Under Hill, By Water Post 3: Anarcho Capitalism

Professions
They do not and did not understand or like machines more complicated than a forge-bellows, a water-mill, or a hand-loom, though they were skillful with tools.

When generating a character (player character or otherwise), roll on this handy chart to determine their profession. 

If you are creating a PC, this job title becomes your eighth skill. Your rank in that skill determines how much wealth you generate during the winter phrase. Roll that skill when you think your proficiency with your chosen profession would serve you better than making an attribute test. 

You begin the game with the gear listed on the table. Goods created by your profession may be bought by you for half price. If no production, you can get hirelings or perks at half cost. 

Roll d50

1. Actor | Gain wooden sword (as club), disguise kit, mirror 
2. Antiquarian | Gain swordcane, book of family history, quill, ink
3. Barber-Chirugeon| Gain razor (as dagger), needle and thread, tongs
4. Blacksmith | Gain hammer, a forge outside your hole 
5. Bounder | Gain dwarven short sword, dwarf chain shirt, spyglass 
6. Brewer | Gain mash paddle (as staff), empty bottle, small cask of ale (rich) 
7. Butcher | Gain meathook (as ax), rations of dried meat (3), pet giant rabbit
8. Carpenter |Gain saw (as ax), drill, nails, mallet
9. Chandler | Gain candlestick (as club), candles (6), soap
10. Clerk | Gain quill-trimming knife, blank book, quill, ink
11. Cook | Gain rolling pin (as club), lard, cookpots
12. Cooper | Gain crowbar (as club), small empty barrel, 50' of rope
13. Courier | Gain walking staff, bird broach, bird whistle
14. Farmer | Gain pitchfork (as spear), excellent tobacco, pet giant chicken 
15. Farrier | Gain hammer, nails, saddle, pet pony
16. Fletcher | Gain bow and 20 arrows, pet raven 
17. Fisher | Gain net, fishing gear, tinderbox
18. Gardener | Gain scythe, garlic (2), wolfsbane (2)
19. Glassblower | Gain iron pipe, empty bottle, mirror, viewing orb
20. Greengrocer | Gain sling and acorns, sack of cabbages, pet cat
21. Haberdasher | Gain scissors (as dagger), bag full of buttons (as caltrops), needle and thread
22. Hole-digger | Gain miner's pick, shovel, and 30' of rope
23. Hunter | Gain bow and 10 arrows, camouflage winter-proof cloak, personal tent
24. Knacker | Gain cleaver (as hand-axe), shovel, soap
25. Landlord | Gain club, key to tavern 
26. Leech | Gain pestle (as club), smelling salts, herbal poultice
27. Locksmith | Gain crowbar (as club), lock and key, specialist's kit
28. Lumberjack | Gain woodsman's ax (as battle axe), 50' of rope
29. Mason | Gain hammer, chisel, block and tackle
30. Methier | Gain knife, thick gloves, bottle of mead (rich), pet bee
31. Midwife (woman only) | Gain silver knife, vial of holy water, herbal poultice 
32. Miller | Gain rolling pin (as club), mallet, nails, bag of flour
33. Minstrel | Gain elven short sword, lute, torch (3)
34. Moneylender | Gain mace, scales, an IOU for [rank]d4 silver 
35. Peat-cutter | Gain shovel, 10' pole, lantern, flask of oil
36. Potter | Gain sling and potsherds, jar of clay, pottery studio/kiln outside of hole
37. Rat-catcher | Gain club, sack, pet dog
38. Rope-maker | Gain sling, 50' of rope, grappling hook
39. Servant | Gain dagger, extravagant clothing, silver bell
40. Shepherd | Gain sling, pan pipes, pet sheep 
41. Sherrif | Gain quarterstaff, hat with tall feather, manacles  
42. Tailor | Gain scissors (as dagger), needle and thread, extravagant clothing
43. Tanner | Gain flensing knife, bag of salt, leather armor 
44. Tax Collector | Gain dwarven short sword, chest, lock and key
45. Town Drunk (a paid position) | Gain bottle of whiskey (decent), empty bottle, set of dice
46. Truffler | Gain sling, really good mushrooms (3), pet pig
47. Wainwright | Gain whip, wagon, pet pony
48. Weaver | Gain quarterstaff, bottles of dye (3, any), banner of favorite tavern's sign
49. Well-digger | Gain shovel, dowsing rod, 10' pole
50. Whitesmith |  Gain hammer, bag of pretty but trifling jewels, ring that's almost magic

Optional Rule: You may elect to not roll Sweat dice to gain more Sweat when you rank up. If you do so, you may roll a d6. If you roll higher than your current score in your profession, raise that skill by 1. 

