All good suggestions! But give the quarterstaff reach too! It's literally the same weapon as the spear, just without the sharp end (but you can turn it into a spear if you sharpen one end). 🤓
@@EtherealDoomedyes, unless each weapon has unique attacks with unique effects to separate them. A quarterstaff has a trip attack, a spear can be used to charge attack, a dagger does extra damage when attacking from behind, things of that nature.
@@EtherealDoomed Spears have a thrown range, quarterstaffs do not. You could give both of them reach and the spear would still be preferable most of the time (except for when a target has resistance to piercing damage).
It's the most widely used because it's the cheapest weapon with a point and requires almost no training. It's also almost useless except in formation - or against an already engaged enemy (hence Reach).
@@john-lenin it’s the best weapon to start a melee fight with even one on one - especially if your opponent isn’t wearing full plate armor. You carry a sword for when the shaft is damaged or when your opponent starts to close the distance. consider the following: ruclips.net/video/JY0E7CCslQc/видео.htmlsi=ZiXlNcq5bidZUvbv Deeper combat mechanics - ones that could be implemented more easily on a computer, ones that would be cumbersome for pen and paper rpg systems - would ideally differentiate the employment of spears, swords, daggers, etc. to a greater extent than *simply* giving the spear a reach advantage.
The spear is tactically a much better weapon than a sword and it’s been proven time and time again. It’s not just for formation, are we thinking of the pike? The spear is easier to learn effectively, costs less and has something everyone knows is superior who observes actual fights; range. If you know how to back off, a spear is a better weapon. I feel the spear should just be 1d8 damage and have reach (see how spears are used in Asia). It’s better against armor as well. Swords are just romantasized but if I had to choose in a fight between having one or the other and facing the other, I’d choose spear every time.
I really like both of these changes, I will definetely be incorporating more small house rules to monsters in my games. And as someone who loves spears very much, I'm glad to see them getting some love. Great video, subbed!
Ogre should get a bloodied ability. This is from 4e, one of the things I loved in that system. When the ogre reaches half HP you have really pissed it off. Until then it just saw you as food. Maybe it makes a bite attack that it makes as a free action when it is knocked to half HP. 1d4+4 damage. It gains temp HP equal to the damage dealt.
I like the changes to the ogre and spear and look forward to adding them to my games. The tracker seems handy and I'm always looking for new ways to get random encounters generated.
In the setting we use, ogres are an evolution of goblinoids. Goblins that live to an age of 10 can evolve into either a hobgoblin or bugbear; after 10 years a bubear can evolve into an ogre, or a hobgoblin can evolve into an ogre mage. Evolutions are just possibilities, though, not guaranteed; only 50% of gonlins evolve. Of those, 75% are bugbears and 25% are hobgoblins. Only 25% of bugbears and hobgoblins ever evolve, so the numbers of ogres and ogre mages in our setting aren't terribly high.
This sounds really cool, I've got two questions though if you don't mind 1. Is this a system you use solely for Goblinoids, or do you apply it to other races as well? 2. Does this system also apply to PC's?
@@maxmurray6680 I will answer the 2nd first, as it's shorter, lol. Yes, it applies to PC's as well as NPC's and random monsters, just with a slight tweak for timing reasons. Goblin players can take a Feat at level 4 or above to evolve into a Bugbear or Hobgoblin, and a second feat at level 12 or above to further evolve into an Ogre or Ogre Mage; the evolution path is still a random thing, though, not a choice. As for how it works with other creatures... There aren't a ton, but there are some- though they tend to be linear paths, not branching. Ghouls, Hags and Giants are the primary ones established thus far- though Giants do branch a bit, and Trolls are an offshoot. Genetic flexibility is inherent in every creature in the setting to some extent, though. The setting is a piece of land about the size of Australia that is floating in a pocket dimension; the God that stole it and put it there knew the limited gene pool could cause problems, so they introduced the blood of Changelings, Doppelgangers, and Shifters into all the creatures of the place. Interbreeding between races is pretty normal, so we get some odd mixes... The current party includes a Half Gnome/Half Orc Cleric and a Half Elf/Half Dwarf Barbarian. (Plus a Deep Gnome Bard/Rogue, a Kobold Paladin, and a Warforged Druid... Quite the menagerie this campaign, lol.)
Spear is already one of the best melee weapons in the game, because it (along with quarterstaff) is the only one-handed weapon you can use with polearm master, thus being able to benefit from the bonus action attack while still using a shield, and also benefitting from dueling fighting style for all of your attacks at the same time.
It's not realistic to do a buttstroke bonus action attack with a 1 handed spear, which is why spear wasn't included for the first 7 or 8 years of 5e. I restrict that part of polearm master to weapons used in 2 hands.
