History Main / PrimitiveClubs

Subtrope of BrutishCharacterBrutishWeapon and CarryABigStick. Compare DumbMuscle and FantasticRaceWeaponAffinity. Due to this association of strength and simplicity, clubs are also the favored weapon of the SmashMook. Compare BoulderBludgeon, which carries similar connotations but also has an element of pragmatism or desperation. SavageSpikedWeapons, where spiked clubs, mauls, morningstars and the like are used to communicate that a character is violent, savage and evil, is a sister trope.

This trope is most commonly associated with, and often all but inseparable from, traditional portrayals of primitives of the prehistoric variety. Big, wooden clubs and crude stone maces are the archetypal weapon of the [[AllCavemenWereNeanderthals Hollywood caveman]] and the FrazettaMan alike. They aren't a rare sight among fantasy barbarians either, and are especially common as the weapons of choice of [[OurGiantsAreDifferent giants]], [[OurTrollsAreDifferent trolls]], [[OurOgresAreDifferent ogres]], {{c|lassicalCyclops}}yclopes, and similar big, powerful and stupid humanoids. In these cases, it's fairly common for their clubs to be entire uprooted trees, sometimes just pulled up mid-fight to serve as improvised weapons. It should be noted that in real life, the oldest known man-made weapons were actually spears, not clubs, but spears have very different connotations in fiction (though to be fair, a random stick that was used to bludgeon a cave lion at one point is pretty hard to distinguish from one that wasn't).

** Due to their primitive and barbaric natures, all of the Moblins and Bokoblins' weapons are simple, crudely made and based on wood, and their primary gear consists of one- and two-handed clubs, although crude spears made by sharpening long sticks are also in their arsenal. Their basic variants are simple, crudely-shaped tree branches; stronger variants are reinforced with bones, fangs and fossils to give them extra strength.

Clubs are not, generally speaking, the most sophisticated of tools. At their simplest, they can be nothing more than a stick torn from a tree and swung as a weapon. Clubs of this sort requires very little work to be made -- there's no metalworking or complex manufacture involved, or any alteration save perhaps stripping off twigs. Thus, they're often seen and treated as the most primitive sort of weapon, and archetypally as the characteristic weapon of people and beings too primitive and barbaric to craft anything better.

Consequently, the typical fictional club is a fairly simple and crude affair, and is often little more than a simple, knotty branch or log. Often, however, it will be uncannily conveniently shaped to serve as a weapon, with a thin piece to serve as a handle flaring out into a bulkier head. The crudest examples still have leafy twigs and side branches attached; this may often overlap with ImprovisedWeapon when a character just rips off or picks up a branch to use as a club. The more elaborate ones may be enhanced with bones, worked stone heads or other simple, easily foraged-for materials to give them greater strength and hitting power. If more modern materials are available, it's not uncommon to see metallic objects jammed into a club as well. Some may just be [[BadWithTheBone giant femur bones]] with no additional embellishments.

The use of a club is often as simple and primitive as its manufacture. Clubs, being blunt objects, rely on sheer force of impact to damage opponents. They are also typically too poorly balanced, crudely made and awkwardly shaped to make use of any complex techniques or skilled wielding; a club isn't something with which you'll be landing trick shots or doing clever things with. Thus, club-wielding fighters are usually portrayed as fighting with crude, powerful blows whose immense strength belies their simplicity and contrast with the more deliberate and skilled use of other weapons; this typically extends to the club-wielders as well, who tend to be sorts with lots of strength and little intelligence or skill, reinforcing the association between clubs and primitives.

** Due to their primitive and barbaric natures, all of the Moblins and Bokoblins' weapons are simple, crudely made and based on wood, and their primary gear consists of one- and two-handed clubs, although [[BladeOnAStick crude spears made by sharpening long sticks]] are also in their arsenal. Their basic variants are simple, crudely-shaped tree branches; stronger variants are reinforced with bones, fangs and fossils to give them extra strength.

This trope is most commonly associated with, and often all but inseparable from, traditional portrayals of primitives of the prehistoric variety. Big, wooden clubs and crude stone maces are the archetypal weapon of the [[AllCavemenWereNeanderthals Hollywood caveman]] and the FrazettaMan alike. They aren't a rare sight among fantasy barbarians either, and are especially common as the weapons of choice of [[OurGiantsAreDifferent giants]], [[OurTrollsAreDifferent trolls]], [[OurOgresAreDifferent ogres]], {{c|lassicalCyclops}}yclopes, and similar big, powerful and stupid humanoids. In these cases, it's fairly common for their clubs to be entire uprooted trees, sometimes just pulled up mid-fight to serve as improvised weapons. It should be noted that in real life, the oldest known man-made weapons were actually spears, not clubs, but spears have [[BladeOnAStick very different connotations in fiction]] (though to be fair, a random stick that was used to bludgeon a cave lion at one point is pretty hard to distinguish from one that wasn't).

