divided in Worship

As with most traditions with the elves, they practice of worship is split along power divisions. The Guardians worship the Natural Trifecta of Arbus, Pearn and Nyph whereas the Arcane elves the Mysterious Trifecta of Mysth, Selus and Nyph. Though the two both worship Nyph they’re worship is vastly different, and they disagree on a number of finer points about her divinity.

Spirits of Magic

Elven souls are almost entirely imbued crafted from arcane power. This is made manifest by their mutability by ambient magic as well as being the source of their longevity and darkvision. This grants an innate ability for magic use, both arcane and divine.

The Flowery Tongue

The elven language is a difficult language to learn and master. Each word having different pronunciations depending on subject, tense and honourific being applied to the word. Non elves can get a grasp of the basics of the language but will often use far too many words, and not apply honourifics correctly. As each word contains a large amount of information, their communication often seems stark to those unable to fully understand. The elven language is flowing and pleasing to the ear, bards often favour the tongue for the immense amount of meaning that can be built into works using the language.

Elven Communities

The Elves of Old Theris have the majority of their populations focused in compact communities, all of which share particular outlooks. Owing to their highly mutable forms, theses communities also often share particular appearances.

Telair Viael. It was once named Mehil Selil or ‘Where the Trees Roam Among Mortals’, the forest was renamed to represent its current status, ‘The Last of the Great Woods’ and the stronghold for the remaining Guardian Elves. As the bastion of the Guardians, Telair Viael is a sanctuary for nature, it’s occupants growing quite insular since the Breaking.

Masyth Selmani. As implied by it’s name ‘The Place Where the Stars are Here’ has a strong connection with Mysth and the Stars. The elves of this city have glistening skin in pale purple colours, their hair tends to be coppery and their eyes burn with pinks and pale purples. Natives to the city are Masath, or Star Elves in the common tongue. Before the breaking the population was dominated by powerful spellcasters and astronomers, but with the breaking and the soul plague which ravaged the city almost destroyed the city. Now a member of the loose alliance of cities known as the Burning Coast, Masyth Salmani holds the largest repository of arcane knowledge, including the famed Well of Knowledge, a pool of arcane power that contains the knowledge of spells stored in the form of arcane liquid.

Spatirl Scelsula. The most isolated of the elven cities, ‘The Moons Face in the Lands’ was built upon ley lines connected to Selus in what is now known as Phernia. The Scalsala, or Moon Elves to in common have skin like blue silver, silvery hair and eyes burning with a bright blue. The city once housed the Great Calander, a scroll created by the Demi-Elf Greya which contained the name of all the years. Before Spatil Scelsula joined the Phernian Empire a band of rebels stole the scroll and took it to Telor Val, saving it from the destruction it would have surely faced. MAny of the new generation of Moon Elves have taken up the Antithiotic practices of the Phernians, causing ample tension between the still reticent older generations and the other members of the empire.

Corpol Sarin. The histoty of ‘The Malignance for which we Fell’ has been trying. Located quite close to Masyth Selmani, Corpol Sarin was left more or less untouched by the soul plague owing to the occupants close connection to Malignance. Natives to the city and their kin, the Carpal or Fallen Elves, were once loathed by their Arcane and Guardian Kin, but their continued access to power allowed them to some what thrive after the breaking. Corpol Sarin has taken control of a number of cities on the burning coast, establishing something of a faction for malignant races in the region, bringing them into conflict with other powers on the coast, and gathering the ire of guardian elf communities close to the forests edge. There aggression at this time has been limited only to currently abandoned cities and towns and no one has prevented their actions, as the armies of Corpol Sarin are the only forces that have mages at this time.

Telor Val. Before the breaking of the world, a small community of elves were established between the cities of Masyth Selmani, Corpol Sarin and the edge of the Great Woods. The name of the town is also it’s mission, ‘Our Unity’ or perhaps ‘Elven Unity’ as the word could mean either depending on context is a city established in an attempt to bring together the disparate elves. The town was built away from any ley lines, which allowed it/s occupants to retain the features of the homes. Telor Val also became the home of a generation of orphaned Drow before the breaking, showing a true commitment to their mission. After the breaking Telor Val has become the home of Elves whose homelands are no more, and even supports a small population of Fallen Elves.

