The 10-foot pole, antithesis of what adventuring should be?

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Man, how can you adventure without a 10' pole? It's like an adventuring staple. You might as well leave your chainmail and sword at home as forget your 10' pole! Real heroes (tm) never leave home without a 10' pole, as well as iron spikes, a mirror, chalk, 250' rope ....

(Yes, I'm channelling a certain teamster-turned-badger).

 

[Ranes]

Thank you for that post, Odhanan. You express succinctly an outlook very similar to my own.

In that spirit, I would add some qualification to one or two of your observations, made here in italics:

"The hero always does something beyond the reach of ordinary men with a ten-foot pole, crosses the threshold no mundane man (or woman, this is intended to be gender neutral here) would with a ten-foot pole."

In answer to your first question, I'd agree, I think D&D did twist things a little for the sake of the game. In answer to your second, I'd hope it wouldn't compromise the heroic status of the party. I'd like to think it added to their credibility.

Edit: But every now and then they should just pull a lever.

 

[Umbran]

I think it's an interesting topic, and would like your input on this. Do you think the 10-foot pole is the antithesis of adventuring? Why? What is your take on this? Let's read what you think and hopefully, discuss it further.

I think folks simply don't realize what kind of hindrance a 10' poll really is in an action-adventure environment.

Indiana Jones was as cautious as he could manage under the circumstances. He occasionally makes use of tools to help him get by. However, he doesn't carry around a 10' pole.

 

[ThirdWizard]

You've got to try Iron Heroes along with Mastering Iron Heroes, action zones and all that stuff, man (if you haven't already, of course). Go ahead, swing from the chandelier!

Trying to get my group to give it a chance, and I'm so close I can taste it. It's only taken what? Six months of trying so far? Maybe I'll get them to come around in another two.

 

[Kishin]

Multiple 10' poles, I'd imagine. I doubt the standard party carries just one, given the propensity for the pole to be shortened dramaticlaly and/or consumed by whatever trap you've accidentally prodded it with. In any event, I'm not a fan of the 10' pole style of play either, as it has an annoying tendency to bog things down. Standing around for ten minutes debating whether or not to pull a lever is to me incredibly dull and unheroic.

I guess I don't object to the pole in principle. Just the overuse of the pole.

 

[Wolv0rine]

I'm all for the 10' pole style of play (the 'cautious and canny' version, not the 'did we tap THAT 1'x1' section of the room yet? We've only been here 2 hours, let's not get sloppy now, fellas" style), but the 10' pole itself is a problem for me, because carting around that 10' pole (not even counting in dungeons, where the problem increases exponentially) is just... unrealistically difficult.

Then again this is coming from the guy who used to have his characters carry around a 10 1/2' pole, just to foil any DMs who got sly and put down a pit just a little more than 10' square. So take it as you will.

 

[DarkKestral]

Every civilized rogue should own a 10' pole, even if it's only use is to render the phrase "I wouldn't touch that with a 10' pole" entirely literal. With a pigsticker on the end, it's useful both as a weapon and as a tool of caution. With a hook on the end, it can make grabbing things easier, and make it easier to survive heavily trapped areas. Since it's also cheap, the only reason to not carry a 10' pole is encumbrance.

Really, I wonder if the prevalence of 10' poles in D&D came from the original designers' tendencies to occasionally create punnish monsters and heavily trapped dungeons that punish poor thinking.

 

[frankthedm]

I think folks simply don't realize what kind of hindrance a 10' poll really is in an action-adventure environment.

Indiana Jones was as cautious as he could manage under the circumstances. He occasionally makes use of tools to help him get by. However, he doesn't carry around a 10' pole.

He was The Main Character in a movie to make money, if he died when he logicly should have, the movie would be over and the studio would make less money.

D&D characters are living beings in semi believable fantasy worlds, those worlds will go on whether the individual character live or dies. The onus is on those characters to maintain thier lives. If someone thinks they deserve to survive falling prey to a trap, they've fallen for Wotc's marketing ploy.

 

[Mark CMG]

The 10' pole is representative of a mind keen on overcoming some obstacles through common sense and simple engineering. Just because one is available for sale, doesn't mean that if you buy one it always has to be carried around or kept forever. When it becomes a hindrance rather than a boon, it is discarded.

 

[frankthedm]

The 10' pole is representative of a mind keen on overcoming some obstacles through common sense and simple engineering.

Perfect.