User:Esmene/Sandbox - Revision history

Esmene: /* Xi Feng Ming */

2008-12-09T08:38:23Z

Xi Feng Ming

←Older revision		Revision as of 08:38, 9 December 2008
Line 93:		Line 93:
	===Xi Feng Ming===		===Xi Feng Ming===

-	Unlike the dwarves of Kolond, the utility of a thrusting weapon inside narrow caverns has not been lost on the inhabitants of Xi Feng Ming -- there are quite a few spear-like weapons to be found here. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of these caverns just don't seem to know when to let a good thing be, and so instead of mere spears, the smiths here have taken the humble spear and '''jazzed it up'''. You can find double-ended spear-staves, spear-swords... just about anything but a plain old spear. While these hybrid weapons might be decent enough on their own terms, they tend to be somewhat awkward from the perspective of a dedicated spear-user, as they appear to require skill sets beyond those which would be generally used in wielding a regular spear. Because of this, I have refrained from reviewing any of these weapons, and leave it up to the reader to decide whether or not they really need a spear-sword-chain-mace.	+	Unlike the dwarves of Kolond, the utility of a thrusting weapon inside narrow caverns has not been lost on the inhabitants of Xi Feng Ming -- there are quite a few spear-like weapons to be found here. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of these caverns just don't seem to know when to let a good thing be, and so instead of mere spears, the smiths here have taken the humble spear and ''jazzed it up''. You can find double-ended spear-staves, spear-swords... just about anything but a plain old spear. While these hybrid weapons might be decent enough on their own terms, they tend to be somewhat awkward from the perspective of a dedicated spear-user, as they appear to require skill sets beyond those which would be generally used in wielding a regular spear. Because of this, I have refrained from reviewing any of these weapons, and leave it up to the reader to decide whether or not they really need a spear-sword-chain-mace.

	==Comparative rankings==		==Comparative rankings==

Esmene: /* Cultural Notes */

2008-12-09T08:38:06Z

Cultural Notes

←Older revision		Revision as of 08:38, 9 December 2008
Line 90:		Line 90:

	While thrusting weapons would appear to be ideal as a defensive measure in the cramped quarters of a mineshaft, the dwarves of Kolond have acquired some sort of perverse fascination for axes and hammers -- weapons that, amongst their other attributes, take a great deal of room to swing. There is nary a spear of any sort to be found within the tunnels of Kolond. As a result of this cultural eccentricity, the tunnels delved by Kolondinian dwarves are much higher and wider than would otherwise be necessary, allowing for much easier access by orcs and trolls than would be possible were the tunnels engineered to the proper height for sensibly-armed dwarven warriors. Given the insensibility of the dwarven defense plans for Kolond, it is indeed a surprise that this settlement has endured for as long as it has. It is as if the whole culture was designed by a linguistics professor more for the aesthetic appeal of hammer- and axe-armed berserkers (which the northmen of Gardagh pull off much more effectively) than for any sort of practical considerations.		While thrusting weapons would appear to be ideal as a defensive measure in the cramped quarters of a mineshaft, the dwarves of Kolond have acquired some sort of perverse fascination for axes and hammers -- weapons that, amongst their other attributes, take a great deal of room to swing. There is nary a spear of any sort to be found within the tunnels of Kolond. As a result of this cultural eccentricity, the tunnels delved by Kolondinian dwarves are much higher and wider than would otherwise be necessary, allowing for much easier access by orcs and trolls than would be possible were the tunnels engineered to the proper height for sensibly-armed dwarven warriors. Given the insensibility of the dwarven defense plans for Kolond, it is indeed a surprise that this settlement has endured for as long as it has. It is as if the whole culture was designed by a linguistics professor more for the aesthetic appeal of hammer- and axe-armed berserkers (which the northmen of Gardagh pull off much more effectively) than for any sort of practical considerations.
		+
		+	===Xi Feng Ming===
		+
		+	Unlike the dwarves of Kolond, the utility of a thrusting weapon inside narrow caverns has not been lost on the inhabitants of Xi Feng Ming -- there are quite a few spear-like weapons to be found here. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of these caverns just don't seem to know when to let a good thing be, and so instead of mere spears, the smiths here have taken the humble spear and '''jazzed it up'''. You can find double-ended spear-staves, spear-swords... just about anything but a plain old spear. While these hybrid weapons might be decent enough on their own terms, they tend to be somewhat awkward from the perspective of a dedicated spear-user, as they appear to require skill sets beyond those which would be generally used in wielding a regular spear. Because of this, I have refrained from reviewing any of these weapons, and leave it up to the reader to decide whether or not they really need a spear-sword-chain-mace.

