Up close and personal with polearms

[Norfleet]

Well, being hit is not being impaled. Even a critacl doesn't assume an imbaling. So, no need to worry about that.

Yes, well, a "hit" very rapidly translates into impalement when you insist on walking straight into something that has just stuck you. If you walk towards me, and I jab you with a sharp, pointy stick, it becomes very advisable to alter course lest a merely painful jab becomes a very lethal and messy impalement.

 

[Wilphe]

Of course, it's also kind of funny that a person can advance into the reach of a pikeman, take an AoO which hits and impales him, and keep moving on down the pike without having to stop and pull it out or anything. You'd think that movement would be stopped by getting impaled on a pike.

Boar spears have a cross bar behind the head to stop the animal doing exactly that.

 

[Silverglass]

IMC I rule that the spear/polearm reach weapons can be used to attack adjacent squares as if the wielder is using a quarterstaff. However the change is made during their action. This makes the user choose between having normal reach and the full weapon damage or forfeiting reach and threatening the adjacent squares with lower damage.

It seems to work ok and reasonably represents the capabilities of the weapons.

 

[Aaron2]

I'll see if I can this weekend. He obtained portions of two texts. The first is labeled as being 17th century Spanish and contains five or six poor woodcuts showing various poses including two involving striking at close targets with the butt of the weapon. The second is from a 1920's reproduction of a German text that has several more illustrations clearly showing the weapon - some type of pole axe or halberd being used up close, both by grasping the weapon at mid length and by using the butt end for what appears to be a sweeping attack at the legs.

That's why halberds and pole axes aren't reach weapons. I'd like to see someone perform the same trik with a 15 foot long spear.

Oh yeah .... avast ye

Aaron

 

[Xeriar]

And so I made the feat:

Choke Up
Prerequisites: BAB +1
Benefit: You may choose to attack opponents with reach weapons as if they were not reach weapons. You threaten opponents both with your normal and enhanced reach.

If you hold that an Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat for the Spiked Chain is balanced, this feat is also balanced.

-Frank

I would add a dex requirement (17+?) - I like the -4 penalty without it idea.

I could do it, but I was very poor at it. The guy who trained me could do it markedly better. I did go florentine and am quite flexible and coordinated, however, I was just a hair too uncoordinated :-/

 

[Xeriar]

I'll see if I can this weekend. He obtained portions of two texts. The first is labeled as being 17th century Spanish and contains five or six poor woodcuts showing various poses including two involving striking at close targets with the butt of the weapon. The second is from a 1920's reproduction of a German text that has several more illustrations clearly showing the weapon - some type of pole axe or halberd being used up close, both by grasping the weapon at mid length and by using the butt end for what appears to be a sweeping attack at the legs.

There is also an early (15th century?) French text entitled "Le Jue du Hache" (The Play of Axe) - it's online in places (translated) and goes over a large number of positions, some of them intuitive, half of them illegal in the SCA and other fighting - and, of course, not a full list of techniques, but is pretty cool.

But yeah, this is intended for weapons you can put your palm on top of.

 

[Creamsteak]

My personal solution to the problem is to allow the use of most pole arms as a quarterstaff in close combat, if a player really needs to do so (like being cornered into a wall with a reach weapon), except the weapon end deals whatever damage type would be proper for the original weapon.

I don't normally like to see too much use of pole-arms in closer combat though, just when it is forced.

 

[Camarath]

I have in the past allowed the use of Polearms to threaten adjacent squares as an Improvised Club and that has worked pretty well in my games.