Hearth and Hillside Home

This Fox DM has a major soft spot for when it comes to the small folk races of tabletop and video games alike; especially the halflings. My first D&D character I ever played was a halfling, they are my favorite race and my main character in FFXIV is a Lolafell. I was quite excited when I found “Hearth and Hillside Home,” a 13 page document filled with tables of random halfling goodness created by Elizabeth Dewing and Finn Lloyd.

The first table is “refreshments to warm the heart” which is a d20 beverage mix of endearing and snicker worthy brews and beverages. What I love about this particular list is there are non-alcoholic and some talking point pieces included in the random generator. Many times when you are trying to figure out different pieces to add into a table top game, the alcoholic beverages are what come to mind. I liked having some flavorful options for many of the lists that this document provided.

The next table of “Sweet Treats by the Experts” is another d20 list of ideas that you can give to a halfling bakery, a tavern or even take from for a halfling picnic idea. I personally plan on using some of these on the list to figure out what the players are smelling in the lane as they go through their next halfling village. There is a wide variety going from fresh blackberries, honey comb and fresh vintage from the vine on this particular list.

My absolute favorite chart from this booklet is the “Breakfast at Any Hour” d20 chart that makes me realize that I need to up my real life halfling breakfast game. Pages six and seven have lots of delicacies and questionable (looking at you #11 and 15) options that could be gracing your players at their next breakfast. Scones, bread, eggs, bacon, oatcakes… the list goes on as there are many yummy pieces that can fit your breakfast needs. Some of these are good enough that I'm tempted to make them on a weekend morning.

These three lists that I have mentioned are not the only lists inside these pages. You will also find a d12 list of “Sights seen” that can be used to introduce side quests, NPCs and role playing opportunities as well as a second d12 “Scenery” list for travel help. Want to include some lore? Look no further than the d10 list “Entirely true tales from Beyond the High Hedge” to bring some halfling flavor to your game. There are also three pretty pencil drawings that bring some life into the document as well that feature a halfling in a barrel, a fairy or pixie and a beautiful halfling home. In case your players go into such a home there is on page 10, a d10 list of "Heirlooms of the Estate" in case your player venture into such halfling homes.

Thoughts from the Fox

I very much enjoy collecting random tables so the idea that these were all halfling based was delightful. I appreciate that there were a mix of good and less desirable options in each table. I found this to be a fun addition to my DM tools. I use random tables a lot during the planning process of my games. I know that some of these pieces from Hearth and Hillside Home will come to the tables of my players. Personally I use tables during the planning stages as a DM so I will use these charts and others that I have to pull inspiration and ideas from before we go in game at the table.

Want to get your own copy? Check out Into the Weird Blue Yonder's itch.io page where you can get your own copy as a pay what you want piece. They have 10 different works available on their itchi.io available for purchase from free to $3.50. You can also follow Into the Weird Blue Yonder on Twitter.

Hearth and Hillside Home is Copyright “Into the Weird Blue Yonder.”