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[indigobluealchemy]

The culture of nomadic Halflings of the Tatenta Plains

This is In My Eberron, and is no way cannon.  It's formatted off the write ups of nomadic cultures from everyculture.com

Introduction

The nomadic Halflings of the Tatenta Plains do not have a particularly hard or grim life. Given their dragonmarks they tend to not starve or die of needless illness. They are too small to conquerors and too isolated and mobile to be conquered. Being small, they need warriors to fight the big predators that want to eat them and their children, but over all, they have a good life. They have domesticated some of dinosaurs that are near their size, and are skilled at avoiding the larger and more dangerous ones.

Halflings is nomads because the Tatenta Plains is not fertile enough to support them staying one place. At the core of pastoral nomadism is migration, the pattern of which is determined by a combination of seasonal variability in the location of pasture and water. Because water and grass can be in short supply in a particular area at the same time that it is abundant elsewhere, survival of both herds and herders makes movement from deficit to surplus areas both logical and necessary.

There is more information about Eberron Halflings in Learn more: Eberron: Rising from the Last War(2019) chapter 1, Player's Guide to Eberron (2006) “Halflings.” that probably doesn't match what I have written. Use what works for you.

Location

The traditional homeland of the Halflings is the Tatenta Plains though Halfings can be found everywhere in Khorvaire where there is "civilization". You are much more likely to find a halfling in a city or town than the Demon Wastes.

Language

Halfling speak Common and Halfling.

Religion

The Halflings typically worship Balinor among the Sovereign Host and are strong followers of spirit worship. Talenta religion is based around reverence for spirits, both departed ancestors and the spirits of the natural world. They see no dichotomy in following both the Host and spirits. Each nomadic tribe has a lath—a chieftain who guides and protects the tribe—but it is the shamans who consult the spirits and choose the paths of migration.

In the traditional Halfling religion, both living beings, dead beings and inanimate objects such as trees had spirits that could guild them. A priest or shaman acted as an intermediary between the spiritual and material worlds. He would consult with the dead, living and dead, while in a trance induced by beating on a magic drum and performing a special kind of chanting.

Major Holidays

The themed festivals of the Waundering Festivals, across the Talanta Plains are important to them. https://www.reddit.com/r/Eberron/comments/3uas1s/traveling_festivals_for_the_talenta_plains/

They also have simple holidays at the summer and winter solstices as well as the spring and fall equinoxes. They offer toasts to the elders, eat and drink a great deal, and listen to storytelling all night long. Epic dancing , drumming and singing, as well as other physical activities and more drinking, are part of the celebration. The quarterly festivals are often times of marriage.

Relationships

There are no inns or hotels in the boundless grasslands, but one can always count on the Halflings for help. Their hospitality displays the generosity that is characteristic of nomadic peoples. The master of a Tardis caravan carts or Tardis tent will put up a stranger for the night. Multiple strangers will be split up among locations. They offer goat milk tea, mutton, and wine. The whole family shows concern by asking detailed questions. Upon leaving, the guest will be accompanied for quite a distance, then told the direction of his destination.

Living Conditions

Tardis caravan carts or Tardis tents are the traditional housing of the halflings. Several family member sleep in and round the tent/caravan cart at night.

Cooking is done outside over fires.

Dinosaur riding, or walking, is the traditional mode of transportation.

House Ghallanda will work to make living conditions easier during bad weather or times of trouble. House Jorasco will also do what they can to make people live better and longer. Not saying the houses will make their tribes live like kings, but will help them live better than the environment would allow. Neither House is terribly concerned about payment since this is for family.

Family Life

The three-generation Halfling extended family is the ideal domestic unit. Although this group, averaging between nine and eleven persons, may sleep under more than one tent or shelter, its meals are generally taken together. Though man and wife units are the norm, it's perfectly fine to have a husband and husband or wife and wife and they can adopt orphans. Families are close-knit with a great deal of attention paid to the children. A newly formed nuclear family tends to remain with the larger domestic unit until it has sufficient manpower and a large enough herd to survive on its own. The children, after marrying, move out of their parents' home. However, they live nearby and may travel with their parents in search of new pastures.All members of a family are magically tattooed (All the tattoo without the pain and can be removed or altered) with a family and personal symbol. Herding families use these marks to distinguish their dinosaurs and other livestock, from those of other families.