Many profession ideas stolen from: TenFootPolemic, GoblinPunch, Dungeon Crawl Classics

Family 

The houses and the holes of Shire-hobbits were often large, and inhabited by large families. (Bilbo and Frodo Baggins were as bachelors very exceptional, as they were also in many other ways, such as their friendship with the Elves.) ... All Hobbits were, in any case, clannish and reckoned up their relationships with great care. They drew long and elaborate family-trees with innumerable branches.

Roll d66 to find an appropriate family name. Note the gear and hole you inherit. 

Formula is: Surname | Ancestral home name and feature | Extra starting gear

I. 

1. Bairn | Ancestral Home: Goodhope, said to be delved on the site of an ancient human castle | Gain an ancient statue of a human queen
2. Bolging | Ancestral Home: Bolging Den, full of hidden rooms and secret passages | Gain a secret room that only you know about in your hole 
3. Biggerwaiste | Ancestral Home: Biggirdle, which has the deepest and most well-stocked wine cellar in the Commonwealth | Gain a beautiful stone chess set that can play by itself
4. Chubber | Ancestral Home: Chub Row Place, which boasts the most elaborate and largest greenhouses of the Commonwealth | Pipe carved from an effalent's tusk
5. Diggle | Ancestral Home: Diggledelving, which connects to unexplored caverns | Gain dwarf toy that moves on its own
6. Dumblebee | Ancestral Home: The Apiary, which boasts a tree on its hill that's had a colony of bees since before the founding of the Commonwealth; they're not "tame" but they do act as guard dogs of the Apiary | Gain silver-capped drinking horn

II. 

1. Fairborne | Ancestral Home: Treehome, which isn't carved into a hill at all, but into the side of a great tree | Gain a jar of healing sap 
2. Gaggler | Ancestral Home: Great Sickle, which has a dedicated astronomy tower and telescope| Gain pocketwatch (the most advanced piece of technology in the Commonwealth)
3. Goldworthy | Ancestral Home: Goodgard, which is built from a now-barren gold mine | Gain chainmail shirt
4. Greenhand | Ancestral Home: Home o' the Green, boasting the fairest garden in the Commonwealth | Gain seeds from a tree from an elven forest
5. Haywain | Ancestral Home: The High Hay, notably decorated with the preserved head of a great hogboglin slain by Brade Haywain | Gain +1 Str score
6. Headstrong | Ancestral Home: The Ferry, which isn't a hole but a house-barge | Gain the unique skill of swimming (you're the only family who can do it) 

III. 

1. Hogspen | Ancestral Home: Higgledepigglede, which sits on the largest farms of the Commonwealth | Gain +1 Con
2. Hoorfoot | Ancestral Home: Coldhome, which has a statue of each family matriarch in the basement, which they call the "mausoleum"  | Gain a unicorn horn
3. However | Ancestral Home: Brassgate, which is curiously decorated with hundreds of mirrors from all over the world | Gain cloak like the evening mist
4. Labingi | Ancestral Home: Empty End, which is said to hide some hidden treasure in it somewhere | Gain 1d6 ancient silver coins you discovered in a secret nook 
5. Lightfoot | Ancestral Home: Well Hollow, the oldest hole in the Commonwealth | Gain a red arrow that's never missed its mark and is always recovered 
6. Longdweller | Ancestral Home: Drakedelving, which excavated a nearly complete dragon skeleton (the skull of which is a central part of the living room) | Gain a dragon's fang

IV. 

