Halfling

"When Mother Rhya made the peoples...
She measured out some things
To the Dwarfs she gave the long beards
The Halflings got the chins
To the Dwarfs she gave the scowlings
The Halflings got the grins
To the Dwarfs she gave the virtues
The Halflings got the sins!"

— Reiklander Children's Nursery Rhyme^[5c]

Halflings are a race of short, intelligent, mammalian humanoids dwelling primarily in the Mootland in the Empire and various other scattered regions in the Old World.

History[]

How Halflings Came into the Old World[]

"I know this one! Mootlings are small, easy to forget, simple to suppress and crush under the boot. You need the Emperor close, so you can remind him you’re here. Ha! Do you think Boris Todbringer will give a Goblin’s chuff about you? Ha-ha!"

—Marius Leitdorf, the Mad Count of Averland, trying to intimidate Elder Hisme into voting for Karl Franz. Possibly by accident.^[4]

Halfling history records precisely when they arrived in the Old World from lands to the east: on a Bezahltag, just in time for morning tea. Scholars have found evidence dating back to the second century of the Imperial Calendar. Some Halflings claim to have ancestors who met Sigmar and shook his hand — but this seems unlikely. There were several waves of migrations with Halflings establishing small settlements across the Border Princes, then spending several centuries in a semi-nomadic state, moving through Tilea, Estalia, and Bretonnia before most of their number settled in the Empire. They have been quite content to remain there since, but Halflings hold little value in permanence. There might come a time when they will wander the world again.^[5c]

Creation of the Moot[]

No event since their arrival has been more significant to Halfling history than the creation of their homeland in the year 1010 IC. Although Human historians are swift to point out that Emperor Ludwig the Fat founding the county was done as a joke at the expense of the then-Elector of Stirland, Halflings are quick to respond that any good joke has meaning and possibly truth behind it. More careful historians have noted that Ludwig had a rather quick-witted Halfling jester. This might have something to do with how the Halflings acquired nearly ten million acres of some of the most fertile farmland in the Empire.^[5c]

Halflings are natural survivors and highly adaptable. These tenacious and resilient folk are able to take whatever they find and make it their own. Thus many Halflings saw no need to move to the Moot, though most still prefer to live close by. There are Halfling families who have lived in Altdorf or Middenheim since before the Moot was formed, who have more in common with other ‘city’ Halflings than those in the so-called ‘home county’. Meanwhile, Halflings descended from those who helped build the Moot have their own quirks and characteristics that give the Moot a different feel from any Halfling-town in the Empire. All Halflings have a fondness for what the Moot represents, and no bigfooter would ever be allowed to criticise it. But away from Human ears, they will explain at length why they would never choose to live there (or never choose to live anywhere else, as the case may be).^[5c]

The First Elector[]

The tension between the Mootland as a place and as a concept that grants political power comes to a head in the fact that the Elector Count of the land must, by Imperial Law, have been born inside the county limits. This law was also enacted by Emperor Ludwig, assuming that the Halflings would be unwilling or unable to present a newborn baby at the next Imperial Election, and thus forfeit their seat. The Halflings called his bluff, and set to the task with great fervency. Just three months later (Halfling gestation being quite short) Pulchritudinous ‘Trudy’ Talltree was presented, the youngest Imperial Elector ever to appear at a council. Naturally she was helped in her decisions by her family, and this tradition has continued.^[5c]

‘Mootmothered’ is a disparaging term used by Halflings who live outside the Mootland to describe how political figures from that place tend to come from a very small collection of families, and only have Mootish concerns in mind. The current Elector Count, Hisme Stoutheart, has been an exception to this rule: a cosmopolitan, well-travelled figure, who lived in Altdorf most of her life, she has been able to appeal to Halflings across the Empire, in all the clans (see Halfling Clans of the Reikland) She is seen as a unifying and stabilising interest. She is, however, thinking of retiring, as she is now one hundred and fifty-nine years old, and becoming a little forgetful and quite arthritic. She delays year after year because she has yet to find a suitable replacement.^[5c]

