Halfling

Halfling Humanoid

Many taller people dismiss halflings due to their size or, worse, treat them like children. Halflings use these prejudices and misconceptions to their advantage, gaining access to opportunities and performing deeds of daring mischief or heroism. A halfling’s curiosity is tempered by wisdom and caution, leading to calculated risks and narrow escapes.

While their wanderlust and curiosity sometimes drive them toward adventure, halflings also carry strong ties to house and home, often spending above their means to achieve comfort in their homelife.

If you want to play a character who must contend with these opposing drives toward adventure and comfort, you should play a halfling.

You might…

• Get along well with a wide variety of people and enjoy meeting new friends.
• Find it difficult to resist indulging your curiosity, even when you know it’s going to lead to trouble.
• Hold a deep and personal hatred of the practice of slavery and devote yourself to freeing those who still labor against their will.

Others probably…

• Appreciate your ability to always find a silver lining or something to laugh about, no matter how dire the situation.
• Think you bring good luck with you.
• Underestimate your strength, endurance, and fighting prowess.

Physical Description

Halflings are short humanoids who look vaguely like smaller humans. They rarely grow to be more than 3 feet in height. Halfling proportions vary, with some looking like shorter adult humans with slightly larger heads and others having proportions closer to those of a human child.

Most halflings prefer to walk barefoot rather than wearing shoes, and those who do so develop roughly calloused soles on their feet over time. Tufts of thick, often-curly hair warm the tops of their broad, tanned feet. Halfling skin tones tend toward rich, tawny shades like amber or oak, and their hair color ranges from a light golden blond to raven black.

Claiming no place as their own, halflings control few settlements larger than villages. Instead, they frequently live among humans within the walls of larger cities, carving out small communities alongside taller folk. Many halflings lead perfectly fulfilling lives in the shadows of their larger neighbors, while others prefer a nomadic existence, traveling the world and taking advantage of opportunities and adventures as they come.

Optimistic and cheerful, blessed with uncanny luck, and driven by powerful wanderlust, halflings make up for their short stature with an abundance of bravado and curiosity. At once excitable and easygoing, they are the best kind of opportunists, and their passions favor joy over violence. Even in the jaws of danger, halflings rarely lose their sense of humor.

Halflings reach physical adulthood around the age of 20. A typical halfling can live to be around 150 years old.

Society

Despite their jovial and friendly nature, halflings don’t usually tend to congregate.

They have no cultural homeland and instead weave themselves throughout the societies of the world. Halflings eke out whatever living they can manage, many performing menial labor or holding simple service jobs. Some halflings reject city life, instead turning to the open road and traveling from place to place in search of fortune and fame. These nomadic halflings often travel in small groups, sharing hardships and simple pleasures among close friends and family.

Wherever halflings go, they seamlessly blend into the society they find themselves in, adapting to the culture of the predominant ancestry around them and adding their uniquely halfling twists, creating a blend of cultural diffusion that enriches both cultures.

Alignment and Religion

Halflings are loyal to their friends and their family, but they aren’t afraid to do what needs to be done in order to survive. Halfling alignments vary, typically closely in keeping with the alignment of the other ancestries that live around them. Halflings favor gods that either grant luck or encourage guile, as well as any religions common among other ancestries around them.

Names

Halfling names are usually two to three syllables, with a gentle sound that avoids hard consonants. Preferring their names to sound humble, halflings see overly long or complex names as a sign of arrogance. This goes only for their own people, however—halflings have names that suit them, and they understand that elves and humans might have longer names to suit their own aesthetics. Humans in particular have a tendency to refer to halflings by nicknames, with “Lucky” being common to the point of absurdity.

Sample Names Anafa, Antal, Bellis, Boram, Etune, Filiu, Jamir, Kaleb, Linna, Marra, Miro, Rillka, Sistra, Sumak, Yamyra

Halfling Adventurers

Halflings’ natural wanderlust and opportunistic nature make them ideal adventurers. Many people put up with their vivacious attitudes in return for the natural talents they provide and the popular superstition that traveling with a halfling is good luck.

Typical backgrounds for halflings include acrobat, criminal, emissary, entertainer, laborer, and street urchin.

Halflings make great clerics and rogues, but many also become monks or rangers.

Heritages

Living across the land, halflings of different heritages might appear in regions far from are their ancestors lived. Choose one of the following halfling heritages at 1st level.

Gutsy Halfling

Your family line is known for keeping a level head and staving off fear when the chips were down, making them wise leaders and sometimes even heroes. When you roll a success on a saving throw against an emotion effect, you get a critical success instead.

Hillock Halfling

Accustomed to a calm life in the hills, your people find rest and relaxation especially replenishing, particularly when indulging in creature comforts. When you regain Hit Points overnight, add your level to the Hit Points regained. When anyone uses the Medicine skill to Treat your Wounds, you can eat a snack to add your level to the Hit Points you regain from their treatment.

