Tales of the Valiant Smallfolk Lineage Guide

Introduction

Smallfolk make one central choice at character creation. Gnomish Natural Adaptation gives 60-foot darkvision and the minor illusion cantrip. Halfling Natural Adaptation gives advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened. Choose the option that fits the situations your campaign and character concept expect to face.

Grounded is a daily reroll after a failed saving throw that always creates 1 Luck. Small Stature lets a Smallfolk move through the space of a Medium-or-larger creature and attempt to Hide when obscured by one. Those tools reward careful positioning and reserving a reroll for a consequential failure, but they do not lock the lineage to a particular class.

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Lineage Traits

Rating Key

• ● Red — Bad. Avoid.
• ● Orange — Situational.
• ● Green — Good, solid choice.
• ● Blue — Fantastic, top-tier.

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Grounded ●

Once per day, when you fail a saving throw, you can reroll and use the new result. Regardless of whether the reroll succeeds or fails, you generate 1 Luck.

Grounded is most valuable when one failed save would change the encounter or remove a key party option. The reroll is limited to once per day, but the Luck generation means the feature still produces a resource if the new result fails.

The correct mental model for Grounded is high-value save leverage plus Luck income, not an emergency save. Save it for saves that would meaningfully alter the encounter outcome, and treat the guaranteed Luck as a bonus that stacks across the session.

Small Stature ●

You can move through the space of any Medium or larger creature. You can attempt to Hide when obscured by a Medium or larger creature.

Small Stature is a positioning tool. A Smallfolk can plan routes through larger creatures and use a Medium-or-larger ally or enemy as possible obscuring cover. It does not remove other movement restrictions; for example, a grappled creature still needs to escape before moving. Rogues can find useful hiding opportunities when the normal Hide requirements are met.

The size category also has some edge-case limitations (Small creatures cannot wield certain Heavy weapons, and they interact differently with some creature abilities), but in practice, the upsides dominate the downsides in most campaigns.

Natural Adaptation: Gnomish ●

Darkvision 60 feet. You learn the minor illusion cantrip. Choose INT, WIS, or CHA as your spellcasting ability for it at character creation.

Darkvision is one of the most consistently valuable passive traits in ToV: most dungeons, many outdoor encounters at night, and a significant chunk of monster habitats are dark environments where darkvision functionally gives you a free action economy advantage. Not requiring light or dancing lights or a torch frees up a cantrip slot, a hand, or a spell.

Minor illusion is underrated at most tables. It creates either a sound (which persists for a minute and can be as loud as a screaming crowd) or a visual illusion the size of a 5-foot cube (which lasts for 10 minutes and requires an Investigation check to see through). The combination of distraction sounds to manipulate enemy positioning and illusory objects to create cover, false exits, or misdirection makes this one of the most versatile utility cantrips in the game. The fact that it scales with your chosen ability score, not a fixed stat, means it fits any character.

Natural Adaptation: Halfling ●

Advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.

Reliable, passive, and never irrelevant. Charmed and frightened are two of the most incapacitating conditions in the game: charmed typically shuts off your ability to target or harm the charming creature (at minimum), while frightened prevents you from voluntarily moving toward a creature and imposes disadvantage on attacks and ability checks. Advantage on these saves means you fail them roughly half as often as you would otherwise.

This adaptation is strongest for characters who need to stay functional in high-stakes social and horror encounters, and for frontline combatants who are exposed to dragon fear auras, fiend charms, and the broader list of mind-affecting effects that appear disproportionately on late-tier enemies. It is not flashy. It is the adaptation that keeps your character doing their job when flashy characters are cowering or kneeling.

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Ability Score Priorities

Like all ToV lineages, Smallfolk do not grant fixed ability score bonuses. Your scores come entirely from point buy and your class. The lineage does shape your priorities in specific ways:

• Gnomish characters choose their minor illusion spellcasting ability at creation. Align this with your class's primary casting stat to avoid investing in a second mental stat purely for a cantrip.
• Halfling characters have no ability score dependency in their lineage traits, so they follow class priorities exactly.
• Small Stature makes DEX-primary builds especially natural: light armor and DEX saves are more important when you are at the front of the action economy but not the front of the hit-point pool.
• Grounded rewards high-CON characters who will be making CON saves for concentration, but also benefits low-CON characters most in terms of expected value (since the save floors are lower without CON investment).