Children and infants are raised by the extended family unit. Parents, older siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all take part in the rearing of the young. By the age of 6 or 7, the child begins to take on simple household tasks and soon thereafter becomes a full working member of the family. Adolescence is hardly recognized; by the early teens, the individual is accepted as a full working member of Halfling society.

Halfling society is traditionally open and egalitarian, and the Halfling are known for their courtesy and hospitality to outsiders.

Clothing

Halflings wear, (and I have to indulge in modern day analogies to describe it), is a mix of 17th century clothes, tribal tattoos and primitive bones and shells. Sort of a mix of burning man and steam punk. Dinosaur leather is always an element of their clothing as well as cotton and linen. Never shoes, how are they supposed to be connected to the Land.

Warriors wear dinosaur skull helmets and more dinosaur leathers. Headers wear more stone and bone jewelry.

Food

The main traditional foods of the halflings include dinosaur meat and eggs, goat, mutton, and milk products, supplemented by found vegetables. Halflings drink the milk of goats, and sheep, as well as tea and wine. Common dishes include dumplings, steamed stuffed buns, and meat pie. Meals are augmented by House Ghallanda cooks.

Grains and flours are purchased from the 5 nations, they are not part of traditional nomadic foods. However, halfling love their bread so they buy the flour.

Supper is the main (and traditionally, the only hot) meal of the day. Dinosaur meat is a protein-rich dietary staple. Even the dinosaur 's blood is used, for sausages. Fish and amphibians caught in the many ponds on the Halfling routes are eaten boiled, grilled, dried, smoked, or salted. Wild berries are another mainstay of the halflings diet. Berry alcohol is prepped and buried and retrieved when they pass through a year later.

Education

Halfling value usable and portable forms of education like history, ballads, animal husbandry, crafting, storytelling, healing. Being nomads, they have no use for education that needs fixed infrastructure like forges or libraries.

Cultural Heritage

The Halflings are known for the House Ghallanda and House Jorasco. Other resources go into detail on the houses.

The Wandering Festivals - Being nomads, they don't have many permanent settlements. However they do have themed gatherings and festivals for every month at various spots across the Talenta Plains where they converge.

The Talenta Halflings have a rich collection of oral literature that includes myths, legends, folktales, riddles, and proverbs that has only recently been discovered by the Dragons to have clues to the Prophesy. Bards are common among nomadic halflings.

Traditional musical instruments are mostly limited to the single-stringed instrument, various types of drums, and a type of recorder or wind instrument. Almost all Talenta Halflings have at least one small drum and are passably good at jamming with other with it. When a halfling is lost, a community will play drums to guide them home.

Employment and Economy

Most Halflings of the Talenta Plain engaged in livestock husbandry, raising mainly dinosaurs, sheep, and goats. Halflings cooperated in hunting, trapping, and fishing depending on where they are at them time. Talenta dinosaurs, are used for transport and as a source of eggs, and they are the subject of dance and songs. The Halflings develop a reverence for dinosaurs from childhood. Most children love dinosaurs riding, and participate in games and races on dinosaurback.

The division of labor among Halfling is determined age and by the type of animals that are herded. The larger domesticated dinosaurs are the responsibility of the older folk. Children are often barred from close contact with these animals so they don't get killed. It is generally the responsibility of the children to herd, feed, and milk the smaller mammal animals (i.e., goats and sheep).

The Halflings, in general and of House Ghallanda and House Jorasco are employed across Khorvaire and send remittances home to their families to make their lives less hard and buy them luxuries of cloth, flour and better tools and Tardis Tents.

Wandering Inn Is a nomadic pack of caravans that mimics cruise ships and offers the same luxuries one would find in most Ghallanda enclaves.   (This is all I know of the Wandering Inn)

Sports

The three main sports in the Talenta Plains are clawfoot raptor racing, ranged attacks, and wrestling.