Halfling Timeline[]

ca. 200 IC - Halflings and Ogres migrate into the Old World, coming over the Worlds Edge Mountains from the east.^[5c]

420 IC - Experimenting with bread recipes, Hanselstorf Kuekenmeister creates flat, flaky pastry. He puts it on top of a stew and when the steam comes out in a narrow stream he calls it a ‘piper’, an allusion to a bedroom predilection. His wife, Mostworthy Kuekenmeister, shortens it to pie, and then has the idea of putting pastry below. Her husband insists that with pastry all around it, it should be called a pasty.^[5c]

421 IC - The Pie War begins.^[5c]

444 IC - The Pie War ends in a truce, although the Kuekenmeisters remain separated.^[5c]

ca. 500 IC - Halfling communities assimilate into the wider Empire as it expands its borders, a period known as the ‘Drive to the Frontiers’.^[5c]

572 IC - The Charter of Imperial Rights is crafted, which recognises Halflings as citizens.^[5c]

701 IC - Tartlytongue Burdenblouse invents the topless pie and calls it a ‘tart’. The Second Pie War begins.^[5c]

719 IC - The Second Pie War ends. Elder Leopold Ramsitthome establishes a ruling body to end all future pastry disputes. However, he is easily bought, so it becomes known as the ‘Pay Leo Diet’.^[5c]

833 IC - Halfling poet Forthright Firstforemostly performs his poem The Short Man’s Burden, urging Halflings to take up the life of servants as a way of growing in power by proximity to it.^[5c]

1010 IC - Ludwig the Fat establishes the Moot.^[5c]

1035 IC - The Greenleafs are added to the Moot’s territory.^[5c]

1105 IC - Halfing Fieldwardens travel to Altdorf to warn the Emperor of Skaven uprisings they have detected. Emperor Boris the Incompetent declares all mentions of Skaven to be treasonous because they are declared not to exist.^[5c]

1115 IC - Skaven clans rise up and conquer much of the Old World. The Moot is abandoned by Stirland, and Averland and Halflings seek refuge in Dwarf karaks.^[5c]

1124 IC - Emperor Mandred Skavenslayer drives out the Skaven. Halflings are the first in most cases to return to towns and rebuild them. They claim Saurapfel from Averland as a result.^[5c]

1360 IC - Buttermilk Condlywurst returns from the Chaos Wastes with an idea for the ‘Norscan’, a fluffy pastry with fruit and custard.^[5c]

1550 IC - Civil war grips the Empire and three Emperors make a claim to the title. The Moot declares itself neutral, recognising, ‘no Emperor but Sigmar until a fair and equal Council is called’. This establishes a tradition of Mootlanders removing themselves from bigfooter politics from then on.^[5c]

1680s–1880s IC - The Under Years. The dead rise from their graves all over the Empire and attack. A few decades later, a vast Greenskin horde explodes from the south. Once again, Halflings in the Moot retreat, hiding mainly underground. Halflings gain a reputation for cowardice, soft living, and only caring for the finer things in life. This prejudice affects Halflings across the Empire and causes a great rift between them and the Mootlanders.^[5c]

1787 IC - Lack of pie meat leads to the invention of the sausage roll. It remains a symbol of lean times and often denigrated.^[5c]

1999 IC - A giant warpstone comet crashes into Sylvania. Halflings run many expeditions into the site. Many Mooter families have tiny pieces of warpstone on their mantelpiece dating to this period, something that only the naturally corruption resistant Halflings could do without terrible consequence.^[5c]

2000–2145 IC - The Vampire Counts, in three waves, almost destroy the entire Empire. As Halflings are resistant to vampirism (or at least don’t taste very nice), Elector Count Ellaminamanda Moonrow rescinds the previous stance on neutrality, declaring the Moonrow Doctrine: that a threat to any part of the Empire is a threat to Halfling kind and the Moot will respond in force. The Vampires go north instead, devastating Ostermark and Stirland, but Averlanders forever after recall the Mootland protection.^[5c]

