Spear and Shield

[0-hr]

I would like to make a character that uses a longspear (or pike) and a shield - mainly because I have a miniature that I really like

How does one do this in D&D 3.5 rules-wise? (the Monkey Grip feat has been changed to talk about wepaon sizes rather than using a 2-handed weapon in one hand).

 

[Jdvn1]

I think it works better with a shortspear.

Edit: Wow, we all have awesome postcounts.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

Heh heh, yeah.

Try seeing if your DM will let you use trident stats for a normal-looking spear. That's what I'd do.
A bit farther afield, the Improved Buckler Defense feat from CW lets you apply the buckler bonus while wielding two weapons or a two-handed weapon, with a -1 to attacks. The two-handed weapon bit's in the errata, so make sure you check that out.

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

Introduce a houserule that allows you to use a longspear while equiped with a light shield. At the beginning of your turn you decide what you're wielding, longspear or light shield - not both.

Advantage is that at a drop of the spear you could 'quickdraw' a full attack and have a shield readied without further delay.

 

[blargney the second]

The Hoplite archetype is one I've been trying to implement with 3.5. So far, I haven't done it to my satisfaction - I'll have my eye on this thread!

-blarg

 

[glass]

Wouldn't a shortspear or javelin be more suitable for a hoplite type? I can't remember off the rop of my head; how many hands do they take?


glass.

 

[reanjr]

I'm in the shortspear camp. Along with shortsword (though it would have been called a gladius, if I'm not mistaken).

Large wooden shield, though. And breastplate. There's no good equivilent in D&D for the greaves and helmet that were integral to the traditional hoplite panoply.

There's a feat called Phalanx Fighting in Complete Warrior I believe, but I don't recall what it does. Hoplites weren't really skilled warriors, rather they were masses of common soldiers taught to fight together and use their shields in an interesting way. An elite hoplite would probably focus on shield feats like Improved Shield Bash and any others not in the SRD.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Agree with your DM a feat that enables you to fight with longspear and shield.

Alternatively, use heavy lance and your shield

 

[Tetsubo]

I think one of the problems is how to reflect the Hoplite shield in D&D rules. The shield they used was hung from a strap that put the weight onto the shoulder/neck of the user. The "off" hand arm was only used to guide the shield when used. Both hands were on the spear shaft. I think longspear would work. You'd need a Feat that allowed a medium sized shield to be worn and used without hands on it. That might reflect the situation best.

 

[werk]

memories

One of my favorite characters was a rainforest indian themed cleric. He used a spear and a wood/hide shield was his only 'armor'. I never thought of using the longspear because he liked to throw his spear (it caused blindness).

Benefit of a longspear over a shortspear is one die bigger on damage and x3 instead of x2 crit multiplier. reach has pros and cons imho.

I'd rule two feats. One to allow you to weild a shield larger than a buckler with a weapon, see buckler below. (this feat would probably negate AB penalty for buckler, and light would be -2, heavy -4, no towers) Second feat to grant shield AC bonus while using the weapon in that hand, requires first feat and BAB over +5, something like that.

SRD
Buckler

This small metal shield is worn strapped to your forearm....You can also use your shield arm to wield a weapon (whether you are using an off-hand weapon or using your off hand to help wield a two-handed weapon), but you take a -1 penalty on attack rolls while doing so. This penalty stacks with those that may apply for fighting with your off hand and for fighting with two weapons. In any case, if you use a weapon in your off hand, you don’t get the buckler’s AC bonus for the rest of the round.

You can’t bash someone with a buckler.