MeepoTheMighty said:
It's like Wizards is a 500 pound epileptic standing in a glass kittens showroom. - RobNJ
This is the first time in my 10 years on the internet and internet-like things where I've ever become a part of a sig file

. I feel so flattered.
Me, I like new halflings. I didn't like transplanting hobbits (and yes, I know that Tolkien used "halfling" too), and I didn't much like hobbits in their original place. The new halfling is much less goofy, that's mainly why I like it. They fill the "little people" archetype without being instantaneously an object of ridicule.
When I created my own world where all the races were made more alien then they are in core D&D, I created my own version of halflings. I'll post it here, but if enough people tell me it's junking up the thread, I'll just edit it out:
The Koori (The Forest People)
The Forest People are a mysterious race. They refer to themselves as the Koori, and have a number of different names in different cultures. They’re variously known as pixies, faeries, halflings, forest spirits, forest gods, wood devils, and many other names. The Forest People’s origin is unknown--even by the Forest People themselves (or so they claim). Theories about their origin include their being offshoot of the various fey races, elvish or human cross-breedings with the fey or even a race of men or some forgotten species which as been transformed by longterm exposure to the elements. In any case, questions of origin just don't seem to matter much to them. They live lives full of joy and excitement, which is a kind of compensation for their lives' brevity.
Forest People rarely enter a fourth decade of life, and are considered mature 3 years after birth. Though Forest People infants are nearly capable of taking care of themselves, family ties in a community of Forest People are integral, and labyrinthine. In fact, Forest Person family trees are so gnarled that almost everyone in a given community is related in some way to everyone else. Within their villages, Forest People do not tend to have permanent rooms they occupy, nor do they have property that is strictly theirs.
Personality: The Forest People are born sybarites and pranksters to a one. From an early age, they test one another out, not with wrestling games, or anything so brute. They trick, tease, cajole and prank one another. Koori roughhousing involves creating a trap that causes a broken bone. This tendency can express itself in adults in a number of ways, exceedingly cruel pranks for the joy of causing harm, tricks that befuddle strictly for the sake of misdirection or (as Forest Person parents try to instill), lies and misdirection that lead the victim to a greater understanding of things.
Perhaps as a function of their short lives, Forest People also seek out sensation, be it dangerous adventure, bizarre sexual experimentation, exotic new dances, edible delicacies or psychoactive chemicals. They tend to engage in this type of behavior to excess (in fact, the concept of ‘too much’ seems to be an alien one).
For all this, Forest People tend to be loyal friends, even if they will lie to their closest confidants for the sheer pleasure of it. They seem to have an innate drive to be frustrating and pleasant all at once.
Physical Description: Forest People average slightly over three feet tall, and are very slimly built, around 20 to 25 pounds. They have vastly varying skin tones, though always an extreme (jet black, translucent pale, etc.) in a given forest, the skin tones of the local population tend to be the very similar. Their eyes are many exotic, bizarre colors, and in patterns impossible for human beings. For example, one Forest Person may have swirled black-and-white irises, like a pinwheel, where another might have a bright, vibrant pink laced through with green sparkles. Hair is often worn long, and facial and body hair is unknown among females and males, and is known in all shades, including those not often seen in nature. Forest People tend to dress for necessity--in truth most would prefer to be naked, but their delicate bodies would not hold up well against the elements unprotected--favoring clothing that they can make themselves.
The single feature for which Forest People are most renown is their wings. They vary visually, from an oil-slick rainbow transluscence to a papery, mothlike quality, but one "style" will predominate for a given group of Forest People, as per skin color, and they are always obvious, and they are always very thin. A Forest Person can safely fold back his/her wings against the body and hide them under clothes (though they may not be hidden unless they're bound in some way). Doing this for an extended period of time causes cramps, and may even cause tearing (1d6 subdual damage for every day after the first). The wings of Forest People may be a vestigal remnant of their fey blood (if they have any), for they are not fully functional. Or at least, fully functional as people would define it. To a Koori, they function just fine by allowing them to jump far and fall soft; the notion that wings are meant solely for flying is regarded as a very funny joke by the Koori.
