The Cannibal hobbit tribe of desert

In the desert, far from civilization there is small tribe of hobbits. They don't live in fancy and cozy holes but in tents made from leather of rare desert oxes. Everyone knows that hobbits love easy life, good food and drink and love parties and festivals. But life for these hobbits is simple and quite rough. Sun is burning in the daytime but nights are cold.

Usually hobbits are round for their love of food but these tribesmen are thinner. They love festivals though, but they are rare as their life is rough.

Food in desert is hard to get, and a great feast is hard to make. They hunt lizards and other small reptiles and if the hunters are lucky, they might get a desert ox. There aren't many of plants, but they are good at making wine from the palmtrees at the oasis they live.

Sometimes, if they are lucky a caravan goes by. Part of the desert where this tribe of hobbits lives is remote from civilization. Week's travel to next roadside inn. When there is a caravan heavily guarded, they are really shy and cautious to show themselves. But if caravan is lightly guarded, hobbits attack it robbing valuables, taking food and human.

What do they do for their captives? Cook them alive. Meat is better, when it is cooked with adrenaline. The leftover meat they dry in the sun.

Old people from the tribe (75% or more of expected living age) are eaten. They are not cooked alive, but their throats are slit. This is not an horror for tribe's members, but mere a honour. They born and live their life in the tribe, and that is their way. When hobbit is old enough, he is more than willing to nourish his tribesmen. Death is a ritual, a festival. Hobbit to be cooked is treated like a king for months. He knows what is coming up to him and how his life will end on his tribesmens plates and is happy to be able to feed this poor tribe. Even those killed in injuries are not buried, but eaten. It's a waste of a life to bury the body in the ground, or burn it, and noone wants it.

Adventurers

When adventrurers are far in the desert, they might find this oasis resident by hobbit tribe of cannibals. They treat their visitors the  best they can, putting up a small festival for the honour of their visitors. They do their best to feed them, and give the best of the wine they have maken from palmtree leaves. One might notice, that even if meat is red, it tastes like chicken. If this is told, they say that lizards taste like it. Aren't it good meat, sir?

They put tranqualizing herbs in wine for their guests to sedate them. When guests go to sleep, the sleep is so deep they hardly wake up in even bigger disturbance. Then the guests are tied up and carried into a huge pot to cook alive. The pain in being cooked alive is so horrible, that even the herbs won't keep their guests asleep anymore. "Screaming meat is better," goes the old saying.

System And Setting

Basically you can use cannibal hobbit tribe in any fantasy game. It doesn't need to be Tolkien as halflings or even gnomes or dwarves can do the trick. Just take some less dangerous race, what is commonly found nice and you are good to go. The race you choose to use should not be concidered as violent or dangerous, or the surprise is ruined.

How Will Characters Survive From Being A Nice Meal?

That is a good question.

Cannibal is when someone eats someone else from his own species. But I describe this outcast desert tribe of hobbits as cannibals, as they eat intelligent humanoids.