	==Comparative rankings==		==Comparative rankings==

Esmene: /* Bone-tipped ironwood spear */

2008-12-09T08:26:57Z

Bone-tipped ironwood spear

←Older revision		Revision as of 08:26, 9 December 2008
Line 53:		Line 53:
	Location: Teryx		Location: Teryx

-	Seriously, what's up with winged races and their whole fetish with long shafts? Almost half the weapons you see in either place are spears and javelins -- not that I'm complaining. I would be proud to line my pitfall trap with this spear. Surprisingly, the bone-tipped ironwood spear actually beats out the iron spear from Shatterspire as a basic weapon. This is another one of those spears that just seems to end up lying on the floor a lot of the time, so if you happen to be near Teryx, it might be good to drop by and take a look. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' Really, if you can get to Teryx, you can get to Hanoma to pick up a steel yari, which is still a better weapon.	+	Seriously, what's up with winged races and their whole fetish with long shafts? Almost half the weapons you see in either Shatterspire or Teryx are spears and javelins -- not that I'm complaining. I would be proud to line my pitfall trap with this spear. Surprisingly, the bone-tipped ironwood spear actually beats out the iron spear from Shatterspire as a basic weapon. This is another one of those spears that just seems to end up lying on the floor a lot of the time, so if you happen to be near Teryx, it might be good to drop by and take a look. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' Really, if you can get to Teryx, you can get to Hanoma to pick up a steel yari, which is still a better weapon.

	===Orange-and-red flamra spear===		===Orange-and-red flamra spear===

Esmene: /* Steel yari */

2008-12-09T08:25:06Z

Steel yari

←Older revision		Revision as of 08:25, 9 December 2008
Line 29:		Line 29:
	Location: Jan Li's shop in Hanoma		Location: Jan Li's shop in Hanoma

-	The technology of sharpening a stick and thrusting the sharp end into other things appears to have largely passed the Hanomaniacs by. After all, with the primary industry of the island being fishing, there is only too obviously no use for spears at all, while the great usefulness of a war fan is only too apparent. As a result, the steel yari is the only spear to be found on the island. This is a good, serviceable weapon. Surprisingly good, considering that the whole culture of Hanoma seems to have completely forsaken spears -- a testament more to Jan Li's abilities than anything else. It's just a shame that Jan Li does not make a 'Jan Li's secret' version of this particular weapon (although he does make such a version of the war fan), since such a weapon would certainly be one of the best spears out there. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' A good spear to use until you can get something that really rocks.	+	The technology of sharpening a stick and thrusting the sharp end into other things appears to have largely passed the Hanomaniacs by. After all, with the primary industry of the island being fishing, there is only too obviously no use for spears at all, while the great usefulness of a war fan is only too apparent. As a result, the steel yari is the only spear to be found on the island. This is a good, serviceable weapon -- surprisingly good, considering that the whole culture of Hanoma seems to have completely forsaken spears (a testament more to Jan Li's abilities than anything else.) It's just a shame that Jan Li does not make a 'Jan Li's secret' version of this particular weapon (although he does make such a version of the war fan), since such a weapon would certainly be one of the best spears out there. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' One of the better spears out there, and well worth getting until you can snatch up something a bit higher up the chain.