Jinxed Halfling (Uncommon Heritage)

Source PRG2:APG

You were born with a strange blessing: bereft of the typical halfling luck, you can instead manipulate the fortunes of others. You can never take the Halfling Luck feat, and you gain the Jinx action.

Jinx [two-actions]

Curse Necromancy Occult

Frequency once per day You can curse another creature with clumsiness.

This curse has a range of 30 feet, and you must be able to see your target. The target gets a Will saving throw to resist this jinx, using your class DC or spell DC, whichever is higher.

Success The target is unaffected and is temporarily immune for 24 hours.

Failure The target is clumsy 1 for 1 minute.

Critical Failure The target is clumsy 2 for 1 minute.

Nomadic Halfling

Your ancestors have traveled from place to place for generations, never content to settle down. You gain two additional languages of your choice, chosen from among the common and uncommon languages available to you, and every time you take the Multilingual feat, you gain another new language.

Observant Halfling

Source PLOCG

Your finely honed senses quickly clue you in to danger or trickery. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your Perception DC, though not to your Perception checks.

Twilight Halfling

Your ancestors performed many secret acts under the concealing cover of dusk, whether for good or ill, and over time they developed the ability to see in twilight beyond even the usual keen sight of halflings. You gain low-light vision.

Wildwood Halfling

You hail from deep in a jungle or forest, and you’ve learned how to use your small size to wriggle through undergrowth, vines, and other obstacles. You ignore difficult terrain from trees, foliage, and undergrowth.

Ancestry Feats

At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th levels). As a halfling, you select from among the following ancestry feats.

1st Level

Adroit Manipulation Feat 1

Source PLOCG

Uncommon Halfling

Access Regional ethnicity (see official campaign setting for details)

You’ve fiddled with knots, locks, and blacksmith’s puzzles since you were a child to give your hands something to do. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Thievery (or another skill of your choice, if you’re already trained in Thievery). If you roll a success on a Thievery check to Pick a Lock, you get a critical success instead.

Distracting Shadows Feat 1

Halfling

You have learned to remain hidden by using larger folk as a distraction to avoid drawing attention to yourself. You can use creatures that are at least one size larger than you (usually Medium or larger) as cover for the Hide and Sneak actions, though you still can’t use such creatures as cover for other uses, such as the Take Cover action.

Folksy Patter Feat 1

Source PRG2:APG

Halfling

You are adept at disguising coded messages as folksy idioms.

Using slang, jokes, halfling loanwords, and the like, you convey a simple message consisting of three basic words (such as “Danger assassin flee” or “Meet me moonrise”). Your intended listener can attempt a Perception check to discern the message (DC 20 if an ally, DC 15 if a halfling ally, DC 10 if a halfling ally with Folksy Patter). Eavesdroppers can also attempt a Perception check against your Deception DC to discern your meaning. Any bonuses or penalties to Perception checks to Sense Motive apply.

Halfling Lore Feat 1

Halfling

You’ve dutifully learned how to keep your balance and how to stick to the shadows where it’s safe, important skills passed down through generations of halfling tradition. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Acrobatics and Stealth.

If you would automatically become trained in one of those skills (from your background or class, for example), you instead become trained in a skill of your choice. You also become trained in Halfling Lore.

Halfling Luck [free-action] Feat 1

Fortune Halfling

Frequency once per day

Trigger You fail a skill check or saving throw.

Your happy-go-lucky nature makes it seem like misfortune avoids you, and to an extent, that might even be true. You can reroll the triggering check, but you must use the new result, even if it’s worse than your first roll.

Halfling Weapon Familiarity Feat 1

Halfling

You favor traditional halfling weapons, so you’ve learned how to use them more effectively. You have the trained proficiency with the sling, halfling sling staff, and shortsword.

In addition, you gain access to all uncommon halfling weapons. For you, martial halfling weapons are simple weapons, and advanced halfling weapons are martial weapons.

Innocuous Feat 1

Source PLOCG

Halfling

Halflings have been unobtrusive assistants of larger folk for untold ages, and your people count on this assumption of innocence. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Deception (or another skill of your choice, if you’re already trained in Deception).

If you fail a Deception check to Create a Diversion, humanoid creatures aren’t aware that you were trying to trick them unless you get a critical failure on your roll.

Intuitive Cooperation Feat 1

Source PLOCG

Uncommon Halfling

Access Regional ethnicity (see official campaign setting for details)

You are accustomed to working alongside others, relying on each other to get by. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to checks to Aid, and your allies gain a +2 circumstance bonus to checks to Aid you.

