Thank you for clearing that up. Love the idea of a polearm fighter stealthing around, sneaking up behind an enemy before swiftly slicing off the enemy’s head with an elegant swing of a glaive/halberd
Thank you for clearing that up. Love the idea of a polearm fighter stealthing around, sneaking up behind an enemy before swiftly slicing off the enemy’s head with an elegant swing of a glaive/halberd
I too love the idea of a spear wielding hunter sneaking up on their prey. Good thing polearms don't give disadvantage on stealth or primitive hunters would have starved...
Thank you for clearing that up. Love the idea of a polearm fighter stealthing around, sneaking up behind an enemy before swiftly slicing off the enemy’s head with an elegant swing of a glaive/halberd
I too love the idea of a spear wielding hunter sneaking up on their prey. Good thing polearms don't give disadvantage on stealth or primitive hunters would have starved...
You know that spears used by hunters are usually this
Spear
1 gp
1d6 piercing
3 lb.
Thrown (range 20/60), versatile (1d8)
And not polearms like those:
Glaive
20 gp
1d10 slashing
6 lb.
Heavy, reach, two-handed
Halberd
20 gp
1d10 slashing
6 lb.
Heavy, reach, two-handed
Lance
10 gp
1d12 piercing
6 lb.
Reach, special
Pike
5 gp
1d10 piercing
18 lb.
Heavy, reach, two-handed
Right ? :p
In any case, I did not say that I would do it in general circumstances, but maybe in heavy undergrowth or in squeezing conditions.
I was basing it on pole arm master feat, but sure.
You can keep your enemies at bay with reach weapons. You gain the following benefits:
When you take the Attack action and attack with only a glaive, halberd, quarterstaff, or spear, you can use a bonus action to make a melee attack with the opposite end of the weapon. This attack uses the same ability modifier as the primary attack. The weapon’s damage die for this attack is a d4, and it deals bludgeoning damage.
While you are wielding a glaive, halberd, pike, quarterstaff, or spear, other creatures provoke an opportunity attack from you when they enter your reach.
It was errata’d to add spear and pike. Don’t recall when.
Thanks, makes it clearer. :D
Note that the pike is still not in the first sentence, though.
Yeah, it’s actually been a bit of talk about it, since you can potentially go spear and shield and still get the but end attack, even though it it would require some really intense wrist strength and mobility to pull off one-handed. Though I guess there would be the same issue with a quarterstaff. Some folks basically house rule you can’t use that part of PAM with a shield.
It was errata’d to add spear and pike. Don’t recall when.
Thanks, makes it clearer. :D
Note that the pike is still not in the first sentence, though.
Yeah, it’s actually been a bit of talk about it, since you can potentially go spear and shield and still get the but end attack, even though it it would require some really intense wrist strength and mobility to pull off one-handed. Though I guess there would be the same issue with a quarterstaff. Some folks basically house rule you can’t use that part of PAM with a shield.
And I suppose you also can't wield a sword or dagger with a reverse grip (blade opposite thumb)?
It does not take 2 hands or wrist twisting to smack someone with the blunt end of a spear.
Along those lines, I'm sure a backpack full of stuff rusttles a fair bit and would make it hard to move silently.
Not really if you know how to pack it. Back when I did my military service my pack made a lot less noise than the rest of me.
Of course if you go full Samwise packing with pots and pans strapped to the outside of the pack then you'd likely make a lot of noise. But then you are likely also well inside the encumbrance rules that Lyxen noted.
A Bag of Holding very nicely helps with both issues too, gotta love magic. =D
Along those lines, I'm sure a backpack full of stuff rusttles a fair bit and would make it hard to move silently.
Yes, it's called encumbrance, and guess what the rules say: "you are instead heavily encumbered, which means your speed drops by 20 feet and you have disadvantage on ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws that use Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution." which includes stealth.
And you know, you might never have encountered them, but there are players who actually do roleplay and mention things like this to a DM "you know that I am carrying a lot, so I probably have disadvantage on that check" because it looks to be better in line with what's happening in the game world and having a nice consistent story is more important than optimising and succeeding on every check.
I'm sure stuff makes noise whether I'm strong enough to carry it or not. If going by the same logic that a polearm may well impose disadvantage on stealth rolls. Neither is raw, but a DM could of course interpret it as such.
Funny that you speculate what I may or may not have encountered, and in the same paragraph talk about that the game is not necessarily for optimizing but retaining a consistent story. I don't see why those things are coupled together in a reply to me where I never address either of those things. Is there something you want to say to me or that you think about my playstyle?
Along those lines, I'm sure a backpack full of stuff rusttles a fair bit and would make it hard to move silently.
Not really if you know how to pack it. Back when I did my military service my pack made a lot less noise than the rest of me.
Of course if you go full Samwise packing with pots and pans strapped to the outside of the pack then you'd likely make a lot of noise. But then you are likely also well inside the encumbrance rules that Lyxen noted.
A Bag of Holding very nicely helps with both issues too, gotta love magic. =D
Ah yes, you're quite right. I remember that from my time as well. Generally, if you're outside and some 10ish meters away from someone else, it can be quite hard to make enough noise to be heard unless you break a twig or something.
It was errata’d to add spear and pike. Don’t recall when.
Thanks, makes it clearer. :D
Note that the pike is still not in the first sentence, though.