	===Bone-tipped ironwood javelin===		===Bone-tipped ironwood javelin===

Esmene: /* Iron-tipped oak spear */

2008-12-09T08:23:01Z

Iron-tipped oak spear

←Older revision		Revision as of 08:23, 9 December 2008
Line 17:		Line 17:
	Location: Grebor's Weapon Smithy in Losthaven		Location: Grebor's Weapon Smithy in Losthaven

-	It really is sad that so many new adventurers' first experience with spears happens to be this poor excuse for a weapon. This spear is inferior as a basic weapon to the bamboo spear described below (which is basically just a sharp stick) and has worse armor penetration. Perhaps the quality of Grebor's weapons is one of the primary reasons why the Losthaven Guard has suffered so many setbacks recently. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' Ditch this spear as quickly as possible, or your friends will all point at you and laugh.	+	It really is sad that so many new adventurers' first experience with spears happens to be this poor excuse for a weapon. This spear is inferior as a basic weapon in almost every way to almost every other spear out there, even those which, like the bamboo spear described below, are simple sharpened sticks. Perhaps the quality of Grebor's weapons is one of the primary reasons why the Losthaven Guard has suffered so many setbacks recently. One can only imagine what underhanded tricks Grebor must have engaged in to get himself set up as the only weapon smith in Losthaven -- a blind runtling could do a better job. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' Ditch this spear as quickly as possible, or your friends will all point at you and laugh.

	===Bamboo spear===		===Bamboo spear===

Esmene: /* Kolond */

2008-12-05T19:00:04Z

Kolond

←Older revision		Revision as of 19:00, 5 December 2008
Line 89:		Line 89:
	===Kolond===		===Kolond===

-	While thrusting weapons would appear to be ideal as a defensive measure in the cramped quarters of a mineshaft, the dwarves of Kolond have acquired some sort of perverse fascination for axes and hammers -- weapons that, amongst their other attributes, take a great deal of room to swing. There is nary a spear of any sort to be found within the tunnels of Kolond. As a result of this cultural eccentricity, the tunnels delved by Kolondinian dwarves are much higher and wider than would otherwise be necessary, allowing for much easier access by orcs and trolls than would be possible were the tunnels engineered to the proper height for sensibly-armed dwarven warriors. Given the insensibility of the dwarven defense plans for Kolond, it is indeed a surprise that this settlement has endured for as long as it has. It is as if the whole culture was designed by a linguistics professor for the aesthetic appeal of hammer- and axe-armed berserkers (which the northmen of Gardagh pull off much more effectively) than for any sort of practical considerations.	+	While thrusting weapons would appear to be ideal as a defensive measure in the cramped quarters of a mineshaft, the dwarves of Kolond have acquired some sort of perverse fascination for axes and hammers -- weapons that, amongst their other attributes, take a great deal of room to swing. There is nary a spear of any sort to be found within the tunnels of Kolond. As a result of this cultural eccentricity, the tunnels delved by Kolondinian dwarves are much higher and wider than would otherwise be necessary, allowing for much easier access by orcs and trolls than would be possible were the tunnels engineered to the proper height for sensibly-armed dwarven warriors. Given the insensibility of the dwarven defense plans for Kolond, it is indeed a surprise that this settlement has endured for as long as it has. It is as if the whole culture was designed by a linguistics professor more for the aesthetic appeal of hammer- and axe-armed berserkers (which the northmen of Gardagh pull off much more effectively) than for any sort of practical considerations.

	==Comparative rankings==		==Comparative rankings==

Esmene at 18:46, 5 December 2008

2008-12-05T18:46:50Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 18:46, 5 December 2008
Line 29:		Line 29:
	Location: Jan Li's shop in Hanoma		Location: Jan Li's shop in Hanoma