1. Measure | Ancestral Home: Cold 'n Deep, delved over a place the Water goes underground | Gain a beautiful silver cup and a waterskin of water that's never seen the sun
2. Mugwort | Ancestral Home: Puddle Place is built along the banks of the Water and boasts comfortable armchairs from which you can fish | Gain an ivory comb once owned by the River Woman
3. Nikkerbreaker | Ancestral Home: Candlewick, whose halls have such veins of iron that neither spells nor knacks may be cast there  | Gain a whetstone that makes blades unnaturally sharp
4. Oldbairn | Ancestral Home: Pennytree, under an ancient tree said to be the home of the owl's parliament | Gain pet owl
5. Outwithing | Ancestral Home: Horn Hill, on the top of the tallest hill with the best views | Gain a particularly large trumpet carved with runes
6. Pitter | Ancestral Home: Fairfields is famous for its many fruit trees and ciders | Gain rope that ties or unties itself with a yank

V

1. Puttering | Ancestral Home: Heartshearth, known for its many fireplaces that burn with curiously colored flames | Gain +1 Cha
2. Rumblo | Ancestral Home: The Shock, said to be carved out by a giant's blow | Gain a whistle that can only be heard by animals
3. Sandwallow | Ancestral Home: Pumpkinhome, which isn't a hole but a giant pumpkin | Gain Gain +1 Dex
4. Scrumgeons | Ancestral Home: Goldapple Abbey, which is home to an old apple tree called "The Gaffer" that almost seems like he has a face; it's rumored the tree has spoken at least three times | Gain a rune-marked short sword 
5. Smallerone | Ancestral Home: Beetleblack Hall, built not into a hill but into the carapace of an ancient onyx-shelled giant beetle | Gain a torc that screams if goblins are nearby
6. Tallfeller | Ancestral Home: Windy Manor, decorated with elven-woven tapestries that almost seem to move in the firelight | Gain +1 Int

VI. 

1. Topher | Ancestral Home: Lockmorr, a notably small (but comfortable) hole--its door has no locking mechanism, but only opens at the request of a Topher family member | Gain a key that can unlock any door, but only works once
2. Tukkish | Ancestral Home: The Holes, the hole with the most rooms | Gain a lucky charm (which shatters when you use it to automatically succeed on a saving throw)
3. Tunneler | Ancestral home: Deeptunnel, deepest hole of the Commonwealth | Gain shield with horn of plenty painted on it 
4. Wastenot | Ancestral Home: Willowswithern, which is occassionally haunted by the song of a halfling maid looking for her true love | Gain a song that when sung can be used to summon help, but only once
5. Wantnot | Ancestral Home: Wallowhouse, which is the most majestic and ornate hole in the Commonwealth | Gain +1 Wis
6. Witterquick | Ancestral home: Dwimmering, said to be built on a ley line | Gain a crystal that glows like a candle in the dark

Names
I have treated Hobbit first-names, as far as possible, in the same way. To their maid-children Hobbits commonly gave the names of flowers or jewels. To their man-children they usually gave names that had no meaning at all in their daily language; and some of their women's names were similar ... In some old families, especially those of Fallohide origin ... it was, however, the custom to give high-sounding first-names. ... I have turned them into those old names, largely of Frankish and Gothic origin, that are still used by us or are met in our histories. I have thus at any rate preserved the often comic contrast between the first-names and surnames, of which the Hobbits themselves were well aware.

To make a halfling name, take a stereotypical British and spell it like George R.R. Martin. Or choose from the list below. 

Male Names: Addam, Alesander, Andwise, Angus, Bennard, Bill, Bob, Bodo, Bucca, Dafyd, Duggo, Edric, Filbert, Geoff, Graham, Gregor, Hamson, Hob, Hugo, Jack, Kallimac, Largo, Lews, Madoc, Marq, Milo, Mungo, Nibs, Nob, Odo, Omer, Polliver, Porto, Reginard, Reynard, Robin, Rowan, Rufus, Samwell, Ted, Tom, Warwick, Wesley, Will, Zachery

Female Names: Alanys, Alice, Angelica, Asphodel, Bell, Belladonna, Berylla, Brenda, Bonnie, Catlyn, Colette, Daisy, Diamond, Dee, Dora, Edith, Eleanor, Hanna, Helen, Janna, Jolly, Kaya, Lanna, Lily, Liza, Maggie, Marigold, May, Molly, Pansy, Pearl, Primrose, Rhonda, Rose, Ruth, Saera, Sybelle, Tanselle, Tanta, Violet, Walda, Willow

Check out the full game here!

Under Hill, By Water Post 2: No Adventurin'!

