Alternate Ecology of Dwarves, Gnomes, and Halflings, part 4: Halflings

In part 1 of this series ( https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/an-alternate-ecology-of-dwarves-gnomes-and-halflings-part-1-dwarves ) we covered making dwarves more interesting and distinct by melding real world science ideas with ancient myth. In part 2, we covered deep and mountain dwarves in more depth. ( https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/an-alternate-ecology-of-dwarves-gnomes-and-halflings-part-2-more-dwarves )

In part 3, we talked about how hill dwarves and gnomes became distinct ethnic groups or lineages. (https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/alternate-ecology-of-dwarves-gnomes-and-halflingsalternate-ecology-of-dwarves-gnomes-and-halflings-part-3-gnomes )

Now let's talk about halflings, and how, in this schema, they actually developed as an offshoot of dwarves and gnomes.

It would be remiss of me not to discuss halfling origins here, as in , how they entered modern fantasy. On the surface, they are not directly derived from folklore and myth as so many other lineages are, but from the works of JRR Tolkien, in the form of Hobbits. BUT. Hobbits, honestly, are described as stealthy, hole dwelling (often anyway) beings, much like humans but smaller. They are homebodies, very domestic, and live a rural, agrarian lifestyle, fond of good food, comfort, and drink. In many ways, they resemble household spirits or fey like the domovoi or brownies. They also represent, to a certain extent, the ability of common folk who believe themselves small to have great effects on the world, often by simple kindness and determination to do the right thing.

This greatly affected my decision to call my halflings, my hobbit equivalents, brownies. However, now we'll start to explain where they came from in context of the lore, inside the fiction of the world we're looking at here.

As the Red Dwarves (aka hill dwarves) spread and adapted to the surface, some of them focused almost entirely on agrarian arts, on the crafts of growing and cultivating food. They fell in love with the sky, with green and growing things, with rolling hills far from the great mountains of their forebears. In many ways, because of the time all this took, the resultant halflings are among the youngest races, even newer than humans. Seeking peace and plenty, they discovered little lands of their own, far from the perils of the mountains, of the cavernous Lands Below. They did not settle too near the elves, either, nor did they really truck with the fey. They built their small rural farming villages, often with a mixture of hole dwellings in the hills, and houses on their slopes and in broad meadows. They defended themselves, on the whole, by being far from most threats, by stealth, by caution.

Though still dwarves, and friendly enough with the other ethnicities, the Daur-Burin, or Brown Dwarves, keep far more to themselves, trading still, but less. Over time, they come more in contact with the humans who also live in the safer areas of the rolling hills and plains, and begin to trade somewhat with them as well, while remaining somewhat isolationist and cautious.

As in many settings, the different strains of brownie or halfling may well have to do with which of the other ancestries they live closest to: stouts near dwarves, lightfeet near humans, etc.

In nations where the humans have (as humans do) colonized their homes and probably forcibly incorporated the brownies into their 'civilization', brownies often end up as household servants, because of their skill at cooking, at domestic tasks, their cautious and perfectionist natures, while their small size and lesser strength make them unsuitable for many more physical jobs. Others, rebelling against forced servitude, whether it be for pittance wages or outright enslavement, become rogues and scoundrels, using their small size and stealth to commit crimes with little chance of getting caught.

What do you think?