Peloth Tsalmair. Once in the heartlands of Old Theris, ‘The Intersection of the Sun’s Rays’ now occupies an island in the Shallow Sea. The natives, known as Palath or Sun Elves in the Common tongue, are among the taller of the arcane elves, With dazzling golden skin and hair like bronze, eyes burning a bright yellow. Peloth Tsalmair was built reaching for the sun, which saved the city from total annihilation when the land became sea. The lower levels of the spires are now flooded, but travel is still possible in the city by boat. The town's most obvious feature, Sunstone, provides bright illumination which can be seen all throughout the shallow sea, assisting with navigation.

Elf Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Age. Although elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, the elven understanding of adulthood goes beyond physical growth to encompass worldly experience. An elf typically claims adulthood at around the age of 100 and can expect to see the end of their 8th century.

Alignment. Elves believe that individuality is the greatest good. Each elf forges their own path in the world and it is the role of others to pursue their own paths without inhibiting others. This may seem in contrast to their strong sense of order, but within their society this is resolved simply: It is the obligation of each Elf to find the order which binds their life. They see destruction as inherently wrong, but are also not prone to letting things that are harmful persist. The Fallen Elves are a subversion of these norms; forming highly regimented societies with very little structure in each life, They see destruction as perfectly natural, but also know that not everything should be subject to oblivion.

Size. Elves range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall, with slender builds. Your size is medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Accustomed to twilight forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern colour in darkness, only shades of grey.

Keen Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Blessings of Nyph. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic cannot put you to sleep.

Elf Weapon Training. You have proficiency with the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, and longbow.

Languages. You can speak, read and write Common and Elvish.

Arcane Elf

The arcane elves are the most visually diverse of all elfdom. They are among the shortest of their kin, but are often considered the more stunning to behold. Their skin and hair take on an almost metallic appearance, possessing sheen and lustre akin to precious metals, their eyes burn brightly in a multitude of hues depending on the power source that infuses their form.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Chosen of Mysth. You know one cantrip of your choice from the wizards spell list. Intelligence is your spell casting ability for it.

Extra Language. You can speak, read, and write one extra language of your choice.

Guardian Elf

The guardian elves are known to be quite stand offish towards their ‘corrupted’ kin, the once proud guardians of the world's forests are now contained to a single wood which they keep fervently. Tallest of the elves, with skin coloured similar to the bark of trees, but with a glossy sheen and hair the colour of leaves of every season. Their eyes burn with the same green light that their ancestors possessed when elves first walked the earth.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Children of Arbus. Whenever you make an Wisdom (Nature) check related to forests or woodlands, you are considered proficient in the Nature skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Sylvan Speed. Your base walking speed is increased to 35 feet instead of 30 feet.

Fallen Elf

Those elves that built their cities around malignant ley lines became the Fallen. On average taller than Arcane Elves, but shorter than Guardians. The Malignant have skin akin in colouration to some humans, though often paler than their human counterparts, and hair of blondes and reds. The eyes of a Fallen makes clear their corruption, burning with the sickly purple of Malignance.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Malign Power. You know a cantrip of your choice from the Warlock spell list. Charisma is your spell casting ability for them.

Tainted Arcana. You know the thaumaturgy cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the detect magic spell once per day. When you reach 5th level, you can also cast the arcanist's magic aura spell once per day. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Power Addiction. Unless you have cast or have been targeted by a spell since you last took a short or long rest, you do not gain the benefits of a short or long rest.

Malignant. When making  Charisma (Deception), Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma (Performance) checks against creatures without this trait you do not add your proficiency bonus.

Races of Theril: The Halflings

Halflings

First born of the small folk, the plucky halflings thrived in the ample plains and grasslands of Theril, away from the strongholds of dwarves and elves. Blessed with good luck and ample skills they still thrive to this day.

Fortunate Creations

Created by Vilken the lady of luck, the halflings were given much smaller forms then the elves, dwarves and dragons in that came before standing about three feet tall. Even when they reach adulthood they retain a childlike figure and face, with males utterly unable to grow much facial hair at all. Halflings have a tendency towards dark eyes and hair, their facial features slight and somewhat angular. They’re skin tends to be shades of tan and olive, depending on their origins. Halflings who are touched by malignance have the colour leave their skin and hair, becoming grey skinned with hair of pure white.