Recommended priority by playstyle:

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Best Classes for Smallfolk

Rogue ●

The best class for Smallfolk, full stop, and it's not close with the Gnomish adaptation. Every stealth tool in the game converges here: Small size lets you hide behind Medium allies, movement through enemy spaces enables repositioning and escape, darkvision from Gnomish removes light dependency, and minor illusion creates auditory and visual distractions on demand to open Hide attempts. Sneak Attack's trigger condition (the target is adjacent to one of your allies, or you have advantage) is constantly available to a Smallfolk who can disappear behind creatures, pop out, attack, and vanish. Halfling Rogues are no less valid: charm and fright resistance keeps them operational in heist-adjacent social encounters where these conditions appear frequently.

Bard ●

Grounded is extraordinary on a Bard. Bards have middling armor, average CON, and spend a lot of time in social and mentally-challenging situations where charm and fright effects appear. Grounded gives the Bard a high-stakes save reroll at exactly the moments when performance matters most. Gnomish adaptation gives minor illusion for free, which the Bard would normally spend a known cantrip on anyway. That slot opens up for vicious mockery, prestidigitation, or another utility option. Halfling Bards get redundant charm resistance (Bards already have access to Calm Emotions and mental defense spells) but reliably useful fright protection. Either adaptation works; Gnomish is slightly stronger for freeing a cantrip.

Sorcerer ●

Smallfolk Sorcerers are underplayed and undervalued. Grounded gives a Sorcerer the once-per-day save reroll that protects concentration and avoids shutdown effects, the Sorcerer's primary vulnerability. Gnomish adds darkvision (Sorcerers lack it natively in most heritages) and minor illusion as a free cantrip, which would otherwise compete with prestidigitation, fire bolt, and the Sorcerer's other starting cantrips. The Small size means Sorcerers can stay mobile behind allied creatures and avoid the frontline exposure that gets them killed. Solid across the board.

Wizard ●

Everything said about Sorcerers applies to Wizards with one difference: Wizards already have minor illusion available in their spellbook from a large cantrip list, so the Gnomish cantrip is less impactful as a free unlock and more valuable as confirmation that the cantrip is always prepared even at cantrip-tight levels. The darkvision and the Grounded reroll are both excellent: Wizards make INT saves, WIS saves, and CON saves regularly, and a reroll on a failed Concentration check at the wrong moment can decide an encounter. Halfling is underutilized on Wizards but specifically excellent against charm effects, which Wizards face routinely in the upper tiers of play.

Druid ●

Halfling Druids are one of the strongest healer and support configurations in the game. Druids make WIS saves (strong), CON saves (middling), and DEX saves (weak), but are also specifically targeted with charm and fright effects because they are often the party's sustained controller and healer. Halfling resistance to both conditions keeps them online. Grounded covers the WIS save failures that slip through. The Gnomish adaptation's minor illusion is less exciting for a class with full spellcasting access, but the darkvision helps in Wild Shape forms that lack it. Cottage heritage stacks naturally with the Druid's protective role.

Cleric ●

Clerics share the Druid's vulnerability: they are support-forward characters who get dropped out of action by a single failed save on a high-stakes effect, and that's exactly what Grounded protects against. Halfling adaptation is better for Clerics than Gnomish (the charm and fright resistance covers the full range of "conditions that make the healer stop healing"), but Gnomish provides darkvision that Clerics lack in most heritages, which has practical value in dungeon-focused play. Not the flashiest pairing, but extremely functional.

Monk ●

Small Stature is significantly better for Monks than it appears. Monks are highly mobile and want to be everywhere at once: moving through enemy spaces means a Monk can traverse the battlefield in ways that Medium characters cannot, consistently reaching the backline targets that Flurry of Blows wants to hit. Gnomish darkvision pairs with the Monk's Stealth-adjacent features; minor illusion generates distraction sounds that can break line-of-sight and enable the Monk's own Hide attempts. Grounded is excellent for Monks who make DEX saves constantly and are occasionally vulnerable to charm effects from upper-tier enemies. Underrated pairing overall.

Ranger ●

Rangers are capable Smallfolk for the same reason that Rogues are: Small size and darkvision (Gnomish) turn them into stealthy skirmishers who can maneuver through enemy positions that Medium creatures are blocked by. A Gnomish Ranger who produces minor illusion sounds to redirect enemy attention while staying in the shadows is difficult to handle. Halfling Rangers who work in social or horror-adjacent campaign settings benefit from the charm and fright resistance: fear effects appear on a wide range of monster stat blocks that Rangers engage disproportionately.

