Weapons in Hoops

The weapons in Hoops span a few very broad categories. This is because there are no projectiles nor bladed weapons. But what does gives the weapons depth is the various levels. Level 1 is smaller and lighter, Level 2 is larger and heavier, and Level 3 is huge. Just huge. Impractical in a real fight unless the fighter was a Strength wielder and even then, just disrespectful. Read on to learn about the main weapon classes, plus a bonus one that is the equivalent of giving someone the middle finger.

Staff

As you might expect, the staff is pretty straightforward. It’s literally just a long metal stick. And this is absolutely the case for Level 1 and 2 with the only difference being size. However, Level 3 is where it gets interesting.

Since there are no blades, all polearm-type weapons (spears, poleaxes, halberds…) can’t be used in Hoops. However, a Level 3 staff has a weighted head, the equivalent of a spear and a mace mixed together. It functionally turns the staff into a polearm. No one in The Shadow Spinner ever used a Level 3 staff because it’s a one-on-one sport. Polearms are generally for when a phalanx or shielded formation can be formed. Otherwise, people use shorter, lighter, but much faster weapons like swords. But the Level 3 staff does exist and it is glorious.

Sword and shield

If you’ve read the book, then you know that swords are really ‘swords’. That is, they have no blade or point – so they’re just a metal rod. The sword and shield are the most popular choice in Hoops in general. Not only is the sword the fastest weapon and the shield is an obvious choice when fighting for your life, but most fighters are familiar with using them.

I like the idea that you can actually mix levels between the sword and shield. So a fighter could ask for a level 1 sword and level 3 shield. I don’t know if they should be able to do that. Anyway, let’s start with the sword. Level 1 is basically a short sword. Light, limited range, but very fast. Level 2 is what most people would consider a normal sword. Level 3 is great sword-level. Like you have to use two hands just to hold onto this guy.

Onto shields. Level 1 is your normal small shield, a buckler. You could cover a small area of your body, but that’s it. Level 2 is much bigger and could cover an entire region of your body. It’s about 3 feet in diameter, so pretty sizeable. Level 3 just skips straight to great shield. Like one of those heraldic shields that you can hold on your arm and the tip touches the ground. Now that I think about it, someone probably wouldn’t even be able to use both a Level 3 sword and shield. It would make for a great scene if a character asked for a Level 3 sword and shield without realizing this and basically can’t hold onto them.

Mace

A mace, at least in The Shadow Spinner, is basically just a blunt sword with a weighted head. Level 1 and 2 are exactly what you would expect. But Level 3, which the Donkey uses, is much bigger. It’s basically a maul or the equivalent of a sledgehammer. Let’s think about that. A sledgehammer. Getting hit in the chest would be game over in one hit.

Above, we talked about mixing levels for sword and shield. If you’ve read the book, then you know that Araina mixes weapons, using a sword and a mace. If she had kept playing Hoops as she got stronger and stronger, I’d like to believe that she eventually would use a Level 3 sword and Level 3 mace…

Tonfa

This was actually deleted from the book. Let’s be real. The Shadow Spinner has too many fight scenes. We all know it. You may be surprised to learn that I actually deleted several fights – and the book still has too many! One of the minor ones is more a mention than a fully choreographed fight scene. After N’Halia and Araina start competing in Intermediate-tier Hoops in Riford, it talked a little more about N’Halia’s opponents very briefly. One of them used a tonfa.

So if you don’t know what a tonfa is, it’s basically a police baton that has that side handle (a PR-24). The advantage of the side handle is that you can hold it so that the baton covers your forearm, letting you block with your arm. The disadvantage of this weapon is that it’s extremely short. The opponent N’Halia fights actually uses a tonfa on one arm like a shield and a sword in the other. Why not just a shield instead of a tonfa? Well the tonfa has offensive uses as well since it is a baton. It’s basically worse than sword at attacking, worse than a shield at defending, but better than either at doing both for obvious reasons. Is it practical in a one-on-one fight? Probably not, but it’s still awesome.

By the way, the traditional usage of tonfa is to hold one in each hand. Anyway, what about levels? Well, Level 1 is exactly like a police baton, while Level 2 is just longer and heavier. These look like tonfa that are used in martial arts, except those are made of wood and these would be made of metal. Finally, Level 3. You need to look up ‘tonfa One Piece’. There’s a character in One Piece who uses the most absurd variation of this – metal tonfa that have a huge weighted ball at the end to strike with. Yes, this would be the Level 3 tonfa and they would be glorious.

Kubotan

 

Ah, yes, the kubotan. This is one of those small metal sticks you see people carry on keychains. They’re like a slightly bigger metal pencil. They’re purported to be good for self-defense – you can use them to hit pressure points or lock joints. But, no… Unless you’re highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat and you’re fighting an unarmed opponent, this weapon is useless. Now you can imagine this against a sword or mace. Asking for a kubotan is basically just a sign of huge disrespect.

Are there different levels? Of course! But no one every specifies, they just ask for a kubotan and whatever is lying around is given to them.