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On the Biophysics of Hobbits

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m8e from Sweden Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Wanna dance with somebody
kassyopeia from terrae nullius Since: Nov, 2010
#52: Oct 18th 2012 at 3:33:12 PM

[up] 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. tongue

[up][up] 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. smile

Soon the Cold One took flight, yielded Goddess and field to the victor: The Lord of the Light.
fulltimeD Deputy Director, Space-Time Gradient LV-114 from Purgatory Since: Jan, 2010
Deputy Director, Space-Time Gradient LV-114
#53: Oct 19th 2012 at 4:18:11 PM

Reading this reminds of the Homo floresiensis debates of last decade.

Sorry, former Human Paleontology student.

edited 19th Oct '12 4:18:25 PM by fulltimeD

Sharur Showtime! from The Siege Alright Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
#54: Oct 27th 2012 at 9:13:45 PM

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!
kassyopeia from terrae nullius Since: Nov, 2010
#55: Oct 28th 2012 at 6:20:31 PM

Sorry for bringing the thread back to the topic I actually wanted to talk about, you mean? Hah. smile

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.
AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#56: Oct 29th 2012 at 2:56:07 AM

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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