Old Game Notebook: South Seas Weapons
Following are some notes pertaining to the weapons used by various Polynesian and Micronesian peoples.
Following are some notes on three sheets in no discernable order torn from a 6x9 spiral-top notebook that probably date to the early 1990s and which pertain to the weapons used by various Polynesian and Micronesian peoples. There are not stats with them so I am not sure what game I was developing material for but it was likely either 2nd Edition Dungeons & Dragons or Call of Cthulhu, particularly as I was doing some writing for The Unspeakable Oath in that period. It is interesting that I would stumble across these a week after returning from a trip to Polynesia that took me to Hawaii, Tahiti, and New Zealand, and at a time when I have started to contemplate developing a Polynesian campaign setting.
Polynesia. Clubs specialized for throwing. Most c. 2' long, straight haft, knob at butt; large, round head, like a small coconut.
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Moriori -- Chatham Island weapon. Stone club shaped like a fat sickle.
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Polynesians had nearly as many types and sizes of spears as clubs: hurling, thrusting, parrying. Some simple; others heavily barbed.
Polynesia. Bows used for sport; slings for war; bullets 2-4"; specially shaped. Used in Tonga, Samoa. Often carved.
To the Polynesian being a warrior was the attainment of one's destiny as a man. Trained from infancy in arts of war and use of weapons. Was a sacred trust to avenge an insult to a kinsman and protect the ancestral land.
Polynesians had no true cutting weapons.
War dances and priestly orations whipped men into a fighting fury (consider spells for this purpose).
Polynesian Paddles: Each island had its own form of paddle, reflecting its cultural traditions and environmental factors.
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Maori "sparring club" more akin to a quarterstaff in use. Carved tip in form of a face with giant protruding tongue, basis of many Polynesian design motifs; often mistaken for a spear head. (This is the taiaha, an example of which appears in the illustration at the top of this page.)
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Entire surface of clubs often carved with intricate patterns.
Maul: forked haft with big rock bound into the crotch.
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Micronesia. Fish spear, c. 10' long. Tip is made up of 10 or so smaller, pointed sticks; flares somewhat.
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Polynesia. Battles were often formal affairs, beginning ceremoniously with blasts from a triton-shell war trumpet.
Formality ended with introduction of firearms. Unsporting warriors would shoot exposed foe men chivalrously awaiting the formal commencement of battle.
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Kava: Samoan drink taken only by leaders on ceremonial occasions.
