Quarterstaff Culture

In Illuskan lands, it is tradition that every single commoner, who is considered an adult, maintains a quarterstaff.

Illuskan Quarterstaff

An Illuskan Quarterstaff is measured to be 6.5 ft in length and as being about an 1.25 inches in diameter, making them very thick and sturdy (almost to the point where one might call it a pole rather than a staff). The Illuskan Quarterstaff is made from quartersawed hardwood, which is treated with resins to make the wood long-lasting and to prevent it from rotting - such a quarterstaff has almost no expiration date, provided it is kept fairly clean and kept in reasonably dry conditions, and yet it remains flexible and virtually nonflammable and can reasonably withstand a few strikes from edged weapons before chipping. It is tradition to mount a small spike of bronze on one hand of the staff, and a bronze cap on the other end - the end pieces keep the staff from splitting at the ends, but also allows the user of the staff to reasonably use the staff as a weapon, though bronze will not pierce steel readily, it will reasonably hurt a wolf or even an unarmored brigand, and the flat end rings harder against a helmet than wood.

Quarterstaff Tradition

The Quarterstaff Tradition was originally put into place to ensure that peasants had the means to muster with a suitable spearshaft, often bringing some tool from their household to the blacksmith to have it refashioned into a polearm of some sort, but to avoid arming the entire population with weapons of war, thus requiring mustering peasants to bring the head of some farming tool or some such to the smith, to be fashioned into a spearhead and mounted on the quarterstaff. This remains the primary purpose of the tradition

Spear Conversion

When this is done, the bronze spike is removed, being just a cone shaped piece of of bronze that was capped over the end. The thickness of the staff means the staff has to be thinned to fit a spearhead of some sort, which is hard work due to the hardness of the wood, but ultimately rewarding. Peasants who have had their quarterstaffs converted into polearms are under no obligations to maintain a quarterstaff as long as they retain the polearm, nor are they required to revert the conversion. Despite the fact that the quarterstaff tradition was partially put in place to prevent peasants from having ready access to weapons of war without blacksmiths being ordered to perform the conversions free of charge, most places no longer regulate against peasants simply paying to have their staff converted to a spear if they so desire.

Cultural Significance

Quarterstaffs are frequently used in peasant tournaments, they are used as mock spears for militia training and many peasants choose to solve their disputes with quarterstaves, because the alternative is usually quite lethal. Further more, when a household has a spear mounted on the wall, converted from a quarterstaff, it is a considered a sign that the family descends from a veteran of war, which is considered classy and and fancy. Because such spears are family heirlooms, it is not uncommon for the owner of such a spear to leave it on the wall, and actually maintain a separate quarterstaff for mustering purposes.