For wrestling, after a day's work, everyone gathers near the Lath's wagon. There is no weight or gender classes, it's a just two opponents. Each are trying to knock the other off balance till they touch a knee and elbow to the ground. But this done while singing an agreed upon song or ballad duet and if one or both stop singing the song, they also lose. In game play terms, the first wrestler makes an athletics or aerobics roll the other wrestler must equal or beat. If they fail, they must make a performance roll save vs DC 15 or they have lost the song and the match.

Halflings use a row of small woven leather rings about 10 feet long. Halflings use short bows to shoot 10 arrows from about 200 feet and the winner is has the most arrows within the rings. For sling contests, the range is 100 feet. For the Talenta Boomerang, there is a rod 30 foot way. The contestant throws 5 times and the throws that do damage to the stick count. However if they miss, the boomerang will return, and if they catch the boomerang, they can throw once more. If it misses on the second attempt, it counts as a fail.

Mount Racing, Weekly racing involves the riders and mounts doing either athletics or acrobatics contents. This is speed (athletics) contests of the riders and mounts riding out and back the fastest. Once a month, a complicated course is set that tests the riders and mounts acrobatic skills to weave and dodge the best.

The annual event for wrestling and ranged attacks is the Rough and Tumble Games during Olarune.

The annual Dravago Stock Fair during the month of Dravago, features formal athletics or acrobatics contests for the halfling and their mounts; Carver, Clawfoot, Fastieth, and Glidewing. There are traditional short track races and acrobatic contests similar to their nomadic contests. There is a marathon race of 300 miles over 6 days.

Recreation

Halflings entertainment is provided both by expressive activities, including storytelling and singing, and physical contests such as wrestling, ranged contest and racing.

A traditional board game for rainy days involves one character playing a clawfoot raptor and the other a hunter and companions. The players maneuver their pieces around a board with the hunter trying to corner the predator before he or she "eats" all the hunter's pieces.

Crafts and Hobbies

The Talenta Halflings produce beautiful crafts, carving a variety of objects—such as tools and utensils—from bone, wood, dinosaur leather, dinosaur shell, and precious metals (so long it doesn't need a large forge), often with geometric motifs. The Talenta Halflings make decorative beaded jewelry including necklaces, earrings, headbands, and wrist and ankle bracelets. Talenta Halflings also excel in wood carvings, Their crafts are popular tourist purchases, although the Halflings save many of their creations for their own use.

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The Tardis Tent. When set up, the inside of the tent is 3x bigger than the outside footprint. Opening door or window flaps does not cause problems. As it taken down, it gently contracts to its natural footprint. If the tent is destroyed, HP <= 0 or less, it violently contracts doing 2d6-2 damage if the tent has contents.)

The Tardis Caravan cart. The Caravan cart is bigger on the inside. The Tardist Cart had one larger room and two smaller ones, with wood walls. The cart is approx 3 times large than it seems on the outside. If the cart is destroyed, HP <= 0 or less, it violently contracts doing 4d6 damage to what ever is inside And then explodes if there is too much stuff for the space. 

[indigobluealchemy]

Inspired by various tumblr posts.

Humans quickly get a reputation among the interplanetary alliance and the reputation is this: when going somewhere dangerous, take a human.

Humans are tough. Humans can last days without food. Humans heal so fast they pierce holes in themselves or inject ink for fun. Humans will walk for days on broken bones in order to make it to safety. Humans will literally cut off bits of themselves if trapped by a disaster.

You would be amazed what humans will do to survive. Or to ensure the survival of others they feel responsible for.

That’s the other thing. Humans pack-bond, and they spill their pack-bonding instincts everywhere. Sure it’s weird when they talk sympathetically to broken spaceships or try to pet every lifeform that scans as non-toxic. It’s even a little weird that just existing in the same place as them for long enough seems to make them care about you. But if you’re hurt, if you’re trapped, if you need someone to fetch help?

You really want a human.

[indigobluealchemy]

Eberron summarized in a page and a half

A really, really brief history. (This is best if you imagine it being read by Dame Judy Dench, starting slow and stately and speeding up to a rush, as you near the end.)

Demons ruled the world but Dragons discover the Prophecy and were able to oppose their demonic overlords and with help, locked them away but they are trying to get out. The dragons retired to study the Prophecy. Next, the civilization of Giants ruled but fell driving the creatures of dreams from invading the world but they have found a way to get back in. Next civilizations of goblinoids ruled but fell driving the creatures of the realm of madness from invading the world but the seals are getting old. 