2231 IC - The flan is made illegal, but unlawful baking continues.^[5c]

2429 IC - Marienburg formally secedes from the Empire. Discussion begins across the Moot about following suit.^[5c]

2431 IC - After the Great Fire of Altdorf, Halfling pies are one of the few things available to eat. Pie Week, invented a century earlier in Saurapfel, becomes a hit in the capital and soon spreads.^[5c]

2502 IC - Marius Leitdorf's ruthless suppression of the infamous Halfling Rebellion.^[6a]

2512 IC - Hearing news that Ubersreik has become self-governing, the Moot sends a semi-official exploratory committee to the city, as the first steps perhaps towards Mootish secession.^[5c]

Culture[]

Society[]

"Why do you think your predecessors always supported a southern emperor?"

—Karl Franz, then Prince of Altdorf, negotiating with Elder Hisme for his vote for emperor.^[4]

The Halflings are a race as a whole who are roughly half an adult Human's size yet have always seemed to be wherever Men have gone. The Dwarfs record that a tribe of "beardless Manlings we first thought to be children" travelled with the human tribes as they passed through the Worlds Edge Mountains. On the other hand, some Imperial scholars think the Halflings are a race of men experimented on by Verena to find a way to resist Chaos, while a few others argue Ranald created them as a bizarre joke. Regardless of what others say, the Halflings simply say they are as they have always been, and they "like it quite a bit, thank you very much."

Being a rural folk, even in their towns, the Halflings are earthy types who enjoy good food, strong drink, a good smoke, and conversation that would turn a Marienburg marine's ears blue. Expressive to a fault, Halflings think nothing of discussing their aunt’s nightly business with perfect strangers in complete detail. "Just to pass the time, y'know." They love a good chat and strangers are welcomed by farmers along the roads as long as they bring gossip, coin, or lunch. Or preferably all three.

Halflings outside the Moot usually are seen by the small-minded as nothing more than cooks or thieves —or cooks and thieves— though this is rather unfair, because it creates stereotypes out of two Halfling traits. The first is their indisputable ability to make a fine meal out of almost any ingredients. The second is their differing views on property, ownership, and theft.

Most Halflings have grown up in what is effectively a large extended family of siblings, aunts, uncles, “cousins by way of marriage,” and the like. The practice of taking what is needful, be it a pie, a few crowns or even a piece of jewellery, is deeply embedded in the Halfling character. After all, if everyone is family, why should you ask permission? Of course, they’ll let you “borrow” it. These two traits have led to a perception outside the Mootland of Halflings as little more than domestic help you have to keep an eye on.

Many halflings have a deep knowledge of genealogy, able to trace their lineage to the time of Ludwig the Fat. The greatest treasure of the Moot is said to be Haffenlyver, an embossed scroll expounding the family lines of many of the Moot's most notable families. The Haffenlyver is kept by the Elder of the Moot, Hisme Stoutheart.^[3b]

Outside of the Moot, Halflings may become restaurant owners, tavernkeepers, pipeweed sellers, or street vendors in one of the Empire's major cities. They may become innkeepers or farmers in a human village.^[3a] They also have a strange affinity for Ogres, serving as overseers for Ogre work crews or cooks for Ogre mercenary bands.^[3b]

Politics[]

Almost all Halfling politics is settled by a council of Elders, a startlingly informal and unofficial process to Empire eyes. Every village has a collection of Halflings who make judgements on law and policy, with larger issues or appeals handled in the bigger towns or at the Grand Council in the capital, Eicheschatten. Councils are usually composed of odd numbers so they have no ties in votes. Once appointed, typically membership lasts for life. Despite the name there is no age — nor gender — requirement to join the councils. But they do tend to be composed of older Halflings as the appointment is for life. Ambitious halflings must be nominated to join by an established member of the Council. Elder Councils are held at most once a month, but sometimes only once a year, for most of the time Mootlander society believes in a live-and-let-live approach, leaving folks to settle their differences primarily on their own.^[5d]

