Lostpocket is the term typically given to Halflings without a clan, and to be a Lostpocket is to live a life of misery and isolation. Though in rare cases this may be a formal punishment, meted out for serious transgressions by clan elders, more commonly Lostpockets are foundlings or dispossessed orphans, unclaimed by any family. What would lead a compassionate creature such as a Halfling to abandon their offspring is the source of much speculation: scandal, fear of retribution, or death being most likely. The Lostpockets’ enforced isolation often results in resilient, independent young Halflings, though beneath their confident exteriors their very being cries out for the warmth, intimacy, and security of a family forever denied to them. Most Lostpockets begin life as paupers and beggars on Altdorf ’s streets, or the Reikland’s larger towns.[1a]
Here they live a life of sorrow, as they run with gangs of Human children who outstrip and outgrow them time and again. While Lostpockets make other Halflings uncomfortable, a lucky few may find themselves adopted into another clan, given Halflings’ forgiving and gregarious nature. However, many Lostpockets cannot look past the pitying eyes of their peers, leading many to carve out a home for themselves amongst the bigs. As such, Lostpockets who escape Altdorf ’s streets and slums can be found almost anywhere, working as entertainers, servants, cooks, bawds, or any number of careers that earn them a reliable living and a place amongst humanity, constantly seeking the affection denied them in their infancy. Such is the Lostpockets’ sense of shame that few countenance having children. However, there is a growing ‘clan’ of such unfortunates in Altdorf ’s slums, a development most right-thinking Halflings consider deeply worrisome.[1a]