new way to do races and subraces?

[SylverFlame]

This is a group I thought up concerning Halflings. I didn't like giving them a new sub-race, so... This probably overlaps other races from products, so if you notice anything that cuts a little close to copyright, let me know. I hate it when I rip people off:

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Joba-Hin

Significant historical events: Long ago, when the Halflings were still a sedentary race, the Joba-Hin were an extended family of farmers and hunters. Known for this, they were a highly regarded people. Then, when the Hin began "The Wandering" (their great nomadic existence), the Joba-Hin disappeared. Now, they have returned.

Appearance: Joba-Hin are teh same height and weight of other halflings, though their clothes are different. Favouring functional yet attractive clothes, the Joba-Hin mix colours to create depth and perspective. They are partial to browns, reds and thin yellow/gold highlighting.

Personality: The Joba-Hin are a very family oriented group. In any situation were family is affected, Joba-Hin will always side with the family. For this reason many adventurers make their party members of the family. Loyalty is very important. Someone who breaks loyalty is considered an outcast, even if the break in loyalty benefits the family. Many of the greatest mythical figures of the Joba-Hin belong to this outcast status; it is a group that are not hated, simply mourned. The Joba-Hin's greatest dissimilarity with other Halflings is a sedentary nature. They tend to settle down, though they are not afraid of travel.

Society: In Joba-Hin society the decisions and laws are made by an elected body of twelve members and a mayor. Elections are held were thirteen people are elected by all members of society over the age of sixteen and who support the group (outcasts and unemployed do not vote, though oddly they can be elected). Of these thirteen, the elected members elect thier own mayor, who simply votes in a tie, and has no other special powers beyond being the voice of the group to outsiders.
Marrying age is sixteen, and few Joba-Hin are unmarried past the age of twenty. Marriage is not the same as in human society, as marriage simply makes two families a single family. In this way, all members of the Joba-Hin group are essentially one family. The married couple is free to decide who each other have relations with, and children are raised by the group, so individual parentage is not all that important.
The nature of outcasts in society is an odd one. They are welcome everywhere, though they will never make their homes in the settlement. As well, they always eat alone. They are protected by the group but are always a little distant. Outcasts rarely rejoin the group.

Culture: The single most important things to the Joba-Hin are family and loyalty. Since you are related to everyone in the group this makes life a little difficult since one must keep the groups rights in mind whenever one is making a deal with others. Aside from this, there are no real cultural taboos.

Relations: Among other peoples the Joba-Hin are unknown. Only other halflings have ever met them and they are "new" to the global scene. Dwarves tend to like their family values.

Interesting tidbits: Joba-Hin come from an agricultural and hunting background. As such, every member knows the basics of cooking. Due to this, cooking and hunting terms pervade their speech. "Boiling the potatoes" is a euphemism to the Joba-Hin for a good "relationship" between two members. If a Joba-Hin tells someone "I need a new bowstring" then they are telling the person to go away or there will be trouble. To the Joba-Hin these methods of speech are common knowledge. However other races have not always been privy to this information.
Another thing people should be aware of is that the problems of one Joba-Hin are the problems of an entire people. Many a bar patron has insulted a single funny-dressed halfling to find that fourteen similarly dressed individuals are climbing all over them punching and kicking. A Joba-Hin will always aid their family, even if it is an outcast.

Favoured Class: Choose either ranger or rogue. Once chosen this may never change. Most NPC Joba-Hin are experts. Adepts, druids and arcane magic users are rare, though there is usually one in every tribe.

Background Skills: Add four skill points to any of the following: Knowledge (agriculture), Wilderness Lore, Handle Animal. Also, Wilderness lore is always a class skill.
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So, what do you think?

 

[Afrodyte]

SylverFlame> This is very good, and INTERESTING! I'd actually play a halfling if the divisions were more like this. By the way, I would replace Knowledge (agriculture) with Knowledge (nature) because the latter is often used as a subset of the former, and is generally more useful. Being rustic, sedentary folk, though, I do have to ask why you chose to make Wilderness Lore a class skill. Perhaps Profession (farmer) would do instead? Then again, having the player choose which one fits the character best is probably a better option.

One question, though: which type of halfling do they most resemble in stature? Tallfellows? Lightfeet? Other types?

 

[William Ronald]

All told, a very interesting thread. Thanks for starting it, Afrodyte.

I like the idea that different members of a race can have different culture. Culture reflects many factors beyond genetics. Two genetically similar groups can have markedly different cultures, as shown in the Joba-Hin halfling.

I think the approach of adding more diverse cultures to sub races can improve a game. It can also keep players guessing and add to the richness of a setting.

Mind you, there are precedents. Someone on these boards, in reviewing Races of Faerun, mentioned an orcish culture that had rejected violence and accepted the worship of the peaceful goddess Eldath.

Characters who run against the grain can add a lot to a game. The same is true for sub races. (Hmm, this could really explain some of the concerns that have been raised on these boards about Sun Elves in the Realms. Different cultures of the same elven sub race can be quite different.)

 

[Afrodyte]

William> Regarding the sun elves, I'm not familiar enough with the FR setting to comment. However, it would be intriguing to make different variants for wood elves and wild elves. Have you done anything along these lines?

 

[SylverFlame]

Afrodyte>I like the change to Know(nature). The reason I went with Wilderness Lore as a class skill was because it is the skill that acts the most as a catch-all for nature survival. Gathering berries, hunting, etcetera. It would make just as much sense to shift this to a knowledge skill though, and it would lessen the power balance issue... I'll leave it to the discretion of anyone that uses the culture (also, everyone is welcome to yoink it, I'd be flattered if you did). Lets go for lightfeet, they're the base race in the PHB so it makes the most sense.

Also, thanks for the complement Afrodyte. The fact that someone would play these guys even though they wouldn't normally play halflings is pretty cool.

 

[Afrodyte]

*shameless bump first*

I just might, when I get around to designing a halfling world.