Halflings

The Halflings are the smallest of the civilised peoples of the Old World, a comfortable and unambitious folk who value a full larder and a warm hearth far above glory or conquest. Standing barely waist-high to a man, they dwell chiefly in the fertile pastureland of the Moot, a small province granted to them within the Empire, where they tend their fields, orchards and larders with contented devotion under the protection of the Empire of Man.

Halflings are renowned above all for their cooking, and their master chefs are prized in the kitchens of every noble house from Altdorf to distant Tilea. They are a peaceable people who would far rather feast than fight, yet they are not without courage; when their homes are threatened they take up bow and cleaver readily enough, and their small size and quick fingers make them uncannily good scouts, thieves and sharpshooters. Many serve in the Empire's armies as archers and irregulars.

Overlooked and underestimated by grander races, the halflings endure through good humour, adaptability and a talent for staying out of harm's way. While men build empires and elves lament their fading glory, the halflings simply get on with the serious business of the next meal, and in a world so full of horror there is a quiet wisdom in their contented, well-fed peace.