It's human's turn. Humans are the dominant race of the continent of Khorvaire at the moment. Eventually the vast unified kingdom of Galifar ruled Khorvaire but 100 years ago, split into 5 nations and each nation is convinced they are the rightful rulers of the continent. Of the original five, Karrnath is the fighter nation, Thrane is the cleric nation,  Breland is the thief nation,  Aundiar is the wizard nation and Cyre was bard nation.  For 100 years, every nation battling against or siding with, every other nation again and again to attain primacy. 

Four years ago, Cyre was being invaded by the other four and was on the verge of being the first nation to be actually conquered. Instead something horrible happened, the Day of Mourning.  On that day the entire nation of Cyre was destroyed in a holocaust of grey fog and toxic magic that stopped exactly at the edge of the current Cyran border. Almost every living thing, including the massive armies from all five nations within the boundaries of the Mourning, died. The cause of the Mourning remains a mystery and it is unknown whether it could happen more if fighting continued  The remaining nations decided to call a truce until this could solved, but even still it took two more years between The Morning and the end of the Last War to sign the Treat of Thronehold. 

Everyone has been effected by the Last War.   Most every person has lost family or friends in the fighting. Tensions are still high and rule of thumb is 45%ish of every nation is willing to start fighting to finally win, to justify the sunk cost of loss of life and treasure. They all feel that their nation was on verge of being the real nation of Khorvaire and the Mourning stole their victory from them. 

Low level cantrips and magic spells have been turned into mass produced industrial items mimicking and replacing the tech levels of approximately the 1880s to 1910s.  Most every cantrip can be purchased as a magic item. There are the mage tech equivalent of steam trains and telegraphs and dirigibles. But "In My Eberron" cast magic always is more flexible and generally better than a magic device and "In My Eberron" there are still no mundane firearms and guns but there are mage parallels in the deadly Wandslingers.

 The Eberron game system threw out alignments and explicitly threw out and stomped on racial alignments. There are nicer cultures than others, but none are automatically evil.  You can have a good vampire and an evil angel or a kind beholder running a shelter for orphaned cyran children. That squad of goblins could be revolutionary freedom fighters trying to protect their new nation of Droaam. That war party of elves from Valinor could be spoiling for a fight just because they are bullies. The kobolds in the sewers are probably maintenance teams who just want to be left alone

 People worship the gods but in Eberron, the gods have never walked the earth so they may or may not actually exist. There is a good pantheon in the Sovereign Host and an evil pantheon of the Dark Six. But a cleric can be evil and still worship and gain their powers from the Sovereign Host or be good and get their powers from one of the Dark Six.

Dragons were horrified and mystified when the insignificant mammal races started manifested “dragonmarks” that granted them magical powers that have been leveraged into the dragon marked houses that dominate whole domains of commerce. The Houses often have a near-monopoly in certain kinds of businesses. For example, House Orien controls land transportation, House Cannith control magetech manufacturing, the halfling House Jorasco carries the Mark of Healing and run the hospitals of the lands.

 There are new species and classes. Changelings are clever shapeshifters that disguise themselves as members of other species. Any medium sized humanoid could be a changeling.  Shifters are sometimes called the weretouched. They are humanoids with a bestial aspect; while they do not fully change shape like a lycanthrope, they take on cool animalistic features and powers for short periods of time.  The first warforged were dumb killing automatons sold to all nations by House Cannith during The Last War. However, repurposed schema from the continent of the Giants bestowed sentience on the Warforged. Being sentient, they were freed, no longer property of the nations that bought them, by the Treaty of Thronehold. These scary murder constructs are trying to find their place in the world.  The Kalashtar are a psionic species, human hosts of benevolent dream-spirits, who battle nightmare-monsters that creep across the shadows of society. Artificers are a new class that are masters of unlocking magic in everyday objects  They are the supreme inventor manifestation of mage tech magic users

 Eberron is a world of cold war tensions as each nation still jockeys for advantage if war resumes. The old gates keeping the bad things out, are falling into decay and could reopen. The Mournland is one nation sized dungeon to be looted.  There are Goblin ruins to searched and Giant magics to be found and Prophesy divination to be understood and manipulated. Who knows what secret research labs run by the nations or the dragon marked houses are out there, left over from the Last war. Now go be heroes. 

