The Lowhaven Clan, also known as the Shortbottoms, are one of the major Halfling Clans known for their criminal enterprise. The Clan is dominant in Nuln, and have only recently come down the Reik to the Imperial capital. But despite only moving into the Reikland a few decades ago, the clan spread through the province quickly, and now have influence in Haffenstadt and most of Reikland’s bigger towns. The Lowhavens are the natural conclusion of the Halflings’ innate disregard for the sanctity of private ownership. A family of thugs and criminals, they form a tight network of mutually supporting interests, and are a far more organised and cohesive unit than any of the other clans. While one Halfling will almost always be defeated by a Human opponent, the Lowhavens are careful to move en masse. They always attack in packs, should it come to violence.[1a]
Having carved out their space in the Reikland’s underworld, a tense rivalry now exists between the clan and other organised crime organisations, like the Fish and the Hooks (Altdorf dock gangs), or the Selblich and Barbieri criminal families. While most Lowhavens serve as thieves and racketeers, others maintain the facade of respectability, working as investigators, litigants, fences, and merchants — the better to further the clan’s agenda. To this end, many adopt the name ‘Shortbottom’, the name of a now-defunct clan, subsumed centuries ago by the Lowhavens. While all Halflings are aware of this deception, it never occurs to them to share this with the ‘bigs’, who merrily assume that the two clans are wholly separate. Still other Lowhavens serve as spies, infiltrating Human organised crime syndicates to undermine them from within, some even joining the Altdorf Watch — arguably the largest criminal enterprise in the city! If there is a profit to be made on the wrong side of the law, there is a Lowhaven willing to snatch it.[1a]