1. Locations

The Talenta Plains

Nation

Thousands of square miles of pristine grasslands bordering the expanse of the Blade Desert, the Talenta Plains are the most unspoiled territory in central Khorvaire. This great land and the halflings who live there have remained essentially unchanged since before humans first set foot on the continent.

The halflings of the Talenta Plains live a simpler life than the people of the Five Nations. They have no cities, no industrialized magic. But they do have dinosaurs. The halflings have domesticated the dinosaurs of the plains, and use these creatures as mounts, livestock, and beasts of burden. There is a sacred bond between a hunter and their mount, and few people are prepared to face a raging halfling barbarian riding a furious clawfoot raptor.

Talenta religion is based around reverence for spirits, both departed ancestors and the spirits of the natural world. 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 past the tribes have stood alone, but during the Last War many halflings came together under Lathon Halpum to defend their land, and it is Halpum who won recognition for the Plains as one of the Thronehold nations. The Plains have only been considered a nation for two years, and it’s still unclear what this means; however, it has resulted in more traffic between the Plains and the outside world.


Interesting Things About the Talenta Plains

  • House Ghallanda and House Jorasco both originated in the Talenta Plains. The dragonmarked bloodlines appear throughout the tribes, though you can play a dragonmarked halfling from the Plains who doesn’t work for the houses.
  • The Talentan reverence for spirits derives from the fact that a variety of spirits haunt the Plains. The region contains an unusual number of manifest zones tied to Dolurrh and Thelanis. Ghosts are more likely to linger in such places, and minor fey are scattered across the Plains.
  • Stories tell of ancient ruins that date back to the first age of the world and of a vast graveyard holding the bones of dragons.

Talentan Characters

See chapter 1 for quirks and other features relevant to halfling characters from the Talenta Plains. Also consider the following:

Wild Warriors and Tricksters. You were born in the wild, and your wits and your weapons helped you survive. Talenta warriors are often barbarians or rangers, relying on speed and skill. Outlander is a logical background, but you could easily be a folk hero, entertainer, or charlatan. You could even be an urchin who was stranded in a great city and adapted to life there.

Surrounded by Spirits. Fey, fiends, and the ghosts of ancestors, these are all part of the spirit world, and they’re all around you. Do you believe that the spirits guide your actions? Do you show respect to the spirits of a location? Talentan shamans tend to be druids of the Circle of the Moon or the Circle of the Shepherd, often assuming the form of dinosaurs. You could also reflect a strong bond to spirits by playing a warlock with an Archfey patron, a cleric with the Nature domain, a paladin sworn to the Oath of the Ancients, or a barbarian on the Path of the Totem Warrior or Path of the Ancestral Guardian. Hermit and outlander are natural backgrounds, but you could be an acolyte or a sage who consults spirits instead of books. Warriors and shamans both wear masks to present a particular face to the spirit world.

Dinosaurs. Talenta halflings have a close bond to their dinosaur companions. If you don’t begin the campaign with a dinosaur mount or companion, you might acquire one over the course of your adventures. You can also consider whether a fallen dinosaur is part of your backstory; perhaps you lost your faithful mount in the Last War, but you believe its spirit is still with you.

History

The Talenta Plains is a nation unlike any other in Khorvaire, with no central government and nothing in the way of real cities or towns. The halflings of the Talenta Plains are known as shrewd negotiators and capable tacticians. They live in nomadic tribes, traversing the territory on their dinosaur mounts.

Though the halflings live at a distance from the events of greater Khorvaire, they are fully cognizant of those events, and of the world beyond their pastoral homeland. They live in tribes of up to several dozen extended families. However, significant numbers of halflings have chosen to leave the Plains for lives elsewhere in Khorvaire, demonstrating their ability to not only survive but to thrive in modern society.

The Talenta halflings had no aspirations to nationhood before the Last War. Despite their desire to remain uninvolved in that conflict, the halflings found themselves caught up in the struggles of other nations when those struggles spilled out into the Plains. Extensive campaigns between Karrnath and Cyre—both of which had laid claim to parts of the Plains in the past—ruined grazing land and destroyed countless herds of cattle and dinosaurs.

With the start of the Last War, however, it became nearly impossible for the halfling tribes to avoid the politics of the Five Nations. The Talenta Plains offered perfect battlefields—wide open and flat, without any settlements or civilian towns to get in the way. Of course, these battles had a severe impact on the herds of dinosaurs and cattle that roamed and grazed on the plains. Because those animals were central to the halflings’ way oflife, the tribes found themselves drawn into the conflict.

