Halfling Subraces
Ghostwise Halflings
Ghostwise halflings are easily the most uncommon of the three subraces of halfling living in Arenthyor. They are elusive and do not welcome strangers to their lands. Instead, they prefer to pursue a nomadic way of life within the Shire, associating mainly with those of their own clan. Unlike other halflings, ghostwise halflings do not have a special name for themselves, as they are often only vaguely aware that other subraces exist, referring to themselves only as the general racial name hin.
Physical characteristics
Because of their reclusive nature, ghostwise halflings exhibit several unique traits. Among the most unusual of these is their speak without sound ability, which allows ghostwise to use a very limited form of psionics in order to communicate silently with any creature within twenty feet of themselves. The ability is limited in that a ghostwise can only communicate in such a way with one creature at a time and that creature must share a common language with them. However, fortune seems not to favor the ghostwise as well as their other halfling kin.
Culture
Because clan is the focus of the ghostwise culture, it is not surprising to find it the central factor in their society as well. The wanderlust that is one of the most readily discernible traits of both the lightfoot and strongheart subraces still survives in the ghostwise, but on a more limited scale. The nomadic wanderings of the ghostwise clans are confined almost exclusively to the Shire and its environs.
Many ghostwise clans designate a natural feature – a distinctive rock, a lightning-struck tree, a stretch of a particular stream – as the center of their territory and base their wanderings on their relative distance from this place. Some clans carry a tiny portion of this central feature with them as they travel, to reinforce their spiritual connection with their territory and their homeland. Such tokens might take the form of clay vials filled with stream water, small leather pouches filled with dirt from a specific spot, small bits of rock broken from a boulder and worn as a necklace, or even bits of tree bark carried in the hollowed end of a deer's antler.
Among these clans such tokens are considered a sacred charge: to lose or misplace one is a mistake requiring that the transgressor atone in a manner designated by the clan leader. If the halfling who makes the error is a cleric or druid, the penance is assigned by a representative of his faith. The act of atonement – often a quest of other dangerous mission or errand – must be completed successfully before the halfling may obtain another portion of the clan's central feature. Willfully destroying a clan token is a grievous crime, punishable by exile (a fate far worse than death in the culture of the ghostwise halflings). The only permissible use of the tokens is when a member of the clan falls in battle. In that event, all nearby hin who share the same tribe as the fallen scatter their tokens, be they wood, water, or stone, around the corpse. The hin believe that doing so calls ensures that no fell spirits will disturb the body of their fallen clan member until it can be attended to properly. The ghostwise hin clans cremate their dead rather than inter them.
While clans keep to themselves, they do not shun one another when they meet in their travels. Instead, they exchange news and information about the forests' conditions and creatures. Indeed, the matriarchs and patriarchs who lead the clans often meet formally to discuss matter of mutual interest and importance. Multiple clans cooperate for the purpose of mutual defense when they are threatened by a common enemy, whether it be a band of destructive humanoids or a marauding band of trolls.
Relations with other races
The defining characteristics of the ghostwise halflings is their reverence for and devotion to their clans. Family is important to most halflings and halfling communities, but the ghostwise hin regard the familial bond with a degree of respect some might call obsession.
source: adapted for Arenthyor from: http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Ghostwise_halfling
Physical characteristics
Because of their reclusive nature, ghostwise halflings exhibit several unique traits. Among the most unusual of these is their speak without sound ability, which allows ghostwise to use a very limited form of psionics in order to communicate silently with any creature within twenty feet of themselves. The ability is limited in that a ghostwise can only communicate in such a way with one creature at a time and that creature must share a common language with them. However, fortune seems not to favor the ghostwise as well as their other halfling kin.
Culture
Because clan is the focus of the ghostwise culture, it is not surprising to find it the central factor in their society as well. The wanderlust that is one of the most readily discernible traits of both the lightfoot and strongheart subraces still survives in the ghostwise, but on a more limited scale. The nomadic wanderings of the ghostwise clans are confined almost exclusively to the Shire and its environs.
Many ghostwise clans designate a natural feature – a distinctive rock, a lightning-struck tree, a stretch of a particular stream – as the center of their territory and base their wanderings on their relative distance from this place. Some clans carry a tiny portion of this central feature with them as they travel, to reinforce their spiritual connection with their territory and their homeland. Such tokens might take the form of clay vials filled with stream water, small leather pouches filled with dirt from a specific spot, small bits of rock broken from a boulder and worn as a necklace, or even bits of tree bark carried in the hollowed end of a deer's antler.
Among these clans such tokens are considered a sacred charge: to lose or misplace one is a mistake requiring that the transgressor atone in a manner designated by the clan leader. If the halfling who makes the error is a cleric or druid, the penance is assigned by a representative of his faith. The act of atonement – often a quest of other dangerous mission or errand – must be completed successfully before the halfling may obtain another portion of the clan's central feature. Willfully destroying a clan token is a grievous crime, punishable by exile (a fate far worse than death in the culture of the ghostwise halflings). The only permissible use of the tokens is when a member of the clan falls in battle. In that event, all nearby hin who share the same tribe as the fallen scatter their tokens, be they wood, water, or stone, around the corpse. The hin believe that doing so calls ensures that no fell spirits will disturb the body of their fallen clan member until it can be attended to properly. The ghostwise hin clans cremate their dead rather than inter them.
While clans keep to themselves, they do not shun one another when they meet in their travels. Instead, they exchange news and information about the forests' conditions and creatures. Indeed, the matriarchs and patriarchs who lead the clans often meet formally to discuss matter of mutual interest and importance. Multiple clans cooperate for the purpose of mutual defense when they are threatened by a common enemy, whether it be a band of destructive humanoids or a marauding band of trolls.
Relations with other races
The defining characteristics of the ghostwise halflings is their reverence for and devotion to their clans. Family is important to most halflings and halfling communities, but the ghostwise hin regard the familial bond with a degree of respect some might call obsession.
source: adapted for Arenthyor from: http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Ghostwise_halfling
