Posts
The pike is a real weapon.
It was used on many battlefields for centuries.
It is not a useless piece of kit, but its use has a couple of caveats.
First, it's not a one on one weapon.
You need a bunch of friends for a pike to be useful.
Some of them should not have a pike, but a big shield and a shorter weapon.
En mass is how pikes are used.
But AD&D has stats for them.
GURPS has stats for them.
They are not close quarters weapons, like you're going to find in a dungeon environment.
The dungeon environment will not be found in a history book. Nor will adventurers.
Even a spear is pushing the envelope for the typical dungeon.
I usually played a "ranger" type and the spear I found to be used a lot more frequently as the 2m pole that I could carry around... Usually left with the mounts/pack animals though as trekking through the woods with a big pole is... "Less fun". But yeah, pikes I'd not see as overly useful... Halberds maybe, but for town guards likely who will not be travelling much...
ReplyDeleteIn the opposite direction do GURPS and DnD have stats for short spears like Assegais? That would seem more useful for melee combat in smaller spaces.
ReplyDeleteTrivia time! The short spear we think of as an assegai is actually an iklwa.
DeleteThe iklwa is a short spear (Low Tech p. 57 & 69). Unbalanced, so not readily throwable.
A normal assegai is treated as a javelin. (Low Tech p. 57, 69 & 77; Basic Set p. 273 & 276).
That short handled spear (never heard of iklwa term - thanks for education ! b) is short enough to be used like a rifle with bayonet without the weight, so speed is much quicker. Can block / parry knife or machete with option of slashing. Inside close quarters, sounds like a winner if you have the upper body strength to use it. That what was drew me to the Cold Steel Bushman knife, a tube handled knife that can be attached to handle and fixed with a screw or cup hook. That knife only has a single sharpened edge, at least as sold.
ReplyDeletejrg