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

[MerricB]

The original D&D encumbrance system deliberately didn't give real weights for items - instead, it also took into account how cumbersome items were. Pikes are a good example of that: they're heavy-ish, but they're even more cumbersome to move around, thus they "weigh" more.

Cheers!

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Yeah, the camera adds 18lbs. She weighs hardly anything.

 

[Redthistle]

I don't know, doesn't this thing look about 18 pounds? And I'm not even sure it's really a reach weapon.

The rulebooks keep missing the true property of the pike in that it is a Large weapon that can only be used as a polearm if it is frozen first. In its natural, unfrozen state, it is more properly considered as a Greatsap (1d10 bludgeoning damage).

On a very hot day, it has additional properties. On a successful hit, the target must make a Constitution saving throw against DC 15. On a failed save, the target is nauseated and will be harassed by biting flies until the stink of the pike has been washed off. Also, the pike is perhaps unique in that it can provide nourishment for up to five medium creatures for one day.

 

[MarkB]

It's certainly true that some Pikes can be surprisingly heavy, and unwieldy.

 

[Scorpio616]

I'm pretty sure the 1 at the front is a typo.

I thought that too, until Crawford mentioned this...

Why is a pike (a polearm) excluded from the Polearm Master feat, but a Quarterstaff (not a polearm) included in it?

Jeremy Crawford
Pike: Too unwieldy, in our eyes, for the feat's benefits. Quarterstaff: Fits the benefits of the feat well.

So for some reason they view the pike as unwieldy, even though there's no special rules for that, like there is for the Lance. That's why I believe there was supposed to be more to the pike, but it got clipped late in the play-test.

 

[aramis erak]

A pike is, properly, between 8 and 20 feet long, and typically 2" diameter. about 301 to 753 cubic inches of wood. Plus a 1 or 2 pound head, possibly a metal buttcap (3 oz) or butt-spike (1lb), plus possibly side straps (add about 4lbs) to prevent zweihanders cutting it in twain. Red Oak is 0.03 lbs a CI for a range of 10-25 lbs.

The original D&D encumbrance system deliberately didn't give real weights for items - instead, it also took into account how cumbersome items were. Pikes are a good example of that: they're heavy-ish, but they're even more cumbersome to move around, thus they "weigh" more.

Cheers!

In the case of the pike, not really. They really do run that massive. A pike really should have a 15' reach and a 5' point blank...

 

[TheCosmicKid]

One of my players' characters is a pike-wielding fighter, and I've been assuming that his weapon is not a 20-plus-foot war pike but rather a big nasty spear in the 8-to-10-foot range. Even as such I'm sort of handwaving certain geometric concerns when he ventures indoors or underground; with a full-length pike it would just be ridiculous.

With that in mind, a weight more in line with the halberd makes sense to me.

 

[psychophipps]

What frustrates me about the quarterstaff decision with that feat is how they left out the most common war weapon of all time, the spear. Apparently sticking a poky bit at the end of a quarterstaff somehow makes it not valid for such feat-based awesomeness.

 

[aramis erak]

One of my players' characters is a pike-wielding fighter, and I've been assuming that his weapon is not a 20-plus-foot war pike but rather a big nasty spear in the 8-to-10-foot range. Even as such I'm sort of handwaving certain geometric concerns when he ventures indoors or underground; with a full-length pike it would just be ridiculous.

With that in mind, a weight more in line with the halberd makes sense to me.

if you up the diameter to 2.5", a 10' pike can be 17 lbs of wood (justifying the extra damage over a spear by mass) and a 1 lb head.

To be truly historic, pedantic, and mathy they typically were the last 10-20' of a 20 to 60' cone - slightly more math intensive, with an average section of about 2".

 

[Hriston]

NONE of the other reach weapons are built like that. All the others have reasonable weights and the pike doesn't have anything beyond it's weight to indicate there is anything unusual about it compared to the other lighter reach weapons.

With the exception of the lance, the other reach weapons (the halberd and the glaive) are SLASHING weapons. They are balanced for swinging, with more weight toward the blade and a relatively shorter counterbalance below the grip. They would be held somewhat vertically and back, brought down on the opponent in a sweeping motion, and then pulled back and held aloft again.

The pike, on the other hand is a PIERCING weapon. The attack is made in a thrusting motion. Therefore the pike must be held horizontally and needs a heavier counterbalancing weight to achieve the same reach.