@@hawkname1234 Yeah, great idea to nerf martials from one of their few viable builds. But regardless, that is a homebrew rule from you, not raw, which is what I was talking about here. It is not realistic for guy to throw around fireballs either, and yet nobody is banning fireball. d&d is not meant to be realistic, and making houserules based on what is realistic will just seriously unbalance the game.
The thing about spears is that there are different kinds for different things. A long spear that takes two hands is a pike but there is no set length for a pike. So a really big guy could use a pointy stick as a short spear while a little guy would use it as a pike. A short spear is throwable but a throwing spear like a javelin is better for throwing. I would say that a spear with reach would gain the heavy property and either lose the thrown property or have disadvantage on thrown attacks. It does bother me that a dagger and a spear have the same attack range but people also don't actually take up 5 square feet when standing up. Another option would be to allow the spear to make reach attacks but it cause the player to have to be off balance so attacks against them have advantage until the start of their next turn. Even with a 7 foot spear if you held it by the end and stuck it straight out while keeping your hand in a 5 foot square only a foot or so of the spear could get through the 5 foot square next to you and into the square next to that square. Getting longer than that for a spear and it starts to not be a versatile weapon anymore. Go try to wave a ten foot wooden pole with a weight at the end of it around with one hand.
Wow, I can't wait to try this flavorful homebrew for ogres! Oops, how did I TPK my party? Admittedly I haven't play tested this, but my first thought is that reckless would help ogres way more than it would hurt them. Ogres only have 11 AC to begin with, so having advantage vs them doesn't help much. Ex: Assume the PCs have the same bonus to hit as the ogres, a +6. Vs the ogres AC of 11, advantage increases the hit % from 85% to ~98%. But vs a PC with an AC of 16, advantage increases the hit % from 55% to ~80%. Also, crits help ogres more than PCs because their damage rolls include 2d8, whereas your PCs probably only include a 1d8 or 1d10. So if you're gonna use this homebrew, consider balancing it by increasing ogres CR to 3.
that flavour text for ogres is really interesting to me, it sounds a lot like it was written for an early version of 5e that included the bloodied condition from 4e
I cant agree about the spear. Coz its the only one handed weapon worth taking for a martial character. Why? Coz you can use a shield, and still get a bonus action attack with polearm master. And with the dueling style its basically a d10 weapon. Ill argue that its better than nearly any other weapon unless youre a barbarian
An Ogre is a CR 2 creature. Giving it reckless easily makes it a CR 3 creature. If you have a balanced encounter with lower level PCs and you give your Ogres reckless, very likely that there will be player deaths. 4 level 4 PCs vs 4 Ogres should be a managable fight. Give the ogres reckless though and its likely to be a TPK.
FYI the spear is already a go-to weapon for many melee martial builds at low levels (typically 1-3), at least among optimizers. Reason being, there are only 2 one-handed weapons compatible with the polearm master feat, and the spear is one of them. No objections to the homebrew, I think it's balanced and interesting. But the spear is not underrated at all IMO.
I give spear reach in 2 hands and also finesse in 2H for characters proficient in all martial weapons. I also make greatswords reach because that's literally the only point of the weapon.
Giving a monster the reckless trait is going to significantly increase the amount of threat they pose against a party. Monsters are damage sponges, as they are designed to have low armor classes because it isn't fun to miss but given high HP to compensate. Therefore, PCs that are designed to hit, will the majority of the time. Giving a monster reckless nearly doubles the value of that monster's action with almost zero downside. Just keep this in mind.
You are speaking about a lance here, wich is a long spear. Spears cover a wide variety of weapons and they could have called the lance long spear( then can’t be thrown) , short and light spears are the javelins and more robust ones the spears wich are not really longer than a greatsword. You could also allow the use of 2-hand weapon with one hand with a strenght minimun, but no 2 weapon style unless you also are large
a medieval lance has nothing to do with an spear. A lance has a block for the hand to prevent slipping on impact and later could be locked to the saddle. To transfer the whole motion force. D&D is sadly totally underestimating the force of an rider on a 500kg horse putting this forse on a pointy end. Damage for a charge with a lance should be more something line 6D10. Since the force of impact is magnitudes higher then an crossbow or warbow hit. The contrast is the napoleonic age lance, with three metres. You cannot use a medieval lances on foot. Just being long does not make you a spear. Same as an Ahlspieß has nothing to do with a spear or an estoc. Having Ahlspieß would be really fun. :) Spears varies in size from 1.50m to 2.50m. Triarii had 2m, hoplites more towards 2.5m and the sarissa is a pike. A normal sized 2-handed sword weigts less then 2 kg. You can handle it one handed, easily. No need for strength requirement. But you loose the benefit of "recovering" the weapon fast after an strike to get into guard. So you make yourself vulnerable. Since in D&D armor is your only defense, it totally neglect that the normal way of not getting hit is by threatening your opponent with your weapon and parrying. Earthdawn makes this far nicer by the way. You can have a number of active parries/dodges per round, you have a physical to hit number based on your agility and your armor reduces damage when you get hit. Proper martial system.