Different tribes aligned with different sides, giving some the sense that the halflings did not honor treaties and were not to be trusted. Eventually, for their own protection (and that of their beloved plains), the tribes began to work more closely together, and when the other nations gathered at Thronehold to negotiate a lasting peace, the halflings sent a single representative to look out for their interests.

Today, the Talenta Plains are considered a single nation, but halfling society still revolves around the tribe. The only permanent community in the territory is Gatherhold, which all tribes visit from time to time but none occupy permanently. The settlement is maintained by the members of House Ghallanda, one of the two halfling dragonmarked houses. The other dragonmarked houses maintain a few way stations in the plains, and the halflings have allowed Karrnath to construct a number of military outposts and maintain a standing garrison in the south, along the Valenar border. For the most part, though, the plains remain as they have been for thousands of years.


ECG

The Talenta Plains is a nation unlike any other in Khorvaire, with no central government and nothing in the way of real cities or towns. The halflings of the Talenta Plains are known as shrewd negotiators and capable tacticians. They live in nomadic tribes, traversing the territory on their dinosaur mounts.

Though the halflings live at a distance from the events of greater Khorvaire, they are fully cognizant of those events, and of the world beyond their pastoral homeland. They live in tribes of up to several dozen extended families. However, significant numbers of halflings have chosen to leave the Plains for lives elsewhere in Khorvaire, demonstrating their ability to not only survive but to thrive in modern society.

The Talenta halflings had no aspirations to nationhood before the Last War. Despite their desire to remain uninvolved in that conflict, the halflings found themselves caught up in the struggles of other nations when those struggles spilled out into the Plains. Extensive campaigns between Karrnath and Cyre—both of which had laid claim to parts of the Plains in the past—ruined grazing land and destroyed countless herds of cattle and dinosaurs.

Forgetting old feuds, the halflings chose to speak with a unified voice, with elders from every tribe meeting in council to decide a course for their people. For the remainder of the Last War, they defended their lands as a unified force. When Khorvaire’s new borders were drawn at Thronehold, the halflings sued for and won recognition as a sovereign nation.

Halfling culture treats every member of a tribe as an equal. A halfling tribe is ruled by an elected leader known as a lath, whose authority depends on retaining the confidence and respect of the tribe as a whole. Every few generations, a truly great leader arises, inspiring not just his or her tribe but other tribes and their laths. Such a halfling is given the title oflathon and is granted the power to render decisions for the halfling nation as a whole.

Lathon Halpum organized the tribes during the Last War and represented them in the negotiations at Thronehold. He is considered the father of this land, and without his example, the halfling nation would likely never have come to pass. Although he has since stepped down from his position, Halpum has the respect of nearly every living halfling.

The halflings lived, hunted, and wandered Khorvaire for thousands of years before the arrival of humans. Their nomadic tribes once journeyed across the entire central continent, sometimes not returning to the Talenta Plains for a generation or more. As humans and other races expanded into what would eventually become the Five Nations, the halflings found themselves slowly forced back until only the Plains remained open to them.

Within the kingdom of Galifar, Talenta was considered part of Cyre, though that made little difference to the tribes. To a halfling claiming ownership over the land makes little more sense than claiming ownership of the wind or rain. Although a tribal council nominally rules the halfling nation, its primary task is simply maintaining the appearance that the Talenta Plains are a unified land—thereby preventing other nations from encroaching on the halflings’ territory


ECS

The Talenta Plains spread out to the east from Karrnath and the Mournland, reaching for the mountains of Ironroot and Endworld. This flat tableau of rugged grassland gives way to the punishing heat and sand of the Blade Desert before rising into the forlorn peaks and crumbling cliffsides of the Endworld Mountains. Across this vast expanse, herds of buffalo-sized dinosaurs run wild, and halflings wander in nomadic tribes. The halflings control a territory bordered by Karrnath, the Mror Holds, Q’barra, Valenar, and the Mournland. Every year, the Blade Desert seems to creep farther into the grasslands, but as long as life can be squeezed from the Plains, the Talenta halfling tribes will survive.

The halfling tribes of the Talenta Plains struggle to keep their ancient traditions and heritage alive despite the lure of the comforts and advances of the Five Nations. Many people of central Khorvaire have a certain picture in mind when they think of the Talenta Plains—halfling barbarians riding dinosaurs, performing heathen rituals, engaging in strange customs, and wearing strange clothing. All of these images ring true, but it is a partial truth. The culture and rituals of the halfling tribes are simpler, more archaic than the customs and practices of those living in the more “civilized” nations. These rituals can be cruel, harsh, and primitive by some standards, but they also possess a beauty, sophistication, and wonder all their own. Where part of each tribe embraces tradition, part also feels the pull of modern thoughts and ideas. So far, the tribes have balanced these two competing forces, but a day may come when tradition must bend to modernization or be twisted and broken by its unrelenting weight.