Since halfling families are large (with a single household being up to 50 folk) and interconnected, and word travels fast, it is hard to do anything without your own mother hearing all the salacious details. This means compromise and discussion are the tools of the day, and those tools are always at work. The whole place bubbles with chatter. Almost nothing is done without a long discussion beforehand to make sure everyone agrees. This can take a while and stoic types — Dwarfs especially — may find organising anything in the Moot an ordeal because everyone has to weigh in. Of course, it’s not all as harmonious as the Mootlanders like to pretend. Clans and councils intersect and the decisions and affiliations of their members can come into conflict. Halflings do not live and breathe grudges like Dwarfs, but families are living memories. Halflings are affable folk because they often have to be, passing the day despite great arguments and long-held anger.^[5d]

Moot Elders[]

Although Halflings have a casual approach to life, often that is because they must yield to the dominant cultures around them. Visitors to the Moot will discover that every now and then, Halflings do have a drop of pomp and circumstance, and can take things almost seriously, and this happens most of all in the Moot. For example, unlike most of the Elector Counts, the Moot representative must be elected by the Grand Council of Elders. Grand Elder is the title they prefer. The election is held every three years in Eicheschatten. It lacks the lavish ceremony that taller species prefer, but it’s central to Moot politics. It’s treated with its own kind of formality and respect. Families are more likely to gather for a picnic than for soldiers to march the streets, but that is how Halflings show respect: gathering with food.^[5d]

Mootlander society works because every Halfling sees themselves as part of it, and has a stake in protecting it. Indeed, visitors may find towns shut down if a council is going on. Not that council days are quiet, nor are Halfling ‘holy days’ either, for that matter. Even the highest courts of the Moot are loud, bawdy affairs, with frequent jokes, appeals to the audience, and audience ‘participation’ (constant interruptions). Hisme loves to begin official matters with a big raspberry to get everyone’s attention. The longest ever Grand Council is said to have been delayed by persistent outbreaks of folk singing, complete with deafening armpit noises by the famous Elder Obvaluta Crumleywort.^[5d]

The Fieldwardens[]

Just as Halflings have politics, albeit in a strikingly informal way, the same is true of their armed forces. The Fieldwardens are one of the most lethal fighting forces in the Old World. The Fieldwardens have no named regiments, no uniforms, and few leaders. They are fiercely loyal, cunning and dogged, and are all volunteers.^[5d]

Much of their success comes from the fact that they are guarding their homes. They not only know every twig and brush like the back of their hands, they know the people intimately and are usually related to them. This allows them to use snipers and commando tactics: long-handled staff-slings can make a stone travel as fast and far as an arrow.^[5d]

The Fieldwardens also remain vigilant by having a tight focus: they don’t care for any lives that aren’t Mootlander Halflings. Ogres can take care of themselves, Stirlanders and Averlanders are probably up to no good, and any Human coming from the east is more than likely Undead (or worse). Visitors who expect help from local authorities will be laughed at. The Fieldwardens protect their own — no more, no less.^[5d]

Halfling Law[]

There’s a popular saying in Stirland that goes: ‘There’s no law for halflings’. In its broadest sense, it means that in the general scheme of things, small sins and small sufferings are soon forgotten by sinner and sufferer alike. Others choose to take a more literal interpretation - that the diminutive Mootlanders pay little heed to laws at all. For some Stirlanders — and increasingly, Averlanders as well — this meaning has become truth. After all, Stirland territory itself was stolen by Halflings to create the Moot. Therefore, they must be a lawless folk with no concern for others. Thus, there can be no harm in stealing from them in return.^[5d]

So it is that Stirland shepherds will graze their flock on lands across the Mootland. Stirland foresters will wander into Moot forests for wood and game. Muleskinners will run their lines across the Moot without paying border tolls. Bailiffs and wardens might slide borders ever inwards, encroaching into the Moot. For who is there to stop them? Road Wardens and Riverwardens are charged to defend all the Empire, ‘Unto All Its Farthermost Climes’, but more often than not stop their patrols at the Mootland borders. No Empire coffers are spent on troops to defend against Greenskins or Undead invasions. No excisemen come to make sure that Mootish taxes are not undue or unfair. The popular myth is that the Mootland is insular, and acts as if the rest of the Empire is forgotten. The truth is the opposite: the Empire wishes the Mootland did not exist.^[5d]