No Adventures, Thank You

The flow of a Under Hill, By Water game is a little different than a standard dungeon-crawling game. You're not some stupid burglar going into troll caves and dragon-infested mountains. You're just a respectable halfling trying to be a good person. Even so, unpleasant and uncomfortable things can happen in one's life. Here are the rules for them. 

Animalis

This skill is important to train, control, and understand animals. Halflings generally have better leeway with the domestic animals they raise and train than with wild animals, but this skill is a viable way to calm down a hostile wild animal and escape the scene. 

Herbalism

Halflings are farmers and think a lot about the growing things of the earth. Herbalism takes this a step further with a knowledge of healthful plants and their properties. 
Use this skill to find herbs in fields and forests and make a poultice. This takes a Turn to do. 

• During combat, a successful use of this skill and a poultice will stabilize a character with negative Blood. If they don't take any more damage, they will stay conscious. 
• During times of rest, a successful use of this skill will raise a wounded character from negative Blood to 1 Blood. 
• During times of rest, a successful use of this skill and a poultice will heal a character (with at least 1 Blood) 1d4 Blood points. A wounded character can only benefit from a poultice once. 

Lore

Any halfling can remember what happened back in the summer of '44 when the white wolves came, or recount the hilarious story of their fat uncle Barnabas getting stuck in the well. Test this skill when the halfling is trying to remember or dig up half-remembered stories and legends from the ancient days when halflings weren't so secluded and the old king yet reigned. 

Halflings only speak the Common tongue, with little scraps of their ancestral tongue mixed into their truism and sayings. When a halfling comes into contact with another language, they get a chance to see if they can speak it by making a Lore roll. A character gets one attempt to know any particular language. If that one attempt fails, the character simply does not know the language.

Professions 

Halflings who work and live in the Commonwealth gain ([Profession rank]d10 x 10 copper) + (1 silver x rank) each year during the winter phase. 

Halflings always have access to the products of their profession for half-price. A rope-maker, for example, could outfit an expedition in lengths of rope. If your profession doesn't produce "goods" (like, say, sherrif or actor) you probably have other advantages. At the very least, you're friends with others in your profession and can hire them as hirelings at half cost. 

If a halfling PC sells his goods during game-play, subtract the total he makes from his year-end profits. 

Singing
Songs are important part of the Commonwealth. There are work songs and drinking songs and bathing songs and walking songs. Anybody PC can tap into this vast network of songs by singing (or at least saying) a stanza of a song outloud to everybody else at the table. You can plagiarize a Tolkien song or make one up--whichever suits you best. If you do so, one PC at the table can benefit from one of the following effects:

• Regain d4+Cha bonus Sweat 
• Gain advantage on one attribute or skill test
• Gain advantage on a Tears roll

Singing takes a Turn. A character can only benefit from the effects of a song once per season. 

Sleight of Hand
Picking the pockets of an unaware person, hiding a small object from a search, readying a weapon without any observers noticing, swapping out an object on a weight-sensitive plate with a similarly-weighted bag of sand, these and more are examples of Sleight of Hand. A character has a base 1 in 6 chance to successfully perform such an activity.

Stealth

Stealth allows a character to sneak around and hide. Stealth is not invisibility. A character must be hidden and his position unknown in order to use this skill. 

A halfling is considered to have a Stealth skill of 6 against any non-halfling if they are in the Commonwealth. 

Their usual skill rating is only used when trying to sneak past other halflings. 

Swimming

Halflings can't swim. Any halfling that falls into a body of water has a chance of drowning Drop the character to -1 Blood and roll Tears to see if they fall unconscious and fall beneath the waves. Every round in the water requires a successful Strength check to try and splutter to shore. 

Tinkering

Manipulating small mechanical objects is an activity called Tinkering. Tinkering is often used to open locks or remove small mechanical traps. 

Other uses of Tinkering (setting traps, for example, or jury-rigging impromptu devices) should be adjudicated by the GM on a case-by-case basis. Remember the Let it Ride rule. 

Woodcraft

This skill allows characters to find water and hunt for food. Halflings don't travel often outside the hedges of the Commonwealth, but foraging and hunting is a useful and profitable hobby, sport, and job. Use your Woodcraft skill to forage and hunt (per LotFP rules) and avoid getting lost if you're ever have the misfortune of being in the Deeping Woods. 