Karrnath and Cyre both claimed parts of the Talenta Plains during the Last War. Prior to the fall of the kingdom of Galifar, the halfling tribes were permitted to wander their ancestral lands as long as they paid tribute to the Galifar king. With the coming of war, the halfling tribes began to cooperate in unprecedented ways to protect the Plains that all the tribes revered. Warriors of different tribes banded together, repelling invaders from Karrnath and Cyre by using their knowledge of the ways of the Plains to confuse and confound the invaders. Later, when the Plains became the place for various combatant nations to clash, the halfling tribes tried to stay out of the way.

As the war progressed, the halfling tribes settled more and more of their ancient grievances, creating a “nation of nations” that stretched across the Talenta Plains. War councils, tribal meetings, and gatherings celebrating victories and festivals important to the halfling tribes replaced the minor skirmishes that once punctuated tribal interaction. When the time came for the powers involved in the Last War to meet and discuss forging a lasting peace, the halfling tribes sent agents representing their tribal council. With the signing of the Treaty of Thronehold, the territory of the Talenta Plains was recognized as a sovereign nation composed of loosely aligned halfling tribes.

The halflings have wandered the Talenta Plains since before the first humans reached Khorvaire’s shores. Once, these nomads ranged far and wide, traveling across the open land that is now the Mournland, Karrnath, Valenar, and the Talenta Plains. With the coming of the humans and the rise of the Five Nations, the halflings found their territory shrinking as human settlements encroached on the wide-open plains. At times, the halflings attempted to hold their position and drive the humans away, and a number of bloody battles punctuate the shared history of the two races. In the end, the two races found common ground and eventually discovered a way to peacefully coexist (the Last War not withstanding).

Halflings of the Plains continue to live in tribal units as they have for thousands of years. These tent-dwelling nomads spend a great deal of their lives on the backs of the small dinosaurs that share the Plains with them. (Small is a relative term; the dinosaurs of the Plains are certainly smaller than the great creatures that roam Xen’drik and the swamps of Q’barra, and some grow as large as elephants, though most range from the size of a small dog to the size of a cow.)

Driving cattle, tribex, and herbivorous dinosaur herds that provide them with the essentials of life (food, drink, and material for clothing and shelter), the halflings show consummate skill in the capture, training, and riding of dinosaurs. Using fast runners such as clawfoot and fastieth dinosaurs as mounts, the halflings are accomplished riders trained from the earliest age to not only control the beasts but fight from them with bows, blades, and boomerangs.

To the halflings of the Plains, the dinosaurs they bond with are more than mounts. They are partners, providing the means to herd, hunt, travel, and protect the tribe.

They respect and even revere these special creatures, demonstrating this respect through the artistic and frightening hunt-masks they craft. Each hunt-mask, tied to a halfling’s mount and crafted with exacting care by each rider, represents the power and feral nature of the bonded dinosaur. When a halfling dons his hunt-mask, he proudly proclaims his connection to his dinosaur and takes on the feral personality of the hunt. Indeed, a halfling believes that his spirit combines with his bonded dinosaur when he dons his hunt-mask.


PGtE

From the eastern shores of Lake Cyre, the Talenta Plains stretch away in a sea of grass that goes on as far as the eye can see. The majority of this territory is covered with grasslands teeming with a surprising array of wildlife, including dinosaurs that range in size from as small as dogs to as large as elephants.

While not the most fertile land, the Talenta Plains supply everything the halfling tribes need to live and thrive. To the south, the grass thins and gives way to the barren, sandy Blade Desert (named for its sharp, elongated shape) that runs to the Ironroot and Endworld Mountains in the east.

Nomadic tribes of halflings have lived, hunted, and wandered these plains since before humans first set foot on Khorvaire. Then, halflings and dinosaurs alike roamed as far north as the Iceflow River and Lake Dark in modern-day Karrnath, and west as far as the Seawall Mountains and Lake Brey. As humans expanded across Khorvaire, the halflings’ range diminished to its current extent. Nevertheless, the halflings continued to roam the plains as they had before, doing their best to avoid the encroaching cities and towns. Certainly, occasional confrontations erupted—the halflings were hunters by nature, and would not allow the longer-limbed races to bully them or push them off their land. But for the most part, the tribes were happy to peacefully coexist with their tall neighbors. Even when Galifar united the other nations of Khorvaire into one kingdom, it had little impact on this situation.

