A long time ago (actually in 2013 when I started my current DCC RPG game), I created a few variant dwarves, with different racial traits instead of the famous “Smell Treasure” ability. The main reason was that we had more than one dwarf in the party and I wanted to give each player a unique flavor. Now let me see if I can give the same treatment to Halflings. In fact, I wanted to create halfling variants since my first reading of DCC RPG, considering that each party can only benefit from one “lucky halfling” (with Good Luck Charm).
The Halfling in the DCC RPG Core Rulebook is now called the Lucky Halfling. Here are a few others:
The Halfling
Burglar
A burglar, not a thief. Not much of a fighter. Remove Two-Weapon Fighting, Stealthy, and Good Luck Charm. Halfling Burglars gain the following new racial traits.
Burglary: You can use the Sneak & Hide bonus as a Thief to Sneak Silently, Hide in Shadows, Pick Pockets, Climb Sheer Surfaces, Pick Lock, Urchin and Rat Crawling. Urchin work as Disguise Self but you can only used it to pretend to be a child of one of taller folks (like Humans or Elves). Rat Crawling is a new Thief skill that allows a Halfling to contort his body to scape bonds and crawl through spaces that only a rat could (if you saw Ladyhawke you know what I am talking about). For Rat Crawling a DC 5 let a halfling free himself from ropes, manacles, and handcuffs. DC 10 let him crawl through any space that could fit his read, including most cell bars. DC 15 and lots of patience would let him crawl under a wooden door either quickly or quietly (a bit of pushing and kicking a few boards would be necessary). DC 20 is where things get weird. If no one is watching and there is plenty of time, a halfling will find a way to leave a closed cell or room (provided that there is any place a rat could use to escape).
The Tool for the Job: You can burn 1d3 points of Luck to declare that you have a common/mundane item in your backpack or pocket. Examples include rope, torch, candle, caltrops etc. Judge’s call is important here. If the party was just searched by guards, declaring that you have a shorts word in your backpack does not make sense.
A Thief’s Luck: You recover your level in Luck points after a night of rest and every time your burn Luck you gain double the bonus.
Just a Halfling: if you haven’t attacked anyone, you are not holding a weapon, and there are more dangerous looking target in sight, you can burn 1 Luck to be considered harmless for the moment and ignored for the round. If you attack anyone this ability is instantly negated.
The Hin
Friar
You come from a distant realm ruled by Halflings, maybe an idyllic kingdom in the deep south, beyond forgotten realms, or perhaps from folkloric shires (in number of five?) somewhere in the west. Who knows? A realm run by Halflings could not be serious. You are a wandering friar or priest of the Small Folk, protecting Halflings everywhere (or Hin as you call Halflings) and ranting about a land that no one believes. Remove Two-Weapon Fighting and Good Luck Charm. Hin Friars gain the following new racial traits.
Alignment: you must be Lawful or Chaotic Alignment. Lawful Friars follow a creator deity known as Yondalla, a matriarch who created and nourished the Halflings. Yondalla is interested in protecting and spreading Halflings, on abundant food, and peace. Chaotic Friars follow a mysterious entity known as the Blackflame. The Blackflame seeks to keep Halflings secret and protected at all costs, including resorting to artifacts, black magic, and anything stolen from the Bigger Races.
Magic: Followers of Yondalla gain magic as a lawful cleric of the same level. Servants of the Blackflame gain magic as an Elf of the same level (they cannot gain Patron Bond and Invoke Patron, as the inhuman Blackflame does not negotiate pacts or allow servants of other entities).
Lawful friars can offer sacrifice (as clerics), recovering 1 Luck for every 50 gp offered. Chaotic friars can spellburn (as wizard/elves) to recover Luck (recovering 2 points of Luck for every 1 point of Spellburn).
The Halfling
Strider
Striders are a weird folk even for Halfling standards. They are the declared self-protectors of the few Halflings settlements still hidden out there. Striders are famous hunters, rangers, and loners. They guard those places tenaciously and using any means possible. Most Halflings are deadly afraid of Striders, considering them crazy folk who use wield “Smoke Magic”. Remove Good Luck Charm. Hobbits gain the following new racial traits.
Ways of the Land: Strider can use their Sneak & Hide bonus to track, find food and generally survive in the wilds. Outside of big cities they recover their level in Luck points after a night’s rest.
Smoke Magic: Striders actually know the secret of blackpowder and firearms, guarding it jealously. Each Strider begins the game with either two pistols or an arquebus. Pistols do 1d6 points of damage range of 10/20/30, arquebus do 1d10 points of damage, range of 10/30/60, and both take 3 rounds to recharge. Firearms ignore any medieval armor (and perhaps monster AC, Judge’s call) within the first range and all damage rolls are open-ended (if you roll the maximum result in the die, roll it again and add to the total… if get another maximum result keep rolling!). These firearms have a fumble range of 1-2 and under rain or slightly wet they become useless for combat (but do not fumble) on a 1-9 in the Action Die. Under water they are useless automatically. A fumble with a firearm always ruins the weapon for the combat and deal the weapon damage on the Strider (don’t forget to reroll if a maximum result shows up). Fixing the weapons require a few days of peace and something around 300 gp in costs (adjusted for the Judge campaign). One shot usually costs 10 gp (again, adjusted for each campaign).
