Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Water Bob" data-source="post: 5873532" data-attributes="member: 92305">RE:  Reach Weapons.  This is interesting, <a href="http://www.thedungeonmaster.com/AttacksOfOpportunity.pdf" target="_blank">written by Skip Williams in this document</a>.   Using Reach Weapons up CloseNormally, when you wield a reach weapon, the area you threaten forms a hollow ring. You threaten a band of squares away from you, but not the band of squares right next to you. This is the game's way of representing the weapon's physical limits. If the business end of the weapon is at the end of a pole more than 5 feet from you, it's pretty hard to bring that end to bear against a foe right next to you. Most reach weapons have fairly sturdy shafts, however, and there's no reason why you couldn't use the shaft to clobber someone. Likewise, there's no reason why you couldn't shorten your grip on the weapon so that the business end doesn't stick out so far. To represent these possibilities, you can allow a character to use a reach weapon to attack foes within his natural reach, but with a -4 penalty on attack and damage rolls. The penalties simulate all the difficulties the character has when employing the weapon in this fashion, such as striking with the shaft or messing up the weapon's usual leverage and balance. </blockquote>