[Secret Project X] Halflings with a bite!

I have been working on Secret Project X (SPX) for a while now, and with my unexpected free time/vacation, I had to take for most of the month of March, I got to do some writing, and some thinking about SPX. Now if you remember my previous post about races, I mentioned but did not detail the races I created for the Akos project.

One of the things that Akos had was halflings. A lot of them. And the work I did featured them heavily. When I started writing my piece, I separated the halflings into three separate races for my own purposes. Looking at my list of races, I saw there were two "holes" in the setting. I needed a race dedicated to social interactions and politics. And I needed a race that was definitely focused on the more nature side of things. Both of which I had.

The Hajit or "Greater People" are a race of halflings heavily involved in politics. In SPX, the hajit were the first race to come to power in the world. They ruled the world until the First Ones showed up and took it from them. Since that time, the Hajit have been dreaming of a return to power. I keep seeing those in a way that is reminiscent of the ancient Babylonians, as seen in Frank Miller's 300: a lot of jewelry, many complex patterned robes, extensive braiding of their hair. The hajit were inspired by the political intrigues of medieval Italy (Macchiavelli, the Borgias), but with a completely different aesthetics.

The Hareen or "Lesser People" are a race of halflings living on the fringes of society. These halflings are definitely of the more feral bend as they are at once amazed, confused and curious about civilization. They tend to live away from most society and rely on their wits to thrive. Hareen are very simple people and because of this are often enslaved by other races. I will not lie in saying that the inspiration for the Hareen comes from the halflings of Dark Sun (and their later copy, from Eberron).

Now many of you Halfling aficionados will complain "but JP, where are the lovely Tolkien-esque Hobbits?" The answer is simple: they are not here. I wanted to use a race people were familiar with and wanted to play, but give them an interesting twist, some bite if you will.

Both of these races will get an iconic to join the SPX troupe. The Hajit is an enchantress and the Hareen I am still debating: whether a ranger or a druid. But that's too much spoiler already!

JP