The crannogmen are so called for their habit of living in small villages formed of reeds and thatch that sit atop floating islands in the mire (crannogs). They are a poor people and seldom leave their lands, subsisting on fishing and frogging.
They are talented hunters and warriors and despite their short stature and somewhat primitive lifestyle, the crannogmen have proven a notoriously difficult people to conquer. They use nets, bronze knives, frog spears, and round leather shields. They fight with poison, guerrilla tactics, and a mastery of their difficult terrain. According to those who have fought them, their houses, even their castles, move. They are disparaged as frog-eaters, swamp-dwellers, mud-men, and bog devils by most other people of the Seven Kingdoms, and are looked down upon for their tactics, which are viewed as cowardly.
Some claim the crannogmen's smaller size is because of intermarriage with the children of the forest, while others attribute their size to poor nutrition.