A People of Families

More than any other bond in halfling society, it is the bond between kin that is the most powerful. Halfling family units are large, with what might be considered distant relatives by human standards all sharing the same household. As a result a halfling home is capable of holding an immense number of people, with 30-40 being a standard number. Often the entire family will work in a singular line of business, a family of dalefolk all would tend to the same land, a family of cityfolk all servicing the same guild or gang, a family of riverfolk all serving the same ship. As a result of this halfling townships tend to be filled with only a few, but substantial, buildings, and several smaller ones which operate as shops and other services which would be inconvenient to operate out of homes. For the nomadic plainsfolk, the family operates more or less as a single self contained tribe, though each family would interact regularly with their neighbours.

Masters of Plants and Beasts

The halfling people have been incredibly fortunate in the returns they reap from their labours. Unlike the stoic dwarves who subsided on what they could find in caves, or hunt beyond them, or the elves who lived in communion with the forests around them, the halflings the first to reap the blessings of Yonet. The quickly domesticated plant species, and developed the the techniques of agriculture, while others learnt how to command beasts and by chance bred them to serve their purposes. The other races of Theril who encountered the halflings would later learn these tricks and intern developed their own adaptations but it was the halflings who set it all in motion, and thanks to their good fortune still reap the most benefits from this lifestyle.  

Fickle to Fate

A halfling is never one to take the safe option. They are always compelled to take bigger risks when there is a chance of getting more back. Lovers of games of chance but also of high risk activities. Farmer’s will compulsively plant high risk crops that yield more food, Thieves will always choose the high stakes jobs, Traders take the faster but unsafe routes. This is perhaps why they get along so well with the Gnomes, which offer the chance of a substantial payout from their experiments, but also great risk of calamity if it were to fail. Usually fortune smiles on the halfling that takes risk, so this isn’t always a bad thing, but even to them fate can be fickle. Perhaps their apparent luckiness is biased though, after all when you always take the bigger risk, it’s less likely to find the halfling that lost.

Bored with Magic

In general magic offers the safer bet, You invest large amounts of time into it and receive proportional safe returns. To a halfling this is often just too dull an option to pursue. Halfling mages tend to be those who are underprepared and often don’t make it far as wizards, those that do tend to rise to great power quite quickly, as the haphazardly make developments in the arcane that would have taken a more studious magi substantially longer to comprehend. They have no particular bias against magic users though, regularly interacting with Gnome arcanists.

The Kin

Halflings tend to have only one type type of relationship, familial. Treating friends as siblings, and those that they respect as elders. This familial relationship can often be off putting to those unfamiliar with it. Halflings also tend to be quite friendly, bringing in strangers into their little communities freely and being generous whenever they can.

Growing Up Small

A halfling home is always filled with numerous children, all being looked out for by the elder’s of the house. A reaches full maturity around the age of 20, but unlike humans they mature at a steady rate.  Further their generally childish demeanor makes it quite difficult for even halflings to tell the age of a child and young adult halflings. Halflings don’t really give names at birth, and will generally be called by their parent’s name, father for males and mother for females until they acquire a name of their own. Name here more often than not being a nickname, or the name of some other member of the family, because they share common traits. Halflings tend to take a household name in addition to their name, this can be the literal name of the house or ship they take residence in, or the name of the community they live in. The oldest halflings in a family look after the youngest, who are often their great great great grandchildren, as halflings tend to live into their second century.

Thankful for Blessings

The halflings realise that they are blessed by their creator and Yonet, and hence will often offer prayer to them. That said they tend not to have organised religion, favouring more of a small shrine in each home to the deities they serve. River halflings tend to give prayer to Nalar the river god. Each house will offer prayers to any deity that the see the blessings of in their life, and halflings that leave their home tend to carry the worship of those gods with them.

Touched by Fate

Within the soul of each halfling is a blessing from Vilken. Fortune smiles on the kin almost always. This luck filles the halfling with a sense of boldness perhaps not befitting their stature.