I just treat the spear in the PHB as a short spear and add a long spear that has reach and the damage die is one step up. I'm inclined to give the ogre a whirlwind attack when bloodied to represent its blind rage. Even its allies should keep their distance.
In dnd, if you are a standard person with a Dagger, so if you have 10 strength and 10 dexterity, there is 0 chance you can kill a Wizard without critting. The Dagger has 1d4 damage, the Wizard has 1D6 + Constitution and the first hit die is always maxed... This means that even a wizard with 8 in Constitution has at least 5 HPs, and a maxed roll Dagger damage die will do 4 damages. Dnd is not meant to be always realistic, it's meant to be fun. Technically a Dagger should potentially be able to kill any human, even a Hero, but that's not the case, because a level 20 Fighter will have something like 184 HPs, which means that if you take the average damage of a Dagger (2,5) it will require 74 stabs before the fighter dies.
I find it humorous that modern D&D players dismiss AD&D 1st edition because there's a whole chary on weapons for their speed, length, and adjustments vs armour types... then I hear "All the weapons are bland and meaningless!" I like the edition that says you need to wary about weapon choices for the space you are in and the type of foe. I blend editions, if you don't want to make all your bits and pieces, revert to a previous edition. The game is actually designed that way.
It baffles me that spears don't have reach in the official rules. I know that some very short spears exist, but a standard spear is over 6ft long and designed for reach, just like glaives and halberds, so of course they should actually *have* reach.
The berserker is basically the ogre with your improvements. You can easily put one at the head of a group of ogres and the players would have no reason to question it.
Spear doesn’t need reach as players can just use the pike. The benefit for more range is the cost of ac if player use shields which is fair, since a pike user can just hide behind the paladin or someone with a big shield. Spears I think should have a bonus with shields that grant a plus 1 to ac. In real history spearmen used shields with spears, hence why the hoplite was so effective, and with hoplites we know they had good defensive fighting. So picture using a spear with shield forces you to look like a single shield wall.
I like those changes, for my ogres i like more the fairytale versión so i made them able to use Suggestion once a day, very little change but it can do very interesting things, because they are still stupid.
I like your change with the Ogre. I always ran them as if they had the 18/00 strength they are credited with. In the Old Game they were +3 to hit +6 to damage with weapons . In my current game they are +4/+4 but heroically like Schwarzenegger strong. I had em chucking smaller rocks forty or fifty feet for 1d10 like Fezzik in Princess Bride. Sort of played them as Giant-lite. Big Hit knocks the PC down unless they save versus constitution. Critical hit knocks the PC down automatically and save versus constitution or stunned for 2-8 rounds. The Ogre can hit with his bare hands by grabbing the player and chucking them across the room 20-30 feet for 2-12. Character has to save (strength) to hang on to their weapons, save not to be stunned ( const) for 1-4 rounds. And at the very least if you make all those saves you spend a round getting up again as the ogre comes to crush you. I like the idea of making the spear better. I give the spear carriers initiative over people carrying shorter weapons, long swords, short swords. I give halberds pikes initiative over the spear.
You are mispronouncing “Attribute”. When using it as a noun, the emphasis should be on the “AT” syllable. The way you are pronouncing it makes it a verb.
DnD "reach" rules are broken. A reach difference of 6 inches is an advantage in combat. Each 6 inch difference would be a +1 to hit. At 2 feet the reach advantage keeps the +3 to hit, and the wielder can execute an opportunity attack with each action, and execute an opportunity attack with each action that the opponent makes, except withdraw. If you don't understand why that would be so, I can show you... 🤔
@@AlkaritNekoIf you were really going to try to make weapons more realistic, you would also have to account for a long weapon being a huge disadvantage if your opponent gets close. Pikes were also mostly a weapon used in a formation on the battlefield. Very difficult to transport or use out of very specific circumstances, not unlike a lance in those respects.
