Yondalla's Children

Followers of Yondalla.

Mythology & Lore

The Halflings are amongst the youngest of mortal races in the world. They were created by Yondalla, who looked for people to make her own. She found the fey: curious and full of life yet afraid of those bigger than them. She found the elves, beautiful and graceful yet too slow to take action. She found the dwarves, proud, and dutiful to their family but insular. She found the orcs, fearless but brutal (one of the few times in D&D history that anybody saw worth at all in the orcs). She found the humans, adaptive but warlike. While she saw good things in all of these races she also saw their bad parts. Eventually, Yondalla came up with a plan. She captured a pixie and channeled the essences of various races into them: the agility of elves, the devotion to their family from dwarves, the dwarves, the boldness of the orcs, and the resourcefulness of humans. The end result was the first halfling. Yondalla took pride in her work, but the other gods were not amused. They claimed that because of her actions their chosen peoples had become less, and they agreed that Yondalla should be punished for her crime. The punishment was twofold: halflings would never have lands of their own and would forever be on the road, living on their merits. Yondalla would also purge herself of her thieving streak so that only the pure good and virtue in her would remain. When these two things were done the gods were pleased and moved on. However, as myths are so prone to have happened, there are other versions of the story, and as usual none of the gods seem to care about setting the record straight: in other accounts, Yondalla simply stumbled across the halflings as an already-formed race and just decided to adopt them.

Tenets of Faith

Those who seek to live in accordance with the way of the Provider will be blessed with a cornucopia of riches. Seek peace and comfort, for a life lived with both is true wealth. Although violence should never be welcomed, the Protector's aegis will extend to those willing to fiercely defend their home and community. Lead through example, and know the activities of those you lead so that you can help shoulder their burdens when need be. Treasure your family, for your parents gave you life and your children are your future. Care for the aged and the weak, for you never know when you may be one of the strong laid low.

Worship

Despite her widespread worship among halflings and her central role in their society; her temples were unusually rare, those that did exist were designed to look like a well-hidden halfling burrow-home and were filled with weapons and food so that the communities that surrounded them could hold out against possible invaders. Typical worshippers are halflings.

Priesthood

Her clergy were afforded a lot of respect by the followers of other gods for their defensive capabilities in spite of their small stature.

Granted Divine Powers

Powerful clerics of Yondalla were granted the ability to cast Curse of Yondalla, a spell reserved to be used against those who committed foul crimes against halflings. Channel Divinity for this religion is Preserve Life.