Fighter ●

Grounded is consistently valuable for Fighters: they make CON saves for concentration on items and some features, and they take a lot of raw incoming save effects in melee. Small Stature lets Fighters maneuver into flanking positions and escape clusters that Medium Fighters would be stuck in. Halfling adaptation is the stronger pick here: Fighters are the class most likely to end up grappled, surrounded, and targeted with intimidation or fear effects, and the charm/fright resistance keeps them functioning. Not a synergistic pairing, but a solid floor.

Paladin ●

Paladins have their own Aura of Courage (immunity to frightened at level 10) and typically build toward the frontline tanking role. Halfling adaptation provides redundant fright resistance after level 10. Gnomish is marginally useful for the darkvision, but Paladins want heavy armor, which minor illusion does nothing for. The Smallfolk traits don't actively conflict with Paladin, but they don't amplify the class's power centers either. Play Smallfolk Paladin if you love the concept; expect modest mechanical contribution from the lineage.

Barbarian ●

Barbarians are Large-creature energy in a Small body, and the mismatch is mostly fine: there are no critical features that fail on a Small Barbarian. Grounded is excellent; Barbarians take a lot of save damage and occasionally fail the wrong one at the wrong time. The charm/fright resistance from Halfling overlaps partially with Reckless Attack advantage-based features, but it is not redundant for CON saves. Gnomish darkvision is useful. The problem is that Barbarians do not care about minor illusion, and the Heavy weapon restriction from Small size interacts poorly with the Barbarian's typically oversized weapon preference. Functional but not optimized.

Warlock ●

Gnomish Warlocks are quietly excellent. Warlocks have limited cantrip selection and often have to choose between minor illusion and offensive options like eldritch blast. Getting it free from the lineage opens a cantrip slot for something aggressive. Darkvision pairs well with a class that often operates in environments where vision restrictions matter. Grounded protects the Warlock's relatively thin defensive profile. Halfling's charm resistance specifically protects against the category of effects that Warlocks, often charismatic and frontline-adjacent, encounter in negotiation and infiltration scenarios.

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Heritage Pairings

Cottage ●

The natural home for Smallfolk. Cottage gives Comforts of Home (provide comfort during long rests; allies gain temporary HP equal to twice your proficiency bonus) and Homesteader (Animal Handling or Nature proficiency). The temporary HP generation is meaningful: at tier 3 play, that's 8 temporary HP per long rest for every party member, which routinely absorbs the first hit of an encounter. For a Smallfolk healer or support character, Cottage provides a persistent survivability layer that compounds over a full adventuring day. The cozy home aesthetics align perfectly with the classic halfling-in-the-Shire fantasy.

Salvager ●

Repurpose (craft Tiny nonmagical items, one use, under 25 gp) and Tinkerer (tool proficiency, double PB on object and trap checks). This is the mechanical heart of the gnome flavor: the ingenious small person who builds solutions out of nothing. For Gnomish adaptation characters who lean into the artificer-adjacent fantasy, Salvager delivers thematic and mechanical coherence. Double proficiency on traps is excellent for dungeon-delvers; Tinkerer's tool proficiency adds meaningful crafting infrastructure. The Repurpose utility is limited but consistent.

Nomadic ●

Resilient (advantage on saves against debilitating weather effects, short-rest exhaustion recovery) and Traveler (Survival proficiency). Smallfolk adventurers who cover long distances (messengers, wanderers, small-folk who have left the known world) get weather resistance and short-rest exhaustion recovery that stacks cleanly with Grounded's save-protection orientation. Two defensive layers that together protect against attrition across an adventuring day.

Grove ●

Canopy Walker (climb speed equal to walk speed) and Nature's Camouflage (advantage on Stealth in natural obscurement; can Hide in those conditions). The climb speed significantly amplifies Small Stature's mobility toolkit: a Smallfolk can now move through enemy spaces at ground level or climb vertical terrain to access elevated positions. Nature's Camouflage benefits Rogue and Ranger builds in outdoor environments considerably. Together, Grove turns a Smallfolk into a three-dimensional positional threat.

