D&D 5E Why is the pike 18 lbs?!?!?

[Carlsen Chris]

Okay so I just realized an NPC in my party is encumbered because their pike, which is a maximum of 10 feet long, weighs 18 lbs.

Googling says an actual pike at maximum length (25 ft) weighs 13.5 lbs. Doing the math, the D&D pike should be...33 feet long!?!?

What's the deal? And what does this 10 foot, 18 lb pike look like?

Maybe Google doesn't know everything. Maybe pikes were enormous pieces of timber used in pike formations during the early modern period in Europe.

On the other hand, I heard a rumor that Google has an image search function.

 

[Charlaquin]

You open by saying that your pike is "a maximum of 10 feet long". That's not a pike: that's a spear. Pikes can be up 25 feet long.

I believe the OP (who, let’s not forget, posted this question over 5 years ago) was extrapolating the 10-foot length from the weapon’s 10-foot reach.

 

[Charlaquin]

Maybe Google doesn't know everything. Maybe pikes were enormous pieces of timber used in pike formations during the early modern period in Europe.

On the other hand, I heard a rumor that Google has an image search function.

18 pounds is heavy for even a 25 foot pike though, and to be fair, the pike in the weapons table only has 10 feet of reach (which I would assume translates to a 12-15 foot weapon), and unlike an actual pike can be used just as effectively at only 5 feet. Honestly, the Lance stats make a much better pike than the Pike stats do.

 

[Hriston]

I believe the OP (who, let’s not forget, posted this question over 5 years ago) was extrapolating the 10-foot length from the weapon’s 10-foot reach.

I'd add at least 2 feet to that for a 12+ foot weapon.

 

[Charlaquin]

I'd add at least 2 feet to that for a 12+ foot weapon.

Agreed. If it has 10 feet of reach, it needs to be at least 12 feet long to account for the user’s grip and some amount of haft beyond that as counter-weight.

 

[Hriston]

Agreed. If it has 10 feet of reach, it needs to be at least 12 feet long to account for the user’s grip and some amount of haft beyond that as counter-weight.

I think five years ago up-thread, I overestimated the amount of counterbalance needed to wield one effectively. It seems that pike-fighting techniques were pretty similar to spear-fighting in that the rearmost hand was fairly close to the butt end. I think with a pike you'd have more than with a spear though, probably one or two feet. Extrapolating from spear-fighting, I think a sufficiently strong pike wielder could choke up on the shaft for fighting at a closer range with a compromise in speed and maneuverability, of course.

 

[Orius]

Why do pikes even exist in DnD, there is literally no incentive to use them. Yes only heavy, reach, two-handed piercing weapon but they're excessively heavy and arent even included in the polearm master feat. Just reflavour a glaive and ignore the pike.
On another note, how is a quaterstaff double the weight of a warhammer?

It's a holdover from the game's wargaming roots. Pikes are weapons that get used in formation, but it's a bit too unwieldy to drag one through a dungeon for skirmishing. It's a weapon that gets pulled out when your fighting with armies.

 

[cmad1977]

Sure the Pike is heavy.


Not everyone can handle so much wood.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

On another note, how is a quaterstaff double the weight of a warhammer?

Because a quarterstaff is generally 7 ft long and 1 1/2 inches thick, and a warhammer is two feet long, generally thinner, and its head is only about the same weight as a solid hammer for driving nails is.
If you're after sledgehammer size and weight, look at the maul.

 

[Dausuul]

Because a quarterstaff is generally 7 ft long and 1 1/2 inches thick, and a warhammer is two feet long, generally thinner, and its head is only about the same weight as a solid hammer for driving nails is.
If you're after sledgehammer size and weight, look at the maul.

Yes, this. The warhammers you see in fantasy art would be totally worthless in combat. This is an example of an actual warhammer from 14th-century Italy: