Top 10 odd D&D weapons

[Dannyalcatraz]

How does this make spkied armor sensible? These guys are playing music, not battling to the death.

Realistically, such a suit would NEVER be made- not because of danger to the wearer, but because the spikes would function as places where weapons would catch (thus transferring kinetic energy quite efficiently to the armor wearer) and that creatures it would be most effective against don't exist.

The shows featuring the "spikey" performers in question ARE pretty high energy and require a lot of mobility. To date, they have proven they are able to move without puncturing/poking anyone unintentionally...especially themselves.

Spiked armor intended for combat wouldn't be made so the wearer looked like a porcupine- it would more closely resemble the creations of artists, namely a set of spikes here on the forearms, a few there on the greaves, a little something on the pauldrons...

But if massive predatory creatures like Dragons, Bulettes, Giants, Rocs, Purple Worms, Remorhazes, Behir etc. DID exist, spiked armor would make sense (for fighting THEM, at least). You'd only need a few spikes to make yourself into a "caltrop" relative to such creatures- quite unpalatable.

 

[VirgilCaine]

The shows featuring the "spikey" performers in question ARE pretty high energy and require a lot of mobility. To date, they have proven they are able to move without puncturing/poking anyone unintentionally...especially themselves.

Okay, I'll ask again.

Let's presume this is spiked metal armor of some kind, okay? Not leather, heavy stuff.

You're wearing armor. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO HURT YOURSELF?

You certainly wouldn't put spikes where they would stick into your arms, even with the armor.

 

[woodelf]

Always seemed like a nice comfy weight to me. People use those mauls to split wood rather energetically you know. Nothing wrong with 8 pounds of metal, especially if it is well balanced.

I've chopped and split wood, and watched worldclass lumberjacks do the same. Even for them, using a heavy maul or even some of the larger axes consists of strike, reset, strike, reset, strike, reset. Now, i've never actually been in combat, so i'm conjecturing here, but i doubt that you have the luxury of the time needed to 'reset' your weapon/stance after every single blow. The 'rather energetically' of splitting wood isn't even in the same class as the 'rather energetically' of boxing, fencing, or wrestling, much less actual combat where there are no rules of fair play.

 

[Mighty Veil]

I'm just waiting or the sword from Sword and the Sorcerer .

I loved that sword when I was a kid. My elf character even had one. Years later after not seeing the movie in quite awhile, I watched it again. Ouch.. that is one dumb sword.

 

[woodelf]

Okay, I'll ask again.

Let's presume this is spiked metal armor of some kind, okay? Not leather, heavy stuff.

You're wearing armor. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO HURT YOURSELF?

You certainly wouldn't put spikes where they would stick into your arms, even with the armor.

OK, so where do you put the spikes? If they're not going to be where you risk hitting your own arms, that eliminates the chest, sides, abdomen, hips, thighs (except maybe the backs of the thighs), groin, shoulders, and side of the head. If they're not going to be where you risk hitting your own torso, that eliminates the inside of the upper arms, and probably all sides of the forearms. If they're not going te be where they impede movement, that eliminates the insides of the legs, the backs of the legs, and most of the feet. And, of course, you can't really have spikes on the soles of your feet or much of anywhere on your hands. Spikes on the face would be a bit tricky, unless they're transparent (though you could have a few small ones, carefully placed, without a problem). That leaves the back, the buttocks (unless you want to sit down), the back/top of the head, and maybe the shins and backs of the biceps (tops of the biceps, and you might hit yourself in the head). That's a lot fewer spikes than i've seen in illos of spiked armor. And not particularly useful in grappling a same-sized foe (since the spikes are precisely in those areas that won't generally contact that foe).

 

[woodelf]

in response to "double swords are silly":

Tell that to this guy.

(picture of Darth Maul removed)

You hold up a silly cartoonish villain with an even-sillier name, using a 'kewl' weapon that exists for no other reason than to prove his leet skillz, in a movie that fulfills the 'sequel rule' in spades, as supporting evidence for the non-ridiculousness of a weapon? That's like using Gwar to prove heavy metal is 'serious' music.

[Not saying it's not, just that Gwar is hardly the best supporting evidence.]

 

[Agent Oracle]

OK, so where do you put the spikes? *snip a long thing about "spikes can't go there"*

Okay, remember, we're dealing with a combat world where you are likely to, at some point in your career, be either (a) swallowed whole or (b) picked up by something several times your size.

That said, let's look at the four cursory locations on the body

Head: nothing wrong with a spike on your helmet! The Moores kenw that back when they ruled Spain, and the Germans knew it during WW1. In an emergency... a really, really, REALLY dire emergency, German soldiers in WWI did actually use their helmets as improvised weapons. Since this is midieval, Helmets could be "locked" (as a crusader helm, too blulky for the ear to touch the shoulders) or immobile (as the ever-popular "beaked" helm) and equipped with spikes on either side (like horns). I see no way for a player to accidentally "gore" themselves with their own head, and, you know, an unarmed strike can be of any origin. Hands, feet, or head. I don't see why this wouldn't hold true in a grapple.

Torso: Again, you are probably going to be grappled and held by something larger than you are, so why not have spikes on the back? When their fingers wrap all the way around you, the location of your torso spikes don't really matter. hell, even when engaging a normal-sized for in grapple, When was the last time you saw two wrestlers in the ring standing face to face and shaking each other by the shoulder blades? or lightly pushing on eachother's chest and stomach? They get in there and they wrap around each other! trying to get the optimum leverage against each other!

Arms: Look at your typical platemail pauldron. (that's "shoulder and upper arm guard")

See that big ridge? Nothing bends over that ridge. Ergo, you could put spikes on the far side of that ridge, and there would be no interference with movement, and no danger to the wearer. You could also probably put a spike on the front too, since it will conveniently bend out of the way when you move your left arm to touch your left shoulder.

Legs: Outside of the hips. knee spikes.top of the feet isn't impossible either.

real boots, with real spikes. For sale. I don't think they'd sell spiked boots that could impale the wearer. But at (pound sign)89 per pair, i don't think i'll get any.

Finally, reguarding "apiked armor" splat book art. Let's just treat it as what it is: an artist's imagining of what the narration describes. I'm sure the invisible stalker dosn't leave a ripple in the air either.

 

[big dummy]

I've chopped and split wood, and watched worldclass lumberjacks do the same. Even for them, using a heavy maul or even some of the larger axes consists of strike, reset, strike, reset, strike, reset. Now, i've never actually been in combat, so i'm conjecturing here, but i doubt that you have the luxury of the time needed to 'reset' your weapon/stance after every single blow. The 'rather energetically' of splitting wood isn't even in the same class as the 'rather energetically' of boxing, fencing, or wrestling, much less actual combat where there are no rules of fair play.

Exactly.

It's kind of like splitting wood while playing basketball.

BD

 

[big dummy]

ROFL!!!

That looks like it would fit right in to some of the artwork in the 3.X phB...

BD

 

[genshou]

ROFL!!!

That looks like it would fit right in to some of the artwork in the 3.X phB...

BD

You're right, it does! Looks like something Hennet would be wearing