D&D 5E Polearm Master Feat

[Bacon Bits]

It was intentional. These are the same people who thought a pike weighed 18 pounds.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

It was intentional. These are the same people who thought a pike weighed 18 pounds.

That is mighty heavy.

They also seem to be confused about what is a class of weapons with a variety under the banner and what is a very specific thing.

Shouldn't "pike" represent pretty much every military, long thrusting weapon? There's a lot of variety there. Some of which would be easier to "spin around" than others.

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[BookBarbarian]

That's exactly how you use a halberd. And a pike is normally about 15 feet in length.

My problem is I wanted a longspear fighter like Oberyn Martell. I had to refluff a pike for that. And it's AL, so I can't refluff the feat to allow me to use the longspear because it's mechanically a pike.

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I'd use a glaive for that. I'd just say my glaive has a straight blade instead of curved.

 

[KahlessNestor]

That changes the mechanics (piercing to slashing) unfortunately, so not allowed.

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[The Crimson Binome]

I know this has been addressed before but I can't find the thread--Is the Pike pursposefully omitted from the second bullet?

Assuming that the second bullet is the part about making an off-hand attack, you can't use a thrusting-only weapon for the main attack because you need to be swinging the business end in order to facilitate the appropriate grip for striking with the butt. This aspect of the feat represents a very specific maneuver that you're trying to pull off, and a pike is simply not suited to that maneuver.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Assuming that the second bullet is the part about making an off-hand attack, you can't use a thrusting-only weapon for the main attack because you need to be swinging the business end in order to facilitate the appropriate grip for striking with the butt. This aspect of the feat represents a very specific maneuver that you're trying to pull off, and a pike is simply not suited to that maneuver.

The only polearm that I can imagine being wielded that way is the Naginata. (Which I guess is modeled by the Halberd, though I can't really see an actual halberd that way, except against multiple opponents.)

A spear wielded two-handed could do it for sure (which isn't allowed) and, obviously, it makes the most sense for the quarterstaff.

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[discosoc]

Yeah, I guess the trident DOES deserve mention. Man, what's WotC's beef with polearms? Is this backlash against the those massive polearm lists from 2E?


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Hah, that list started more fights than our rogue. There's always a history buff ready to go to the mat over how this polearm wasn't really a polearm, or how the polearm the fighter is using is actually a bill based on the picture, but the fighter wants to call it a glaive because it sounds cooler than bill... I kind of feel like you either have a fully fleshed out list of polearm weapons (a category that's historically anything but standardized) that probably don't function realistically, or you have a few common "fantasy polearms" that let someone scratch the itch without attempting to deal with the realities of the weapons.

Also, an absolute ton of roleplayers have sadly been educated in martial weapons through anime, so they think all polearms are just long spears with random head designs meant to be swung around in an acrobatic manner. That probably doesn't help. Those guys probably think studded leather is real.

 

[i_dont_meta]

Assuming that the second bullet is the part about making an off-hand attack, you can't use a thrusting-only weapon for the main attack because you need to be swinging the business end in order to facilitate the appropriate grip for striking with the butt. This aspect of the feat represents a very specific maneuver that you're trying to pull off, and a pike is simply not suited to that maneuver.

I'm just saying, that for all the handwaving that goes on, especially in regards to weapons, it's seems almost laughable that the "official" response has anything to do with an even facsimile of realism...


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[The Crimson Binome]

I'm just saying, that for all the handwaving that goes on, especially in regards to weapons, it's seems almost laughable that the "official" response has anything to do with an even facsimile of realism...

The underlying game isn't nearly as abstract as some people like to pretend it is. Everything in the game is meant to model a particular in-game reality, and some things can get pretty specific about the nature of the reality they're modeling.

They once tried an edition where you could reskin anything however you felt like, because mechanical balance was the primary concern, and that edition flopped for precisely that reason. They're not going to make that mistake again anytime soon.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

The underlying game isn't nearly as abstract as some people like to pretend it is. Everything in the game is meant to model a particular in-game reality, and some things can get pretty specific about the nature of the reality they're modeling.

They once tried an edition where you could reskin anything however you felt like, because mechanical balance was the primary concern, and that edition flopped for precisely that reason. They're not going to make that mistake again anytime soon.

Sure, but it seems a bit odd where they pick their battles. Particularly when the "reality" being modeled doesn't really conform to any actual reality.

For example, you could theoretically flip a halberd over and bash with the other end, but you would have to be pretty desperate - and a bit foolish, as it's not the quickest, or strongest way to get another attack with said weapon.

A spear or a pike could be thrust many times during that flip.

I suppose they are limited to maneuvers that they can imagine at the time they write them up.



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