Halfling like race?

Historically, yes. Currently, no (unless Henry says otherwise). They were an ancient psionic race that were completly wiped out by the Sseth so that the Ssanu could “harvest” their psionic abilities.

The Sanso from memory.

If same faulty memory serves me, they were the first race exterminated by the lizards, who then used their biomancy to incorporate the creatures psionic ability.

I remember an old 3.5 mod where we cam across an ancient laboratory that had the body of a number of these creatures. Their brain stems had been transplanted into goblins creating a psionically active “blue” goblin

I did not play in the previous campaign, but I was part of a discussion between several players who did where they recalled a module that took the adventurers to the previous continent that humans came from, that they inhabited before Onara. The adventurers apparently encountered small psionically active humanoids there. One player felt that these were halflings (though that name was never used) and one didn’t think they were. So there may be surviving halflings in arcanus. But like most things in Arcanus, it’s open to interpretation, and only The Henry may know for sure.

I’ve often thought that there should be a reintroduction of them to the campaign, or some halfling-human crossbreed. It would be a nice way to break the Val stranglehold on psionics. But that strangle hold may be part of the campaign flavor the staff wants to maintain. I don’t know. I just know there are seem to be way too many Val characters in the campaign (though I didn’t let that stop me from playing one).

Hello,

Sorry no return of the halflings any time soon.

Maybe I’m just getting old, but what was the name of the adventure where you go back to the eastern continent? I don’t remember that one and I realy think I should re-read it if it exists.

…I’ve often thought that there should be a reintroduction of them to the campaign, or some halfling-human crossbreed. It would be a nice way to break the Val stranglehold on psionics. …snip…

Once upon a time you could break the val stranglehold on psionics if you are willing to let the unseen masters of the Mourners in Silence pull your puppet strings. Perhaps that will come again. Though probably fewer people interested in playing Mourners this time round.

On History of the campaign & “Halflings”: The Sansho were clearly the Arcanis version of Halflings and they were wiped out by the Ssethrics and the Elorri in antiquity. The Sansho were described as having a relatively decentralized and unorganized society and their response to the war machine (highly organized) that rolled over them was grossly inadequate. There was also a brief foray to Nyambe where the PCs potentially met Nyambe flavored burrowing halflings. A separate race with extremely tenuous ties to the Known World. To my knowledge the PCs never went to the “Eastern Continent.”

On the wider issue: Should there be some variation of Halflings in Arcanis?

Halflings in RPGs are obviously derived from Hobbits. Tolkien wrote at a time when Edwardian England was fading in power internationally and the idyllic lifestyle he (Tolkien) loved was continuing to be eroded by a faster “urban paced” life. His Hobbits were created to be metaphors of those themes in addition to being essentially humble, hardworking & decent protagonists who persevere and triumph over powers vastly greater than themselves.

I love Tolkien and like Halflings…but the tropes in Arcanis (IMO the struggles and costs to preserve civilization(s) from internal and external threats), are not the tropes that Tolkien explored. While an “Arcanisified” Hobbit of some stripe might find a place somewhere…its my personal opinion that the standard issue Hobbit/Halfling really would have no place in the world. What we would find would be as different for Arcanis as the Kender of Krynn or the Jungle Cannibals of Dark Sun.

In response to the query on the Mod that takes you to the possible original continent of man This is what I can remember

It was a Mod where a ssethrogorian gate was found. the val’inares / Ansharans could activate it but the “Event Horizon” was a angry red colour

Anyone that was not ssethric suffered wracking pain as they passed through

Led to a primitive village where the locals had adverse reaction (hatred) to val’abebi’s who they seem to suggest were run out of the area millennium before

This is all based on old memories, I am thinking it was one of the Semar series? (second part of Battle of Semar BI maybe?)

In response to the query on the Mod that takes you to the possible original continent of man This is what I can remember

It was a Mod where a ssethrogorian gate was found. the val’inares / Ansharans could activate it but the “Event Horizon” was a angry red colour

Anyone that was not ssethric suffered wracking pain as they passed through

Led to a primitive village where the locals had adverse reaction (hatred) to val’abebi’s who they seem to suggest were run out of the area millennium before

This is all based on old memories, I am thinking it was one of the Semar series? (second part of Battle of Semar BI maybe?)

I am not sure this is “Wrong Turn At Coryan”. 1) That mod didn’t have a village, but a Ssethric temple. 2) It was not inhabited by anyone who would have a particular reaction to the val’Abebi (all the inhabitants were (un)dead). I think this was probably “The Secret of Semar” which when to Nyanbe.