Halflings are by far the oldest of the races of Eth-ur. They are playable at Early Access launch, can take nine of the eighteen classes, and are one of only two races whose starting city is stated outright.
The oldest race
The official material does not hedge this one. Halflings were thriving as a civilization long before the other races had any significant presence on the world, which makes the age gap between them and everyone else the largest single fact in the race catalogue.
Their origin is different in kind as well as in date. Like fae-beings, halflings are born from the Fonts of Life of Eth-ur itself, and they are described as deeply attuned to the sentient planet. That last phrase is the clearest statement anywhere in the official material that the world is alive and aware, and it appears in the halfling entry rather than in the world lore.
Lore-keepers
Halflings are naturally curious and consummate lore-keepers, and the lore names them the first wanderers and storytellers of the world. Because they were there for all of it, they have lived through and witnessed every event on Eth-ur over the eons.
How they handled those events is recorded with some humour. When the world was safe they roamed it and spun what they learned into stories, and when it was not, they often, but not always, hid in their cozy warrens. The qualifier is in the original and is worth keeping.
Today the majority are jovial, peace-loving farmers and settlers rather than the daring wanderers of old. The sting is in what follows: unbeknownst to most, including many halflings themselves, the race has retained much of the lore of ages lost. A few still go looking for more to add to it, which is the in-fiction reason a farming people produce adventurers.
Appearance
No physical description of halflings has been published as of September 2026. Halflings were being modelled and rigged for play in mid-2023, which is early relative to the rest of the roster, but development reports do not describe the result.
Homeland and starting city
Halflings have no stated homeland, which is consistent with a people born from the world rather than from a place. What they do have is an explicit start: halflings and wood elves both have the option of beginning in Faelindral, the City in the Trees, in the Evershade Weald. See Starting Cities.
The pairing is a lore statement as much as a mechanical one. The wood elves keep the forests, and the oldest race on the world is welcome in the city those forests hold.
Classes
Nine classes are open to halflings, and the list is the most evenly spread of any race. It covers tanking with the Fighter and the Paladin, healing with the Cleric and the Druid, melee and ranged damage with the Rogue, the Archer and the Ranger, pets with the Beastmaster, and support with the Bard. There is no arcane caster of any kind on the list.
Class | Archetype | Group role |
|---|---|---|
High-Mobility Marksman Tinkerer | Ranged damage | |
Fast-Moving Song Twister | Support, utility | |
Animal-Taming Primal Brawler | Melee damage, pet | |
Divine Conduit | Healer, support | |
Jack-of-All-Trades Caster | Healer, magic damage, support | |
Armored Juggernaut | Tank, melee damage | |
Warrior of Faith | Tank, healer | |
Wilderness Veteran | Melee and ranged damage, utility | |
Opportunistic Striker | Melee damage |
Fonts of Life
The Fonts of Life are a feature of the world rather than of the halflings, but the halfling entry is where they matter most. They are named three times in the official material: halflings and fae-beings are born from them, deep dwarves see them as something to exploit and conquer, and they are said to still flow on the continent of Aêthoril. No mechanical description of them exists. See Eth-ur.
What is not published
As of September 2026, no racial stat block, attribute modifier, resistance value or racial ability list has been published for any race in Monsters & Memories. The official race material is lore plus a class list.