D&D (2024) How would you use studded leather wraps on polearms in 5.5E?

[Quartz]

Studded leather is a real thing, but for wrapping polearms, and not as armour. What uses would you give it in today's game? I'm thinking that it might give a bonus or even Advantage vs Disarm at the cost of extra expense. 5E doesn't have a Sunder option, but additional resilience there seems appropriate too if you're playing 3E.

Obviously when magic comes into the equation the sky's the limit. Perhaps the wrap animates and entangles the target? Perhaps the wrap is made of dragon skin and grants bonuses vs dragons? Maybe the wrap is itself magical, but is missing many of its studs and finding them will grant additional powers?

 

[aco175]

I first read the title and think you are talking about hand wraps and monks and such, but reading the post I think you are talking about the polearm itself and the wraps that go on it.

For the polearm, I do not feel they do enough to make it worth granting something extra. They appear to make the shaft thicker and maybe harder to hold, but the studs in the leather appear to counter this leaving just the leather dampening vibration or impact on the wood- similar to wrapping axe handles when splitting wood. I'm not a historian and could be totally wrong.

I do like the coolness of it being a magic item. They act like a rope of climbing or can grapple a target to prevent escape. It could even be something that lets a spear return if thrown or acts like a harpoon and now you have the target unable to flee. This might be something to think of more rules for since weapons generally so not do this. Rules for cutting the rope or breaking the shaft or pulling the rope from your hands and such.

 

[Reynard]

I don't think any flavor of 5E, even A5E , is nuanced enough to care about this sort of thing from a mechanical perspective. I can see Pathfinder or 3.x D&D applying minor bonuses under specific circumstances, but that sort of thing isn't really 5E's bag.

 

[Quartz]

I first read the title and think you are talking about hand wraps and monks and such,

Good point; I've edited the title.

 

[Kobold Stew]

I agree that non-magical wraps would not meaningfully distinguish the weapon -- flavour is free. I think you could make a magic item:

Leather Wraps
(uncommon)
When wrapped around a quarterstaff or club, this item allows the wielder to cast Shillelagh. Wisdom is the spellcasting ability for it.

 

[Bae'zel]

It would be neat in a setting like Brancalonia, where all default gear is “poor quality” and breaks on the roll of 1 on an attack roll (and then all further attack rolls are at disadvantage until repaired). In a setting like that, studded leather wraps would mean a more expensive polearm, but it gets rid of the poor quality trait.

 

[Quartz]

Matt Easton has just posted a video on pollaxes and one of the things he says is that they seem to break a lot. Languettes seem to be the main counter.