Anointed ●

Thaumaturgy cantrip, advantage on death saves, History or Religion proficiency, esoteric language, two additional languages. The death save advantage stacks with Grounded's reroll mechanism into an extraordinary survival package: advantage on death saves means the natural roll is more likely to succeed; if it still fails, Grounded gives the reroll. For any Smallfolk build in a high-lethality campaign, Anointed is the correct defensive heritage.

Cosmopolitan ●

Street Smarts (urban navigation advantage, cannot be surprised in cities) and Worldly Wisdom (History proficiency, building and rite recognition). Smallfolk city-dwellers (gnomish tinkerers in trade cities, halfling merchants and fence operators) find Cosmopolitan's urban expertise cohesive and mechanically clean. The cannot-be-surprised feature is powerful for initiative-dependent builds, and the three additional languages pair with the Smallfolk's cultural adaptability flavor.

Diaspora ●

Preserved Traditions (History proficiency + one martial weapon proficiency) and Timeless Resolve (advantage on frightened saves for you and adjacent allies). For Halfling Smallfolk who already have advantage against frightened saves, Timeless Resolve extends that defensive bubble to nearby allies: the Halfling becomes a portable fear-resistance aura. This is a unique and valuable effect that scales with party composition.

Supplicant ●

Scurry (bonus action 10-foot move that doesn't trigger opportunity attacks or traps you're aware of) and the Doom interaction. Scurry is exceptional on Smallfolk: they are already mobile within enemy spaces via Small Stature, and a bonus action 10-foot repositioning that avoids opportunity attacks makes them nearly impossible to lock down. For a Gnomish Rogue using minor illusion to create distractions and Small Stature to slip through enemy formations, Scurry adds a final layer of elusive mobility.

Cloud ●

Touch of Magic (free cantrip and once-per-rest 1st-circle spell) and Arcana proficiency. For Gnomish Smallfolk who already have a cantrip from lineage, Cloud's free cantrip and Arcana proficiency are supplementary rather than primary. For Halfling Smallfolk without spellcasting access, a once-per-rest spell opens up flavor options that the lineage doesn't otherwise provide. Functional; not a priority.

Fireforge ●

Forgecraft (Smithing tools expertise, mending cantrip) and Heat Resilience (fire resistance). Fire resistance is the most statistically frequent elemental resistance to have: fire damage appears on more monster attacks than any other element type. Fireforge is a solid default defensive heritage that Smallfolk can slot in when no other option calls strongly. The dwarven flavor doesn't fit most Smallfolk concepts, but the mechanics are portable.

Stone ●

Ancestral Arts (Construction tools expertise, one martial weapon proficiency) and Eye for Quality (object and structure origin recognition, double PB). The martial weapon proficiency is useful for Gnomish casters who occasionally want to equip something other than a dagger. Eye for Quality has modest dungeon utility. The thematic weight of dwarven stonecraft heritage sits awkwardly on most Smallfolk concepts, but the package works if you build around it.

Wildlands ●

Beast Affinity (communicate simple ideas with Beasts) and Shepherd's Gift (Animal Handling proficiency; low-CR Beasts must win a WIS contest to attack you). The Wildlands package is better suited to Beastkin or Druid-lineage builds where animal communication is central. Smallfolk Druids or Rangers can use it coherently (a halfling shepherd concept is classically supported), but it is not a priority pick compared to Cottage or Salvager for most builds.

Slayer ●

Natural Predator (Intimidation proficiency, advantage on Intimidation checks against Beasts and Animal-tagged creatures) and Tracker (add PB to tracking/spotting checks; double PB with proficiency). Intimidation from a Small creature is funny, and mechanically it works: Smallfolk Warlocks or Fighters who want a full skill set can use Slayer to fill the gap. The tracker benefits pair with Gnomish adaptation's perception-adjacent utility. But this is an unusual combination that prioritizes flavor over optimization for most Smallfolk builds.

Vexed ●

Prodigal Disciple (treat d20 rolls of 9 or lower as 10 on charm and possession saves) and Quarry's Cunning (Deception or Insight). The charm-save floor-raising from Vexed overlaps heavily with Halfling Natural Adaptation's advantage vs. charm: the two do not stack in a meaningful way. Gnomish builds might use Vexed to patch the charm vulnerability they lack from their adaptation. Overall, this is a secondary option when no other heritage fits the concept.

