Lightfoot Hin (Lightfoot Halfling)

The folk of Faerûn are more familiar with the lightfoot hin than with either of the other two subraces, primarily because the lightfoots are the most numerous and widely traveled of all the halflings. Nearly every human community of any size larger than a village has at least a few halfling residents. When most Faerûnians think of halflings, the lightfoots are the people that most often leap to mind.

History

Most lightfoot halflings trace their family ancestry back to the days when a great tribe of their subrace populated the territory known today as Luiren.
Thousands of years ago, Luiren was an unsettled wilderness roamed by three great halfling tribes: the lightfoots, the stronghearts, and the ghostwise. The three races fiercely defended their woodlands against all intruders for centuries, driving off Dambrathan barbarians, packs of rabid gnolls, and sharing the Lluirwood’s resources. Feuds between tribes were not uncommon, but for the most part the three tribes lived in peace.
Around –100 DR, an evil spirit entered the forest. Under the leadership of a powerful cleric named Desva, the ghostwise halflings fell into darkness, worshiping Malar and glorifying in violence and bloodshed. Feral ghostwise hunters, their faces painted like skulls, prowled the forests in search of halfling prey. They grew ever stronger as Desva led them deeper into Malar’s worship, teaching the greatest hunters to take shapes as werewolves and poisoning the forest’s natural predators with maddening bloodlust. For a generation the Lluirwood was a place of death.
In –68 DR, a strongheart hunter named Chand became war chief of his folk and struck an alliance with the war chief of the lightfoot tribe. The two united to root out the madness of the ghostwise halflings. Over three years each ghostwise stronghold and lair was found out and destroyed, until Chand himself slew Desva of the ghostwise in –65 DR. The fighting was merciless and awful—entire ghostwise villages were burned and their folk killed. Chand held to his purpose and saw to it that no hin warrior stayed his or her hand.
In the aftermath of the Hin Ghostwars, the ghostwise halflings were reduced to a handful of their former number. Most were exiled from the Lluirwood, although a handful who had repudiated Desva and joined with Chand’s warriors were allowed to stay. Those who left settled in the Chondalwood, taking an oath never to speak until they had atoned for the animal-like savagery of their past. The atonement is long past, but to this day ghostwise halflings think long and hard before they choose to speak.
Many of the lightfoots, horrified by what Chand and the stronghearts had done, chose to leave the Lluirwood. They became a nomadic people spread across all of northern Faerûn, adopting the customs and traditions of the folk they traveled among.
Following the events of the Hin Ghostwars, the majority of the lightfoot halflings departed their homeland and spread out across northern Faerûn in a great diaspora. Though some lightfoot halflings remained in Luiren, the subrace has become ubiquitous throughout the settled lands of Faerûn.
The stronghearts remained in the Lluirwood. Unchecked by the lightfoot or ghostwise ways, they began to clear the forest and settled in semipermanent villages that grew larger and more permanent with each passing generation. They changed from woodland nomads to settled farmers and craftsfolk, defending their lands against numerous invasions and raids over the years. In time some lightfoots returned to the new realm of Luiren, but this is now a strongheart land.

Outlook

Lightfoot halflings may be the most common of all the subraces, but their behavior is also the most varied. It’s impossible to describe the “typical” lightfoot halfling because, much like humans, the race embodies individuals that are the absolute antithesis of one another. This diversity of behavior is mirrored in a diversity of outlooks: Some halflings adopt views and beliefs about the world that are very close or even identical to whatever human community they happen to dwell in, while others retain distinctive points of view that separate them from other races and groups (including other halflings). It’s not uncommon to meet halflings who, because they spend the greater part of their lives roaming from place to place, have outlooks that are amalgams of those from multiple cultures and environments.
The aspect of the lightfoot outlook that most non-halflings notice, however, is that they are the hin subrace that is most likely to wander out of an innate desire. It is not unknown for individual lightfoot halflings or even entire families to decide that, after living in the same place for decades, they want to move on to someplace else. Some learned folk speculate that the lightfoot hin experience a habitual need to see many different places and enjoy a variety of experiences. Other sages and loremasters wonder if the lightfoot penchant for the semi-nomadic lifestyle is socialized behavior, learned from centuries of practice. These scholars theorize that the lightfoot hin who left Luiren because of the Ghostwar massacres were unable to find a new homeland that suited them as well, so they wandered. After so many hundreds of years of wanderings, the behavior is now natural to the lightfoot hin, or so this school of thought holds. Whatever the case, there’s no denying that many lightfoot halflings seem determined to see a great deal of Faerûn and have many interesting experiences during their lifetimes.

