Halflings are small creatures, standing only about 3 1/2 feet tall and weighing 50 to 60 pounds. Rarely affected by age, halfling faces are often mistaken for the faces of human children, even the elderly among them. They dress in loincloths, sometimes with a shirt or vest, and paint their skins with bright reds and greens. Forest halflings rarely tend to their hair, and some let it grow to great lengths, though it can be unkempt and dirty.

Halfling culture dominates their relations with others and predates human civilization. Rarely will they ever draw the blood of another halfling. Halflings of different tribes share a tradition of song, art and poetry, which serves as a basis of communication. Creatures that do not know these cultural expressions are often at a loss to understand a halfling's expressions, analogies and allusions to well-known tales. Halflings can easily become frustrated with such "uncultured" creatures and easily lose patience with outsider intolerance of their ways., such as eating other humanoids. They abhor slavery and most halflings will starve themselves rather than accept slavery.

Halflings have no desire to see their home become like the rest of Athas. They are fierce and merciless in its defense, uncaring about that struggles and excuses of other races. Halflings' bond with nature extends to most aspects of their culture. A shaman, or witch doctor, who also acts as a spiritual leader, often rules their clans. This leader is obeyed without question. Halfling fighters willingly sacrifice themselves to obey their leader, leaving outsiders to perceive them as fanatics when halflings dearly love and enjoy life.

Halfling traits reflect their savage nature.

Ability Score Increase: Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age: Halflings reach adulthood at the same rate as humans and live to be about 120 years old.

Alignment: Halflings tend towards law and evil. Uncomfortable with change, halflings tend to rely on intangible constants, such as racial identity, clan ties, and personal honor. Halflings generally have little respect for the laws of big people.

Size: Halflings average around 3 1/2 feet tall and 50 to 60 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed: Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Halfling Nimbleness: You can move through the space of any creature that is larger size than you.

Savage Attacks: When you score a critical hit with a melee attack, you can roll one of the weapon's damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.

Fury of the Small: When you damage a creature at least one size larger than you with an attack or spell, you can cause the attack to add extra damage equal to your level. You may use this once per long or short rest.

Languages: You can speak Halfling and Common. Your culture uses drawings and tales rather than a written language. Halflings rarely teach others their language, but some individuals of the Tablelands have learned the wild speech. Halflings found in the Tablelands learn Common to survive, but it is generally unknown past the Ringing Mountains.

Remember to consistently take your height into account. Role-play the halfling culture described: eating opponents, treating fellow halflings with trust and kindness, suspicion of big people, and general lack of interest in money. Conquest and plundering have no place in your society; rather the most important value is the ability of the inner self as it harmonizes with the environment. You should be sickened by the landscape of the Tablelands and desperately want to avoid any risk that devastation ever spreading to your homelands in the Forest Ridge. You will learn about other cultures, but you should firmly believe halfling culture to be innately superior to all others. However, you don't try to change others' cultures, no more than you would try to convince a tembo to change its diet.

While omnivorous, you vastly prefer meat, and everything is a source of food. You should presume most other races will eat anything, including halflings, if they are hungry enough, and this makes it hard to trust them.