Horse Lord (Book of Blades) ●

Smallfolk riders benefit more than most from a reliable mount. Expert Trainer improves one horse's hit point maximum and Dexterity saves, while Animal Handling, Survival, and land vehicles support messenger, scout, and caravan-guard concepts. If the character rides a pony or other Smallfolk-appropriate mount, ask the GM whether the horse-specific training can transfer.

Privileged (Book of Blades) ●

Strong for merchant families, gnomish salons, court favorites, and Smallfolk social operators. Passion Project gives any skill plus an instrument or gaming set, and Social Maneuvering rewards contested Deception, Insight, and Persuasion checks. That package works especially well for Bard, Rogue, and merchant-facing builds that already want to win conversations without relying on brute force.

Martial Law (Book of Blades) ●

Useful but build-dependent. Bonus-action Help from Small Unit Tactics is excellent on a Smallfolk who stays near allies, and the armor and weapon proficiencies help non-martial builds. The drawback is exposure: Smallfolk usually prefer mobility and selective positioning, while this heritage asks you to remain within 5 feet of allies in the scrum.

Supplicant ●

See above, rated Green.

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Player's Guide 2 Heritage Options

Joymonger (Player's Guide 2) is a natural fit for Smallfolk built around food, festivals, music, and cheerful resilience.

Kithren (Player's Guide 2) supports tight families, chosen kin, and community-first adventurers.

Islander (Player's Guide 2) works well for Smallfolk sailors, coastal villages, and compact island communities.

Backgrounds

Smallfolk backgrounds should lean into community, stealth, craft, luck, and practical competence. Their PG1 package is about moving through larger spaces, hiding behind bigger creatures, and rerolling a failed save once per day.

Good directions:

• Village professional: Trade tools, Persuasion, Insight, Medicine, Performance, or craft skills.
• Burrow scout: Stealth, Perception, Survival, Sleight of Hand, or thieves' tools.
• Quiet scholar or hedge mage: Arcana, Nature, History, herbalism, or languages, especially for Gnomish Smallfolk.

Talents

Smallfolk talents should exploit reliability and positioning. Avoid assuming D&D halfling or gnome features beyond the PG1 Natural Adaptation choices.

• Aware: Excellent for ambush-proof scouts and small frontliners who need to act early.
• Trade Skills: Great for village professionals, thieves, makers, and support characters.
• Ritualist: Strong for Gnomish Smallfolk casters who want utility magic to define the build.
• Combat Casting: Best for concentration casters who use Small Stature to stay out of clean melee lanes.
• Combat Conditioning: Keeps Smallfolk martials alive when they use the mobility package aggressively.

Example Build

Smallfolk Skill-Support Caster

Lineage: Smallfolk (Gnomish or Halfling) Heritage: Cottage, Salvager, or Joymonger Class Plan: Bard, Rogue, Wizard, Cleric, Druid, or Ranger Priority Scores: Class primary first, then DEX and CON Talent Plan: Aware or Trade Skills for utility, Ritualist for non-Wizard casters, Combat Casting for concentration

The PG1 Smallfolk chassis is not a straight halfling or gnome import. Grounded gives a failed-save reroll once per day and generates Luck, Small Stature improves movement and hiding around Medium or larger creatures, and Natural Adaptation decides whether the character gets minor illusion or charm/frightened save advantage. Build from those rules.

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Hot Takes

Hot Take: Grounded is worth saving for a failed save that would immediately change the party's options, not for every inconvenient roll. Gnomish is especially useful for a Rogue in dark, illusion-friendly campaigns, while Halfling is a sensible support choice where charm and fear appear often. Neither adaptation replaces encounter terrain, GM adjudication, or the need for the party to protect one another.

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Final Notes

Smallfolk offer a reliable failed-save reroll, positional options around larger creatures, and one distinct Natural Adaptation. Gnomish is attractive when darkvision and minor illusion have regular use. Halfling is attractive when charm and fear saves matter. The class and heritage should carry the rest of the character's job.

Use minor illusion where the table's rulings give it practical value. Use the Halfling saving-throw advantage where the campaign presents the named conditions. Grounded and Small Stature give a Smallfolk useful options, but a good decision still depends on the party, the encounter, and the character's goals.

For the full comparison across every lineage, use the Tales of the Valiant Lineage Guide. Pair Smallfolk with the Heritage Guide to finish your character's origin.