LIGHTFOOT HALFLING CHARACTERS

As befits their name, lightfoot halflings often take classes that work well for wanderers, such as rogue and bard.
Favored Class: Rogue. Lightfoot halflings often pick up an impressive array of skills during their travels, and with their small size and low strength, they need the advantages of stealth and cleverness.

Lightfoot Halfling Society

Lightfoot halfling society is hard to quantify, because lightfoots can be divided into three groups: those who live among humans, those who live among other lightfoots, and those who wander from place to place. Some lightfoot halfling families live their entire lives in one place, sometimes as part of a human community, and sometimes in a settlement populated almost entirely by halflings. Others live their entire lives on the roads and byways of Faerûn, never remaining in one place very long.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Lightfoots speak Hin, Common, and the language of their home region—which, given lightfoot wanderlust, could be almost anywhere. Wandering lightfoot halflings pick up the languages of the places they live, and often learn other widely spread tongues.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

Lightfoot Halfling Magic and Lore

Lightfoot halflings tend to be generalists when it comes to magic, using a broad array of spells and magic items to make their travels—or their hearths—more pleasant. They are skillful clerics and sorcerers, but sometimes lack the discipline to become accomplished as wizards.

SPELLS AND SPELLCASTING

Because they’re almost always fighting foes who are larger than they are, lightfoot halflings favor spells that help them move around the battlefield and negate the physical strength of their foes. Expeditious retreat, fly, haste, various polymorph spells, and especially Evard’s black tentacles are common spells in a halfling spellcaster’s arsenal.

Lightfoot Halfling Equipment

These halflings favor the lightfoot warsling, a deadly and powerful version of the common sling (see the appendix). The warsling fires skiprocks, which halflings delight in throwing with great accuracy as well.

LIGHTFOOT ANIMALS AND PETS

Lightfoot halflings make up for their small stature by domesticating some of the largest and most powerful hounds in Faerûn. A towering human brigand has a hard time pushing around a halfling traveler with a pair of loyal hounds at his side.

Common Myths and Legends

The diversity evident in the lightfoot halflings’ outlook and society is also reflected in their religious beliefs. Of all the hin subraces, the lightfoot are the most likely to worship deities other than those belonging to Yondalla’s Children. In addition to the deity they most favor, many lightfoot households—particularly those that prefer life on the road to a more settled existence— often venerate a household patron, often inspired by some matriarch or patriarch in the family’s history.
Brandobaris, the Master of Stealth, is much beloved by the lightfoot hin for his realistic and good-humored view of life. Brandobaris is a common patron deity of those halflings who trust to their luck to see them through as they wander from place to place.
The worship of Cyrrollalee, the Hearthkeeper, is wildly popular among lightfoot halflings born within the last two generations. Her message of the ascendance of the halfling race to a station of respect and power in Faerûn has fallen on receptive ears. The ranks of her clergy have swelled with the number of lightfoot hin seeking to spread her message and contribute to the search for a new lightfoot homeland.
Yondalla’s faith is popular with the lightfoot halflings, both those who wander and those who prefer to settle in more permanent communities. Recently there has been some tension between her clergy and those serving Cyrrollalee: Yondalla is not at all certain that this younger deity’s call for a halfling homeland is wise.

Approximate Age Categories

Adulthood: 20 years
Middle Age: 50 years
Old: 75 years
Venerable: 100 years
Maximum Age: Most hin pass before their 200th year

Lightfoot Male

Random Height: 2'8" +2d4"
Random Weight: 30 lb. + (Height Roll × 2d3 lbs.)

Lightfoot Female

Random Height: 2'6" +2d4"
Random Weight: 25 lb. + (Height Roll × 2d3 lbs.)

Encompassed species

• Hin (Halfling, Halflings)

Related Organizations

• Chicane Guild