With the start of the Last War, however, it became nearly impossible for the halfling tribes to avoid the politics of the Five Nations. The Talenta Plains offered perfect battlefields—wide open and flat, without any settlements or civilian towns to get in the way. Of course, these battles had a severe impact on the herds of dinosaurs and cattle that roamed and grazed on the plains. Because those animals were central to the halflings’ way of life, the tribes found themselves drawn into the conflict.

Different tribes aligned with different sides, giving some the sense that the halflings did not honor treaties and were not to be trusted. Eventually, for their own protection (and that of their beloved plains), the tribes began to work more closely together, and when the other nations gathered at Thronehold to negotiate a lasting peace, the halflings sent a single representative to look out for their interests.

Today, the Talenta Plains are considered a single nation, but halfling society still revolves around the tribe. The only permanent community in the territory is Gatherhold, which all tribes visit from time to time but none occupy permanently. The settlement is maintained by the members of House Ghallanda, one of the two halfling dragonmarked houses. The other dragonmarked houses maintain a few way stations in the plains, and the halflings have allowed Karrnath to construct a number of military outposts and maintain a standing garrison in the south, along the Valenar border. For the most part, though, the plains remain as they have been for thousands of years.

Halfling tribes range in size from fifty to a thousand or more individuals. They maintain their nomadic traditions and eschew material possessions, keeping only what they need for their survival and that of the creatures they herd and ride. Even the largest tribes can strike camp, load up their mounts, and move out in no more than 10 minutes, driving their herds of cattle, tribex, and herbivorous dinosaurs ahead of them.

The tribes have an egalitarian structure. In theory, every individual in the tribe is equal, and the tribe as a whole elects a leader (called a lath) who guides the tribe for as long as he or she retains the tribe’s confidence. Only occasionally do tribes join together under the leadership of a lathon (a leader of multiple tribes). Lathon Halpum is the only halfling to currently hold that title, though he carries it only as an honorific, commemorating his role at Thronehold negotiating for the halfling nation. His own tribe is one of the largest in the plains, but he no longer commands any other. Still, he is well respected by the Talenta halflings, and could probably unite many or all of the tribes again if the need arose.

Environment

Politics of the Talenta Plains

To the average member of the Five Nations looking at a House Sivis produced map, the Talenta Plains look like endless miles of empty space, the only distinguishing features being Gatherhold and the lightning rail that runs along the western border. What these maps don't show is the variety of mortal and immortal life life that inhabits both the natural and supernatural worlds.

Physical

The most important cycle in the arid plains is one of fire and water. Brushfires renew the land, clearing old grasses and making way for new ones to fertilize the soil. Almost all are started by a bolt of lightning, the fire using several years of built-up detritus as fuel. Ash rising to the air promotes cloud formation and brings rain for new growth.

This fire cycle can grow particularly dangerous when Fernia grows coterminous, the plane's power amplifying the speed and intensity of the fire. Both the halfling tribes and wildlife respect this cycle, living around the fires rather than seeking to extinguish them. Some of the most important rituals performed by maskweavers involve journeying to the handful of Fernian manifest zones in the plains and divining the paths of future fires, ensuring the safety of their tribes.

Less common and less important to the ecology of the plains is the tornadoes that will occasionally tear through the landscape. One battle during the war was disrupted by a fire whirl, where a tornado picked up flaming debris from a brushfire in a terrifying combination of air and fire.

Invading armies throughout history have on occasion attempted to settle the plains, diverting the few rivers that flow across the land to support their agriculture. What they quickly discover is that this way of life depletes the soil and water reserves in under a decade, creating a local ecological collapse. When the settlement packs up and abandons the site, maskweavers mix magic and physical work to rejuvenate the land. A herd of animals, rather than trampling fledgling vegetation, actually rejuvenate the land when it passes through. Combined with primal magic, the land returns to its healthy state in a matter of years rather than decades.

Without the benefit of settled agriculture, the winters on the Talenta Plains are harsher than the dry, hot summers. Food stores are carefully planned to last through the reduced bounty from the land. Most tribes settle down for the winter, establishing more permanent camps in the knowledge that food won't be available regardless of where they travel.

When winter turns to spring, the danger only transforms as flash floods threaten to reshape the land and sweep away supplies, especially in the most arid regions bordering the desert. Eyre (April) is particularly intensive for the halfling tribes as they protect their herd for calving season. Tribex are impregnated in the winter, while Threehorn eggs are laid during Therendor (March) and hatch about a month later. Fortunately the abundant rains ensure that most years the herds have plenty of food even without wandering far. When the rain doesn't come, the tribes are forced to make difficult decisions that lead to violence.

