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As the title suggest, i noticed something about pathfinder. Okay, pathfinder has done an excellent job of supporting "almost" every concept for a character. Aside from classes/prestige classes, we've got feats that support
Two-Handed feats
Archery feats
Unarmed feats
Mounted feats
Two-Weapon Fighting
Sword and Board (weapon and shield feats)
Combat Maneuver feats
...but no feats that support a polearm-style of fighting
And i don't just mean a guy on a horse with a lance, or even the two-handed feats...i specifically mean support for the beloved spears, halberds, javelin, or even the quarterstaff.
I'm not asking for much; just a single 3-feat tree. Historically speaking, spears were the weapon of choice for thousands of years. Even well after the invention of the longsword, spears still had and extra 8 to 15 feet advantage, could be thrown, and required little to no training to use.
Just a thought; anyone else notice a lack of spear fighters in their games?
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In Dragon Magazine #331 there's an article done in part by Jason that's has a lot of neat feats for polearms.
And FWIW I have been known to play a spear wielder from time to time. It's one of my favorite weapons from a flavor aspect. I'm playing a cleric of Desna right now that uses one.
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In Dragon Magazine #331 there's an article done in part by Jason that's has a lot of neat feats for polearms.
And FWIW I have been known to play a spear wielder from time to time. It's one of my favorite weapons from a flavor aspect. I'm playing a cleric of Desna right now that uses one.
Actually, yes.
These feats are perfect. Too bad Jason couldn't just copy/paste these few feats from the magazine to the APG. Honestly, I don't even seen a balance issue with these feats either.
As a kid I played an elven beast rider (Kit from the 2nd Ed. Fighter's Handbook) who specialized in spear. Being a mounted warrior, my DM would allow me to use it as a makeshift lance from time to time with a negative. We also began to allow the butt end of a short-spear to do quarter staff damage. Just made sense when I began to get multiple attacks. I wasn't surprised when I saw the inclusion of double weapon rules in 3.0.
Also played a human militia-man a few years back who was basically a farmer who lost his family and became a travelling mercenary. Spear seemed a logical choice as a weapon because of it's simplicity and the perks of using one.
I could go on. Just relaying that I've always liked spears because of the versatility.
Spears were the weapon of choice for very simple, very lasting reasons, none of which had to do with excellence as a weapon.
Spears are very cheap and easy to make. Any village metalsmith can make an effective spearhead, even if they can't make a decent knife and wouldn't even attempt a sword. They have at most a half-pound to a pound of metal involved. Heck, you don't even really need metal - fire harden the end of a wooden stake, or knapp some flint or obsidian and lash it to the shaft. You don't even need a perfect haft for a spear, either. A reasonably straight, reasonably long stick will do fine, or something any carpenter can cobble together in minutes.
Spearmen take days to train, and weeks to become proficient, compared to years of study with the sword. Physical fitness isn't even a factor - a spear can be used as a walking stick for the somewhat infirm.
A mass of spears is a natural obstacle that is difficult to defeat. Only various technological innovations or shock troops can effectively break a mass of spearmen. Indeed, if a group of spearmen simply squat down with their spears facing outward, forming a hedgehog, they become an obstacle to be avoided rather than fought.
Spears are also useful for hunting or fishing, and therefore often already owned by various peasants, meaning they don't have to be provided for them.
I'm just saying.
Now, on the other hand, the Samurai class I made for 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming's Paths of Power has a dedicated Spear style tree, called "Sojutsu", off the Japanese martial art dedicated to using the yari and various other spears. It has a number of special attacks and bonuses for spear-wielders.
So you might enjoy that.
Reach is its own advantage. Combat reflexes is also there.
They should have made ready for charge an immediate action. Its would balance charging, is cool when it happens, and is currently as useless as counterspelling.
Would it be balanced as a feat to allow readying for a charge as an immediate action? It seems like it might be too strong. However, if you added Combat Reflexes and/or Weapon Focus, you've got the start of a nice feat tree.
Reach is its own advantage. Combat reflexes is also there.
They should have made ready for charge an immediate action. Its would balance charging, is cool when it happens, and is currently as useless as counterspelling.
Isn't this what the 3.5 feat Hold the Line did?
EDIT: Nope, just re-read it, only allows for AOO vs. acharge. But if one did make such a feat, Hold the Line would be a logical prereq.
Reprinting the 3.5 PHB2 feat Short Haft will help encourage polearm fighters i think. It allows them to remove their reach to threaten adjacent squares.