The Moot is a place where Halflings look to Halfling things — for no one else will care for them. And they often extend this policy outwards. Visitors who come from the ‘big folk’ (Humans, Dwarfs, and Elves) may find that if they seek justice for any crimes committed against them that local Mooters will shrug their shoulders and say, ‘there’s no law for Halflings’. However, Halflings do have a legal system, albeit one much more simplistic and far more liberal than the rest of the Empire’s. ‘Human justice’ is a Halfling phrase meaning something cruel and cold. Halflings find executions barbaric, imprisoning people a waste of good labour, and the stocks a waste of good vegetables.^[5d]

Punishments for Halfling crimes are meted out by Elder Councils. They are almost always financial, paid in either coin, work, or goods in trade. The most extreme Halfling sentence is exile, which is quite severe in a culture centred entirely around community. In some rural areas, Halflings will brand exiled folk if they feel the rumour mill won’t keep up with the news, but this is rare. The unfortunate consequence of this system, however, is that perpetrator and victim remain in close proximity: you may live and work with your cousin’s killer for the rest of your days. Halflings sometimes wait until a dark night and deliver some ‘human justice’ to those they feel deserve it.^[5d]

Clans[]

Given their naturally affectionate natures, and the close proximity of so many potential partners, it is perhaps no surprise that Halfing birth rates are so high. Halflings favour matrilineal succession, charting their lineages through the mother’s side. This means that when a Halfling child is the product of two different clans, the infant is deemed to belong to the mother’s family. Halflings record their ancestry with pride, and most Haflings in the Reikland can chart their lineage back to one or more of the Great Families from the Mootland. The Haffenlyver, the great genealogical record of the Halfling Clans, is held by the Elder of the Mootland, who also acts as the final judge over any disputes regarding bloodlines and ancestry.^[5a]

While Halflings almost always know who their mothers are, not all Halflings possess the desire, or skill, to serve as parents. Thus, the responsibility for raising the child lies with the clan as a whole, rather than with any one individual. Childcare and education are handled communally, with the local clan elders acting as de facto parents, doling out wisdom and discipline in equal measure. This social upbringing instils the values and traditions of the clan in their youngsters, meaning each Halfling clan possesses a distinct character, and many are predisposed towards certain roles and professions.^[5a]

Although representatives of almost all the Halfling Clans of the Mootland can be found in Reikland, 12 are particularly common. Most of these migrated to the area many centuries ago, and, in most cases, have seamlessly integrated with their communities.^[5b]

Ashfield - renowned as fieldwardens, the Ashfields are one of the more militaristic clans of the Moot.

Brambledown - wandering itinerants often found abroad, the Brambledowns often work as Riverwardens.

Brandysnap - the archetypical halfling, the Brandysnaps have a reputation for being lazy, although this is in part due to their bucolic lifestyle.

Hayfoot - also known as the Hayfeet, these halflings are renowned as merchants, often traveling abroad.

Hollyfoot - workers and craftsmen, the Hollyfoots are often abroad the Moot.

Hayfoot-Hollyfoot - the Hayfoot-Hollyfoots believe they are the true clan, and Clan Hayfoot and Clan Hollyfoot are the illegitimate offspring of their own one, true bloodline.

Lostpocket- the Lostpockets are those halflings without a clan, either those born without one or those who have been dispossessed from their clan.

Lowhaven - also known as the Shortbottoms, the Lowhavens are infamous criminals and thugs.

Rumster - the most famous cooks in the Empire, Rumsters are renowned for their pies.

Greenthistle - Rivals to the Rumsters who established their own pie business in Bögenhafen, they also control the city's Thieves' Guild.^[1b]

Skelfsider - one of the poorest clans of the Moot, the Skelfsiders are known to take whatever job is offered to them.

