Polearm and Club

[Zhure]

This is sort of a house rule question, but I think it's more interpretive rather than new rules.

Here's what I'm using IMC. I'm about to restart a new campaign tonight, so it's a timely question.

- The haft of a poleweapon (glaive, guisarme, longspear) can also be used in adjacent squares as a club (bludgeoning damage).
- Specialization with the poleweapon doesn't make one specialized with the club. Likewise, weapon focus for one doesn't apply to the other.
-Enhancement bonuses on the poleweapon don't affect the haft, and vice-versa. All poleweapons can thus be treated as double weapons, but each half affects a different range.

Do these rules make sense internally? Do they make poleweapons too nice? Do they make the spiked chain less worthwhile?

Greg

[Relentless]

Polearms become too powerful as a martial weapon.

Clubbing someone 5' distant with the shaft of a 10' long weapon seems a bit improbable.

No one likes to stab themself.

[Murrdox]

Well, it's a house rule, so feel free to do whatever you want. Personally, in my campaign, I hold to not being able to do that, simply because I think a 10' long weapon is difficult to turn around and simply use the end of it. Especially since such weapons have very heavy heads, and are not balanced for close-combat and such.

If someone wants to use a polearm for somthing like that, I treat the polearm as an "object" and thus they can make an attack with it at -4 just like if they were attacking with a quarterstaff... 1d6 damage.

As for YOUR house rule, it seems just fine, and I'd go with it... however, I'd stop short of treating all polearms as double weapons, and I'd especially not allow anyone to enchant the haft of the weapon. That would be too easily abused. I'd also make the "polearm haft" weapon an exotic weapon, so you'd have to use a feat to get this benefit out of a polearm

[shurai]

Remember that although a weapon with reach can hit someone 10' away doesn't mean that it is 10' long. The way you hit such a long reach, depending on the polearm, is by taking a step and thrusting or swinging out, and by gripping the weapon near the end of the shaft. (Oooh, shaft, can you dig it?) In reality, it's hard to hit someone a full 10' away with almost any polearm, except for those really long ones favored in Europe at some periods. I would guess that D&D assumes that your character moves to the very edge of his square when he attacks, while the enemy is still in his square. Thus, your character is reaching into the adjacent square, while striking one square distant. Really, it's all just a goofy approximation intended to simulate the actual function of these weapons. It does so with reasonable accuracy, given the utter simplicity of the polearm rules.

If it were my campaign, I would pick a few of the polearms and allow them to be used as you say, with an exotic proficiency granting an extra ability (similar to the bastard sword). I would allow weapon finesse/focus to be useable on both ends of the weapon, though. I would probably make them work like double weapons at that point. Each turn, such a character could spend a free action to change his weapon from either reach-mode to double-weapon-mode, or vice versa.

D&D is only a very rough approximation with regards to historical polearms. For instance, particularly in China and Japan, polearms were often used with a shifting grip, so that one could strike far distance and near distance with equal proficiency. Shifting the grip to the end of the weapon allows a long reach, whereas shifting it towards the middle allows one to use both ends of the thing at once, like a staff with an extra-nasty bit at one end. This was somewhat elite training compared to the ordinary soldier, though. The experts could all sorts of ungodly things in other ways, of course.

-S

[Conaill]

I would require a free action to change grip. That way, you still don't get to take AoO's at 10' and 5' on the same turn. If you're holding the weapon to attack at 10', an opponent could Tumble up right next to you and then try to Disarm you or Grapple without getting an AoO. Sounds quite realistic.

[Relentless]

Remember that although a weapon with reach can hit someone 10' away doesn't mean that it is 10' long.

When one opens the PHB, it becomes clear that weapons with a 10' reach are often 10' long.

p. 100-103: Weapons superimposed over 1' squares.

[RandomNPC]

If you check ouy the Cheater Book of Feats there is one called "clever monkey spins the branch" I believe it does something similarto what you want to allow. I think it's worth a feat, and still fairly better than a spiked chain in most situations.

[Hjorimir]

WotC held a PrC contest a while back. The winner was a class called the Longblade which was a polearm spec class. They have an ability called flexible reach IIRC that allowed them to choke up on a pole arm and use it up close.

Try and find it if you can. Was a neat concept.