Spiritual

The strong oral traditions of the halfling tribes instruct members from a young age how to respect the spirit world that overlays the Talenta Plains. A scholar from the University of Wynarn might analyze this spirit world as being the mix of extraplanar creatures from Thelanis, Dolurrh, and Lammania, but a maskweaver would counter that ultimately everything is the creation of the progenitors, and these spirits are as natural as the inhabitants of the material.

While Thelanis, Dolurrh, and Lammania are the most common sources of manifest zones, the Talenta Plains could have zones linked to any of the plains. Furthermore, manifest zones may not always be active - a zone linked to Risia may only operate during the winter months, when the cold and snow forces tribes to settle and stagnate. Actions taken by mortals can also increase the intensity of a connection, such as a zone linked to Shavarath that was intensified by the fighting that occured in it during the last war.

The stories the halflings tell contain wisdom no amount of "objective" field study by a scholar can uncover, because they carry with them millenia of refined learning. For example, Koh the Face Stealer preys on fear and surprise, but those brave of heart who express no emotion are safe from his magic. Tales about Koh are amongst the many told by the halflings, kept alive through an oral tradition that carries with it the weight of ageless values. An important theme across Talentan stories is generosity to strangers. Halflings who violate the principles of hospitality are cursed, while those who respect them are blessed by the stranger.

Eberron Campaign Guide

The Talenta Plains include not only broad grasslands but also a large portion of the Blade Desert, which has been expanding. Rainfall patterns in the Talenta lowlands have changed in recent years, and each new spring sees another mile of prairie turned to sand.

Eberron Campaign Setting

The Talenta Plains spread out to the east from Karrnath and the Mournland, reaching for the mountains of Ironroot and Endworld. This fl at tableau of rugged grassland gives way to the punishing heat and sand of the Blade Desert before rising into the forlorn peaks and crumbling cliffsides of the Endworld Mountains. Across this vast expanse, herds of buffalo-sized dinosaurs run wild, and halflings wander in nomadic tribes. The halflings control a territory bordered by Karrnath, the Mror Holds, Q’barra, Valenar, and the Mournland. Every year, the Blade Desert seems to creep farther into the grasslands, but as long as life can be squeezed from the Plains, the Talenta halfl ing tribes will survive.

Dinosaurs

The halflings of the Plains keep and tend numerous herd animals and herbivorous dinosaurs. They also train deadly clawfoot dinosaurs for use as mounts.

The halflings revere the clawfoots, and the relationship between a rider and his mount is as important as his relationship with his other tribe members. Half ling hunters show this relationship by the hunting masks they wear, each representing a mystical connection between dinosaur and rider. It is believed that when a halfling dons her mask, her spirit and her mount’s become intertwined. Hunting masks are sacred relics to the Talenta half lings, and stealing or defacing one is a capital crime.

Religion

Eberron Campaign Guide

The Talenta halflings combine a worship of ancestral and animal spirits with reverence for Balinor, god of beasts and the hunt.

Eberron Campaign Setting

Most of the halfl ings of the Talenta Plains combine ancestral and animal spirit worship with ceremonies devoted to Balinor, God of Beasts and the Hunt.

Government

Politics of the Talenta Plains

Each halfling tribe (ranging from fifty to over a thousand members) is led by an elected Lath, the strongest and wisest warrior. Laths are advised by maskweavers, halflings gifted with magic and the ability to connect to the spirits of the land. Elsewise, tribes have little internal structure, treating each member as an equal.

New Laths are usually elected when the prior one leaves their post through death or resignation. On occasion a popular movement within a tribe will demand a new Lath, and the tribe will convene for a snap election. Elections are decided by a simple majority vote of full tribal members, but the actual ceremony and ritual of an election takes several days as each of the candidates demonstrates their qualifications and takes oaths. Challenges may include races, climbs, and other feats of athleticism. Particularly heated elections may feature ritualized combat.

The halflings of the Talenta Plains are fully aware of the magical accommodations of the Five Nations - they simply have no use for most of them. The nomadic lifestyle leaves no room for wasteful bulk and weight. To them, many "conveniences" are little more than gimmicks or toys rather than truly useful. Some tools or resources have been adapted, especially Jorasco medical advances like extra absorbent cloth for treating puncture wounds, but most simply don't fit with the realities of life on the road.

Justice on the plains is simple yet brutal. Allegations are heard and decided by the Lath, who serves out punishment. For minor crimes the punishment is usually a payment of goods, but major crimes are punished by branding (with the brand representing the crime) and exile. Without the support of their community, exile is often a slower execution. On occasion exiles will unite to form a bandit tribe, surviving off of raids. These bandit tribes rarely last long, either dissolving to internal strife or a band of warriors from one of the legitimate tribes.

