Saturday, December 17, 2022

OSR: Race-as-Class: Halfling

by Folda
The Little Folk, the Hoba, the Hollow-folk, they go by many names.  To some they are signs of good fortune, while to others they are sneak-thieves, pilfering valuables and disappearing into the murk as quick as they came.  Regardless of how you feel about them though, they leave a big impression, despite their small size.

Halflings are small creatures, half the size of a human with clawed, furred feet like that of a cougar.  They have broad furry tails and long twitchy ears tipped with tufts of the same color fur. They have wide, slit-pupil eyes that flash in the torchlight.  Their hands are quick and clever and they speak rapidly, always moving, as if they are about to burst into dance.  They are an exuberant folk, energetic and always seeking out new opportunities.  But other than a few universal traits, they are as varied as any other race. 

From where do you hail?

1d4

1- A hidden community in the hills or forests.  Your people prized security above all else.  You rarely leave our villages and when you encounter outsiders, you hide from them.  To reveal the location of one of your hidden villages is the ultimate act of betrayal.  Most of the people who live near you don't know you exist and those who do largely attribute any signs of your presence to ghosts or mischievious spirits.  You are the reason all those yeomen are terrified to go into the "haunted" forest.
2- Your people live in a small communities adjacent to one of the larger races.  You are a client race, who work extensively with your larger, more powerful neighbors.  You do this by filling vital niches very well.  Maybe your community is famous for making extremely high-quality alcohol, or baked goods, or for breeding the absolute tastiest chicken you'll ever taste.   3- Your people are extremely isolationist and militant.  You don't associate with other races.  Your men practice an extreme form of masculinity that is focused on being as intimidating and dangerous as possible, as well as pursuing violent revenge against anyone who crosses you.  This either works really well, and people leave you alone because they're not stupid, or it hasn't and now everyone around you hates you.  Alternatively, it's a mix of both. 
4- Your people have no homeland, instead leading nomadic lifestyles.  You live primarily off your herds, though your tribe might also have other crafts they practice when they encounter big folk, such as repairing broken items, playing music, etc.  You probably have a reputation for being thieves and trouble-makers, and it might even be well-earned. 

Why are you out here, among the Big People?

1d4

1- It is a rite of passage among the youth of your village.  Go out and experience the world outside to see if your community is the path for you.  Alternatively, you might be out here to see how dangerous it is and why your communities' ways are the best, or simply to prove yourself and return.
2- You are on a mission to reach another community of Halflings.  Your mission, once there, is to find yourself a suitable bride. 
3- Your village has need of a rare resource or talent that is not found among your kin and neighbors.  The long-term survival of your village depends on your success out here. 
4- You are an exile.  Perhaps you seek to redeem yourself with great deeds to purchase for yourself a return to your old community, or perhaps you merely seek to find a new place for yourself in a world that has no place for you.     

from here

Halfling
Starting HP: 1/3 Con
Fighting Spirit: +1 FS per Halfling level, up to COG score
Atk Modifier: +1 per Halfling level, max +7.
Starting Equipment: Sack of treats, comfortable shoes, walking stick, sling or shortbow, book of recipes, lucky charms

Prerequisites: To have no levels in any other class.  At character creation, choose this for your first class level.

How to become a Halfling: You can only be born as a Halfling.

1: Small, Lucky
2: Climber, Lightfoot Agility
3: Pot of Gold
4: Sneak Attack
5: Fortunate One
6: Tiny-Footed Terror
7: Fortune Favors the Small
8: Steps like Butterfly Kisses, Overflowing Fortune
9: End of the Rainbow

1: Small, Lucky

Small: You're half the size of Medium creatures.  This gives you disadvantage on all grappling and strength checks against them and means you can't wear armor or clothing designed for them without looking ridiculous and gaining no advantages from it.  However, you also gain advantage on all Dexterity checks made against such creatures.  You can also easily fit into small spaces that would be difficult for them to fit into.  You also get +2 to any rolls made to apply stealth, sneak or hide. 