-	The technology of sharpening a stick and thrusting the sharp end into other things appears to have largely passed the Hanomaniacs by. After all, with the primary industry of the island being fishing, there is only too obviously no use for spears at all, while the great usefulness of a war fan is only too apparent. As a result, the steel yari is the only spear to be found on the island. This is a good, serviceable weapon. It's just a shame that Jan Li does not make a 'Jan Li's secret' version of this particular weapon (although he does make such a version of the war fan), since such a weapon would certainly be one of the best spears out there. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' A good spear to use until you can get something that really rocks.	+	The technology of sharpening a stick and thrusting the sharp end into other things appears to have largely passed the Hanomaniacs by. After all, with the primary industry of the island being fishing, there is only too obviously no use for spears at all, while the great usefulness of a war fan is only too apparent. As a result, the steel yari is the only spear to be found on the island. This is a good, serviceable weapon. Surprisingly good, considering that the whole culture of Hanoma seems to have completely forsaken spears -- a testament more to Jan Li's abilities than anything else. It's just a shame that Jan Li does not make a 'Jan Li's secret' version of this particular weapon (although he does make such a version of the war fan), since such a weapon would certainly be one of the best spears out there. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' A good spear to use until you can get something that really rocks.

	===Bone-tipped ironwood javelin===		===Bone-tipped ironwood javelin===
Line 36:		Line 36:

	The good news is that these things tend to be liberally strewn about Teryx, which is a good thing, if you're looking for a javelin. The problem here is that this weapon does not rate very highly on the basic weapon scale, somehow being even worse than Grebor's iron-tipped oak things. One good thing is that these javelins have good armor piercing ability and better balance than a good number of other spears on this list. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' A real mixed bag here... Might be useful for the stubby-armed (if they're too stubby to handle a real spear), or if you want a weapon you can just throw away or else dual-wield. There are better javelins than this one, though.		The good news is that these things tend to be liberally strewn about Teryx, which is a good thing, if you're looking for a javelin. The problem here is that this weapon does not rate very highly on the basic weapon scale, somehow being even worse than Grebor's iron-tipped oak things. One good thing is that these javelins have good armor piercing ability and better balance than a good number of other spears on this list. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' A real mixed bag here... Might be useful for the stubby-armed (if they're too stubby to handle a real spear), or if you want a weapon you can just throw away or else dual-wield. There are better javelins than this one, though.
		+
		+	===Iron javelin===
		+
		+	Location: Shatterspire
		+
		+	Another javelin, this one from Shatterspire. Again, these things tend to be littered around the place, making them an easy catch. Like the bone-tipped javelin above, this weapon has superior balance qualities to most spears, as well as a very high armor penetration value. They're also a better basic weapon than the Teryx javelins (although still less powerful than Grebor's spears). ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' Looks decent enough for javelin-users. Good enough to be ammunition, not so good or rare that you would miss it if it were gone.
		+
		+	===Iron spear===
		+
		+	Location: Shatterspire
		+
		+	Another good showing from the lizards up in Shatterspire. This is a pretty good middle-of-the-road spear. You probably won't be laughed at if you find one of these in your hands, but then again, you probably won't elicit any gasps of awe, either. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' This would really be the spear that I would start out with if I were brand new. It's found lying around a lot, and it's a decent enough weapon for those who can't make the trip somewhere more exotic to pick up something better.
		+
		+	===Bone-tipped ironwood spear===
		+
		+	Location: Teryx
		+
		+	Seriously, what's up with winged races and their whole fetish with long shafts? Almost half the weapons you see in either place are spears and javelins -- not that I'm complaining. I would be proud to line my pitfall trap with this spear. Surprisingly, the bone-tipped ironwood spear actually beats out the iron spear from Shatterspire as a basic weapon. This is another one of those spears that just seems to end up lying on the floor a lot of the time, so if you happen to be near Teryx, it might be good to drop by and take a look. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' Really, if you can get to Teryx, you can get to Hanoma to pick up a steel yari, which is still a better weapon.
		+
		+	===Orange-and-red flamra spear===
		+
		+	Location: Corna
		+
		+	If you're looking for a spear weapon that does more than just make holes in people, then this is a spear for you, since it will make holes in people and burn them, all at the same time. On the upside, you'll look cool and be ready to take on that magical snowman. The downside is that lots of things have fire resistance, so you might find yourself not doing as much damage as you might think you'd do with a flaming spear. This is also a pretty tough spear to get, since Eridar's a difficult opponent who won't willingly part with his weapon. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' If you want fire damage for some reason, go for it. Otherwise, not high on the recommended list.
		+
		+	===Serpent spear===
		+
		+	Location: Corna
		+
		+	Surprisingly, this impressively-named spear clocks in rather low on the charts as far as weapon quality and armor penetration go. Supposedly, this weapon was designed with a similar purpose to the serpent swords -- to aid the citizens of Corna in their battles with the pesky raptorak. It certainly does seem to kill raptoraks quickly enough, but seriously, who's going to be fighting raptoraks enough of the time to spend the energy lugging this thing around, when there are better spears out there? Somehow, this is also quite a valuable item, since shopkeepers will pay thousands for it. Porphyria's recommendation: It's hard to get, and only really useful against things with scales... Ditch it.
		+
		+	===Mithril spear===
		+
		+	Location: Shadow Tower
		+
		+	The Shadow Tower has a very special place in my heart. After all, it's the only prison I've ever heard of where the prisoners are allowed to keep the weapons they came in with. I hear that shankings are as common as straw pallets, and what with the satyrs also imprisoned there, god help you if you drop the soap in the shower. Reanada uses this spear as a back-up when she can't find her diamond-edged halberd. This is quite the weapon, as one might expect from a spear made of mithril. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' If you're new, snag one of these ASAP... It's not likely to get better than this for you for a while.
		+
		+	===Iron-tipped blackwood spear===
		+
		+	Location: A bunch of raptoraks hanging around a battlefield.
		+
		+	Almost unbelievably, this 'weapon' actually fares worse than that drunk Grebor's travesty of a spear. In fact, you might want to keep this one around, just because you're not likely to find a worse spear weapon than this, and so it's rare and beautiful in that sense. The raptoraks must be getting their weapons from an agent of Corna, since whoever supplied the raptoraks with this thing must ''want'' them to lose. ''Porphryia's recommendation:'' Seriously, if you can't figure this one out for yourself, you're probably not smart enough to read this.
		+
		+	===Obsidian-tipped oak spear===
		+
		+	Location: Tenochca
		+
		+	The natives of Tenochca have not advanced much past the sharpen-a-stick-and-poke-things-with-it stage of spear construction. This is an obvious specimen from the stick-a-sharp-rock-on-top-of-a-stick stage of spear design, and it's about as good as you would expect -- better than Raven's bamboo spears, worse than the serpent spears. And somehow, still better than Grebor's spears. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' Pass... by the time you find this place and can actually kill the guy who has this spear, you'll probably be sporting something much better, anyhow.