Everything not covered by a skill isn't considered insider information. They can be covered by attribute tests in general. For example, climbing up a sheer surface is just a Dexterity test (halflings are fairly good at stuff like that). 

Halflings don't usually encounter locked doors (that can't be opened by knocking politely) or traps. We don't need rules for that sort of thing. 

Fisticuffs and Wrasslin'

Halflings are, by a whole, a peaceable people. Still, they practice some warcraft ... or at least war games. Harvest festivals often feature quarterstaff duels (called "stavin'"), with the loser being flipped into shallow water. The old halfling men who play at being in an army call themselves the Knights of the Old Road and ride around on their hounds or pigs, bearing bent lances. 

Sometimes, though, halflings have to use arms in earnest. Wolves sometimes try to steal game during the winter. Sometimes the Big Folk will get drunk and need to be ejected. A hundred years ago, a score of goblins crossed the water, stories of which are still told to this day.

Initiative
When combat breaks out, it is usually unexpected for all sides. If one side is expecting it and the other isn't, it's an Ambush. See those rules below. 

During the first round of combat, things are a bit hectic. Fists are flying, mugs of ale are getting knocked over, damage is being done to property and person. Each individual combatant rolls a 1d6 and adds their Dex modifier. Higher numbers move first. If there's a tie between a NPC and a PC, the GM determines who goes first. If there's a tie between two PCs, they decide among themselves. 

All other rounds of combat proceeds in the following order:

1. Missile weapons - Anybody wielding a missile weapon who wants to make a ranged attack goes first
2. Large or wild creatures - If the halflings are fighting NPCs larger than them (dwarf or bigger) or wild creatures (wolves, giant rats, wild boars, etc.), they go during step 2
3. Halflings - Halflings engaged in melee go last. If the PCs are fighting another gang of halflings, each side rolls 1d6. Whoever rolls highest goes first as a team. 

During a combat turn, every acting character has about as much time as needed to move about 30', make an attack (or equivalent), and perform some minor action. 

If an Ambush happens, the ambushing side goes first as a team. All damage done by the ambushers during the first round of combat bypasses Sweat and goes directly to Blood. Thereafter, combat proceeds as normal. 

Missiles

To make a missile attack, the attacker tests their Dexterity. This roll is made with a -2 if their target has at least medium armor and -2 if their target is carrying a shield (these penalties can stack). 

Missile attacks like bows and blunderbusses harm Blood directly and bypass Sweat. If the attacker rolls a natural 1, he automatically hits and rolls double weapon dice. 

Melee

To make a melee attack, the attacks tests their Strength and the defender tests their Armor Class. 

• If the attacker succeeds at his test and the defender fails at his test, the attacker rolls their weapon dice against them. 
• If both the attacker and defender fail, the attacker may choose to perform a special maneuver against the defender (see maneuvers below). 
• If the attacker fails and the defender succeeds, the defender may choose to perform a special maneuver against the attacker. 

If the attacker rolls a natural 1, he rolls double weapon dice and attacks Blood directly, bypassing Sweat (if he hits).  

Maneuvers

Several maneuvers give d4 bonuses to subsequent rolls. Just put a pack of d4s in the middle of the table. When a maneuver is used that gives the bonus, pull one from the pile and place it on your character sheet. After it's rolled, put it back in the middle. 

Aim - You gain a +d4 to your next attack roll. 

Clobber - You gain a +d4 to your next damage roll.

Disarm - Your target drops one thing that they're holding (their choice). 

Evade - You gain a +d4 to your next armor class roll. 

Grab - You hold on to your opponent to try and get them good. Your very next attack against them bypasses Sweat and goes straight to Blood, unless they Shake You Off or damage you first. 

Knockback - Your target is kicked back into a direction of your choice. If this would put them in mortal danger (like falling off a cliff), they get to make a Dexterity saving throw. 

Shake Off - You can cancel somebody's Grab maneuver with this maneuver. 

Trip - Your target can't move away from you next turn. 

I know I promised professions and family details, and those are still forthcoming. BLAMMO

Check out the full game here!

Under Hill, By Water

Under Hill, By Water

In a hole in the ground there lived...

(Psst. I actually published this game in a fuller form. Check it out here!)

