Need help with new idea for D20 Modern campaign

[Drawmack]

Halflings are a small and secluded group of beings who live high in the andes.

They are the direct descendants of the Incas and Myans who retreated into the mountains to save themselves from the spanish conquistadors.

Due to lack of oxygen and food rationing over time they have grown shorter while the general population has grown taller. Living in the highlands has made them nimble, sure of foot and aware of their surroundings.

They now have begun to venture forth from their mountains to regain their rightful place as the only intelligent race in central and southern america.

 

[s/LaSH]

s/LaSH, I just read through all of Dungeon Damage in, oh, I'd say, about 2,2.5 weeks. Good stuff. Might steal a few ideas, horribly twist them and put them in this campaign (like the chimp-trogs and the Moslem gnolls)

Don't let me stop you. I heartily approve of horrible twisting, in fact... read DD for the next couple of weeks (after the current... situation resolves) and you'll see some other horrible stuff, which my secrecy instinct won't let me reveal. I think it would be well-suited to a modern campaign... you'll see why.

 

[takyris]

Incidentally, not to be hugely politically correct, but the preferred term these days is "dwarf" or "little person". Midget is an insult.

As for the halflings, given their sneakiness and short stature, you could use the following:

"There are some events so terrible that witnessing them can drive the soul out of a man. In the shadows at night, a creature lurks, a creature whose eyes burn with hellish fire as he seeks flesh to eat and souls to torture. Most of the time, the tormented soul is killed quickly and terribly, but on occasion, the creature is slow, or sloppy, or perhaps it enjoys tormenting its prey a little too much. Whatever the reason, the humans have a chance. Not a chance to survive, no. The creature is too terrible for that. But a chance to take some of their soul, the soul that the creature is even now devouring, and put it somewhere safe. The creature's eyes flare with fire, and the shadows of the humans are small behind them. The creature, they think in one last moment of precious freedom, will never look there.

And in one moment of escape, a part of the tortured human soul flees into that small little shadow. And that small little shadow sneaks off into the night, the human soul slowly shaping it into a smaller image of the person it once was. The halfling remembers little of its former life, and what it does remember, in fits and starts, it associates with the terrible pain it endured in those final moments. Halflings trust no one save other halflings, others who have borne the same torment and escaped, at least partially, to be free. They are the souls of the desperate, the survivors -- this explains their luck. They move well in the shadows and are fleet of foot, though their small size and fragile nature leaves them weak and slender.

And above all, remember that hallfings are terribly frightened, terribly scarred, and terribly, terribly angry.

There are some events so terrible that witnessing them can drive the soul out of a man. In the shadows at night, a creature lurks, a creature whose eyes burn with hellish fire as he seeks flesh to eat and souls to torture. And now, the halflings are waiting for their chance to strike back."

-Tacky

 

[jonas889]

How about this. The halfling is an error in deaths design. Everything is fallible, everyone makes mistakes. Even death.

The Scythe of death cuts deep and divides the body and the soul. But once in a great while, body and soul is not seperated, but good and evil. Since the body and soul are still one, the victim does not perish but is split in half.
Two smaller forms emerge where there was one. These "half'lings encompass the extremes of personality. The good halflings are free spirits who roam the woods and care for nothing but joy. The evil halflings care for only destruction, manipulation and power.

Once Halflings are seperated they retain no memory but the side they emerged as. Good only remember the good, Evil remembers the bad. It is said that Halflings seek out other halflings of the same persuasion and have multiplied. It is also said they live in solitude never finding a place that fits their one sided mentality. Regardless, it is impossible to tell the difference between good and bad, making them all that more alarming.

I don't know. How's that sound? Work with me here.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

"There are some events so terrible that witnessing them can drive the soul out of a man.

<snip>

And above all, remember that hallfings are terribly frightened, terribly scarred, and terribly, terribly angry.

There are some events so terrible that witnessing them can drive the soul out of a man. In the shadows at night, a creature lurks, a creature whose eyes burn with hellish fire as he seeks flesh to eat and souls to torture. And now, the halflings are waiting for their chance to strike back."

-Tacky

Yowza. That is good, takyris. Really good. Hell, even if I don't use it for halflings in a d20 modern campaign, this just begs to be used for something.

 

[Tellerve]

I agree, very neat introduction for the beginnings of halflings

Tellerve

 

[takyris]

Thanks! I was in a moderately horror-ful mood, and I sorta went with it.

The irony being that I still have no idea what to do in my OWN campaign. I keep veering between wanting fantastic horror and wanting some kind of telepathic extraterrestrial conspiracy piece. I've even considered mixing the two, although that seems to keep ringing badly in my own mind.

Still, I've got a few months 'til the D&D campaign winds down. I'll think of something.

Hope it helped someone's campaign, anyway. I had fun writing it.

Thanks,
-tacky