When confronted with external threats, the Lath recruits volunteers for an expedition. On occasion other events will require a Lath's attention, forcing them to appoint a lieutenant to lead an expedition, but most Laths prefer to appoint a trusted lieutenant to steward the tribe while they themself go to confront the threat.

On occasion, an external force will not only threaten a single tribe's existence, but the halfling tribes as a whole. To combat this threat the tribes elect a Lathon, a leader of leaders. The most recent Lathon is Lathon Halpum, of the Abramam tribe, who was elected to lead the halflings in protecting their lands from the war. Now that the war is over he wishes to step down from this position, however he also recognizes that the Treaty of Thronehold did not settle the underlying conflict.

Unlike the avaricious nobles of the Five Nations, Laths do not collect tribute or taxes from those they lead. Laths do take the most desired selections from community resources - camping spots, cuts of meat and the like - but still limit themselves to their fair share. Leaders who go beyond risk losing the support of their tribe and having their position challenged in a fresh election.

Each tribe is bound together by a complex web of marriages. Halfling family songs keep the story of relatives as well as a Vadalis geneology tree, and joining two seperate songs is virtuous. This high rate of tribal intermarriage binds what would otherwise be disparate tribes.

The domesticated dinosaurs are central to the Talentan lifestyle, providing not only mounts but feathers, meat, and eggs. Only a small portion of the arid terrain's vegetation is edible by humanoids, making the herds of animals that can eat the vegetation an invaluable resource. Wynarn scholars studying the plains have questioned the continued use of Threehorns in favor of exclusive Tribexes, given that the former do not provide fur or milk. Further study has revealed that the Threehorns compensate by almost unnatural growth - across Talenta, dinosaurs simply grow bigger and faster than mammals do with the same amount of food. The lack of this effect outside of Talenta likely explains why dinosaurs are not as present in the rest of Khorvaire.

While raiders and the elements are occasional concerns, disease can threaten to wipe out entire herds. As such, the tribes have developed limited relationships with Houses Vadalis and Jorasco for veterinary care. Despite this, it can take weeks for an expert to arrive after the maskweavers have reached their limits.

Eberron Campaign Guide

Halflings outside the Talenta Plains are descendants of wanderers who left their homeland, or characters who split their time between civilization and the Plains. Those traveling halflings serve as intermediaries for their folk in both worlds, carrying news of greater Khorvaire to the tribes and keeping tribal culture and values alive in the cities and towns.

The Talenta Plains contains only one permanent settlement—Gatherhold. The town is the headquarters of House Ghallanda, and it is here that the halfling tribes buy or barter what few supplies they cannot craft themselves. Though Gatherhold appears similar to any small town, no tribal halflings make permanent homes there. Rather, it is maintained by House Ghallanda, and it is sometimes viewed as less a town than an extended house enclave.

Gatherhold is the meeting place for the tribal council that governs the Talenta Plains. Leaders from all the tribes journey here several times a year for debate and decision-making, though representatives from other nations frequently comment that the council’s irregular schedule means that its discussions come too late to make any difference.

Halfling culture treats every member of a tribe as an equal. A halfling tribe is ruled by an elected leader known as a lath, whose authority depends on retaining the confidence and respect of the tribe as a whole. Every few generations, a truly great leader arises, inspiring not just his or her tribe but other tribes and their laths. Such a halfling is given the title of lathon and is granted the power to render decisions for the halfling nation as a whole.

Lathon Halpum organized the tribes during the Last War and represented them in the negotiations at Thronehold. He is considered the father of this land, and without his example, the halfling nation would likely never have come to pass. Although he has since stepped down from his position, Halpum has the respect of nearly every living halfling.

Since halfling tribes do not claim control over specific territories, conflict between tribes erupts only during times when resources are scarce. Similarly, it usually requires a significant outside threat to unite tribes under the leadership of a lathon

Halfling tribes range in size from fifty to a thousand or more individuals. They maintain their nomadic traditions and eschew material possessions, keeping only what they need for their survival and that of the creatures they herd and ride. Even the largest tribes can strike camp, load up their mounts, and move out in no more than 10 minutes, driving their herds of cattle, tribex, and herbivorous dinosaurs ahead of them.

