D&D General Weapons should break left and right

[Lanefan]

Why should the GM call that out before the players ask about it?

If it's something the PCs know they're getting into e.g. they're intentionally travelling across a desert known to be there, calling it out makes sense.

If it's something the PCs might not realize they're in until it's too late e.g. they've just been teleported to a barren Atacama-like area that has no water within a hundred miles, then it shouldn't be called out up front.

 

[Hussar]

Have we've been playing the same D&D? Polearm master + Sentinel seems to be a popular fighter build. It's strong, even more so with GWM, if you have feat budget for that -- a lot of attacks, a lot of damage, pretty strong zoning.

...also have no one ever brought you a Greek warrior? A Zulu warrior? In forty years? I find that hard to believe.

If someone had Polearm Master, they were using a polearm, not a spear. And, even then, I'm struggling to think of a single example over the years. Great Weapon Fighter? Oh yeah. Seen lots of that. Ohh, yes, there was a polearm master. But, again, halberd, not spear.

Greek or Zulu warrior? Nope. Never seen one. Someone who might have started with a spear at first level pretty much automatically discarded it as soon as the first magic weapon (typically a sword) appeared in the game.

 

[Lanefan]

If someone had Polearm Master, they were using a polearm, not a spear. And, even then, I'm struggling to think of a single example over the years. Great Weapon Fighter? Oh yeah. Seen lots of that. Ohh, yes, there was a polearm master. But, again, halberd, not spear.

Greek or Zulu warrior? Nope. Never seen one. Someone who might have started with a spear at first level pretty much automatically discarded it as soon as the first magic weapon (typically a sword) appeared in the game.

Come to think of it, I'm not sure I've ever seen a spear-specialized character in any game I've run. Sure, some have taken proficiency with spear, but never specialization.

I suspect it's because spear is seen as a lesser or more primitive weapon while sword is seen as the more advanced or civilized alternative despite the fact both are quite effective (against small-medium in 1e anyway) and spear has the advantage of being throwable as well.

On the meta scale, this is fine with me: I'm all about sword-and-board anyway.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Assuming you can find something sharp to tip/weight them with; never mind field-made arrows aren't likely to be as effective as those made by a trained fletcher.

You carry a large bag of arrow-heads from the blacksmith. What you don’t do is carry actual arrows from Arrows-Are-Us. Because they warp.

That’s why ALL archers are trained fletchers. Your arrows need to be fresh, and they need to be tailor made to fit your bow. They didn’t make longbows in standardised sizes.

If you are trained to use a rifle you are trained to strip it down and clean it. That’s just as important as being trained to hit a target. And you don’t need to think about doing it, it’s part of your routine, you do it automatically.

 

[Azzy]

I think I like this one better

That movie made me laugh.

 

[loverdrive]

If someone had Polearm Master, they were using a polearm, not a spear. And, even then, I'm struggling to think of a single example over the years. Great Weapon Fighter? Oh yeah. Seen lots of that. Ohh, yes, there was a polearm master. But, again, halberd, not spear.

Greek or Zulu warrior? Nope. Never seen one. Someone who might have started with a spear at first level pretty much automatically discarded it as soon as the first magic weapon (typically a sword) appeared in the game.

(lance, which is a heavy spear, also works for both this feat and for GWM)

 

[Hussar]

Planar travel is really rare outside of Planescape games, and by the time you are engaging in it, you are usually high enough level to have bags of holding for supplies. The few rare incredibly long lasting dungeons like Undermountain or adventure to the Underdark are also rare. Getting lost in the desert and not running across folk to trade with is rare.

Really?

My Candlekeep Mysteries campaign was constantly planar traveling. Phandelver:Shattered Obelisk takes place on the planes by about 10th level. Now, to be fair, my current Out of the Abyss game doesn't have much planar travel, but, the core element of the first third of the module is managing supplies. I think it's something of a mistake to extrapolate from personal experience. Many of the WotC AP's have planar travel built in.

 

[Hussar]

View attachment 418653
(lance, which is a heavy spear, also works for both this feat and for GWM)

Your point? I know that Polearm Master works with spears. But, no one actually uses them because spears in D&D just suck so badly.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

View attachment 418653
(lance, which is a heavy spear, also works for both this feat and for GWM)

Spear was not originally on the description for this feat, it was added in at a later date.

Lance is a weapon I've never seen in D&D since it's designed as a mounted weapon and I have never seen mounted combat. But you could refluff it as a long spear. Same problem as pike though - you really can't use something that long in a confined space. Getting stuck in a doorway is an ignoble death.

 

[Hussar]

Heh. I'll give you a perfect example of how it goes when you try to move away from swords.

Played a Hoard of the Dragon Queen campaign. Tried to play a halberd wielding paladin. I wanted to do the whole Sentinel, Polearm Mastery thing. Hit about 4th level, DM was still handing out magic swords, including a Dragon Slaying one, and nary so much as a magic toothpick. So, halberd went away and out came the sword. Why? Because that's how D&D is built. There are swords, then there might be axes, then there's anything else if you happen to be very, very lucky or the DM starts dropping loot specifically for your character.