The Collector Halflings
You are the epitome of Halfling-kind, or at least you are pretty sure you are. After all, a Halfling's life is supposed to be all about gathering things around you to make yourself more comfortable. So that's what you do -- you gather things around yourself! You may have a particular appreciation for pretty things, useful things, timesaving things, or impressive things, or you may decide you like them all!
Appreciating things and owning things are two very different things, of course. But there are many ways of acquiring things!
Collectors able to exert at least some control over themselves will often specialize. You may be fascinated by clocks, or swords, or gemstones. Fine clothing may be what brings you the most joy, or exotic foods. If you are well off -- and your desire to collect may very well make you a rather industrious worker so you have the income to satisfy your drives -- you may simply buy your happiness. If not, you may have decided to master some skills that polite society may frown upon. But one way or another, the collection must grow!
Appreciating things and owning things are two very different things, of course. But there are many ways of acquiring things!
Cultural History
Your Collector Culture is not the product of geography, or social history, but rather it is the result of your personality. Collectors are recognized as a breed apart by other Halflings, even those among who you were raised and may continued to live... even among your own family (unless your family members were also 'bitten by the collecting bug'.You don't know why, but as long as you could remember, you needed to have things around you. Family things were fine when you were a child, but now you want things you can call your own. Lots of them.Collectors able to exert at least some control over themselves will often specialize. You may be fascinated by clocks, or swords, or gemstones. Fine clothing may be what brings you the most joy, or exotic foods. If you are well off -- and your desire to collect may very well make you a rather industrious worker so you have the income to satisfy your drives -- you may simply buy your happiness. If not, you may have decided to master some skills that polite society may frown upon. But one way or another, the collection must grow!
Geographic Distribution
Since the Collector Culture is a phsychological one, Collector Halflings will be found anywhere and everywhere that Halflings can be found. In their younger years, many will become adventurers, and this also means that Collectors are likely to be scattered to the four corners of Cartyrion.Role-Playing a Collector Halfling
Interacting with Other Halflings
Other Collectors understand you personally, and will happily spend hours discussing the finer points of their collections and yours, or the art of collecting itself. Assuming you have managed to limit yourself to one or two targets of collecting affection, other Halflings (including those non-Collectors in your own immediate family) will think of you as somewhat - or quite - eccentric. They will find the habits you develop that involve your collection to be odd at best. If you are one of those rare Halflings that have to have everything, though, you will find that most Halflings do not like greed. They may look upon you with pity, or disdain, or a mix of both.Interacting with Folk of other Races
The attitudes of Folk of other races will follow the same tracks as the attitudes of other Halflings. There are individuals of all races that have succumbed to the need to collect -- to amass symbols of wealth, power or desire; these will understand you best. Most will consider you eccentric, but then again, almost all Halflings are eccentric in their eyes. It is the Folk that consider you to be greedy that you need to watch out for, as with their belief in your greed, there will also be a loathing and sense that you don't deserve all the riches you have amassed. You will be a target.Interacting with Your Adventuring Party
As an adventurer, you are still most likely in your youth -- still "seeing the world". But the collector bug is inside you. You will always be on the lookout for your particlar "shiny", and your party will soon come to realize this. Most likely, if your perception and acquisition skills help them to attain their own shinies as well, they will appreciate you greatly. But if your desires result in you "acquiring" things that belong to them, it is likely that your friendships will be short.Traditions and Taboos
Halflings in general aren't big on unique traditions. Their adaptible nature means they will pick up customs of those they live around. This is especially true of Collector Halflings. The only unique tradition for this culture is the need to find a way to display your finest things so that everybody else can see them, know that they are yours, and appreciate all the hard work you did to gather them together.As with traditions, there are few if any taboos that are strictly the purview of the Collector Halfling. Those of surrounding culture will be followed just to let you fit in. You may have a personal taboo against acquiring your desirables by nefarious means, but that is a personal choice, not one imposed by anything inherent to the Collector Culture.
Likely Professions
What could be better than to actually get paid to collect and maintain the things you love. Even if you have to buy and sell things - including your collectible things - that means you'll always be getting new things to look at and hold. Collector Halflings can be jewelers, or tinkerers that specialize in fine mechanical (clock) repair, or librarians and sages that collect books and scrolls, or herbalists and botanists that collect plants. Alternatively, they may be ditch diggers earning the few coins needed to purchase a sample of that new imported cheese at the shop. In other words, there are no "likely professions" for the Collector class - any and all are possible.Preferred Gear/Dress
For the most part, your choice of clothing style will be dictated by that of those around you -- unless fine or exotic clothing is the thing you wish to collect most. In that case, the odds are that the more flamboyant and outlandish an outfit is, the more likely it is you will want to be wearing it.As far as adventuring gear is concerned, in addition to the usual equipment of a typical adventurer, you will be sure to carry along any special tools or equipment associated with the assessment and acquisition of your chosen collectibles. This may mean anything from a jeweler's loupe to thieves tools, to glass specimen jars.
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