Polearms skill
Combination of the pike and halberd skills. Previously, either Halberd or Pike skills could be used in jousting.
Polearm weapons
There are two weapon classes that fall under this skill:
- halberd weapons
- pike weapons
Both halberds and pikes can be used at pole weapon range or closer with a few exceptions.
Spells and abilities that boost Polearms
- Dragon Form (Barbarian)
- Khri Strike (Thief)
- Mantle of Flame (Warrior Mage)
- Oath of the Firstborn (Ranger)
- Righteous Wrath (Paladin)
Spells and abilities that decrease Polearms
None
Halberds
A halberd weapon (for Dragonrealms purposes) is a pole weapon that deviates somehow from the spearhead-on-a-long-stick formula. Partisans, scythes, poleaxes, and glaives are all examples of halberd-type weapons.
Though not as powerful as player-made twohanded edged weapons, halberds nonetheless fulfill a variety of roles and are good enough to be competitive with other weapon types at equal ranks. Unlike some other weapons, halberds have many "templates", and can specialize in puncture, slice, impact, or any combination of the three. They can be light or heavy, strike from pole range or melee, and some can even be thrown.
Thanks to their versatility, most players will be able to easily find a halberd that easily suits their character. A small number of forgers even forge halberds, filling a niche between the very light, weak Sturdy short-hafted halberd and the much heavier Crossing Halberd. The most powerful models are generally considered the Slender khuj or the Lochaber axe, though at 62 stones, these can be a bit unwieldy.
Recommended combos
parry feint draw slice thrust sweep chop (standard halberds)
parry sweep chop draw slice (slicing/chopping halberds)
slice punch claw chop draw (brawling combo)
Titles
- Halberdier - 100 ranks in Halberds.
- Impaler - 450 ranks in Halberds.
Pikes
Pole arms fall into two categories. Nonstandard weapons such as glaives and halbers are usually (but not always) considered halberds, while items more closely resembling spears tend to fall into the pike category.
Pikes tend to be extremely heavy and favor puncture damage. Many are also heavy thrown weapons, and a good number of them are usable with one hand, freeing the other for a shield, a second weapon, or spellcasting, as certain spells require a free hand. This is unusual for heavier weapons, so it is considered one of the primary assets of the pike. Many pikes can also hit from pole range, and Barbarians and Paladins can use them to parry ranged weapons with them at that distance.
Sadly, the pike templates available to players to forge are all rather useless, being extremely poor in regards to weight versus damage (extremely heavy, not very powerful). Pikes sold at stores tend to either be overwhelmingly heavy or extremely weak. The effective combos for pike weapons are inferior to those used for other weapons, and even a pike weapon with high damage appraisal will pale in comparison to other heavy weapons, like halberds, twohanded edged, and twohanded blunt. Much of this is the result of a change by GM Ssra, who was of the opinion that pikes were historically a weak weapon for one-on-one combat, and had planned to implement some sort of bonus for using the weapon in a group. This development never came about, and the weapon seems to currently be in a state of flux.
Recommended combos
Pikes are generally poorly balanced, with long roundtimes. It is important to stick to effective combos, rather than relying on the attack command.
For standard, puncture pikes: Jab -> Thrust -> Lunge -> Repeat
For Ngalios and Pike-based Khujs, or any other slash pike: Jab -> Sweep -> Slam -> Repeat
In either case, it may be advisable to replace the thrust, lunge, and sweep attacks with feint thrust, feint lunge, and feint sweep, depending on the offensive skill of your opponent.
Guild-specific abilities
- Barbarians can WHIRLWIND with any pole or melee weapon. This will attack all targets within range of their chosen weapon (melee or pole), including hidden targets. Hidden targets will be pulled from hiding if hit by whirlwind. WHIRL can also be used to one's self or another free of webbing. Requirements: 350 in the weapon skill and 32 agility.
- Barbarians and Paladins can parry ranged attacks, so long as the attack occurs from within their weapon's range. In the case of pikes, this usually includes pole.
Recommended weapons
- short hunting spear -- Pike/HT, good for new players.
- ngalio -- One handed, so can be used with a shield, available from the Wooden Shack in Leth Deriel.
- short steel spear -- Pike/SS swappable, good for new players but expensive, from festival merchant.
- Ox-tongue spear with a stout iron-studded haft -- Pike/QS swappable, from festival merchant.