I like your style, my friend. I was really hoping someone would argue for swords. The idea of a 50mph reindeer charge delights me, though I expect that all my mountains and forests will usually make line charges impractical. Any thoughts on how effective a big scary thrusting saber is likely to be if it's wielded by unmounted combatants, without the mount's power behind it?

There are some excellent ideas here. Are there real-world examples of a covered club like the one you describe? I would have thought that anything padded enough to not break the skin would be too padded to be lethal.

This gives me some really useful ideas. Could you point me to any real-world cultures that use an honor system like the one you describe?

I wish I could choose two answers; this is very helpful, especially since I'm aiming for a desert world. The Turpan area looks very much like the kind of landscape I had in mind. I will definitely be researching this more!

This is excellent news, since I am planning on a treeless world covered mainly in deserts and grasslands. Thanks for your input!

It certainly doesn't, but one of the things I find fun about worldbuilding (whether it's geography, climate, culture, or language) is asking "Why would this be this way? What's the underlying mechanic here?" and then finding out what the other effects of that underlying mechanic would be. It lets my worldbuilding surprise me, and it makes it feel a little more dynamic and natural in my mind. And it gives me an excuse to learn more about how the real world works. A reader may not care, but that's ok.