The OSR is pretty metal. And metal rules. But it's fairly far away from the source material of Tolkien and the eclectic, rustic, anachronistic little British gentlemen that were the center of his stories. This is an OSR hack--mostly from Lamentations of the Flame Princess--that's about living in the under-hill homes of the halflings. It's about being simple and silly. If you leave the high border hedges of the Commonwealth, you've left Under Hill, By Water. Pull out a different ruleset and start playing that. 

Core Rules

[They] are an unobtrusive but very ancient people, more numerous formerly than they are today; for they love peace and quiet and good tilled earth: a well-ordered and well-farmed countryside was their favourite haunt. ... Even in ancient days they were, as a rule, shy of 'the Big Folk', as they call us, and now they avoid us with dismay and are becoming hard to find. They are quick of hearing and sharp-eyed, and though they are inclined to be fat and do not hurry unnecessarily, they are nonetheless nimble and deft in their movements. They possessed from the first the art of disappearing swiftly and silently, when large folk whom they do not wish to meet come blundering by; and this an they have developed until to Men it may seem magical.

Roll under your attributes to succeed in a check.

Saving Throws are attribute checks that you make in a wink of an eye to avoid some catastrophe. Roll under an attribute per normal.

Let it ride. You cannot make a check more than once, until something significant changes.

If somebody helps you, roll with Advantage (per 5E). If you fail and something bad happens, you both suffer the consequences.

Actually just steal all the Advantage/Disadvantage rules from 5E. They are good.

Attributes

Enjoy the normal spread: Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, Cha

Use the LotFP spread for a score of 3-18, with a modifier from -3 to +3. 

Blood, Sweat, Tears

Every halfling of the Commonwealth has three additional stats: Blood, Sweat, and Tears. 

Sweat is your ability to dodge away to minimize the brunt of attacks. Attacks remove damage from Sweat first before it hits your Blood.

Blood measures your frail body's ability to absorb abuse. When attacks damage your Blood, you're getting hurt.

Any attack that removes half your maximum Blood or deals maximum weapon damage to Blood causes a serious wound and drops any remaining Sweat to 0. Describe what this wound is and how it hurts your halfling.

If you're at full Blood, you can spend a Turn eating and resting to regain Sweat. Roll your Blood dice and refill your Sweat up to your max.

If you've taken Blood damage, you can spend a Turn eating and resting to regain 1 point of Blood.

When you’re dropped to 0 Blood or below, you start using your Tears dice. Each round, you attempt to roll a number higher than your current negative Blood. When you fail, you pass out.

Another halfling can try and roll Herbalism to try and heal you. If they succeed on their roll during combat, you succeed on your attempts to stay awake. If they succeed during a time of rest, you go from negative Blood to 1 Blood. Until you pass out, you can crawl away and hide, but any round that you exert yourself (by attacking or running and helping your friends), you actually lose another point of Blood.

If you pass out, decrease your Tears dice by one step. Your Tears step is permanently set lower. It never goes back up. You're just older and weaker now. 

Skills

Under Hill, By Water uses the following skills, each of which begin with a 1 out of 6 chance. 
Animalis
Herbalism
Lore
Stealth
Sleight of Hand
Tinker
Woodcraft
[Profession] - Dependent on the profession of the halfling

Creating a Character

[I]n the days of their peace and prosperity they were a merry folk. They dressed in bright colours, being notably fond of yellow and green; but they seldom wore shoes, since their feet had tough leathery soles and were clad in a thick curling hair, much like the hair of their heads, which was commonly brown. Thus, the only craft little practised among them was shoe-making; but they had long and skillful fingers and could make many other useful and comely things. Their faces were as a rule good-natured rather than beautiful, broad, bright-eyed, red-cheeked, with mouths apt to laughter, and to eating and drinking. And laugh they did, and eat, and drink, often and heartily, being fond of simple jests at all times, and of six meals a day (when they could get them). They were hospitable and delighted in parties, and in presents, which they gave away freely and eagerly accepted.

Roll 3d6 in order: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. 

You can switch any two. 

Note bonuses based on LotFP. 

If the total of all your character's attribute modifiers is less than zero, discard that character and start again. 

Choose a stock: Dulkeen, Vohnkar, Aldwin

At rank 1, your Blood is set by your stock. If your die is d6, you get 6 + Con Blood. If it's a d8, you get 8 + Con Blood. If it's d10, you get 10 + Con Blood. Your Blood score only changes if your Con score changes. 

