Halflings

Halflings

Politics-

Hereditary squires and elected sheriffs hold sway in of most independent Halfling communities. Squires are the heads of old, landowning families. Sheriffs are the chief enforcers of laws.  In some places the squires are more powerful than the sheriffs, or vice versa. In old, well-established communities, it’s not unheard of for the office of sheriff to be the unofficial property of a prominent family, with the election being merely nominal. Newly settled or reclaimed Halfling shires, on the other hand, provide an excellent chance for up and coming Halflings to become sheriffs.

The Halflings of Thunder Rift don’t really have a separate government or separate settlements. ‘Sheriff’ is an old title that is currently not in use, but might be revived if an individual Halfling of prowess and charisma came to be seen as a leader of a distinct Halfling community.  

Religion-

Halflings tend to see the Supreme Being as a mother-figure, the source of agricultural bounty and all other good things. Most Halfling societies do not have a separate clergy. It is common for heads of families to perform religious functions.

Some Halflings in Thunder Rift have adopted human religious notions, often by combining these ideas with traditional Halfling religion.

Folk heroes play a role in Halfling religion similar to the religious role played by ancestors in the dwarf religion and saints among the Lawful humans.

Smoking-

Halflings in Thunder Rift and several other places grow tabac (tobacco)They smoke it. Some rustic Halflings chew the stuff, and refined Halflings sometimes take snuff.

The custom of smoking tabac is seen as unhealthy or strange by some non-Halflings, but it has caught on with people of various races in Thunder Rift.

Fumbleweed, also known as five finger fumbleweed, is another plant associated with Halflings. It is related to common hemp. This plant produces a mild euphoria and dulls the wits and reaction speed of chronic users. In Thunder Rift, the use of fumbleweed is associated with lazy rascals and ne’er-do-wells; nobody respectable would be seen smoking it in public.

NOTE- I am mortally certain that I got fumbleweed from an old Elric! supplement, but I can’t recall the name of the adventure. Where the authors of said adventure got the idea is pretty obvious. J