D&D 5E Have we misunderstood the shield and sword fighter (or warrior)?


log in or register to remove this ad



As an casual medeval fighter, I do indeed know the difference between a pike and a spear.
Yeah? Well I watch my two young sons duke it out with foam weapons all the time. And let me tell you, dual-wielding is a thing.

But the real takeaway is that a nine-year-old will beat a six-year-old every time, so I tack 3 years onto the starting age of all my characters.
 

Help yourself to a quick wiki search. There are no staves, cudgels, or any other far-fetched wooden poles except for weapons with heads attached. All shown are two handed wooden shafts with all kinds of shapes of weapon heads.

Ok I did that search.

From arms and armor online:
"Prior to the introduction of firearms, spears and other polearms....."

From Medieval collectables:
"We have a full line pole weapons that consist of single headed battle axes, maces, flails, spears, war hammers, double headed battle axes and halberds."

From Weapons of the World:
"The polearm, in particular the spear, is one of the oldest weapons in existence....."

From Les Arisans Azure:
"Spears, halberds, war scythes, and other polearms ...."

And finally since you mentioned wiki
"A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood with a pointed head."

"A quarterstaff (plural quarterstaffs or quarterstaves), also short staff or simply staff is a traditional European pole weapon"
 


From the internets (wilki)...A pole-arm is differentiated from a spear in that the penetrating 'edge' is parallel to the pole, rather than in-line, although many pole-arms also incorporate a spear point. So semantics maybe, but seems like apples and oranges.
 

From the internets (wilki)...A pole-arm is differentiated from a spear in that the penetrating 'edge' is parallel to the pole, rather than in-line, although many pole-arms also incorporate a spear point. So semantics maybe, but seems like apples and oranges.
i have literally never seen anyone use this definition of a polearm in my entire life, and it makes no sense, especially considering one of the main uses for a polearm is for...thrusting.

edit: also, this definition excludes pikes, so why are you even using it when you've already admitted pikes are polearms?
 



Remove ads

Top