Yes, very different. They neither fit (m)any of the established hobbit tropes, nor are they called "hobbits" any longer. Not sure what that leaves, actually.
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If you're asking why I chose that term for the thread-title, I honestly don't recall - that was almost two years ago. Perhaps, it was "they're half as tall as humans" -> "they're literally half-lings" -> "hey, that's a synonym for hobbits, isn't it?"
Then again, the first line of the OP makes me think that I may just have trying to snag people's attention... I did explain the differences quite clearly later on in that post, though, I think.
Sorry to bring the quarterstaff back up, but going back up you mentioned essentially replacing blacksmiths with stone-nappers (an idea I quite like), and have mentioned wood and stone as materials, but no metal, which to me implies your Altlings don't have metalurgy. Perhaps you should have three levels of quarterstaffs, then. Bamboo/lightwood for training, heavy wood for standard, and the highest level would be stone. It could be a status symbol, for a chief/war-leader, or, if the man-eating birds and pythons are a threat, it could be a tool for the village/community protector. Making a single piece of stone that long would be challenge, but do-able, and any bone-napper who managed to make one would be highly respected among his/her peers, much like a medieval sword smith among blacksmiths. It being made of heavy stone could solve the mass/inertia problem of quarter-staffs that was raised above.
Nihil assumpseris, sed omnia resolvere!Sorry for bringing the thread back to the topic I actually wanted to talk about, you mean? Hah.
Indeed, they do not have metallurgy, that's the plan. The extent of their metalwork is to shape nuggets of gold and, perhaps, other precious elements into jewelry and the like. What they do have is a tree resin which hardens very quickly and very thoroughly - essentially, they can manufacture amber. This has some of the qualities of smelted metals, while lacking some others.
The stone quarterstaff is an interesting idea, but as far as I know, none of the minerals we have on Earth are even remotely tough enough to make a useful weapon, at the required proportions. It'd break upon its first hard contact, wouldn't it?
Soon the Cold One took flight, yielded Goddess and field to the victor: The Lord of the Light.Any material that doesn't flex well will be poor for a staff. However, you can have a wooden handle and stone ends, if you have a good way to attach it. Extra weight in the middle does very little for the weapon's effectivity. It mostly just makes it heavier. That would affect thrusting attacks, but not swinging.
edited 29th Oct '12 2:56:50 AM by AnotherDuck
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Our Hobbits Are Different ?