Ha'pony [Centaur-kin]

A ha'pony pairs a halfling's upper body with the hindquarters of a pony, usually brown or chestnut, sometimes gray; in most tribes the mayor's coat is piebald. Their faces are weathered and their hair ranges from sandy to dark brown. They dress in vivid tunics and shirts, and most weave rainbow ribbons through their hair and tails. They speak common and the halfling tongue.

Ha'ponies love peace but fight savagely for home and family. Their halfling knack with missiles gives them +3 to attack rolls with slings and short bows, and their inborn resistance grants +2 on saves vs. spell and poison.

Most wear no armor and go unarmed inside the village. The exception is the militia of 20 to 30, clad in studded leather (jerkin plus barding, Armor Class 6) and carrying short swords with either slings or short bows. Away from home, ha'ponies carry spears or short swords, and half of any group also has a sling or short bow. A group met outside the village has a 30% chance of being a militia patrol.

The mayor (4+2 HD, AC 5, THAC0 17) seldom leaves the village, only 5% of the time, and then wears a chain mail vest and carries a short bow and short sword.

Villages hold 80 to 150 ha'ponies, 30% of them female and 15% young. Females usually stay out of fights, but if the village is in danger they take up daggers and slings to protect their homes and children. Though a mayor presides, the big decisions belong to the elders' council called the Circle of Oak, which in dire cases can depose a mayor and send the unlucky ha'pony into exile.

They are a happy folk, only briefly suspicious of strangers, who enjoy nature and simple handicrafts. Unlike halflings, they are not especially devoted to eating.

Their diet is mostly fruit and grain, with the odd partridge or pheasant brought down on a hunt. They bake as many as 20 kinds of bread, and every community has its own signature loaf. Families live in small clusters within the village. Ha'ponies live about 120 years and seldom have children, so each new foal is doted on and spoiled by the whole family.