D&D 5E Choose your preferred Polearam Master

[Coroc]

Glaive isn’t a monk weapon though. You could do it with a quarterstaff.

A Glaive is very similar to a Naginata which definetely is a monk weapon for me.

 

[Coroc]

I think that's more a consequence of them prioritizing both simulationist concerns and tradition over gamist ones when they made the table. That's how we get stuff like 2dX weapons and rapiers.

If they would do rapier proper (simulationist) it even would get reach, but you would eventually also need a buckler, main gauche or cloak in your offhand, because it is to heavy to parry proper. (A 15th - 16th century rapier is about as long as a bastard sword and weighs the same also IRL)

 

[Charlaquin]

As long as you get proficiency you can do it with a glaive.

Sure, but first you have to get proficiency, and even then you don’t get any of the benefits for using a monk weapon, including using Dex to attack with it. Monks are already MAD without maining a Strength weapon.

 

[Charlaquin]

A Glaive is very similar to a Naginata which definetely is a monk weapon for me.

But it doesn’t qualify for the benefits of being a monk weapon.

 

[TwoSix]

If they would do rapier proper (simulationist) it even would get reach, but you would eventually also need a buckler, main gauche or cloak in your offhand, because it is to heavy to parry proper. (A 15th - 16th century rapier is about as long as a bastard sword and weighs the same also IRL)

Oh, sure. The 5E weapon table is muddled, it reflects the 5E design principle on trying to compromise between its varied design goals (respect for tradition, no one dominant play style) quite well.

 

[GlassJaw]

Oh, sure. The 5E weapon table is muddled, it reflects the 5E design principle on trying to compromise between its varied design goals (respect for tradition, no one dominant play style) quite well.

Muddled is kind. It's one of the biggest fails of 5E. And that's coming from someone whose favorite edition is 5E.

 

[J-H]

I would not allow pam to work with shield, no matter what sage advice or whoever blurts about it.
Duelling that's ok with me, but the uber blast my make belief is pam quarterstaff one handed with shield.
That is so wrong on so many levels, making a mediocre peasant weapon one of the most effective weapons in the game by adding properties it doesn't have in reality. Btw i voted for 1, that's a build that got style, combining a halberd with a lot of special moves, the other two are just DPR because the rules say so.

If you'd like, you can refluff the PAM attack as a shield bash.
It is possible to use the butt of a spear to also strike at someone on the ground in passing, or at their feet, even one-handed. I vaguely recall something like that being mentioned in Gates of Fire.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Oh, you can talk about your idea all you want. You just can't vote for it

Well, I voted for spear and shield, I just wouldn't go battle master. So, a minor difference is all.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

Battlemaster with a glaive or halberd is the quintessential polearm master. Maybe not the all time best, maybe not my favorite, but it's what I imagine when someone says polearm master build.

 

[Tallifer]