Thorncobble - a clan that can trace their lineage back to the time of Ludwig the Fat and regard themselves as nobles of the Moot.

Tumbleberry - the Tumbleberrys are one of the most well integrated clans into human society.

Stouthearts - the clan of Elder Hisme Stoutheart.

Religion[]

"Deep thoughts butter no parsnips"

—Halfling saying, showing their typical disdain for the philosophical.^[3c]

The Halflings are very practical about their religion; in fact, some observers have commented that they are more superstitious than religious. Their gods, thus, typically have a homely sphere of influence, such as herb lore, cooking, or the hearth and home. Halflings also worship some human deities, in particular Sigmar, Taal, and Rhya.^[3c]

The Moot has no priests nor temples (except the ones built for them by the Sigmarites), but shrines to the various Halfling deities are common, and village elders are willing to beseech the gods on behalf of their communities, should the necessity arise.^[3c]

The Halflings worship the gods of the Empire, and Sigmar in particular is venerated as one of their great protectors, though there is no record of Sigmar ever mentioning Halflings, let alone saving them from something. They also have their own gods, but their worship is much more casual than the devotions of humans, Dwarfs, or Elves to their deities. Esmeralda is the goddess of the home and hearth whom Pie Week honours, but there are others, too: Phineas, patron of tobacco with the ever-full pouch; Josias the Farmer, who always knows what the weather will be and can coax life out of the driest dirt; Hyacinth, the goddess of fertility and childbirth; Gaffey, God of Building and Villages^[7a]; and Quinsberry, God of Ancestry and Tradition^[7a]. There are others, but they are obscure and little known to outsiders.

Halflings and Magic[]

Slann Mage-Priests recall that Chaos began to manifest in the world during this time, possibly because uncontrolled magic from the Old Ones’ devices had begun leaking into the world. Humans were created and optimised for adaptability, followed by the Ogres and Halflings, which were hastily modified from indigenous creatures and intended to be highly resistant to Chaos. High Elven scholars often postulate that it was never the Old Ones’ intention that these younger species would learn magic.^[8a]

In fact Halflings are not naturally magical beings, magic just happens to them. Magic rings "happen" to be found. Magic weapons left lying around? In the middle of a battlefield? These and many other enchanted items will just "happen" to turn up in the Moot one day, and come from all over the world. Even dark, dangerous magic doesn't seem to turn a hair on their feet.^[2]

There is such a thing as a Halfling Wizard, but the time it takes to study is often better spent on more fattening exercises - eating for example. Halflings much prefer to hire "passing" Mercenary Wizards, usually dressed in grey and muttering incomprehensibly about Elves and Goblins...^[2]

Foreign Relations[]

Halflings are known for their excellent agricultural produce and cooking, but are often discriminated against by the other mortal races, particularly Men, for their short stature and perceived physical weakness. It is a common belief across the Old World that all Halflings are thieves and swindlers.

Stirlanders in the southern and central parts of that province are particularly notable for their dislike of Halflings -- as they deeply resent the 1500-year-old decision that stole their best farmland (The Moot) and gave it to the "Shorties," and the belief that all Halflings are thieves is stronger here than almost anywhere else in the Empire.

In the town of Wördern, there is a tradition when celebrating a child's birthday, to make a straw-man the size of a Halfling, and stuff it with treats and candies that he "stole" from the children. Then, it is hung from a tree while blindfolded children beat it with sticks until it breaks and "gives back" the candy. Locals deny that drunks have occasionally used a real Halfling for this. Most if not all Halflings speak their own language which is separate from Reikspiel, known as Mootish.