Tongue of Slangs and Gibes

The halfling tongue is not entirely their own, being heavily influenced by the Gnomes with which they share it. The combined languages of halflings and gnomes is collectively known as Smallish. Their contributions tend to be much shorter than that of the gnomes, to the point that most words are abbreviations. When a halfling creates a new word it is often a pun or just down right insulting. This is often meant in good jest, and quickly the insulting nature fades away, especially as the word gets abbreviated.

The Folk

Halfings can generally be split up by where they live and the relationship that they have with the land. Halflings call name these differences by the terrain from which they hail. The main distinction is between those who found their ways on dry ground and those who made their way by boat. Of the land bound folk there are yet more distinctions, each associated with varying degrees of urbanisation.

The Dalefolk. Most common of the folk, dalefolk live of the land as farmers. Fertile farm land along the southern half of Theris is filed with the dalefolk. Where their lands come within the borders of human lands, they are more then happy to abide by their laws. Stout and ruddy of complexion, their skin tends to be of the more tan variety, though those living in the far north may be more pale.

The Plainsfolk. Nomads of the northern half of Theris where farming is less profitable. These halflings are masters of their beasts; domesticating a stunning variety of herd animals as well as mounts dependant on their locales. Perhaps most interesting of them are those halflings that make their homes about mountains, who have domesticated herds of goats and use vultures as mounts.

The Cityfolk. With the dominance of Humans in Theris, and their large cities, many halflings have given up rural life to take their chances in the cities. Applying their skills as beast tamers, food and drink prepares, and thieves to reap  the fortunes of the city. Though they don’t seem much different to their rural brethren, many find that the Cityfolk are a lot less quaint. The cities also seem to play host to the most Whisper halflings, where their natural talents for burglary are most useful.

The Riverfolk. The name is somewhat of a misnomer, as the riverfolk ships are not just bound to the rivers of Theris but are also sea worthy, though they tend not to travel into the open ocean. Riverfolk live out their whole life on their ships. Those who are born on land are considered incredibly unlucky, and those who cannot be buried at sea a similarly seen as cursed.

Halflings Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Age. Halflings reach maturity at the age of 20 and generally live to see half of their second century.

Alignment. Halflings form small tight knit communities, and though they tend to be opposed to order they are more or less neutral on the issue of individuality. Halflings tend to be opposed to destruction, but this is not uniform across their population.

Size. Standing between 3 and 4 feet tall and weigh 40 pounds on average. Your size is small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Lucky. When you roll a 1 on the d20 for an attack roll, ability check or saving throw, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll.

Brave. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.

Halfling Nimbleness. You can move through the square of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.

Speak with Small Beasts. Through sounds and gestures, you can communicate simple ideas with Small or smaller beasts.

Stout Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.

Tool Proficiencies. You gain proficiency with the artisan's tools of your choice: brewer's supplies, cartographer's tools, cook's utensils, or leatherworker's tools

Language. You can speak, read, and write Common and Smallfolk.

Dale Halflings

The most common of the halfling, renown for their love of good food and drink. Despite their life as herders and farmers, they are surprisingly adept at stealth, and are among the more charming of the kin.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Naturally Stealthy. You can attempt to hide even when you are obscured only by a creature that is at least one size larger than you.

River Halflings

Found almost exclusively on their ships, these halflings are skilled sailors and shrewd merchants. These halflings tend to have a more olive complexion, and tend to be darker than their land bound kin, owing to their lives lead under the sun.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Waterborne. You are proficient with Vehicle(Water). You have advantage on Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks when on a ship.

Whisper Halflings

Those halfling who are corrupted by the malignance undergo only mild transformations, hair going pale white regardless of age, and skin turning a dull grey. Their childish nature is mostly preserved , though they tend towards malicious trickery.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Shadowy Hands. You know the Mage Hands cantrip. Charisma is your spell casting ability for it.

Fade. While standing in shadowy illumination you may use your bonus action to become invisible as per the spell. This effect ends if you take any action other than a move action, if you are no longer in shadowy illumination, or if 5 minutes have passed. After you use this ability, you can't use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

Malignant. When making  Charisma (Deception), Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma (Performance) checks against creatures without this trait you do not add your proficiency bonus.