Lucky: X times per day (min 1), where X is your CHA modifier, you can reroll any d20 roll you make. 

2: Climber, Lightfoot Agility

Climber: When making a check to climb, you can add your CON modifier or +1, whatever's higher, to the roll.   

Lightfoot Agility: X times per day, where X is your DEX modifier, you can replace any roll made to avoid a negative consequence with a DEX save.  This can only help you evade things being agile would help with, such as avoiding being stabbed, crushed by a heavy object, falling from a height, etc.  Referee's Discretion applies. 

3: Pot of Gold

Pot of Gold: Whenever you reroll a d20, you may "store" the original result.  At any point, you may replace a d20 roll with the result you stored using this ability.  That consumes that result.  You may not store more than one result at a time. 

4: Sneak Attack

Sneak Attack: When attacking an enemy that cannot see or detect you or from concealment, on a hit you may roll your damage dice twice and select the better result.   

5: Fortunate One

Fortunate One: At the start of each day, you may roll X d20s, where X is your COG modifier.  At any point during the day, you may replace any creature's d20 roll with one of the results of that you rolled at the start of the day.  Unused d20 results are lost when you next take a long rest. 

6: Tiny-Footed Terror

Tiny-Footed Terror: Your Critical Hit range expands.  You now score a Critical Hit on a roll of "19" or "20".

7: Fortune Favors the Small

Fortune Favors the Small: If an enemy rolls a "1" on a d20 while in your presence (you can see or hear them/they occupy the same general space as you, Referee's Discretion), X times per day, where X is your STR modifier, you can force them to roll on the table below. 

Agonizing Failure Table:

1d6

1- You drop your weapon, if you're wielding one.  The weapon lands far away or in some place that is otherwise difficult to reach.  You must spend an action retrieving it.  If you're using natural weapons, you break a claw/lose a fang and do -1 less damage for the rest of the battle. 
2- Your armor breaks.  You take +1d4 damage from physical sources for the rest of the fight. 
3- You accidentally damage an ally.  Make an attack roll against the nearest ally you could harm.  On a hit, you do damage as normal.  If you could not harm any of your allies, you take 1d4 damage as you accidentally injury yourself.
4- You disrupt your own senses through injury or error.  You get some grit in your eye or were standing too close to a source of loud noise and now your senses are impaired.  You take a -1d6 penalty to all Atk rolls for the rest of the fight.
5- Due to damage to your clothing, 1d4 items in your inventory spill out onto the ground.  These cannot be items you are currently holding or using.  You couldn't lose your sword, but you could lose your coin purse, spare knives, etc.
6- A cruel twist of fate causes you to suddenly fall into the cross-hairs of misfortune.  Immediately, something dangerous happens to you.  This will depend on where you are, if you're on a narrow ledge, the danger could be you having to make a DEX save to avoid slipping and falling, or if you're on a mountain, it could be an incoming avalanche or rockslide.  The Referee does not have to give you a save or a chance to mitigate the danger, though he is encouraged to do so.      

8: Steps like Butterfly Kisses, Overflowing Fortune

Steps like Butterfly Kisses: You have advantage on all stealth checks, unless something is actively hampering your ability to employ stealth or hide.

Overflowing Wealth: Your 'Pot of Gold' feature can now store up to 3 results.

9: End of the Rainbow

End of the Rainbow: Once a day, you can ask the Referee for something specific to happen.  If the Referee determines such a thing is possible, he will assign a DC to it and call for a roll. If you succeed on the roll, you will receive what you asked for.  The Referee may choose to mitigate what you asked for, especially if the request was vague or hard to fulfill.  But if you roll it, you will receive some shade of what you asked for.

For example, if you ask for a rockslide in the mountains, that would be a simpler thing to ask for than a rockslide in an open valley.  However, on a success, the Referee may allow a mudslide or flood to occur, or perhaps a building to fall upon the source of your ire.  Alternatively, depending on the circumstances, the Referee may tell you that there is no chance of what you asked for occurring and telling you to use another ability or pick something else.  

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