Is it logical for two halflings come together and spar to get better in their combat skills?... I found it quite unrealistic because they are *halflings*, barbarians, and already killing their victims, eating them, ... Why should they need to train?
On the other hand, if they dont train, they may be easily killed in their first attempt to hunt a human, who is a 5 days warrior. (easily)
They are barbarians in the eyes of outsiders, but that isn't necessarily true. I can see them training, or better, contests or rituals of some sort with blunted spears.
They seem to be sort 'at one' with nature. From what i gather of their culture from the very brief documention. So perhaps sparring would be their way of training, so they dont' take from the lands unnecessarily.
No way dude.. Halflings are Mammals, right? So are -ninjas-.. Thus, halflings are ninjas, with no need to train..and ultimate ass-kicking skill from birth.
I'd say no-one knows but halflings on whether or not they spar. Perhaps even codedly they don't need to spar? Really though, does it matter? Perhaps they don't, or perhaps there adults are taught how to hunt for their own food as a coming of age tradition. I don't know myself, I'd have to ask a halfling ;)
The tall and gangly man asks in sirihish: "So uhmmmm...you little fellas do any sparring?"
A bulging-eyed, maroon-skinned halfling licks his lips as he moves steadily toward the tall and gangly man, his spear held up before him menacingly.
A scream echoes through the forest, ending in a choked gurgle.
perhaps clues can be taken from isolated tribal-hunter cultures of earth's past?
I don't feel like looking it up, myself. Just a suggestion.
The original question, is it logical for halflings to spar in order to get good at their combat abilities would probably hint at a probable yes.
While a barbarian culture doesn't necessarily spar with one another in a former manner like you would expect of city people, barbarian cultures typically have a LOT more in-fighting as strength determines power and position in the group. So, if anything, they wouldn't spar among one another if they were true barbarians but instead, use real weapons and most fights would have the potential for death. Those that survive would be REALLY good.
Now, since halfling culture is only viewed as barbaric by non-halflings, it is POSSIBLE that they are just like any other tribal humanoid group out there. They aren't so barbaric as to kill for the sake of demonstrating power except in some extreme cases (at least, I haven't heard of any non-halfling tribals doing that yet). So, they probably either hunt together in order to learn from one another and become better hunters so their tribes can thrive and/or spar on their spare time so that they don't die. The world is harsh and each new mouth you have to raise and feed is expensive in resources. If you can facilitate the survival of your own through sparring, why not.
So net result, it would be logical for halflings or any tribal groups to spar.
Edited to add: Whether or not they do, I have no idea. Forgot I should mention I don't actually know so this is also my disclaimer! Merely, it's logical for them to spar.
If you play a halfling, ask about this and discuss it on the Halfling forum. If not, why should you care in the first place?
You don't need to spar to become better at fighting.
I would think that halflings would not see any reason to spar, since they only really fight to hunt, right? It's not part of the halfling mindset to be a master fighter just for the sake of fighting, since violence for the sake of violence isn't part of halfling culture... is it?
Then again, that's just an assumption made from the documentation.
First, I see sparring as a useful tool to better combat skills, even if it's only for hunting. Dodging a spear is just as good as dodging the claws of the "Oh my god it's coming right towards us!". Second, look at many feral hunter mammals. Their cubs "spar" to better their hunting skills (dodging your brother's claws is just as good as dodging that antelope that freaked out and ran at you).
Just my thoughts.
I played a halfling way back in the day (94/95ish) and we'd have people coming into our territory hunting tandu, practicing spells, defiling, or for any other reason they felt the need to come into the forest. We attacked them. If they ran, we'd give a little chase. If they got far enough away, we'd let them go. Cept the sorcs, they got waxxed if we could. Just like any tribe, we defended what we considered our boundaries.
So, it would make perfect sense that halflings practice their fighting skills, especially in contests of some sort. Not necessarily in order to establish hierarchy or dominance. At the time, the halfling society was not set up that way. Don't know if it's changed or not, but those are my 2 cents.
The red-painted, halfling warrior stands here.
Quote from: "Gilvar"You don't need to spar to become better at fighting.
Blam.
Im going to lock this thread. If your playing a halfling (which is not going on currently) you know if there are or arn't rules on sparring and how it would fit into your culture. If you had a question about it, obviously the GDB would not be the place to ask.
Good day.