Relations: Forest People get along very well with the elves they meet, even though they consider them a little too sober. They rarely interact with any other species other than humans, who they seem to be fascinated with, much to the sorrow of many humans. They will wander into farmlands that border their home ranges and let loose animals just to see what the farmers will do, or loosen the saddle-straps on merchant caravans that camp out for the night. It's not a displeasure with humans, however. Forest People seem to find them endlessly entertaining.
Alignment: Forest People favor chaos heavily. In fact, a neutral-aligned Forest Person would be considered extremely eccentric by his/her neighbors, and a lawful-aligned Forest Person would be considered dangerously insane. Forest People culture also encourages a tendency toward Good, though Neutrality is accepted, and even evil Forest People are welcome among their people, as long as they're not too disruptive to these joy-seeking people.
Koori Lands: Forest People live in forests. They are found in tropical jungles and on the slopes of ice-shrouded mountains among the evergreens. Any forest of even modest size is likely to have a family, if not a community. Legends say that they are born of the wood itself. Forest People druids have grown trees into networks of hollows and platforms where the tree type allows for it. Where they do not, Forest People tend to burrow among roots, or construct artfully concealed huts of deadwood.
Religion: Forest People rebel at the notion of paying fealty to any higher power, and chafe under the rules and expectations of a formal religious hierarchy. Most Forest People divine spellcasters are usually druids, though clerics who worship Nature, or totem animals are not unknown.
Language: Forest People have their own language, a musical collection of whirs, chirps, and sing-songy vowel sounds. Reading and writing are fairly new concepts to the Forest People, but they have caught on, and they use a version of the Elvish script.
Adventurers: Despite their lust for life, few Forest People actually adopt the life of adventurers. Many are loathe to leave their home community for very long. Those who do, however, are considered heroes among their people, even if they never return.
KOORI RACIAL TRAITS
· Abilities: -2 Str, +3 Dex, -1 Con, -1 Wis. Forest People’s bones are lighter than most creatures their size, and they are too flighty generally speaking to consider the consequences of their actions. However, their reflexes are preternatural.
· Saves: Ref. +2, Will -1. The games Forest People play on one another, combined with their natural speed make them adept at getting out of the way of danger, however their poor impulse control tends to mean they’re impaired in refusing alien impulses.
· Speed: The Forest People’s wings mean that they can move faster than most creatures of their size. If a Forest Person is bearing a Light encumbrance and his/her wings are free, s/he can move at the speed of a Medium-sized creature, 30 feet. If their wings are covered or bound for some reason, if they’ve been amputated, or if carrying a Medium or heavier load, then they are limited to the normal Small movement rate, 20 feet.
· Skills: If a Forest Person is flapping his/her wings, s/he gains all of the following skill-check benefits. These are lost under the same conditions as the slowed speed mentioned above: +10 circumstance bonus on Climb, Jump and Move Silently. –10 circumstance penalty on Hide checks.
· Falling and Jumping: If flapping his/her wings and lightly encumbered and wearing light or no armor, a Forest Person is able to jump incredible distances, and fall gracefully. If allowed to flap his/her wings, a Forest Person acts as though s/he had the Monk power Leap of the Clouds. That is, his/her jumping distance is not limited in any way by his/her height. When falling:
· A Forest Person may move 5 feet laterally for every 10 feet s/he falls down.
· S/he may also slow his/her descent, similar to the Monk power, Slow Fall. If s/he cannot get within arm’s reach of a wall, s/he may ignore any damage from the first 20 feet of a fall. If s/he is within arm’s reach of a wall, s/he will take no damage, no matter how far s/he falls.
· A Forest Person’s favored class is Rogue.
Adulthood Bbn, Rog, Soc Brd, Ftr, Pld, Rng Clr, Drd, Mnk, Wiz
3 years +1d4 months +2d6 months +1d2 years
Middle Age Old Venerable Maximum Age
10 years 20 years 30 years +1d12 years
Base Height Height Mod. Base Weight Weight Mod.
Male 2' 10" +2d4 25 lb. x1 lb.
Female 2' 8" +2d4 20 lb. x1 lb.