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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 1173173" data-attributes="member: 3146">Tight spaces and a reach weapon? You mean spaces less than five feet wide? That might be a problem for a glaive or a guisarm. It would be  a problem for a spiked chain too. I wouldn't think it's a problem for a Ranseur or longspear as long as the character didn't need to turn the weapon around though. If the space is five feet wide though, I don't think the chain wielder would have problems. He can choke up enough to keep the chain from slamming into the walls when he's attacking those near him and still use vertical swings and/or snap the chain like a whip (I've always imagined the spiked chain being used like the Chinese whip-chain) to attack those at ten feet.Figuring out reach? Automatic. The character is threatening the space after all. That will usually mean swinging the chain menacingly which is something very visible. You don't need to actually get hit in order to figure out how far a foe can reach.However, inexperienced foes who get the drop on (win initiative and thereby catch flatfooted) characters with reach weapons will often think that they can avoid the attacks of opportunity because the character wouldn't normally be able to bring his weapon to bear so quickly. They also have been known to think that an ally can distract the chain wielder (by provoking an AoO) and allow others to close without provoking. Both of these can be deadly assumptions against a foe with combat reflexes.More experienced foes who are able to recognize a foe of at least minimal competence (visible magical or expensive items--fullplate, for instance is rarely affordable for run of the mill mercenaries and warriors and flaming weapons and Ioun stones, etc are dead give-aways) will know that most experienced warriors who carry reach weapons do so because they've honed their reflexes to a razor edge (they know he's probably got combat reflexes or odds are he wouldn't be carrying a reach weapon to put my flavor text into mechanical terms) and don't count upon being able to close with a flatfooted opponent without provoking the AoO. Nor do they count on one distraction being sufficient to let them slip within the chain's reach.As for the Master of Chains, I've never seen it in use but it looks fairly balanced....</blockquote>

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