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Author Topic: Different Interpretations of Halflings!  (Read 2217 times)

VisionStorm

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Different Interpretations of Halflings!
« Reply #30 on: May 27, 2020, 01:36:57 AM »
Quote from: Slipshot762;1131289
Dwarves not having any females but rather reproducing via special sarcophogi that must be filled with gems and precious metals to forge a new dwarf explains the trope of dwarven avarice quite nicely I think.


Alternately Dwarves could be dug off the minerals from the earth. Every so often dwarven miners will come by a stone casing in the form of a dwarf. They will carefully dig the casing from the earth and take it back to their dwarf-homes, where the dwarf inside the casing will eventually mature and break out of the stone fully formed! Dwarf-casings are often found in the richest veins of whatever mine the dwarves have settled, and the dwarves dig ever diligently in the hopes of finding more of their kin born of the earth. In the process, the dwarves will make off with plenty of fine metals and gem stones, as they dig deeper into the mine trying to find the richest veins, where more of their kin could be born.

Pat
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Different Interpretations of Halflings!
« Reply #31 on: May 27, 2020, 09:59:12 AM »
Another more science fantasy approach: If a dwarf can earn a dwarf-weight of gold, he can petition the priests of the life-forge for the right to craft an heir. It starts with a grand ceremony, where priests clad in white robes and coats lead the way through the warrens, swaying and chanting the ancient words passed down from master to apprentice. As they lead the way, the priests periodically stop to brandish the coins and wrought jewelry the father has earned, seeking the favor of the spirits of the breathing mountain. Eventually, following a long, winding path, they reach the vast chamber of the heart. As the entire community watches with heat-flushed faces, the priests cast the offering of gold into the crucible, where it melts down into a bubbling pool

Then using the rote rituals of their caste, which have been drilled into them from childhood, the priests perform the dance of birth. They move gracefully from station to station, stroking and manipulating the strange sculptures and carvings. In response, lights start to dance across the room, and ancient sounds of clanking and whirring emerge from the earth. The molten gold sluices along channels, and into one of the molds. After a time of cooling, the mold is broken, and with great pincers and an iron stretcher, they carry the still hot but firm shape to one of the vats, and cast it in with a burst of steam and sacred cries. The assemblage of faithful below, staring through the windows in the vat, gasp as they see the form captured by a net, which cradles and slowly swaddles the vaguely humanoid golden mass, suspending it in the liquid. Eventually the dwarven witnesses shuffle out of the room, in pairs, leaving the priests behind at their stations, and the soon-to-father kneeling in prayer before the vat.

Weeks pass. The petitioner remains at his post in front of the vat. Occasionally a young priest offers a bulb full of liquid to the potential father, sustaining him. He may become delirious or ecstatic; if necessary, he will be restrained by the attentive priests, with chains bolted to the floor. As time passes, the priests introduce new materials into the vat. Layer after layer builds up, hiding the glossy golden heart with coatings, woven strands, and odd little implants. Eventually, a recognizably dwarven shape starts to emerge. The final layer is the skin, rough, dark, and hardy, as dwarves should be. At this point, a bell chimes, resonating through the warrens. Those closest to the new father drop what they're doing, and race to the birth chamber. Others finish what they're doing, and put away their tools. But except for a few guards, eventually the entire community filters in.

They wait in silence. Eventually there's a gurgle and a rush, and the crowd gasps as the vat starts to empty. The net falls flat, and the body within slumps to the floor. The father-to-be-no-longer dashes to the door, or if restrained, starts to pull against the chains. The priests gently release him if necessary, and then with a spin and a quick dance, they open the door. The new father surges inside, and cradles his new son. The crowd watches in silent reverence. There may be tears, there may be words or just noises, but that is as it should be.

The dwarfchild is dried with towels, draped in a gown, and placed on a stretcher. Then a new procession takes the father and son to their home warren, and leaves them. The son will wake in a few days, but that is a personal matter. Only the father and a senior priest attend.

Gold is malleable, bright and beautiful, and never tarnishes. Dwarves are proud of their heart, and believe other races are made of inferior metals.

Omega

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Different Interpretations of Halflings!
« Reply #32 on: May 27, 2020, 09:51:55 PM »
Quote from: Shrieking Banshee;1130651
In some of the debatable quality extended lore, they were also the elder progenitor species with biotech.


That actually made it into the main lore. They are the progenitors and had advanced biotech. Then at some point screwed up practically everything.

VisionStorm

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Different Interpretations of Halflings!
« Reply #33 on: May 27, 2020, 10:12:21 PM »
Quote from: Omega;1131546
That actually made it into the main lore. They are the progenitors and had advanced biotech. Then at some point screwed up practically everything.

But their screw ups eventually led to the creation of every other race, including humans. Who eventually discovered defiler magic and started the Cleansing Wars, which really screwed everything up and turned everything into desert, and the halflings into cannibals.

Omega

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Different Interpretations of Halflings!
« Reply #34 on: May 27, 2020, 10:39:01 PM »
In my own campaign Halflings had a sizable kingdom to the west. In various iterations for different groups I played around with some variations of culture had in mind. They were bordered on the north by goblins and actually got along fairly well with them and together held the only pass north through a long mountain chain that stretched east to west bisecting the map. Gnomes also to the north they on the other hand did not get along with, at all. (Gnomes were not a PC race).

I had them trading alot of agricultural produce with their neighboring kingdoms and producing some sought after foods and drinks as well as a sturdy breed of ponies. I liked to give them a more Romanian and Gypsy style of culture and dress. I even played around with the idea of placing Ravenloft there and having Strahd be a halfling!

Tait Ransom

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Different Interpretations of Halflings!
« Reply #35 on: May 28, 2020, 12:47:32 AM »
Eberron had dinosaur riding mafia halflings with some plains Indian thrown in for good measure.

Omega

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Different Interpretations of Halflings!
« Reply #36 on: May 28, 2020, 02:13:06 AM »
Quote from: VisionStorm;1131548
But their screw ups eventually led to the creation of every other race, including humans. Who eventually discovered defiler magic and started the Cleansing Wars, which really screwed everything up and turned everything into desert, and the halflings into cannibals.

See! It is all the halflings fault!