Strider can also produce small bombs. They need at least 50 gp in “blackpowder components”, one minute of work, and 1d3 Luck Points. Carrying bombs is too dangerous so Striders only prepare them right before they need to use the bomb. A bomb is a throw weapon (fumble range 1-3, range 5/10/20) that does 2d6 of damage to anything within 5 feet (Refl DC 20 for half). Remember that the damage roll is open-ended. Bigger bombs require more Luck and material. If Luck is reduced to 0 or the attack roll fumbles, they explode. Clever Striders use bomb outside of combat. Generous Judges should let a 1st level Strider start with 5 bullets and enough material for 1 bomb. Carrying too much blackpowder component is dangerous… after all, a fireball or a red dragon can make your Strider goes BOOM!
The entire idea for this crazy mix of the original Strider and blackpowder weapons came from the awesome post Guns of Middle-Earth (From the Sorcerer's Skull).
The Hobbit
Finally, the most rare and strange Halflings. Yep, Shire Folk, lovers of good food (but also treasure and adventure). Probably a subrace of Halfling that few know. Remove Two-Weapon Fighting, Infravision, Slow, Stealthy, and Good Luck Charm. Hobbits gain the following new racial traits.
Two Breakfasts Before Elevenses: After eating triple rations you recover 1d6 hit points or 1d6 Luck points. Excess hit points become temporary hit points that disappear the next time you use this. Obviously, you can only eat so much once per day and this usually take at least an hour. (This is inspired by the great Heroic Fantasy RPG.)
Hobbit Magic: When you do an Agility check to hide or sneak you can spend 1 point of Luck. If you do, consider that you rolled a natural 20 instead of rolling. You must be without any armor check penalty and unencumbered. Hiding and sneaking must be physically possible for this to work. If you are close to any cover (including bigger creatures than you), you can try to hide even while watched, but you must burn 1d3 points of Luck instead of just 1.
The Best Cooking: If the hobbit prepares the food then they party know they are for a treat. Hobbit-food requires twice the normal amount of rations and can affect two characters per level of the cooker. The dedication required to prepare this food requires 1d4 Luck points from the hobbit. The cooker must roll 1d20 + his level and check the Cleric’s Lay on Hands (Adjacent column) to see how many hit points are recovered by those that partake of the food (roll 1d20 for each target). This hobbit buffet only works once per day. While this food won’t fix bones or regrow limbs, the Judge can use the Cleric’s Lay on Hand rules to see if hobbit food can heal diseases, poison, paralysis, among other effects.
Remarkably Resilient: Hobbits recover their level in Luck after every night of sleep. Also, hobbits are tenaciously resistant to black magic. They can burn 1d6 points of Luck to automatically succeed at a save instead of rolling. The second time they this increases the Luck cost by +1 Die. This progressive cost resets after a night of sleep.
Stone Throwers: Hobbits can throw stones with they bare hands for 1d4 damage against any target at 30 feet. If using a sling they do 1d6 points of damage. Hobbits can choose also one of the following at the beginning of every round: they can either attack twice (using the same Action Die) or they can increase the Threat Range by their level (so a 1st level hobbit throwing a rock deals a critical hit on a 19-20, while a 5th level hobbit does the same on a 14-20!).
The Kender
OK, there is something more rare than Hobbits. These Crazy Halflings that won’t shut up and who don’t understand the idea of private property. They are considered a mental disease among Halfings. Remove Two-Weapon Fighting, Slow, and Good Luck Charm. Kenders gain the following new racial traits.
Taunt: Kenders don’t know when to stop talking. A Kender can burn 1d3 Luck Points to taunt a target at 30 feet. The target can resist with a Will save DC 20. Failure forces the target to forget everything and try get in melee with the damn Kender and beat the shit out him/her. The target suffers a -2 Die penalty to all his actions (except damage rolls) while attempting to get to the Kender. Each taunt lasts a number of rounds equal to the level of the Kender.
Madness: Kenders don’t have the slightly sense of self-defence or danger. They are immune to fear or effects that provoke confusion or madness. Maybe because they are mad they have survived for so long. Kenders recover their level in Luck points after a night’s rest. They also recover 1 point of Luck every time they fumble or roll a critical success. Kenders can spend Luck to reduce damage done to them.
Deep Pockets:
Kender like to check each on others’ pocket (and unfortunately other people’s
too). This is something done almost unconsciously. In combat, a Kender can burn
1 Luck point and roll under his Luck every time he comes into melee range with
an enemy. Success allows the Kender to roll a free pick pocket roll as if he
was a Thief. The check is made with a d20 + Kender’s level. Every time the
Kender goes inside a city he also gains a free check when they leave. During
their “stay” they found something nice inside someone else’s pocket. Outside
those occasion (or when the Kender purposely wants to steal someone) he rolls
just his Agility as any other untrained character. Judges should use their
favorite table of trinkets or random equipment in these situations.
After all this madness, I think I should have created the "Gollum-variant" too, but let us leave that for another post. (And I don't need to say but nothing of the above is playtested.)