Prairie Rider Feat 1

Source PRG2:APG

Halfling

You grew up riding your clan’s shaggy ponies and riding dogs. You become trained in Nature. If you would automatically become trained in Nature (from your background or class, for example), you instead become trained in a skill of your choice. You also get a +1 circumstance bonus to Command an Animal if the target is a traditional halfling mount, such as a pony or riding dog.

Sure Feet Feat 1

Halfling

Whether keeping your balance or scrambling up a tricky climb, your hairy, calloused feet easily find purchase. If you roll a success on an Acrobatics check to Balance or an Athletics check to Climb, you get a critical success instead.

You’re not flat-footed when you attempt to Balance or Climb.

Titan Slinger Feat 1

Halfling

You have learned how to use your sling to fell enormous creatures. When you hit on an attack with a sling against a Large or larger creature, increase the size of the weapon damage die by one step.

Unassuming Dedication Feat 1

Source PLOCG

Uncommon Halfling

Access Regional ethnicity (see official campaign setting for details)

Your family instilled the values of care and patience into you from a young age.

You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to checks to perform a downtime activity.

Unfettered Halfling Feat 1

Halfling

You were forced into service as a laborer, either pressed into indentured servitude or shackled by the evils of slavery, but you’ve since escaped and have trained to ensure you’ll never be caught again. Whenever you roll a success on a check to Escape or a saving throw against an effect that would impose the grabbed or restrained condition on you, you get a critical success instead. Whenever a creature rolls a failure on a check to Grapple you, they get a critical failure instead. If a creature uses the Grab ability on you, it must succeed at an Athletics check to grab you instead of automatically grabbing you.

Watchful Halfling Feat 1

Halfling

Your communal lifestyle causes you to pay close attention to the people around you, allowing you to more easily notice when they act out of character. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Perception checks when using the Sense Motive basic action to notice enchanted or possessed characters. If you aren’t actively using Sense Motive on an enchanted or possessed character, the GM rolls a secret check, without the usual circumstance and with a –2 circumstance penalty, for you to potentially notice the enchantment or possession anyway.

In addition to using it for skill checks, you can use the Aid basic action to grant a bonus to another creature’s saving throw or other check to overcome enchantment or possession.

As usual for Aid, you need to prepare by using an action on your turn to encourage the creature to fight against the effect.

5th Level

Cultural Adaptability Feat 5

Halfling

During your adventures, you’ve honed your ability to adapt to the culture of the predominant ancestry around you. You gain the Adopted Ancestry general feat, and you also gain one 1st-level ancestry feat from the ancestry you chose for the Adopted Ancestry feat.

Easily Dismissed Feat 5

Source PLOCG

Uncommon Halfling

Access Regional nationality (see official campaign setting for details)

You are practiced at blending into the background of the streets and halls of larger folk to ensure that you are overlooked. When you are in a crowd or well trafficked urban area, you can attempt to Hide and Sneak, even when observed.

On a success, you aren’t hidden or undetected, but other creatures simply don’t take particular notice of you, even though they can see you. You can’t use this ability on observers who have already seen you perform obtrusive or notable actions. If you perform any action other than to Hide or Sneak or otherwise take particularly salient actions (GM’s discretion), observers notice you right away.

Halfling Ingenuity Feat 5

Source PLOCG

Halfling

Prerequisite(s): Halfling Luck

While your willingness to dig into a task you know little about might get you into trouble, your incredible luck often saves you from danger. You can attempt skill actions that normally require you to be trained even if you aren’t trained in that skill.

If you use Halfling Luck when you fail a check for a skill with which you are untrained, you can add a proficiency bonus equal to your level, rather than 0, when you reroll the triggering skill check. You gain a +4 circumstance bonus to this rerolled skill check.

Halfling Weapon Trickster Feat 5

Halfling

Prerequisite(s) Halfling Weapon Familiarity

You are particularly adept at fighting with your people’s favored weapons. Whenever you critically succeed at an attack roll using a shortsword, a sling, or a halfling weapon, you apply the weapon’s critical specialization effect.

Shared Luck Feat 5

Source PLOCG

Halfling

Prerequisite(s): Halfling Luck

You are evidence that it’s lucky to travel with a halfling. You can use Halfling Luck when an ally within 30 feet fails a skill check or a saving throw to allow the ally to reroll the triggering check instead of you rerolling your own failed check. As usual, your ally must use the new result, even if it’s worse than their first roll. If you have Guiding Luck, you can’t use Guiding Luck’s effect that applies to attack rolls and Perception checks to use Shared Luck to benefit an ally.

Step Lively [reaction] Feat 5

Source PRG2:APG

Halfling

Trigger a Large or larger enemy ends a move action adjacent to you.

You are an expert at avoiding the lumbering footsteps of larger creatures. You Step to another space adjacent to the enemy.

