Poleaxe?
Greenfield
Adventurer
I tend to see Spear as a Pike, with Short Spear being the one that can be hurled.
I know that one of the books had Lucern Hammer. I think it might be in Libris Mortis, but I could be wrong.
Over all I'd call the PoleAxe a Haleberd and leave it at that.
I know that one of the books had Lucern Hammer. I think it might be in Libris Mortis, but I could be wrong.
Over all I'd call the PoleAxe a Haleberd and leave it at that.
David Howery
Hero
indeed. The 1E UA has the most exhaustive description of polearms you'd ever want. I always wondered back in those days just how often DMs used some of the weirder polearms in the list...
David Howery
Hero
one of the crueler things you could do as a DM back in 1E/2E days was to give an NPC a +4 version of some weird polearm like a voulge or glaive/guisarme. Sure, you just gave the party a +4 weapon, but how many players are going to give their characters proficiency with a glaive-guisarme?
Ilbranteloth
Explorer
AD&D PHB has the lucern hammer. Might go back to OD&D.
A pollaxe was apparently wielded differently than a halberd, more like a quarterstaff with an axe head, where a halberd was wielded more like a traditional pole arm. I've been trying to come up with the best way to differentiate them since they are similar.
But like many polearms, historically they existed at different times or in different places. And many similar designs evolved for the same reasons. Trying to make sense of it in a fantasy game where all types of weapons and armor exist everywhere at the same time means that it probably won't.
Ilbranteloth
Explorer
I tended to group types of weapon an armor in rough historical context, and assign them to different cultures in the campaign. So one region (where mounted knights are rare if not unknown), there isn't a lot of plate armor. So the limit of the polearms are spears, since the need for more specialized polearms isn't present. Axes are common in heavily forested regions, since the tool version is in heavy use already. That sort of thing. Also, I've always used groups of weapons, since they are wielded similarly. So if you grow up in a given region, you're likely to find weapons and armor you can use.
Of course, in ancient tombs it's different, but it still ties into the culture of the region when the tomb was made. So if you find a magic voulge, there's a reason for it. It's also a "masterwork" weapon (in the time before they existed in the game), where it's decorated and probably has a history, making it valuable to the right buyer. It essentially is just another part of the treasure like the many bows and knives/daggers found in Tutankhamen's tomb.
But yes, if you're just randomly determining magic weapons without providing context, it's just annoying.
David Howery
Hero
Polearms were always a bit of a problem in the pure game world of D&D... they're long and unwieldy, so unsuitable for the average dungeon, and most of them didn't do more damage than a sword, and they take two hands so no shield; the ones that do a lot of damage take a LOT of space to use. OTOH, if you're running an outside adventure, giving your poor NPC mooks a lot of polearms to hack at the PCs with was always a good strategy...
