D&D 5E Choose your preferred Polearam Master

[Charlaquin]

Glaive or halberd is probably the stronger option, but spear and shield wins for me off style points. I’d go for Shield Master in that build over Sentinel as well. Sentinel loses a lot without Reach.

 

[Skayaq]

I'm a simple man, I see spear+shield I upvote.

 

[Coroc]

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.

 

[Bihlbo]

A monk with polearm master and a glaive would be pretty cool.

If only. Even a senshei doesn't get that option.

I'm playing a cavalier with Shield Master and I like it a lot. It's like Spear+Shield+PAM except your bonus action is spent shoving the target. Crawford is wrong, a shield bash is far from being a "finishing move" that deserves to be at the end of your turn (it's the opposite), and the feat would be better written as "You can just do it whenever, as a bonus action." But even as written, it works pretty well. Anyway, cavalier mostly negates the need to get Sentinel, and Warding Maneuver gives you really good staying power. Unwavering Mark, when it gives you a bonus action attack, gives you far more than what either PAM or Shield Master gives you, so your bonus action is always spent on that instead. It's fun.

 

[jmartkdr2]

I wanted to vote for duergar rune knight with a halbard.

Spear and shield would technically work, but being 16 feet tall and holding a 20-24 foot spear and still only having 5 feet of reach is too much.

 

[ccs]

Any will do. Just depends upon the concept I have for the character as to which would fit better.

So I rolled a d3. It said to vote for the Vengeance Paladin.

 

[Charlaquin]

A monk with polearm master and a glaive would be pretty cool.

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

 

[FrogReaver]

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

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

 

[Istbor]

My next character will likely be a Totem Barbarian using Spear+Shield+PAM, granting my allies advantage on attacks against everyone in range, and getting an attack any time an enemy closes to hit me. Damage is a bit lower, as Rage doesn't fully compensate for the bad 1d6 & 1d4 base numbers, but hopefully magical equipment and the added ally-caused damage will pick up the slack. Move-speed flight at level 14 is pretty sweet too. No GWM also means Reckless Attack is optional, which really helps survivability combined with the DR and high-ish AC.

I've statted it out on DNDB, and with a few tomes or good stat rolls, a 24/20/24 physical spread at 20 means he's got an AC of 24 with no magical equipment whatsoever.

Hey trust me, when you can roll 8 as a minimum with the butt of the spear, you won't feel like you are behind in damage. Loving my Zealot Barbarian with a Glaive right now.

 

[TwoSix]

Yeah, the weapons chart is either really poorly made, or it's unfinished. Longsword/battleaxe are identical. Glaive/halberd too. The war pick has no reason to exist and the trident is just terrible. Etc.

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.