Military[]

Halflings in the Moot and elsewhere have never been known as a martial people, and the idea of Halfling warriors is the butt of several jokes amongst humans. The truth, however, is somewhat different. In defence of their homeland — or quarters within a human town during a riot — the normally placid Halflings can be aggressive and brave. As part of the war effort, Elder Hisme sent a large contingent of Halflings to act as scouts and skirmishers for the Imperial army. Several were mentioned in despatches by their commanders for bravery and resourcefulness, though these were often accompanied by complaints from the quartermasters.^[1]

Halfling Infantry[]

Halflings - The basic Halfling is neither very tough, very strong, or very skillful at fighting. Most Halflings, however, are excellent shots with a bow and some are exceptional fighters. Halflings are known to be intelligent (usually described as sneaky), can move in woods quite unhindered and are loyal, especially where food is concerned, this is because they are always hungry.^[2]

Halfling Militia - Halflings from the fields and villages of the Moot make excellent natural archers and stubborn fighters despite their rather diminutive size.^[2]

Cooks - Cooks are the most respected members of the Halfling community, they form the Moot's elite infantry units. Within their units are Crazed Cooks, who have eaten too may "spicy dumplings", they hide amongst the regular Cooks in their unit, jumping out during battle, whirling their heavy cookpots around.^[2]

Pantry Guards - Pantry Guards are Cooks with more than a reputation for their culinary skills. These elite fighters act as bodyguards for Halfling Chuck Wagons.^[2]

Lords of the Harvest - Lords of the Harvest are the leaders of gangs of farm labourers. They are practiced swordsmen.^[2]

Gatherers - Itinerant farm labourers are always likely to be pressed into service. Halflings are no exception.^[2]

Poachers - Poachers are excellent archers, often fielded in large numbers within a Halfling army.^[2]

Housewives - Halfling women folk are not to be messed with. They are uncannily strong, they unerringly hit the mark when there is a punch to be thrown and, due to years of child-rearing and housework, are incredibly tough. The sight of one of their men folk being killed is enough to drive them into a bloodlust.^[2]

Thieves - Although they will not admit it publicly, Halfling thieves are the best around although they do prefer to be called Scouts, it's more polite. Hiding in infantry units, they sneak out and steal magical or useful items from the enemy.^[2]

Fieldwardens - These Halflings patrol the borders of the Moot, keeping away threats and unwanted outsiders. They are skilled skirmishers who use their intimate knowledge of the Moot to maximum advantage.

Halfling Cavalry[]

War Sheep Riders - War Sheep are specially bred for their size, strength and pliability. They undergo special obedience training, but are still rather skittish.^[2]

Battle Ram Riders - Larger and more aggressive than War Sheep, Battle Rams are the Halflings heavy cavalry. They are better trained, larger and stronger. They have very thick woolly coats which makes them very hard to hurt. They also pack a powerful headbutt and have wicked horns.^[2]

Goat Riders - Large Goats are used as light cavalry, often for skirmishing and scouting. They are irritable beasts though, well known for their head butting. Due to their nimbleness, Goats are easily able to move on difficult terrain such as woods or hills.^[2]

Swan Riders - These large birds make ideal mounts for transporting troops around the battlefield quickly. They are also very aggressive and kill with their powerful wings. They usually fly in a "V" formation and their riders are the best of the Moot's bowmen and can skillfully shoot on the wing.^[2]

Great Eagle Riders - It is a well known saying that when the Halflings are in trouble, along come the Lords of the Air - The Great Eagles. These Elite units are often made up of two Eagles and their Riders.^[2]

Halfling Warbeasts[]

Poultry Swarms - Halflings make use of Chickens, geese, turkeys and ducks that can be driven, enraged, into battle as a swarm.^[2]

Sheep Dogs - The Sheep Dog, with its master mounted on a Battle Ram whistling commands at it, is usually found towards the rear of the War Sheep and Battle Ram units. Sheep Dogs are notoriously loyal to their masters and will often lay down their lives for them.^[2]

Treemen - Due to their affinity with nature, closeness to the forests and the number of fat, juicy rabbits living there, some Halflings have been befriended by Treemen who will fight alongside a Halfling army with their trusty friends riding on their shoulders.^[2]

Halfling Artillery[]

Halfling Hot Pot - Originally a desperate innovation, the Halfling Hot Pot has now become something of an institution amongst Halflings. The Hot Pot is exactly that, a pot of boiling liquid hurled at the enemy's ranks, burning, scalding and even dissolving the foe.