The tribes have an egalitarian structure. In theory, every individual in the tribe is equal, and the tribe as a whole elects a leader (called a lath) who guides the tribe for as long as he or she retains the tribe’s confidence. Only occasionally do tribes join together under the leadership of a lathon (a leader of multiple tribes). Lathon Halpum is the only halfling to currently hold that title, though he carries it only as an honorific, commemorating his role at Thronehold negotiating for the halfling nation. His own tribe is one of the largest in the plains, but he no longer commands any other. Still, he is well respected by the Talenta halflings, and could probably unite many or all of the tribes again if the need arose.

Eberron Campaign Setting

Each halfling tribe follows a tradition that all tribal members are equals. Even so, each tribe selects a leader based on merit and ability, a leader referred to as a lath. The lath directs the activities of his or her tribe, commanding the respect and subservience of the members of the tribe. As equals, all members of the tribe can offer suggestions and voice opinions, but they agree that the fi nal call always falls to their lath. If the lath loses the respect and confi dence of his or her tribe, the tribe will select a new lath to lead them.

Tribal members are tied by blood and tradition, but even so, some tribes disband and merge at regular intervals, and sometimes a powerful lath might attract a number of tribes to his banner. Such a leader is called a lathon. Over the generations, a few mighty lathons have gathered the tribes together for massive undertakings, such as when Lathon Uldom united the tribes to repel human invaders some two thousand years ago. More recently, Lathon Halpum negotiated to end the Last War and create the sovereign nation of the Talenta Plains.

Halpum still carries the grand title, but more as an honorary post than as a ruler—he continues to oversee his own tribe, one of the largest in the Plains, but he doesn’t command the other laths. Many of the dragonmarked houses operate in the Plains. House Ghallanda maintains its primary headquarters in Gatherhold, and serves as custodian of the shared city for the halfling tribes. Other dragon-marked houses with prominent operations here include the houses of Orien, Deneith, Jorasco, and Vadalis

Settlements

Aside from Gatherhold, the only settlements on the Plains consist of easily struck camps and temporary tent cities. The tribal council has agreed to allow Karrnathi forts within the Plains, created as a defense against Valenar war bands ranging north to strike at halfling camps and the Karrnathi frontier. However, such installations must be moved every few years to allow the surrounding grasslands to recover from military traffic and maneuvers.

Source: Eberron Campaign Guide


The Last War was not the first war to rage across the Talenta Plains. During the Age of Monsters, about four thousand years before the present date, the Dhakaani and Dragonborn empires met on grassy fields of battle. While the maskweavers have healed much of the land in the millenia since, the fortresses in the blade desert and on its perimeter have resisted the march of time better.

Source: Politics of the Talenta Plains

Aftermath of the Last War

The halfling tribes joined together to defend themselves from outsiders, and the Talenta Plains were recognized as a nation under the Treaty of Thronehold. Now that the war is over, most of the tribes have returned to their hunting grounds and ancient traditions. They united to defend their way of life, and now they wish to enjoy it.

But the halflings don’t yet know if it’s possible to return to the previous ways. More foreigners visit the Plains than at any time in the past. Settlers and merchants cross the Plains as they make their way to Q’barra, and they clash with Q’barran bandits. The Valenar elves ride through the Plains in search of adventure. Monsters emerge from the Mournland. Dragonmarked houses seek to expand their role at Gatherhold and to explore the untapped resources of the Plains.

The halflings have no interest in change, but it might be inevitable. Lathon Halpum believes that if the tribes can work together, they could become a nation of nations, but others aggressively oppose such a path. Holy Uldra is a powerful shaman and the leader of her own tribe. She urges halfling warriors to join together for a single purpose: to drive all outsiders from the Plains and to maintain the ancient traditions. The halflings must decide whether the tribes will choose the path of peace or return to war.

Outsiders

Eberron Campaign Setting

House Deneith: Although its presence in the Talenta Plains is relatively recent, House Deneith finds the region profitable. Halfling mercenaries, particularly dinosaur riders, are currently popular among the wealthy of Khorvaire. The house keeps most of its strongholds near the Valenar border, where conflict with the elves produces the most skilled halfling warriors. While most halflings tolerate the presence of Deneith, some of the more traditionalist or nationalist factions believe the house takes advantage of their people and would be happy to see them gone.

Karrnath: Through arrangement with several of the great tribes (often enforced by hostages), Karrnath maintains a line of fortresses along the Valenar border. Though this does not prevent Valenar incursion, it does keep the elves from mounting a force sufficient to cross the plains and attack Karrnath directly. Many tribes resent having such a strong foreign military presence on their soil. Multiple-faction conflicts, between halfling tribes, Valenar invaders, and Karrnathi soldiers, occur with frequency around these outposts. Nor are all these skirmishes random: Various enemies of Karrnath, including Aundair and Thrane, have deliberately stirred up halfling or Valenar forces to harass the fortresses.