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': A [[DoubleWeapon double-ended]] metal club called the gaderffii is the WeaponOfChoice for the Tusken Raiders -- technologically limited DesertBandits who attack most outsiders on sight. The most prized gaderffii are made of [[FantasyMetals durasteel]] scavenged from spaceship wrecks, while the knobbed, wooden end with the beak is made from a hardwood limb that is picked up during a RiteOfPassage. Though that doesn't mean there isn't a sophisticated martial art to fight with them, as demonstrated by Boba Fett in ''Series/TheMandalorian'' and ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett''.

Subtrope of CarryABigStick. Compare DumbMuscle and FantasticRaceWeaponAffinity. Due to this association of strength and simplicity, clubs are also the favored weapon of the SmashMook. Compare BoulderBludgeon, which carries similar connotations but also has an element of pragmatism or desperation. SavageSpikedWeapons, where spiked clubs, mauls, morningstars and the like are used to communicate that a character is violent, savage and evil, is a sister trope.

* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' has quite a few examples to go around. For the Night Elf's their Mountain giants can rip trees out of the ground and use them as clubs[[note]]And impressively enough sometimes [[DevelopersForesight the type of tree they are using can also affect how their giant tree clubs look]][[/note]], and for the Creeps side most ogres also use large wooden or metal clubs.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', Troggs lack intelligence and tend to use anything they can get their hands on a simple clubs (from bones and small trees all the way to pieces of Gnome tech they're too backwards to know how to use properly).

** Hinox, gigantic boar-like cyclopes, will break off whole trees to use as weapons. They use shorter trees as clubs and longer trees as [[MartialArtsStaff polearms]], and will toss them horizontally toward you if you're far away.

** Hinox, gigantic boar-like cyclopes, will break off whole trees to use as weapons. They use shorter trees as clubs and longer trees as [[SimpleStaff polearms]], and will toss them horizontally toward you if you're far away.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': A [[DoubleWeapon double-ended]] metal club called the gaderffii is the WeaponOfChoice for the Tusken Raiders -- technologically limited DesertBandits who attack most outsiders on sight. The most prized gaderffii are made of [[FantasyMetals durasteel]] scavenged from spaceship wrecks. Though that doesn't mean there isn't a sophisticated martial art to fight with them, as demonstrated by Boba Fett in ''Series/TheMandalorian'' and ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett''.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': A [[DoubleWeapon double-ended]] metal club called the gaderffii is the WeaponOfChoice for the Tusken Raiders -- technologically limited DesertBandits who attack most outsiders on sight. The most prized gaderffii are made of [[FantasyMetals durasteel]] scavenged from spaceship wrecks.

* ''VideoGame/BugFables'': Cenn, a butterfly who [[ImpersonatingAnOfficer impersonates an explorer]] together with Pisci, uses a stick as a weapon, signifying his reliance on a brute force and lack of actual combat experience. However, [[UnskilledButStrong his attacks hit hard]] and become ever stronger if Pisci falls in battle.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': The club is the cultural weapon of the trolls, ranging from a simple lump of wood (sometimes with a nail in it) to an entire uprooted tree, depending on the size of the troll.

* ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'': The Corrupted Giant, a Veteran-level enemy in the Weald, carries [[TelephonePolearm an entire tree as a dual-handed club]]. His main attack with it, Treebranch Smackdown, deals a ''lot'' of damage, can one-shot even sturdier heroes down to [[LastChanceHitPoint Death's Door]] on a CriticalHit, and also has the potential to [[{{Knockback}} knock the target one position back]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'': Super Mutant Behemoths are extremely large, extremely strong and extremely stupid mutants who lack the intelligence to either manufacture tools or use ranged weaponry, and typically use entire uprooted fire hydrants as crude melee weapons.

* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': The Hilichurls, a race of goblin-like masked humanoids, mostly wield blunt clubs as weapons to show that their technological level is below that of humans. They can be made out of wood ([[GreenThumb Dendro]]), stone ([[DishingOutDirt Geo]]), and even ice ([[AnIcePerson Cryo]]) for those who live in the Dragonspine mountain. While Hilichurls are also seen using more advanced weapons like crossbows and battle axes, it's implied that they didn't make them themselves, and either looted them from humans or received them from the Abyss Order.

* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' has quite a few examples to go around. For the Night Elf's their Mountain giants can rip entire trees out of the ground and use them as clubs[[note]]And impressively enough sometimes [[DevelopersForesight the type of tree they are using can also affect how their giant tree clubs look]][[/note]], and for the Creeps side most ogres also use large wooden or metal clubs.

Consequently, the typical fictional club is a fairly simple and crude affair, and is often little more than a simple, knotty branch or log. Often, however, it will be uncannily conveniently shaped to serve as a weapon, with a thin piece to serve as a handle flaring out into a bulkier head. The crudest examples still have leafy twigs and side branches attached; this may often overlap with ImprovisedWeapon when a character just rips off or picks up a branch to use as a club. The more elaborate ones may be enhanced with bones worked stone heads or other simple, easily foraged-for materials to give them greater strength and hitting power. If more modern materials are available, it's not uncommon to see metallic objects jammed into a club as well.

* ''Videogame/SaltAndSanctuary:'' Certain skeletons called Primitive Bones wield a crude stone club (called Barbarian's Cudgel) against you, which you can obtain by transmuting their remains. It's decent, but there's better weapons available anyhow.