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| + | 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). | ||
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Revision as of 18:32, 4 December 2008
Using this page as a sandbox to work on articles that I don't intend to link to yet.
Contents |
Porphyria's Guide to Spears
Introduction
The spear is quite possibly one of the most ancient forms of weaponry, undoubtedly having roots far back in the days when even the elves and tuatha were no more than bands of wandering hunters scratching a living from the face of the world. And though the art of the spear is a long-lived and noble one, the implements with which one might practice this art are somewhat difficult to find, especially if one wants a weapon that has more authority than a simple pointed stick. Unfortunately, swords appear to have taken much of the popularity away from the spear as an implement of war, and though the spear-user's plight may not be as poor as the plight of those who choose to use bludgeons or flails for their combat needs, it can seem from time to time as if for every spear of impressive power, there are twenty or so swords of equal merit.
In these pages, I will attempt to catalog a number of spears and provide some guidance as to how each spear stacks up against its brothers and sisters. Although much of the process of comparing and choosing weapons is subjective and must be done for oneself, I will attempt to give as much good information as possible in the pursuit of providing a basis upon which a choice might be made, as well as to perhaps provide some enlightenment for the unexperienced spear-user on where to secure a decent armament.
The Spears
Each spear entry will include where the spear is found (if known), an appraisal of its usefulness as a weapon (including a comparative evaluation against similar spear types by Lucanius), and a general commentary on the weapon.
Iron-tipped oak spear
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.
Bamboo spear
Location: Raven in the Temple of Discordia
For all that Raven's spears are simple sharpened sticks, they still out-perform Grebor's iron-tipped oak spear, hands down. Even so, this is not the best spear out there by a longshot... About the best thing that might be said about it is that Raven tends to get into a lot of fights, and his spears are often left behind for anyone to abscond with. Porphyria's recommendation: A free spear is better than no spear at all, but you're still skimming the bottom of the barrel.
Steel yari
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.
Bone-tipped ironwood javelin
Location: Teryx
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.
Cultural Notes
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.
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
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Armour penetration
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