Q'barra: For thousands of years, some of Q’barra’s lizardfolk have wandered into the Talenta Plains, hunting or herding dinosaurs and sometimes clashing with native mammals. In the years since the war, Newthrone has sent emissaries to the larger halfling tribes, seeking alliance for both trade and mutual defense. The settlers of Q’barra have no love for the Five Nations and maintain that the halfling tribes ought to feel the same. To date, few formal treaties have been signed, but several tribes are considering Newthrone’s proposition.

Valenar:The Valenar elves have no interest in peace with the Talenta Plains. Warbands cross the border on a regular basis, waging battle with Karrnathi garrisons or halfling tribes. This is not indicative of hostility against the halflings on the part of the Valenar as a whole. Rather, the warbands are engaged either in long-running blood feuds with individual halfling tribes or in simple exercises in which the band chooses a small tribe with few allies and hunts them as they would any other prey. Add to this the Valenar’s desire to test their martial prowess against the Karrnathi soldiers and the wild dinosaurs of the plains, and the result is a constant state of simmering warfare between two peoples that don’t actually want anything from one another.

Politics of the Talenta Plains

Mournland Horrors

While the Talenta-Mournland border is relatively short and split by the Cyre river, creatures still crawl out of the mists and make their way into the plains - frequently across the lightning rail bridge heading from Metrol. While the tribes have not yet set up a formal guard charged with protecting the border, a new wave of monstrosities may inspire Lathon Halpum to. If he doesn't, Lath Uldra may see it as an opportunity to assert her leadership against the corruption wrought by the arcane magic of the Five Nations.

Valenar and Karrnath

Just to the south of the Talenta Plains lies Valenar, a nation filled with elven warbands looking to prove themselves against great foes. Without Cyran forces to occupy their attention, an increasing number of warbands have struck north. While the halfling tribes quickly realized that avoiding fights would cause the warbands to ignore them, the Karrnathi forces have responded with increasing militarization. Valenar raids on southern Karrnath have led to Karrnathi warlords pushing for "active defenses", sending patrols of Karrnathi soldiers into the Talenta Plains to head off Valenar raids. Some have even taken a "ask for forgiveness rather than permission" approach to constructing fortifications and traps.

The rising risk of conflict between the two forces is Lathon Halpum's most immediate concern. If the halflings unite as a proper military force to drive out the two, the war-hungry Valenar will only see it as a challenge. At the same time, allowing the status quo to continue likely results in Karrnathi armies marching south across the landscape and more destructive war magic. Picking a side almost guarantees conflict while risking that the halflings become a vassal state to whoever they ally with.

House Lyrandar, which has taken over most administrative functions in Valenar, has begun accompanying warriors to study the arid climate. The weather wizards wonder whether the rain patterns could be managed to promote agriculture and tame the Blade Desert, expanding the house's potential land grab and plans for a proper Khoravar homeland.

Monster Manual 3

Harssaf

Harssaf communities dot the great deserts of Sarlona. When humans migrated from Sarlona to Khorvaire millennia ago, they brought harssaf slaves with them. Their descendants gather in small tribes in the heart of the Talenta Plains, where the harssafs maintain a tenuous truce with roaming halfl ing plainsfolk. The halfl ings of the Talenta Plains refer to these harssaf “interlopers” as the Flameborn.

Adventures

Eberron Campaign Guide

Adventures that feature Talenta halflings likely feature whole tribes, as no Talenta halfling travels the Talenta Plains alone.

  • A House Deneith caravan traveling across the Talenta Plains was decimated by an attack. The battleground is littered with dinosaur footprints and halfling weapons, but the tribes of the area disavow any such attack. The house is using its influence to demand political retribution, but are the halflings really to blame? If so, which tribe?
  • Herds of threehorns are being decimated by a magical disease that resists House Jorasco’s attempts to heal it. The halflings need someone to find the cause and the cure.

Eberron Campaign Setting

  • Someone is stealing dinosaur eggs and interfering with the halfl ing rites of adulthood. When a bonded dinosaur is set free to mate in the wild, it falls to the next generation of halflings to capture and tame the brood that emerges from the freshly hatched eggs. With the recent thefts of the eggs, the ancient system of perpetuating the dinosaur bond is in jeapordy. A tribe or halfling house friendly with the adventurers asks for help in this matter.
  • Rumors suggest that a powerful undead dragon has been seen in the Boneyard.
  • Someone has planted potent dinosaur musk among the supplies the adventurers carry. Now they must make it out of the Plains before the carnivorous dinosaurs, attracted by the scent, overwhelm them.