At 2nd rank, you start worrying about Sweat. You roll a Sweat dice every time you achieve a new rank. Add the roll + Con bonus to your Sweat total. 

Everybody starts at d12 Tears. Every time you're at death's door, the die type of your Tears goes down by one step (from d12 to d10, from d10 to d8, from d8 to d6, from d6 to d4--where it stops). 

Fuck Alignment. You're a halfling. You probably have good, nice feelings about most of your neighbors, except your mean old cousins. 

Roll (or choose) a d50 profession. Note the bonus to your skill. Note your starting equipment. 
[Forthcoming...go steal from DCC if you're antsy]

Roll (or choose) a d66 family name. Note your starting equipment. Note your ancestral home and its features. 
[Forthcoming] 

Roll 1d6 + [Cha modifier (if positive)]d6 starting silver. Don't buy anything yet. Just put it in your pocket. 

Choose a name from the name list.  

Concerning Halflings

Rather early in their history, halflings separated themselves into three "stocks." These are basically your classes. They're measured from 1-10, per the halfling ranking system. (Steal them. Hack them. Adapt them.) 

At  rank 1, every halfling begins the game with a Blood ranking as the sides of their Blood dice + Con modifier. 

Starting at second rank (and every other time you rank up), roll your Sweat dice + Con bonus to gain a Sweat score.

Halflings don't make their own weapons, as they've never warred among themselves and their days of struggle against the Outside World have passed into cloudy legends. They put farm implements to martial use, when they have a need, or buy weapons from dwarves. Halflings, due to their size, use medium weapons two-handed and can't use large weapons.

Halflings use the Stealth roll only against other halflings. If they are a) in the Commonwealth and b) hiding from other creatures, they treat their Stealth rating as a 6.

Rank
Instead of tracking levels, halflings of the Commonwealth track their rank. 
Ranks go up once a year if your halfling has gained at least 3 XP that year. If the halfling hasn't gained at least 3 XP by the end of a year, he resets his XP to 0. 
Halfling stocks are measured from rank 1-10. Anything more than that is probably superfluous for a game of Under Hill, By Water. 

You gain an XP when you do one of the following:

• Defeat a bad beastie 
• Throw a big party
• Get married (first time only)
• Have a wee one (first time only)
• Solve a mystery
• Put an end to any queer business

Every halfling is referred to by his rank. They are thus:
1. Rascal
2. Master / Miss
3. Mister / Mistress 
4. Goodman / Goody 
5.  Selectman / Selectwoman
6. Gentle / Lady 
7. Esquire
8. Ealdorman / Ealdorwoman
9. Mayor
10. Thain

Stocks
All halflings are members of one of three stocks. 

Dullkeen
"But Nelwyn spirits and Nelwyn hearts and Nelwyn minds bore little relation to the bodies that housed them. With every hand against them, in a world shaped for creatures many times their size, they took on the characteristics of the land they made their home. They were tough, they endured; above all, they adapted." 

Dullkeens are the most common stock of halflings in the Commonwealth. They are not as tall as the Aldwins, nor as stout as the Vohnkar. They have curly hair of brown or black on their heads and their toes. They have long clever fingers, joyful red cheeks, and easy laughter. Dullkeens sometimes live Overwater as man- or maid-servants of the humans that live there, whom they call the "Big Folk." Indeed, they get along rather well with humans. Dullkeens are hard workers and throw themselves into whatever their task is with their whole heart. 

• d6 Blood / d6 Sweat
• Dullkeen begin rank 1 with 4 extra skill points, placed as they wish.
• Each rank up, Dullkeen gain 2 more skill points.

Vohnkar
"Among the Wise I am the only one that goes in for hobbit-lore: an obscure branch of knowledge, but full of surprises. Soft as butter they can be, and yet sometimes as tough as old tree-roots." 

The Vohnkar are a stock of hearty, swarthy, tough, and stout little halflings. They're the heaviest of the three stocks, being inclined to eat. Vohnkar mix often with dwarves and do a good trade with them; it's said they might have a little dwarf blood in their veins. In addition to furry toes, Vohnkar have hair on the back of their hands and the men have bristling side-whiskers (they're the only halflings who can grow facial hair worth a damn). 

