Regarding Halfling Psychology

I'm really only making this post to cease the whole halfling=country bumpkins thing with BlAde. Why he/you care so much is beyond me. Anywho-here is my view and understanding of the Little Folk.

The majority (probably around 75-80 percent (Races of the Wild says the number is closer to 95%, but BlAde will never go for that)) of halflings are nomads. They generally wander around the lands, meeting new people, exploring unexplored area and the like. This is due to a couple of their most dominant traits: Curiosity, which is tempered by their complete lack of fear of the unknown (and Death, for that matter). The average halfling just HAS to see what's around that bend, or in that locked chest, or behind that poison-dart-trapped-6-inch-solid steel door. To a Halfling every closed door, every shadow, every unexplored dungeon has roughly the same odds for glory, treasure, and friendship, as it does for misery, Death, and pain. I believe that these halflings are based on a particular hobbit clan-one that comes into play in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (and indirectly saves all of Middle Earth)-the Tooks. Bilbo himself is Half-Took (on his mother's side), and I believe Frodo is full Took, so to speak (on his father's side, of course), before Bilbo adopted him (and he then became a Baggins). But this is unnecesary. Onto the other branch of Halflingkind.

The rest of the population are "settled halflings". These live in, well any settled area, be it a small pure halfling village to the largest multiracial metropolis. They do not wander around (but many of them DO share the nomadic halflings' curiosity). SOME of these are the more "boring" version-the bulk of Tolkien's hobbit society. Those halflings are the farmers and such.

Halflings are not particularly greedy, as a whole. Yes, the generally enjoy the shine of Gold, the sparkle of gems, but then again, who doesn't? What halflings love more than any wealth, however, is magic items. (I assume this extends to psionic items as well, the two are so similar it's not funny). In fact, this is where Halflings spend the majority of their spending money. Now Halflings don't have any problem with stealing. It's not that they particularly enjoy it (but they don't not enjoy it) it just isn't against their moral fiber. However, larcenists many of them be, they are also Hard-workers, and will help any other races, for a small fee, of course. In addition to the wages, Halflings also gain someting more valuable-a good reputation. They don't steal from everybody they meet. IF they did no one would let them in anywhere. They only really steal from the rich, because the nomadic halflings know more than anyone the gruelling pain of near-starvation.