Halfling War Machines[]

Halftank - A slow but resilient war machines armed with a Soup Cannon.^[9a]

Reaper and Shearer - Various pieces of farming machinery are used by halflings. For the most part they are designed for cutting wheat, but they are equally at home cutting off heads. There are two types of machine, one heavier than the other. The Shearer is a lighter, smaller machine pushed into battle by two warsheep. The Reaper is a heavier machine, pushed by two Battle Rams.^[2]

Halfling Lords[]

Moot General - Halflings are not as renowned for producing legendary heroes, but the plucky little guys still have their fair share of powerful characters. Halfling armies are led by Moot Generals, who are usually seen carrying picnic baskets. Any Halfling will follow a chap with a picnic basket. In battle generals often ride upon massive Battle Rams, Great Eagles, Giant Swans, Pegasi and even fierce Baby Dragons. These particularly deadly mounts are still only "ickle" and therefore have softer scales than regular Dragons. They also have yet to develop their breath and so have no breath attack.^[2]

Chuck Wagon - This is a Halfling army's battle standard. It carries the Halflings rations for the day, a subject very dear to a Halfling's heart. The Chuck Wagon is pulled by a gigantic (at least to the Halflings) Aurochs, an ancient breed of wild cattle and apparently quite tasty. Being essentially a wild creature, it is also quite nasty.^[2]

Halfling Heroes[]

Halfling Heroes - These individuals often lead other units from the Moot into battle. Their ranks include the standard Halfling Heroes, but also Master Chefs and Housewife Ladies. They can ride into battle upon Sheep, Goats, Great Eagles, Giant Swans, Pegasi and even Baby Dragons.^[2]

Notable Halflings[]

Hisme Stoutheart - Hisme Stoutheart is the current Elder of the Mootland and therefore one of the Electors of the Empire. He is described as a rotund fellow with unquenchable passions for food and amorous pursuits, more interested in the timing of his next meal than political intrigues.

Lumpin Croop - Lumpin Croop was a former thief and poacher before he became a Mercenary, using his skills of stealth and tracking to mold the Fighting Cocks regiment into what they are today. Ever since then, Lumpin has shown great compassion towards his fellow Halflings, staying up for hours to create an ingenious plan that would hopefully bring him and his company victory upon the battlefield.

Fassbinder the Strong - Fassbinder is an unusually strong Halfling, having been captured by the Skaven before managing to crawl out alive from the mines of Skavenblight.

Canon Conflict[]

While older canon implies the possibility of the existence of Halfling wizards if a Halfling could focus their energy upon the intense study required to master the Winds of Magic,^[2] the most recent lore of the 4th Edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay explicitly notes that Halflings are unable to learn magic or cast spells.^[8b]

Miniatures[]

Trivia[]

Though the Pygmies of Lustria are supposedly simply Humans of unusually small stature, many scholars believe that they are in fact a form of dark-skinned Halfling.

The Halflings were based on the Hobbits of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series.

Halflings, with their mischevious demeanor and their knack for stealing, share many similarities with many of the creatures described in the Celtic folklore of the British Isles, such as the Leprechaun.

Sources[]

1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Sigmar's Heirs (RPG)
- 1a: pp. 59-60
- 1b: pg. 104
2: Citadel Journal 36, "The Hungry Horde - A Halfling Army for Warhammer [For WFB5 edition]"
3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Core Rulebook (RPG)
- 3a: pg. 26
- 3b: pg. 27
- 3c: pg. 215
4: The Prince of Altdorf (Short Story) by Andy Hall
5: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Archives of the Empire Vol. I (RPG)
- 5a: pg. 22
- 5b: pp. 23-32
- 5c: pp. 33-35
- 5d: pp. 36-39
6: Warhammer Armies: The Empire (8th Edition)
- 6a: pg. 15
7: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Salvation (RPG)
- 7a: pg. 126
8: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Winds of Magic (RPG)
- 8a: pg. 8
- 8b: pg. 39
9: White Dwarf 314
- 9a: pp. 90-93