Harfoot

Harfoots, sometimes called “halflings”, are an often overlooked race of demihumans. They are the smallest not only in physical size, but perhaps as well their influence upon the weight of history. For many harfoots, that is the way they like it. They are descended not from great heroes or astral travelers, but from the demihumans who were able to survive by being unnoticed underfoot by their giant overlords, living in their secluded enclaves or roaming bands. Indeed, their physiology reflects this "prey animal" mentality. This has continued as a theme through each successive World, and they take no small pride in the fact that they have never been truly ruled by giants, dragons, demons, heroes, or even gods. Some claim they are blessed by the Luckhound Ez in some way, and they parlay that advantage in varying ways depending on the particulars of their culture.

Harfoots are the shortest demihumans, never growing past three feet in height. Their exaggerated proportions gives them an almost childlike quality in the eyes of other races, which they can variously resent or exploit. Famously, harfoot feet are quite large and nimble, and while it varies from culture to culture many prefer to go barefoot. Their ears are also a trait that marks them, as they are often large and very round, and their hearing is quite keen. Likewise, their eyes tend to be slightly more spaced apart than other demihumans and they have a slightly wider field of vision. They are also surprisingly long-lived compared to quicklings, coming of age about the time a quickling would but surviving on average to about 160 or so, especially since they seem so blessed and protected from the travails of the world. Unlike dwarves, whose longevity grants them a certain melancholy and farsightedness, harfoots seem to trend instead to focusing on the here and now, and have an almost innate aversion to ambition. However, like dwarves they seem uncomfortable in the wide open, and many harfoots no matter their culture prefer dwellings that are partially subterranean.

In Talingarde, the only native culture dominated by the harfoots are the Riaani, who are nomadic like the Skarrians but instead of great caravans live in small bands hidden in the tallgrass, who are also known to be some of the finest cavaliers among the Talireans astride their steppe wolf mounts. However, they are a staple of almost every other culture as well: roaming shepherds in Lucidor, treehouse builders in Helveylyn, hobbit-house dwelling farmers in Myrcia, semi-nomadic tinkers and performers in Gebroan, cliff-dwelling burrowers in the Keshkevar, and bayou hillbillies in Skarria. Beyond Talingarde, the Riaani’s distaff descendents the Marach in Ornassus share their steppe lifestyle but are far more aggressive astride their warcats, while the Rodkhora of Algoboa are a sea-faring people who travel great distances on canoes by using the stars to guide them. The fetchling clans of the Shadowfell also bear a striking resemblance to harfoots, though if there is a link it is an ancient one. Harfoot clans are matrilineal, and are usually named for a landmark or point of origin that, at this point, might be long forgotten.