	==Cultural Notes==		==Cultural Notes==
Line 41:		Line 89:
	===Kolond===		===Kolond===

-	While thrusting weapons would appear to be ideal as a defensive measure in the cramped quarters of a mineshaft, the dwarves of Kolond have acquired some sort of perverse fascination for axes and hammers -- weapons that, amongst their other attributes, take a great deal of room to swing. There is nary a spear of any sort to be found within the tunnels of Kolond. As a result of this cultural eccentricity, the tunnels delved by Kolondinian dwarves are much higher and wider than would otherwise be necessary, allowing for much easier access by orcs and trolls than would be possible were the tunnels engineered to the proper height for sensibly-armed dwarven warriors. Given the insensibility of the dwarven defense plans for Kolond, it is indeed a surprise that this settlement has endured for as long as it has. It is as if the whole culture was designed for the aesthetic appeal of hammer- and axe-armed berserkers (which the northmen of Gardagh pull off much more effectively) than for any sort of practical considerations.	+	While thrusting weapons would appear to be ideal as a defensive measure in the cramped quarters of a mineshaft, the dwarves of Kolond have acquired some sort of perverse fascination for axes and hammers -- weapons that, amongst their other attributes, take a great deal of room to swing. There is nary a spear of any sort to be found within the tunnels of Kolond. As a result of this cultural eccentricity, the tunnels delved by Kolondinian dwarves are much higher and wider than would otherwise be necessary, allowing for much easier access by orcs and trolls than would be possible were the tunnels engineered to the proper height for sensibly-armed dwarven warriors. Given the insensibility of the dwarven defense plans for Kolond, it is indeed a surprise that this settlement has endured for as long as it has. It is as if the whole culture was designed by a linguistics professor for the aesthetic appeal of hammer- and axe-armed berserkers (which the northmen of Gardagh pull off much more effectively) than for any sort of practical considerations.

