Pathfinder Player Companion: Halflings of Golarion (PFRPG) (based on
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Paizo Publishing, LLC
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Since the birth of modern fantasy fiction, halflings have been the incongruous, pint-sized adventurers at the center of it all, constantly overlooked and dismissed by their enemies, only to end up overcoming all odds. Nowhere is this more true than in the Pathfinder campaign setting, where plucky and courageous halflings do their best to integrate into the societies of larger races, where they’re frequently preyed upon by slavers
and malicious employers. Yet despite such adversity, halflings maintain a notoriously positive outlook and an uncanny knack for being in the right
place at the right time. Those who disregard halflings based on their size do so at their peril, for you never know when that smiling servant might slip
your coins into his pocket—or his knife into your back. Put some hair on your toes with this new Pathfinder Player Companion.
Inside this book, you’ll find:
Details on the halflings of Golarion—their physical
and mental traits, style of dress, famous curiosity and
opportunistic luck, and more
An overview of halfling culture, including a history of
halflings on Golarion, their traditions and coming-of-age
rituals, and relations with other races
Descriptions of major halfling settlements and
communities, and how they differ from nation to nation
Halfling religion, crafts, weapons, and other tools and
disciplines that help keep them safe, plus an overview of the
Bellflower Network, an underground organization working to
free halfling slaves everywhere
New types of sling ammunition designed specifically to help take down
larger foes, as well as new sling-related feats
The Halfling Opportunist prestige class, perfect for stealthy characters
of all sorts
New halfling-specific traits for characters of any background
Rules for sacred keepsakes that aid in divine casting, halfling jinxes capable of
infuriating and incapacitating foes, and more!
This Pathfinder Player Companion is set in the Pathfinder campaign setting and works
best with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game or the 3.5 version of the world’s oldest fantasy
roleplaying game, but can easily be incorporated into any fantasy world.
Written by Hal MacLean and Amber E. Scott
Each bimonthly 32-page Pathfinder Companion contains several player-focused articles exploring the volume’s theme as well as short articles with innovative new rules for social, magic, religious, and combat-focused characters, as well as traits to better anchor the player to the campaign.
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This book is great! Great Fluff/background fitting the halflings uniquely into the Golarion world. Some really cool new slings/sling feats/sling ammo, new magic items and options, and a prestige class ! Very good quality and great illustrations. One of my favorite player companions so far!
I create my own gameworlds, so I haven't subscribed to the full Pathfinder Companion series. I did, however, pick up all the race books, since I figured those could easily port to any setting, and I have not been disappointed.
Halflings started off as hobbits with the serial numbers partially rubbed off and they have struggled to break out of that mold ever since. There have been many attempts over the years to do just that, but this book is one of the better ones. Golarion halflings are no longer the secluded, isolationist country folk of early 20th century England. They are ubiquitous and, in many ways, are the backbone of human society. Humans get the credit and the glory, but very often the actual work was done by halflings standing in the shadows.
The book is set in the Pathfinder setting of Golarion and assumes knowledge of the setting. This doesn't detract from the usefulness of the book. Halflings are slaves in the obviously lawful evil empire and freedom fighters in the good nations. I found very little information that I couldn't puzzle out with a little effort.
The crunch of the book is as good as the fluff. Of particular interest is the Jinx section. Most halflings are born lucky – and, in a southern desert nation, their main job is being a good luck charm for caravans. A few halflings, the jinxes, are born without that luck – and they can inflict their lack of luck on others. This ability is perfect for the halflings that still live in slavery. They can hinder their masters at every turn and remain undetected. If you have the Advanced Player's Handbook, jinxes also make the perfect witches.
My only complaint about the book is that it doesn't go far enough to separate halflings from their decades of baggage. I think the characterization of the halflings that are still enslaved is fine. Their small stature does make them vulnerable and it is plausible that the evil empire could stomp out any real magic use. But free halflings have no such hindrances. Halflings might not match the martial prowess of the larger races, but a fireball is a fireball. Why wouldn't a free halfling want to enforce his continued freedom himself with magic? Alchemy is an even better fit, given the halfling predisposition to crafts. The free halflings might be content to stay in the shadows, but they shouldn't be willing to be pushed around any more.
While I wish the authors had pushed the envelop a little more and made the halflings even less like hobbits, this is a solid book filled with excellent ideas. Whether you GM, run halfling characters, or just like reading good gaming books, Halflings of Golarion is an excellent choice.
I am pleasantly surprised by how far Halflings are expanded beyond the known Tolkein realm. The backgrounds and traints all ring true within the game structure and allow for some very unique and in depth character development. No more vanilla Halflings equal theif mentality for me.
Love this book and so glad someone gave the Halflings thier dews.The new traits make slings worth using now.Just need to add a slinger class to warror like archer and crossbowman.Think it could be a nice little add for some flavor.The best part of this book is the tribute to Ronny James Deo(The Jinxer picture).Hats off to Paizo for showing thier true metalhead roots.
Wow.
Dennis Baker
(RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, Contributor)
—
This book exceeded my expectations by a good margin.
Fluff in the book is good, you have a good idea of where the halflings 'fit' in Golarion and if you are trying to build a character there are a lot of hooks to bring a lot of characters alive.
Crunch wise the jinx racial ability is great and the feats that go along with it are awesome, something for nearly every class. The racial traits are better thought out than most and do an excellent job with fleshing out the race.
This is my favorite of the race Companion books and one of the best RP supplement books I've read.
