Todd Kenreck: Halflings can be unusually lucky, in fact, I'm talking to Mike Mearls about why halflings in the D&D multiverse live such a charmed existence.

Mike Mearls: Halflings and gnomes are very different compared to elves and dwarves in that they aren't embroiled in the same level of cosmic struggle that other folk are. Halflings are very interesting in that in the mythological record, the history of the cosmos, there are some who believe that, actually the halflings, whoever created them, its not clear. Some folks say it is Yondalla but others say it was another god who disappeared, maybe slain by Gruumsh or went into hiding, who can say.

What we do know is that the halflings, they tend, because of the cosmic luck they manifest, that luck seems to apply to their culture as a whole. That Yondalla found them, saw them struggling to survive, they're physically weak, they're not skilled mages but they are good at hiding and that's something that, a gift that she gave to them, along with their luck.

That a halfling village, tucked away in a small forgotten corner of the forest, when the orc horde comes rampaging through, the orcs just happen to miss the trails that lead to that small village. That when the human kingdoms go to war, they just simply overlook the fact there's a haling village in the area, no one thinks to go raid it or pillage it. Maybe the records of it are misplaced, maybe the map, whoever the cartographer, forgot to take note of it or put it on the wrong spot of the map. Things like that.

The halflings always seem to have bounces go their way. It's not bulletproof, the halflings do have to endure some of the dangers of the world of D&D. More often than not it seems like when the halflings need a little bit of luck to keep them safe, they seem to get it.

This really contributes to this very almost idyllic existence they enjoy. They love their homes, they love simple creature comforts in many ways, they haven't had to endure the same struggle that other folk have had to because they are so good at hiding, whether they know it or not, they're good at finding those forgotten corners of the world and just living in quiet, peaceful, rustic existence. Farming, brewing, each day just having its own simple pleasures and simple challenges.

That is not the entire story of halflings because we know there are halfling adventures. In the halfling pantheon, their deities teach them through stories, rhymes, jokes. The halfling deities prepare the halflings for the challenges they might face but they do it in a way that is almost learning by accident. Some halflings, when they start to reach adulthood, they just get this kind of urge to travel. The halflings call it, "Having fancy feet," they just kind of want to see the world, what's beyond the field, what's beyond our village.

Most halflings don't feel that, they're happy to take up a trade or start farming and continue on with their lives but some halflings just get this urge to just go explore. Their deity maybe lures them to a life of, "Okay, lets go see what's on the other side of the hills."

In these adventures, halflings can go out and almost invariably become adventurers. Some might adventure for years, some just have a few adventures then they come back home. They're the ones who see the world for what it is and start to understand what's happening and understand, "Oh, there are threats. We are lucky that we don't have to deal with these things."

Just in case, these halfling adventurers who go and explore and come back with stories, they carry of the sort of tradition of the gods. As and example, you might have say a halfling fighter, halfling that goes out in the world, becomes a fighter and comes back with a Horn of Valhalla. He might tell stories of his time fighting trolls and orcs and the stories might be lighthearted and kind of funny but they contain kernels of truth.

If a troll was to show up on the halfling's doorstep, they'd remember, "Oh remember uncle's stories about the troll and the time he was cornered by the troll, trolls don't like fire." The halflings know to use fire against the invading troll. This halfling fighter comes back and they have a Horn of Valhalla and he might hang it in the halfling tavern and just tell them, "Hey, if anything ever really goes wrong, if you're ever in danger, just blow this horn."

The halflings have no idea the value of this thing, they just think it's an old [curio 00:04:48] but they just know that when the goblin raiders show up, someone grabs the horn and gives it a blow and then suddenly a horde of beserkers descends from Valhalla to crush the goblins and the goblins have no idea how this could have hit them.

That's a lot of what permeates halfling society. It's this idyllic thing but halfling adventurers form this small cadre of very elite, powerful individuals who not only go out and adventure, when they come back, they bring those stories and they share them. They share them in way that doesn't frighten or alarm their neighbors but it layers in the knowledge of more than a just in case if anything happens. Just in case if you see a dragon flying overhead, here's the arrow that you should shoot at it. It's an arrow [inaudible Dragon Slaying. That halflings don't know but the halfling fighter comes home with just the right tools and just the right advice that if the halflings need to, they can keep themselves safe.

For that reason, creatures who do decide to tussle, to mess around with halflings often find that while they seem like soft folk, physically small, they have a lot of surprises. They always seem to have the right tool at the right time. Or the one old halfling who tends bar turns out to be the 12th level fighter who's slain a blue dragon and has that [inaudible 00:06:08] long sword tucked under the bar to pull up just in case the orc raiders show up.

When the halflings luck fails them, the legacy, the tales, the stories, the magical items gathered by the adventurers who go forth and come back, that then helps them get through those items when they have to rely upon themselves. They have to face a threat directly. It's also why most folk, if they have a choice, why conquer a halfling village? It's just a small farm. There's treasure there, they don't value gold and gems and powerful magic. There's not much in it for the ambitious orc warlord.

Maybe that, the Horn of Valhalla, losing a few patrols is to give incentive to leave them alone.