Yeah, it’s actually been a bit of talk about it, since you can potentially go spear and shield and still get the but end attack, even though it it would require some really intense wrist strength and mobility to pull off one-handed. Though I guess there would be the same issue with a quarterstaff. Some folks basically house rule you can’t use that part of PAM with a shield.
Perhaps you can grab part of the spear with the shield hand, if the shield is strapped to the forearm. At least for the instance where you do the bonus attack. I can visualize it somewhat. But then again, if you can thrust with one end one-handed, you might as well be able to thrust the other end as well.
I'm sure stuff makes noise whether I'm strong enough to carry it or not.
What the rules say, and arguably they are a very rough simulation, if you really carry to much weigh around, it will make you clumsier, and therefore less stealthy.
If going by the same logic that a polearm may well impose disadvantage on stealth rolls. Neither is raw, but a DM could of course interpret it as such.
My point about the polearm was more about the size and general form factor that might make it harder to creep through the underbrush. But then a large backpack protruding from behind your back might make it exactly the same.
After that, some people who really try to project themselves in the game world (either as players or DMs) could decide, like characters do in movies or books, to leave their packs or bulky weapons behind before creeping in the underbrush. It probably would be a nice roleplaying thing to do...
Yeah if sneaking, then I'd probably do something along those lines. Generally I think sneaking is difficult to implement in campaigns, because what do the other characthers, and thus players, do while the stealthy character is doing its thing.
My take on it is such that a character's stealth skill is trained with that character's typical gear, thus if the character has a big backpack, or a huge polearm, the character is used to sneaking with those things equipped, and thus it's not something that feels unnatural to the character.
Hey everyone,
Does having a polearm weapon such as a glaive give any disadvantage to stealth? Or can you still be stealthy with a Polearm?
Cheers.
Along those lines, I'm sure a backpack full of stuff rusttles a fair bit and would make it hard to move silently.
Altrazin Aghanes - Wizard/Fighter
Varpulis Windhowl - Fighter
Skolson Demjon - Cleric/Fighter
Thank you for clearing that up. Love the idea of a polearm fighter stealthing around, sneaking up behind an enemy before swiftly slicing off the enemy’s head with an elegant swing of a glaive/halberd
And some medium armor.
I too love the idea of a spear wielding hunter sneaking up on their prey. Good thing polearms don't give disadvantage on stealth or primitive hunters would have starved...
I was basing it on pole arm master feat, but sure.
Uhh
[Edit]formatting wasn't working...
It was errata’d to add spear and pike. Don’t recall when.
Yeah, it’s actually been a bit of talk about it, since you can potentially go spear and shield and still get the but end attack, even though it it would require some really intense wrist strength and mobility to pull off one-handed. Though I guess there would be the same issue with a quarterstaff. Some folks basically house rule you can’t use that part of PAM with a shield.
And I suppose you also can't wield a sword or dagger with a reverse grip (blade opposite thumb)?
It does not take 2 hands or wrist twisting to smack someone with the blunt end of a spear.
It does if you just poked them with the pointy end and want to put some oomph into the butt end.
I mean, I allow it, I was simply noting that some people have a problem with it.
Not really if you know how to pack it. Back when I did my military service my pack made a lot less noise than the rest of me.
Of course if you go full Samwise packing with pots and pans strapped to the outside of the pack then you'd likely make a lot of noise. But then you are likely also well inside the encumbrance rules that Lyxen noted.
A Bag of Holding very nicely helps with both issues too, gotta love magic. =D
I'm sure stuff makes noise whether I'm strong enough to carry it or not. If going by the same logic that a polearm may well impose disadvantage on stealth rolls. Neither is raw, but a DM could of course interpret it as such.
Funny that you speculate what I may or may not have encountered, and in the same paragraph talk about that the game is not necessarily for optimizing but retaining a consistent story. I don't see why those things are coupled together in a reply to me where I never address either of those things. Is there something you want to say to me or that you think about my playstyle?
Altrazin Aghanes - Wizard/Fighter
Varpulis Windhowl - Fighter
Skolson Demjon - Cleric/Fighter
Ah yes, you're quite right. I remember that from my time as well. Generally, if you're outside and some 10ish meters away from someone else, it can be quite hard to make enough noise to be heard unless you break a twig or something.
Altrazin Aghanes - Wizard/Fighter
Varpulis Windhowl - Fighter
Skolson Demjon - Cleric/Fighter
Perhaps you can grab part of the spear with the shield hand, if the shield is strapped to the forearm. At least for the instance where you do the bonus attack. I can visualize it somewhat. But then again, if you can thrust with one end one-handed, you might as well be able to thrust the other end as well.
Altrazin Aghanes - Wizard/Fighter
Varpulis Windhowl - Fighter
Skolson Demjon - Cleric/Fighter
Yeah if sneaking, then I'd probably do something along those lines. Generally I think sneaking is difficult to implement in campaigns, because what do the other characthers, and thus players, do while the stealthy character is doing its thing.
My take on it is such that a character's stealth skill is trained with that character's typical gear, thus if the character has a big backpack, or a huge polearm, the character is used to sneaking with those things equipped, and thus it's not something that feels unnatural to the character.
Altrazin Aghanes - Wizard/Fighter
Varpulis Windhowl - Fighter
Skolson Demjon - Cleric/Fighter
Spear was errataed in. Pike's always been in the second bullet but not the first.