Re: (TFT) Death Test 1, take 4: SURVIVED!

["gem6868" <gem6868@verizon.net>]

No, not at all.  I'm encouraging you NOT to read books like that (which is 
ALL of the texts you are forced to read in secondary education and most of 
the books you use in University).  Call it primary, first-person, or 
archeological, but use the history books that historians themselves use. 
You'll find yourself MUCH better informed.

I'm assuming that the pole arm in question is the spear with an axe blade on 
it, of course, possibly with a recurve on the axe blade that can be used as 
a hook like the weapon called a billhook, or English bill, et al.

To the point at hand, the pole arm wasn't a super-weapon in real life.  It 
was slower and less adept at parrying than a sword.  And while it is longer 
than a lot of weapons to wield it effectively you still had to hold it near 
its balance point, so the effective length was about 1 hex for parrying or 
chopping (the 2d6 usage), and probably only two hexes for stabbing with the 
spear point (so it should be 1d6+2 like the regular spear).  Also, since it 
was wielded with two hands, you can't use a shield so you lose the benefit 
defensively of holding your own personal wall as well as holding a second 
weapon depending on the shield and you training.  The Highland targe had a 
12-16" spike, for example.  In the right hands, there's no doubt that the 
most flexible combination of melee weapons is some sort of sword/shield.

The pole arm is better for its intended use against heavily armored or 
mounted opponents.  The Melee rules should reflect that, somewhere, somehow. 
I'm not personally worried about it.  By the time I get to Adv Melee, I'll 
be ready to house rule any deficiencies in the system, whether they're from 
HT or SJ.





-----Original Message----- 
From: raito@raito.com
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2011 3:12 PM
To: tft@brainiac.com
Subject: Re: (TFT) Death Test 1, take 4: SURVIVED!

Quoting gem6868 <gem6868@verizon.net>:
> yeah, but theory and medieval authors should be taken with plenty of salt,
> most had no idea what they were talking about, like so many so-called
> experts today who write books and appear on TV.

You mean like those guys who write the history books you want us to read?

Neil Gilmore
raito@raito.com
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