#STICK THEM WITH THE POINTY END HOW TO#

#STICK THEM WITH THE POINTY END HOW TO#

How to Make a Spear-Wielding Character in D&D 5e If itвЂ™s the ability to stab and jab enemies from range (or from behind the safety of your allies) then youвЂ™re going to want to look into getting a pike. This elongated stabbing instrument is probably most familiar to you from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers as the chosen weapon of the Uruk Hai, but it enjoyed popularity on real world battlefields in the Late Middle Ages (particularly among German and Swiss mercenaries known as the Landsknecht) as well as much earlier, when pikes (then known as the sarissa) were used extensively by Alexander of Macedon to conquer most of the known world. There are other weapons in D&D that do have the reach property, including the pike: a longer, heavier version of the spear. If you want to simulate the real-world advantages of a long stick with a knife on the end of it, however, weвЂ™re going to have to look elsewhere. However, because the spear lacks the reach property, it ends up functioning very much the same as a pointy quarterstaff (one does bludgeoning damage, the other does piercing) so, if youвЂ™re interested in playing a spear-twirling wardancer like The Viper, then the basic spear is a good way to go. In fact, with the versatile and thrown properties, there are few other simple weapons that can do as much as a spear can in the hands of someone who, by rights, should probably stick to farming (or casting spells).

Thankfully, that distinction has been preserved in D&D. They were infinitely cheaper to make and took all of ten minutes to learn how to use. An expensive work of art вЂ“ a symbol of status that required extensive training to master.ДЄ spear was a highly effective weapon that allowed commoners to gut trained warriors in a matter of seconds.

This slightly annoys me because it fails to take into account just how much of a gap there was in terms of training and cost between a sword and spear historically.ДЄ sword in, for example, Iron Age Britain (or in the viking cultures to the north) was a symbol of leadership or royalty. The first notable difference between spears in the real world and in D&D is that, in D&D, spears get no mechanical bonus to their reach, making it more of a pointy quarterstaff than a long stabbing weapon. Not until the investigation of the matchlock rifle was there a better way to even the odds between a heavily-armed and armored warrior with the benefit of years of training, and a terrified teenager thrown headfirst into their first battle. Give spears to a hundred peasants and get them to stand shoulder to shoulder, and youвЂ™ve got yourself a near-impenetrable wall of bristling death.Д«ecause of their simplicity вЂ“ not to mention their well-earned image as the tool of fishermen, hunters, and peasant militias вЂ“ I think the humble spear routinely gets underestimated. However, take a humble peasant whoвЂ™s never done more than till the fields, put a spear in their hands and teach them that the pointy end goes in the enemy, and youвЂ™re well on your way to adding another perfectly competent soldier to your army. Give a newbie a flail or a pair of nunchucks and, well, there are whole Youtube communities dedicated to that. Hand a bow and arrow to an inexperienced archer, and theyвЂ™ll be lucky to hit the side of a barn, let alone the inch-wide weak spot in a charging knightвЂ™s plate mail. Swords require a great deal of metal and skill to construct, not to mention years of training to effectively wield. In Praise of the Humble SpearДЇor over 5,000 years, the spear was the unsung hero of warfare in the ancient world. A spear costs just 1gp (and a javelin is just 5sp).ДЄ javelin is similar to the spear, but has a longer thrown range and cannot be used two-handed, This means, in many respects, the weapon is very similar to the classic short stabbing spears favored by Greek hoplites. There really arenвЂ™t many weapons in the game with that level of adaptability, and itвЂ™s the only simple weapon (other than the quarterstaff) that can deal 1d8 damage. You can wield a spear one-handed and use a shield in your off hand, two-handed for some respectable damage (considering itвЂ™s not a martial weapon), or throw it for a Strength-based ranged attack.

The thing that makes a spear a good choice in D&D is its versatility. In D&D 5e, a spear is a simple melee weapon with the thrown (meaning you can make a ranged attack with it) and versatile property вЂ“ meaning you can wield one either one-handed, in which case you deal 1d6 piercing damage, or two-handed, in which case you deal 1d8.

How to Make a Spear-Wielding Character in D&D 5e.

Stick them with the pointy end