9th Level

Cunning Climber Feat 9

Source PLOCG

Halfling

Whether you are climbing a ship’s rigging, a jungle tree, or a clock tower, you have an uncanny knack for finding footholds and handholds where larger creatures can’t.

You gain a climb speed of 10 feet. You can take the Legendary Climber feat even if you don’t have the Quick Climb feat, provided you meet its other prerequisites.

Dance Underfoot Feat 9

Source PRG2:APG

Halfling

Prerequisite(s) Step Lively

You dart under the legs of your enemies in combat. You can end a successful Tumble

Through action in a Large or larger enemy’s space. Also, when using the Step Lively feat, you can Step into the triggering enemy’s space. The enemy must have limbs or otherwise leave you enough room for this maneuver, as determined by the GM. For instance, you could share space with a giant or dragon, but not an ooze.

Fade Away Feat 9

Source PLOCG

Halfling

Prerequisite(s): Easily Dismissed

Your ability to blend into the background allows you to fade away entirely or appear innocuous even to magical effects. You gain invisibility and misdirection as 2nd-level innate occult spells. You can target only yourself with invisibility, and you must be the primary target of misdirection. You can cast each spell once per day.

Guiding Luck Feat 9

Halfling

Prerequisite(s) Halfling Luck

Your luck guides you to look the right way and aim your blows unerringly. You can use Halfling Luck twice per day: once in response to its normal trigger, and once when you fail a Perception check or attack roll instead of the normal trigger.

Helpful Halfling Feat 9

Source PLOCG

Halfling

When you aid a friend with a task, you find many ways to help and avoid interfering.

On a critical success to Aid, you grant your ally a +3 circumstance bonus if you have expert proficiency in the skill (rather than +2), and you grant your ally a +4 circumstance bonus if you have master proficiency (rather than +3). If you roll a critical failure on a check to Aid, you don’t give your ally a –1 circumstance penalty to their check.

Irrepressible Feat 9

Halfling

You are easily able to ward off attempts to play on your fears and emotions. When you roll a success on a saving throw against an emotion effect, you get a critical success instead. If your heritage is gutsy halfling, when you roll a critical failure on a saving throw against an emotion effect, you get a failure instead.

Unhampered Passage Feat 9

Source PRG2:APG

Halfling

You won’t allow others to restrain you. You can cast freedom of movement on yourself as a primal innate spell once per day.

13th Level

Ceaseless Shadows Feat 13

Halfling

Prerequisite(s) Distracting Shadows

You excel at going unnoticed, especially among a crowd. You no longer need to have cover or be concealed to Hide or Sneak. If you would have lesser cover from creatures, you gain cover and can Take Cover, and if you would have cover from creatures, you gain greater cover.

Cobble Dancer Feat 13

Source PLOCG

Halfling

You know how to take advantage of foes thrown off-balance by unstable flooring, loose cobblestones, or similar impediments. While in an outdoor urban environment, you can Step into difficult terrain and enemies in difficult terrain are flat-footed to you.

Halfling Weapon Expertise Feat 13

Halfling

Prerequisite(s) Halfling, Weapon Familiarity

Your halfling affinity blends with your class training, granting you great skill with halfling weapons. Whenever you gain a class feature that grants you expert or greater proficiency in a given weapon or weapons, you also gain that proficiency in the sling, halfling sling staff, shortsword, and all halfling weapons in which you are trained.

Incredible Luck Feat 13

Source PLOCG

Halfling

Prerequisite(s): Halfling Luck

Even other halflings consider you to be particularly lucky. You can use Halfling Luck once per hour, rather than once per day. If you have Guiding Luck, you can still use Halfling Luck when you fail a Perception check or attack roll only once per day (though you can use it within the same hour that you used Halfling Luck), and if you have Helpful Halfling, you can still use Halfling Luck on an ally instead of yourself only once per day.

Toppling Dance Feat 13

Source PRG2:APG

Halfling

Prerequisite(s) Dance Underfoot

While sharing a creature’s space using Dance Underfoot, your weapons and unarmed attacks gain the trip trait, but only against the creature whose space you share. You can be in the same space as a Large or larger prone creature, even if it’s not your ally.

17th Level

Shadow Self Feat 17

Source PRG2:APG

Halfling

Prerequisite(s) legendary Stealth

Frequency once per hour

Trigger You successfully use Stealth to Hide and become hidden from all your current foes, or use Stealth to Sneak and become undetected to all your current foes.

With a powerful talent for misdirection, you slip from your adversaries’ notice so thoroughly you appear to be somewhere else. You become invisible for 1 minute or until you take a hostile action, whichever comes first. Choose a location within 10 feet of you. Until your invisibility ends, you appear to be hidden in that location to anyone trying to find you. If the searcher gets clear evidence that you’re not there, they no longer think you’re hidden there, but they don’t discover your actual location.