Where are hte polearms?

[diaglo]

Sorry, my bad. I've seen a lot of people try to claim that a lone guy with a polearm is akin to a victim.

heck, look at the vatican guard sometime.

yeah, yeah, i know most of them have machine guns now. but still... the d00ds standing on either side of the doorways sometimes have polearms.

 

[Banshee16]

While I realize the masses of polearms was certainly the most effective use of polearms, I think it's somewhat misleading to say that that's the ONLY place you saw them.

I suppose it depends if you include spears in with polearms.

However, watching my students drilling with naginata, I would say that polearms definitely can be used by individuals quite effectively.

That's what I'm thinking....obviously, massed pikes is a good example....but polearms weren't only used for that.

In the Weapons that Made Britain, they showed pretty clearly that polearms are incredibly useful weapons. In fact, he contested that knights used them more often than they used swords, because some like the poleaxe are made specifically to defeat opponents in full plate armour, whereas full plate is an excellent defense against swords.

And the poleaxe was displayed in the show to be a tripping weapon.....parry with the head or haft, get the hook behind the opponent's head, pull him off his feet, then flip it around, and slam the spike into his helmet....fight over. Pretty brutal weapon, apparently.

I did locate stats for the heavy poleaxe in the Conan setting book....but I haven't found the "regular" poleaxe anywhere.

One thing I miss from 2nd Ed. is how certain types of weapons have bonuses against certain types of armour (ie. piercing against chainmail, bashing against plate armour, etc.).

The other thing I didn't realize was how much football or WWF-type tackling was involved in regular swordfighting.....or that they'd grab their sword by the blade, and then use the hilt to bash someone in the face. I don't see how they'd avoid slicing off their fingers when trying to strike with any amount of force though.

I do have the Dragon mag with that article on polearms, and was reading through it last night. It seems somewhat useful.

I guess one thing I need to clarify....in the PHP, and Dragon mag etc. some weapons are indicated as being weapons you can trip with. Does this mean that if you've got a weapon that is *not* listed as a tripping weapon, that you can't trip with it? Like, if I've got a dagger or battleaxe, my PC can't trip? As a DM, I always allow tripping no matter what, as I simply assumed that the PC used his foot or something. Is that incorrect?

Banshee

 

[Drowbane]

...I've seen a lot of people try to claim that a lone guy with a polearm is akin to a victim...

In real life, no.
In D&D? maybe. I've seen polearms used in play perhaps... 5 times... in the past 18yrs. Swords are just "cooler"

 

[Hypersmurf]

Sorry, my bad. I've seen a lot of people try to claim that a lone guy with a polearm is akin to a victim.

I know LARP isn't the best source of 'real world example', but in one of my very few LARP experiences, I saw one of the instructors from the Auckland Sword and Shield Society using a glaive to good effect - both in a solo duel against a sword-and-board, and holding off multiple opponents in a melee.

As long as he had room to move, it was very, very hard for anyone to get inside his reach...

-Hyp.

 

[Voadam]

Poleaxe = great axe or glaive mechanically if you want no tripping.

 

[Banshee16]

In real life, no.
In D&D? maybe. I've seen polearms used in play perhaps... 5 times... in the past 18yrs. Swords are just "cooler"

Then that's a stats problem, I'm thinking. I don't think they make polearms very attractive weapons to use in the game, whereas apparently in reality, they were a very effective tool.

Why use a halberd, when you can get a greatsword, or mercurial greatsword or something?

Banshee

 

[Hypersmurf]

I guess one thing I need to clarify....in the PHP, and Dragon mag etc. some weapons are indicated as being weapons you can trip with. Does this mean that if you've got a weapon that is *not* listed as a tripping weapon, that you can't trip with it? Like, if I've got a dagger or battleaxe, my PC can't trip? As a DM, I always allow tripping no matter what, as I simply assumed that the PC used his foot or something. Is that incorrect?

If you have a flail, say, you can use the flail to trip. You add any flail-specific bonuses (Weapon Focus, enhancement bonuses, etc) to your touch attack roll; you provoke no AoO; and if you fail, you can drop the weapon to avoid the counter-trip.

If you have a longsword, you cannot use the flail to trip; you must instead trip as an unarmed melee touch attack. So weapon focus and enhancement bonuses do not apply (you are not using a weapon to trip), you provoke an AoO (unless you have Improved Trip or Improved Unarmed Strike), and you cannot drop anything to avoid a counter-trip.

-Hyp.

 

[Mouseferatu]

The other thing I didn't realize was how much football or WWF-type tackling was involved in regular swordfighting.....or that they'd grab their sword by the blade, and then use the hilt to bash someone in the face. I don't see how they'd avoid slicing off their fingers when trying to strike with any amount of force though.

Partly, through the use of metal gauntlets.

And partly due to the fact that most swords weren't really all that sharp, except maybe at the point. It sounds odd to think of it, but the truth is, a great many swords--especially the larger ones, like two-handers--were really almost more thin bludgeoning weapons, crushing armor and bone as oppsed to slicing through it.

 

[haakon1]

heck, look at the vatican guard sometime.

yeah, yeah, i know most of them have machine guns now. but still... the d00ds standing on either side of the doorways sometimes have polearms.

Submachine guns. H&K MP5's, most likely.

 

[haakon1]

Poleaxe = great axe or glaive mechanically if you want no tripping.

Nod, in my game I ignore certain illustrations. As in, the battle axe is not a goofy looking thing, but a real battle axe (smaller, more triangular head as used by the Saxons at the Battle of Hastings). And the great axe is a poleaxe or bardiche. My orcs have been using bardiches since 1st Edition.