D&D 5E Fixing the polearm and taking back its seat as generally best nonprojectile weapon from the sword.

[S'mon]

Interestingly, the most effective technique fro the sword user seemed to be to bull rush the spear user. This didn't work very often for the people in the video, but the rusher consistently got past the spear and had an open opportunity to finish of the spear user. it was just the sword user wasn't very good once the got past the spear. It also makes me think that wearing heavy armor would actually be a good thing, despite what @Son of the Serpent
suggests. Per that video plate would deflect about 90% of the "killing" blows in this video. That was something else I wasn't expecting.

Yes; sword user has to get in close; neither spear nor sword are good vs plate armour, but at least a sword can be half-sworded or murder-stroked with the guard. A dagger would be better, but you really want a specialist can-cracker like pollaxe.

 

[Charlaquin]

And yet the primary weapon of the maniple was a short thrusting sword. They carried javelins sure, but only the triarii were primarily armed with spears, and they backstopped the hastati and the principes as a phalanx rather than the much more maneuverable maniple formations. At least prior to the Marian reforms anyways. Heck, we know that the hastati and the princepes stopped using spears in 387 BCE.

That isn't to say that spears, or polearms are bad, but they aren't the ultimate weapons of ultimate destruction in melee combat. They have a time and a place. I wouldn't be wandering around 1980s New York at 2:13am armed with dory, but a switch blade or other knife would be effective. And it isn't just because a dory would get the cops on me like white on rice: its because in a close up urban brawl the thing too big to be useful, or defend against a small gang.

Context is king.

 

[Charlaquin]

The fix for this is to have martial maneuveres and allow each weapon to have different ones available. It was one thing that 4E 'sort of' did much better than other editions.

Yeah, my dream evolution of 4e would have those maneuvers tied directly to the weapons instead of classes.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Oh, absolutely. I’d definitely be in favor of there being a martial version of a spear. Honestly, the simple/martial divide is pretty arbitrary anyway.

It could even be the exact same weapon, just simple training vs martial

 

[Salthorae]

Maybe let someone trained in martial weapons access some of the battlemaster maneuver's with the spear in place of an Attack as proposed in other threads recently? Maybe a curated list of them?

Off the top of my head these would be the first I'd allow:
Disarming Attack, Lunging Attack, Precision Attack, Pushing Attack, Sweeping Attack, Trip Attack

They obviously wouldn't get the bonus to attack or damage from Superiority dice, but they could achieve the effects still potentially.

Then again, that makes polearms even more powerful for a fighter than they already are and would obviate the need to take Battlemaster as a subclass in some ways.

 

[BookBarbarian]

It could even be the exact same weapon, just simple training vs martial

That's an idea I can get behind.

Martial weapon proficiency not only adding a slew of weapon options, but making simple weapons more effective/interesting/powerful.

 

[Coroc]

Which is of course why the Roman legions were equipped with swords.

Yes, as a back up weapon, after they threw their throwing spears and after they lost their normal spears, they actually switched to their short swords. BUT they used freaking large shields in combination with their swords so they could get really close without getting hurt by enemy still having their spear.

Some mounted romans had longer swords, they were heavily armored and they used the additional force given by the horse movement, so that also has side accessories needed for the effective use of their swords.

 

[Coroc]

And yet the primary weapon of the maniple was a short thrusting sword. They carried javelins sure, but only the triarii were primarily armed with spears, and they backstopped the hastati and the principes as a phalanx rather than the much more maneuverable maniple formations. At least prior to the Marian reforms anyways. Heck, we know that the hastati and the princepes stopped using spears in 387 BCE.

That isn't to say that spears, or polearms are bad, but they aren't the ultimate weapons of ultimate destruction in melee combat. They have a time and a place. I wouldn't be wandering around 1980s New York at 2:13am armed with dory, but a switch blade or other knife would be effective. And it isn't just because a dory would get the cops on me like white on rice: its because in a close up urban brawl the thing too big to be useful, or defend against a small gang.

Yes their might have been specialized troops using sword after their throwing spears (The purpose of these as you surely know was mainly to hamper enemy shields. Still they used their swords together with a very large shield.

To defend against a small gang a switch blade will get you nothing. They might just mug you, but if you manage to stick a knife into one of them, they for sure kill you. With a polearm you might have a chance to fight them of though. A knife, in a nowadays civilian context, is never to underestimate and very dangerous for its potential to cut open arteries which is an inevitable death sentence in most cases. I agree with you on that, that is why it is forbidden or regulated to carry one in many countries.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

So, about that enhanced critical.

I have a few ideas.

How about after crit'ing, instead of doing extra damage dice or a multuplier, instead roll another d20 and if you hit your crit range again you can hobble and cause bleed as a swift action, reflex save against it? This represents something polearms and especially spears excel at which is sticking the head in someone and wrenching it before removal.

 

[Perun]

It could even be the exact same weapon, just simple training vs martial

One of my houserule ideas since I first read 5e, is to increase the damage die of Simple weapons by one category (i.e. 1d4 becomes 1d6, 1d6 goes to 1d8, etc.) for characters proficient in Martial weapons. That would essentially make Simple weapons (sort of) equal to Martial weapons, and would provide incentive to martial-proficient characters to use Simple weapons (apart from role-playing reasons).

The idea has some problems, dagger (1d6, light, finesse, thrown 20/60) vs. shortsword (1d6, light, finesse) being the most obvious, with handaxe (1d8, light, thrown 20/60) vs. battleaxe (1d8, 1d10 versatile) coming in at close second (IMO).

It's still just at the idea stage, and I expect I'll have to tackle it if and when I decide to use it in game.