The sideways spear...

[Water Bob]

I'm thinking that a staff, gripped in the middle so that a warrior can swing right or left with it, should be used as if the character were using a weapon in each hand. A full round action would allow two attacks using the normal two-hand weapon rules.

Agreed?



So, what about a one-handed hunting spear or any weapon that is about the same length and not overly weighted on one end or the other (as most of the long weapons are with big, heavy blades on one end).

The Hunting Spear is fairly balanced since it is normally gripped mid-shaft and used one-handed.

Don't you think that a warrior should be able to grip the spear like a staff and use it with the two-weapon rules?

I tend to think so, but at lowered damage because the spear is no longer using it's point to hit.

In D&D, the short spear is a 1d6 weapon, I think. I'd make it a 1d3 weapon per strike.

In Conan, the hunting spear is a 1d8 weapon (most of the weapons in Conan do more damage than their D&D counterparts). I'm thinking, if used as described as a staff, then it should deliver either 1d4 or 1d3 points of damage.

Thoughts?

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

The quarterstaff can already be used that way (depending on what version of the game you play). So yes, I'd allow a spear to be used in a pinch as a double weapon. Say a 1d8 weapon normally becomes a 1d4/1d4 or 1d6/1d4 when used double. I'd probably go with the latter, to make it more-or-less equal (given to-hit penalties for two weapons).

 

[Water Bob]

The quarterstaff can already be used that way (depending on what version of the game you play).

Curious where you saw this.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

I've never had a problem with a character using a spear as a quarter staff. They're near enough to the same thing and there's no reason you can't get a spear that's balanced at both ends. Might not make a good throwing spear but, hey, whatever. Of course the character needs to be trained in both spear and quarter staff or suffer the non-proficiency penalty if using the weapon in an unfamiliar way.

Recently I've been toying with the idea that the Feat: Weapon Focus should allow a character to open up some avenues not available to other characters. Not big advantages but things like using a spear as a quarter staff and switching between grips as a free action. I did up a short list of examples for some weapons. I can post it later when I get home if you're interested. It is a very short list.

cheers.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Curious where you saw this.

D&D 3.0/3.5 rules.

From the d20 SRD:

A quarterstaff is a double weapon. You can fight with it as if fighting with two weapons, but if you do, you incur all the normal attack penalties associated with fighting with two weapons, just as if you were using a one-handed weapon and a light weapon. A creature wielding a quarterstaff in one hand can’t use it as a double weapon—only one end of the weapon can be used in any given round.