[indigobluealchemy]

Shorter 5 nation cuisine

Breland - Big food  Aundair - Small foods  Thrane - Spicy food  Cyre - Weird food  Karrnath - What food?.....let’s get drunk 

[indigobluealchemy]

Eberron cuisine by nation

Note: This is not canon. This is "In My Eberron" and evolves over time. Assumptions about Cuisine. They eat what they are able to find or grow or trade for. The Five Nations have domesticated meats and farmed vegetables and if not for the Last War, would eat well. The ring nations that used to be part of the five nations tend to have some farming. The outer nations tend to have game meats and wild vegetables, since their lifestyles do not lend themselves to growing crops.

Aundair. Known for their fine wines and ornate complex meals, of small portions, a wide variety of ingredients and sauces. They specialize in wine and soft cheese and bread. Harmless magic is usually part of the meal presentation. They map closest to French cuisine. 

Breland. They are the breadbasket of the continent, they grown most of the wheat and other grains eaten by the nations. They are known for their breads. Like the fashions, the meals tend to be functional more than flashy. A single plate or bowl for meat and farmed vegetables and always a variety of breads. Breland has a warm climate, so many of the food are served at room temperature. Their food maps similar Mediterranean cuisine spice profile.

Karrnath. Their harsh winters made the karrnathi cuisine a mix of heavy and filling food. They specialize in creative ways to preserve food to last the winters. But during the Last War, many starved.  Sausages, sauerkraut,and hard cheese making are considered an art form. Meals have little meats, lots of grains, beans and pasta and winter vegetables, like broccoli, cabbage, beets. Strong alcohol are a standard of Karrnath meals and it’s excellent. Karrnathi are renowned for being able to turn anything that doesn’t poison them into decent hard alcohol. They map closest to German and Northeastern European cuisine. 

Thrane. Because the region is home to several hot and or strong spices that only grow there, they cook very spiced cuisine profile. For example, they make roasted garlic into a full meal.  They do three course meals, salad, main dish and dessert. 

Cyre (The Mournland), was known for their candies and cakes and fusion dishes, mixing foods from everywhere else  They were know for adapting (or stealing) the recipes from everywhere else and combining them.. Like their deep fried candied crickets..

Darguun. What ever tropical food the slaves cook. things that can be prepared quickly and/or lend themselves well to traveling (almost like military rations) are probably commonplace ( I treat the globlinids like Babylon 5 Centari, they eat simple military ration type food, but they reminisce constantly about the glory days when they ruled the known world before the pink skins invaded and they could make recipes that used ingredients from all over the continent.)

The Demon Wastes. Known for their vermin meats cooked over fire. Rat on a stick is quite popular.

Droaam. The area has abundant fruit trees, It was Breland’s orchard district long ago.. Known for their fruit influenced meals. Apples, peaches, plums, pears trees grow especially well. They eat a lot of goat and sheep and pig and what that ghastly stuff is that is made from troll.  

The Eldeen Reaches. Known for their game dishes, with wild spices and local vegetables.

The Lhazaar Principalities. Known for their seafood and sea vegetables dishes.

The Mror Holds. Mushroom and fungus are most every dish. Centipede and giant worm make for good proteins.  

Q’barra. Simple meals made from mostly found vegetables and lots of raw and cooked insects and lizards. Cooked small mammals and fish.   Fresh fruits abound.

The Shadow Marches. Simple meals made from swamp creatures, swamp vegetables and hot spices to mask the taste of the swamp creatures. Their food is like a mix of Thai and Cajun cuisine. Thrane may be spicier, but shadow march food is HOT

Talenta Plains. They tend to be nomads, so their meals are made up of goat, dinosaur, bird, sheep and eggs. Veggies are found greens. 

Valenar - Very, very ornate meals for special occasions, military rations the rest of the time. 

Zilargo  Their meals feature whimsical and complex meals of eggs, bugs, grubs and meat from small animals tuber and imported grains. Fresh fruits are in every meal.