D&D 3E/3.5 [3.5] Halfling with Reach, you like it?

[MeepoTheMighty]

I originally thought the new weapon system sucked (changed just for the sake of changing), but now I really like it. For me it was the arrow problem. A hobbit will pull his shortbow back less than a human would. Thus arrows for a shortbow used by a hobbit would be different from arrows for a shortbow used by a human. At least now the game recognizes that.

So, concerning the topic ... I like it.


Aaron

Good point Aaron, I never thought of that arrow problem. I do really like the new weapon system. If nothing else, it's given my gnome druid the same number of options as a human druid would have, just at the expense of a little bit of damage. Sounds like a fair trade to me.

 

[Malin Genie]

I like it - now I can run the longspear-armed kobold phalanx against my players

 

[frankthedm]

I like it - now I can run the longspear-armed kobold phalanx against my players

It makes sence the smaller humaniods would use the longest weapons they could find. I will be throwing orc children with small glaives at my pc's soon.

 

[Li Shenron]

What happens if a colossal creature wields a colossal reach weapon? Does it only increase the reach by 5ft?

What about a fine creature with a fine reach weapon? Still 5ft?

It sucks.

 

[Hypersmurf]

What happens if a colossal creature wields a colossal reach weapon? Does it only increase the reach by 5ft?

Reach Weapons: Glaives, guisarmes, lances, longspears, ranseurs, spiked chains, and whips are reach weapons. A reach weapon is a melee weapon that allows its wielder to strike at targets that aren’t adjacent to him or her. Most reach double the wielder’s natural reach, meaning that a typical Small or Medium wielder of such a weapon can attack a creature 10 feet away, but not a creature in an adjacent square. A typical Large character wielding a reach weapon of the appropriate size can attack a creature 15 or 20 feet away, but not adjacent creatures or creatures up to 10 feet away.

-Hyp.

 

[Li Shenron]

Reach Weapons: Glaives, guisarmes, lances, longspears, ranseurs, spiked chains, and whips are reach weapons. A reach weapon is a melee weapon that allows its wielder to strike at targets that aren’t adjacent to him or her. Most reach double the wielder’s natural reach, meaning that a typical Small or Medium wielder of such a weapon can attack a creature 10 feet away, but not a creature in an adjacent square. A typical Large character wielding a reach weapon of the appropriate size can attack a creature 15 or 20 feet away, but not adjacent creatures or creatures up to 10 feet away.

-Hyp.

Aha! I thought that it wasn't like this... So the concerns are only about creatures with size less than medium, but still have 5ft natural reach. What about creatures with 0ft reach? No change or increase to 5ft?

 

[Hypersmurf]

What about creatures with 0ft reach? No change or increase to 5ft?

I can't find anything in the 3.5 SRD, but Savage Species says Tiny creatures with Reach weapons can attack at 5'.

-Hyp.

 

[AuraSeer]

I could almost swear the PH addresses Tiny reach weapons, even though it's not in the SRD. I know I read it somewhere, and I don't own Savage Species.

 

[Snipehunt]

It works from playability - otherwise, no small reach fighters. Quite a nerf.

As for realism, if that's really important to you, another game might be better. D&D simulates real combat, but not really well. It's supposed to be vaguely believable, but the emphasis is on balance, playability, and storytellability. I gave up on realism in D&D way back in high school when me and my friends tried to figure out just exactly how the invisibility spell worked, and why an enlarged human doesn't collapse under its own weight. Fun times. Fun times.

 

[HeavyG]

Reach is funny.

If trolls can bite people 10 feet away, I don't see why a halfling would need a 10' long spear to do so.

Of course, a human with a greatsword should have as much or greater reach than a halfling with a long spear, but he should also have more reach than a large humanoid's bite attack, so I don't worry too much about it.

I think the problem is that there should be some kind of reach between 0 and 5', but of course, that's impossible with the current 5' grid system. If we could have a "2.5 feet" reach, then small creatures could have that and then they would have longspears that reached 5' away.