• d8 Blood / d10 Sweat
• Vohnkar add their Dexterity bonus to their AC even when wearing medium or heavy armor.
• Vohnkar use d6s instead of d4s for maneuver dice (see Combat)
• Vohnkar can roll a saving throw with advantage a number of times per day equal to their rank.

Aldwin
"It was often said (in other families) that long ago one of the Took ancestors must have taken a fairy wife."

Aldwins are the tallest and thinnest of the three stocks; it's said by other halflings that they're criminally under-weight. They have light-colored eyes and tend to have blonde hair. Aldwins, more than other stocks, are given to wandering--especially in the woods and especially at night. Sometimes they meet elves there. Sometimes the elves will sing with them. 

• d6 Blood / d4 Sweat
• Aldwins can cast Knacks. Knacks count for all purposes as a 1st level spell, but Aldwins never forget them. They can cast them indefinitely.
• Aldwins don't use spellbooks. They are natural (if humble) magicians.
• An Aldwin begins play with one random Knack. They learn one additional random Knack each time they rank up. 
• Aldwins may not cast Knacks while Heavily Encumbered. Aldwins must have one hand free to cast a Knack.

Knacks

For each Aldwin at the table, set out two coins--both facing heads up.

When a Aldwin casts a Knack, flip a coin face down.

When a coin is face down, the GM can use one of his Balance Moves against the players by flipping the coin's face back up. He does this at opportune moments, or just when the players are on a flow of good luck. (It's important for stories to have both ebbs and flows.) He can do this when it makes sense narratively. He can do this whenever, as long as one of the coins tails up.

Why mess with the Balance Coin in the first place? To cast Knacks. Aldwins can cast any known Knack if he flips the Balance Coin. 

Doodlebug

If you follow your dowsing rod of willow, you can find anything that you're looking for, as long as its within the bounds of the Commonwealth's hedges. 

Augur 

By looking at signs and portents, the Aldwin can guess at the future. He may ask the GM, "If X happens, will Y happen?" The GM will answer him. 

Hand

This Knack lets the Aldwin manipulate something they can see as if they had their hand on it. They can lift objects or call them to them through the air. 

Naming
This Knack reveals a living creature's name to the Aldwin. 

Torch

If cast on a piece of dry oak, this Knack will create a torch that casts light only for the halfling holding it. It creates no heat, but otherwise is treated like a normal torch (and will go out if dropped, if dowsed, etc.). 

Spark

Using this Knack is as good as having flint, tinder, and time to start a fire. If something can burn naturally, it'll start right up. 

Speed the Work

If nobody is watching the Aldwin, they can perform about an hour's worth of work in the space of a Turn. 

Canny

The Aldwin's player can ask if the last thing he heard was a lie. The GM will answer honestly. 

Evil Eye

The Aldwin meets somebody's gaze and gives them ol' Evil Eye. This is a bad scandal in the Commonwealth. The next time that person would roll a skill check, they fail. For halflings, this usually means the next bit of work they do is ruined. Butter curdles. Ropes fray. Ponies escape their pens. Sometimes buildings collapse. 

Whispering

The Aldwin can speak to an animal like any other halfling for a Turn. The animal can tell him plainly what his complaints are. Domestic animals will obey an Aldwin giving him commands with this Knack. Wild animals won't. They're wild, after all.  

Mimicry

The Aldwin can use this Knack to repeat or imitate any sound he knows so well that anybody would be fooled. 

Whistle-Way

If he whistles continually, the Aldwin can use his right hand as any type of common tool (hammer, awl, saw, bore, etc.) for a Turn. 

Balance Moves

Ok, so the Aldwin is using Knacks and being a weirdo. What's happening because of that? 

• Storm clouds gather at the horizon. The weather gets worse.

• Something smells your magic and comes looking for you. Roll on the wandering monster table. 

• Bad luck. Make your roll with disadvantage. 

• The stars are wrong. The GM turns a failure just rolled into a great failure. Instead of missing the dragon, your sword is shattered on its hide. When trying to swing across the gap, you fall and crack your head.

You'll notice that a lot of the situations that Balance Moves might prompt an Aldwin to use more Knacks. This feeds into a vicious cycle.

It might be better to do nothing...

Coming Soon: Family Names and Professions