Mustbairn Halfling

Every denizen of a halfling borough has the odd impulse to drop their trowels and dig into the soil with their bare hands, rip off their stuffy clothes and shout at the sky. These urges are usually rejected out of hand, but the mustbairns know better. 

Halflings in mustbairn clans have rejected any notion of control and embraced their roles as children of the soil: wardens of the earth but not its masters. Oddly, most mustbairn clans were founded more recently than their “civilized” borough counterparts. Many are former boroughers themselves, with tattered scraps of their suits or overalls worked into their clan coverings. 

Each mustbairn clan begins with “the whisper,” a moment in which one or more halflings claim they hear the earth speaking to them. It whispers that life was not meant to grow in orderly rows: why not let it grow as it will? It whispers that life could be simple again: why not live as you will? Whether it’s a madness or a divine call, many boroughs have collapsed in the last few centuries, abandoned and overgrown, lost to the whisper. 

While mustbairns may lose the trappings of civilization, they never lose their sense of community. A tribe of mustbairns shares what wisdoms the earth has taught them. Besides simply surviving off the land, most mustbairn tribes feel led to dismantle establishment and derail “progress”. It’s common for mustbairn tribes to storm sites of industry and devastate them before disappearing back into the wilderness. They particularly seek out and destroy mining operations that cut deeply into the earth. It’s not uncommon to see non-halflings alongside them, trying their best to listen to the earth’s will. 

Characters raised in the mustbairn culture share a variety of traits in common with one another. 

Child of the Soil. You can feel the heartbeat of the soil through the soles of your feet. You ignore difficult terrain caused by any form of earth or soil, such as mud, or mountainous terrain. In addition, you know the druidcraft cantrip. 

Earthspeak. You can attempt to divine the earth’s wisdom (as the augury spell) by submerging your feet or hands into mud or soil. Once you divine the earth’s wisdom in this way, you can’t use this trait again until after you finish a long rest . 

Wild and Unshackled. Mustbairns have embraced everything that law and order works against, and have learned to live freely amongst nature. You have the Chaotic alignment for the purposes of any spell or ability that would detect or effect Chaotic creatures. In addition, you gain proficiency with two of the following skills: Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Nature, Religion, or Survival. 

Languages. You can speak, read, sign, and write Common, Halfling, and Terran.