	==Comparative rankings==		==Comparative rankings==
Line 49:		Line 97:
	{\| valign="top"		{\| valign="top"
	\|-		\|-
-	\|<ul><ol start="1"><li>Steel yari<li>Bamboo spear<li>Iron-tipped oak spear<li>Bone-tipped ironwood javelin</ol></ul>	+	\|<ul><ol start="1"><li>Mithril spear<li>Steel yari<li>Bone-tipped ironwood spear<li>Orange-and-red flamra spear<li>Iron spear<li>Serpent spear<li>Obsidian-tipped oak spear<li>Bamboo spear<li>Iron-tipped oak spear<li>Iron-tipped blackwood spear<li>Iron javelin<li>Bone-tipped ironwood javelin</ol></ul>
	\|}		\|}

Line 55:		Line 103:
	{\| valign="top"		{\| valign="top"
	\|-		\|-
-	\|<ul><ol start="1"><li>Steel yari<li>Bone-tipped ironwood javelin<li>Bamboo spear<li>Iron-tipped oak spear<li></ol></ul>	+	\|<ul><ol start="1"><li>Iron javelin<li>Bone-tipped ironwood javelin<li>Mithril spear<li>Steel yari, iron spear, bone-tipped ironwood spear, orange-and-red flamra spear<li>Serpent spear, obsidian-tipped oak spear<li>Bamboo spear<li>Iron-tipped oak spear, iron-tipped blackwood spear<li></ol></ul>
	\|}		\|}

Chaos: Esmene's Sandbox moved to User:Esmene/Sandbox

2008-12-05T16:16:41Z

Esmene's Sandbox moved to User:Esmene/Sandbox

←Older revision

Revision as of 16:16, 5 December 2008

Esmene: /* Comparative rankings */

2008-12-04T23:32:46Z

Comparative rankings

←Older revision		Revision as of 23:32, 4 December 2008
Line 45:		Line 45:
	==Comparative rankings==		==Comparative rankings==

		+	Comparative evaluation of spears comes from Lucanius. Rankings are based on the items as found, although each spear has been blessed so that Lucanius will evaluate it (as he does not perform evaluation of non-magical items). Please note that there are ways to improve the power and craft levels of a weapon, and some weapons may be more improvable than others (weapons that start out as 'good' craft may have more room to improve than weapons that start out as 'excellent' craft, for example).
	===Basic weapon===		===Basic weapon===
	{\| valign="top"		{\| valign="top"

Esmene: /* Steel yari */

2008-12-04T23:24:19Z

Steel yari

←Older revision		Revision as of 23:24, 4 December 2008
Line 29:		Line 29:
	Location: Jan Li's shop in Hanoma		Location: Jan Li's shop in Hanoma

-	The technology of sharpening a stick and thrusting the sharp end into other things appears to have largely passed the Hanomaniacs by. After all, with the primary industry of the island being fishing, there is only too obviously no use for spears at all, while the great usefulness of a war fan is only too apparent. As a result, this is the only spear to be found on the island. This is a good, serviceable weapon. It's just a shame that Jan Li does not make a 'Jan Li's secret' version of this particular weapon (although he does make such a version of the war fan), since such a weapon would certainly be one of the best spears out there. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' A good spear to use until you can get something that really rocks.	+	The technology of sharpening a stick and thrusting the sharp end into other things appears to have largely passed the Hanomaniacs by. After all, with the primary industry of the island being fishing, there is only too obviously no use for spears at all, while the great usefulness of a war fan is only too apparent. As a result, the steel yari is the only spear to be found on the island. This is a good, serviceable weapon. It's just a shame that Jan Li does not make a 'Jan Li's secret' version of this particular weapon (although he does make such a version of the war fan), since such a weapon would certainly be one of the best spears out there. ''Porphyria's recommendation:'' A good spear to use until you can get something that really rocks.

	===Bone-tipped ironwood javelin===		===Bone-tipped ironwood javelin===