Halflings boast a robust digestive system that can handle even the spiciest and most exotic of foods, but they possess a refined palate. Halflings prefer the best food and drink available, but not necessarily the most elaborate meals. Simple, fresh ingredients prepared perfectly make a halfling diner happy.
Halflings are such inventive cooks, marrying different flavors and textures together with instinctive skill, that several of their creations have become iconic in different lands. In southern Taldor, rare is the household without a dish of Jalrune tapenade, a diced blend of Taldan olives, dried figs, garlic, and herbs. In Cheliax, most taverns serve the popular dish of pork loin from the eastern pig farms, simmered with chopped sweet onions and tart apples. In Qadira and surrounding lands, halfling cooks create a sort of sweet dessert tabbouleh by boiling local grains in milk and cinnamon, then mixing the plump grains with pomegranate seeds and chopped mint. Tavern and restaurant owners in many regions consider it lucky to have a halfling guest sample local dishes, and halfling travelers often find themselves served the same “lucky” dish at table after table, regardless of what they wish to eat.
Halflings prefer ale over wine and exotic spirits, but their nuanced palate makes them very discriminating when it comes to their drinks. Halflings who settle down and have access to significant funds, such as retired adventurers, often open taverns and spend years perfecting their house brews.
Whether fine wine, smooth liquor, or hearty ale, halflings love their booze. However, their unusual physiology often causes them to react in unusual ways when drinking different sorts of alcohol, and brewers have developed a number of varieties that take advantage of these unusual reactions. The beverages below leave halflings slightly impaired but also enjoying some additional advantage. Non-halflings do not receive any bonuses from these drinks.
Dragon Punch Whiskey (10 gp/cup): According to legend, the inventor of this dark and harsh liquor actually did attack a dragon bare handed (and presumably lived to pass on the recipe). Halflings who drink four cups of Dragon Punch Whiskey in the space of an hour take a –4 penalty to Dexterity but gain a +4 alchemical bonus on saves against fear for the next 10 minutes
Lisken’s Medicinal Tonic (10 gp/cup): This mild sedative is normally used to treat insomnia, making the drinker reluctant to take hasty actions but adept at remaining still or silent. One cup of the tonic gives a halfling a –4 penalty on initiative checks for 10 minutes and a +2 alchemical bonus on Stealth checks for that time.
Luglurch Ale (1 gp/gallon, 4 sp/mug): Most races find this pale and frothy beer too salty to swallow, but halflings simply consider it an acquired taste. Drinking three or more cups of Luglurch in a 1-minute span gives a halfling a –2 penalty on Perception checks and a +1 bonus on Reflex saves and Acrobatics checks for 10 minutes.