ATtribute, not atTRIbute. "Atribute" with accent on the 1st syllable is a noun, with an accent on the 2nd - a verb >why would i pick a p2020 pistol, when r-301 assault rifle exists?! cuz u get dropped down with nothing and u find the items at random. Get captured, stripped of your possession and ask yourself the same question - why r u picking up a shortsword off of the goblins, when a waraxe thats not there deals more dmg?! Why r u using a light crossbow instead of a recurve longbow? Cuz u r not proficient in recurve longbows and u dont get extra attacks. Why pick a spear? Cuz its thrown. A glaive, lance, pike and whip have reach.
All good suggestions! But give the quarterstaff reach too! It's literally the same weapon as the spear, just without the sharp end (but you can turn it into a spear if you sharpen one end). 🤓
Then the quarterstaff is just a better spear, eroding the point of addressing weapon balance in the first place.
@@EtherealDoomedyes, unless each weapon has unique attacks with unique effects to separate them. A quarterstaff has a trip attack, a spear can be used to charge attack, a dagger does extra damage when attacking from behind, things of that nature.
@@EtherealDoomed Spears have a thrown range, quarterstaffs do not. You could give both of them reach and the spear would still be preferable most of the time (except for when a target has resistance to piercing damage).
@@EtherealDoomed If you want balance that badly just play Pathfinder 2e
I do.
Bro, I swear it's always the small RUclipsrs.. They are always underrated... You did good, my guy
The spear is mankind’s most widely used weapon. It was overwhelmingly the most popular historical melee weapon. Definitely deserves reach.
It's the most widely used because it's the cheapest weapon with a point and requires almost no training. It's also almost useless except in formation - or against an already engaged enemy (hence Reach).
@@john-lenin Like you said it's for formation fighting and DND never has that. So a bit unless thrown, realistically speaking of course.
@@john-lenin it’s the best weapon to start a melee fight with even one on one - especially if your opponent isn’t wearing full plate armor. You carry a sword for when the shaft is damaged or when your opponent starts to close the distance. consider the following: ruclips.net/video/JY0E7CCslQc/видео.htmlsi=ZiXlNcq5bidZUvbv
Deeper combat mechanics - ones that could be implemented more easily on a computer, ones that would be cumbersome for pen and paper rpg systems - would ideally differentiate the employment of spears, swords, daggers, etc. to a greater extent than *simply* giving the spear a reach advantage.
The spear is tactically a much better weapon than a sword and it’s been proven time and time again. It’s not just for formation, are we thinking of the pike? The spear is easier to learn effectively, costs less and has something everyone knows is superior who observes actual fights; range.
If you know how to back off, a spear is a better weapon.
I feel the spear should just be 1d8 damage and have reach (see how spears are used in Asia). It’s better against armor as well. Swords are just romantasized but if I had to choose in a fight between having one or the other and facing the other, I’d choose spear every time.
@@john-lenin To say a spear is almost useless except in formation is one of the most ignorant things I've ever heard. I assume you're a child.
I really like both of these changes, I will definetely be incorporating more small house rules to monsters in my games.
And as someone who loves spears very much, I'm glad to see them getting some love.
Great video, subbed!
Ogre should get a bloodied ability. This is from 4e, one of the things I loved in that system. When the ogre reaches half HP you have really pissed it off. Until then it just saw you as food. Maybe it makes a bite attack that it makes as a free action when it is knocked to half HP. 1d4+4 damage. It gains temp HP equal to the damage dealt.
I like the changes to the ogre and spear and look forward to adding them to my games. The tracker seems handy and I'm always looking for new ways to get random encounters generated.
That's honestly a fantastic little change for ogres, simple but effective.
Always build narrative into your stat blocks! I'm glad you're working on improving what should be standard.
In the setting we use, ogres are an evolution of goblinoids. Goblins that live to an age of 10 can evolve into either a hobgoblin or bugbear; after 10 years a bubear can evolve into an ogre, or a hobgoblin can evolve into an ogre mage. Evolutions are just possibilities, though, not guaranteed; only 50% of gonlins evolve. Of those, 75% are bugbears and 25% are hobgoblins. Only 25% of bugbears and hobgoblins ever evolve, so the numbers of ogres and ogre mages in our setting aren't terribly high.
This sounds really cool, I've got two questions though if you don't mind
1. Is this a system you use solely for Goblinoids, or do you apply it to other races as well?
2. Does this system also apply to PC's?
@@maxmurray6680 I will answer the 2nd first, as it's shorter, lol. Yes, it applies to PC's as well as NPC's and random monsters, just with a slight tweak for timing reasons. Goblin players can take a Feat at level 4 or above to evolve into a Bugbear or Hobgoblin, and a second feat at level 12 or above to further evolve into an Ogre or Ogre Mage; the evolution path is still a random thing, though, not a choice.
As for how it works with other creatures... There aren't a ton, but there are some- though they tend to be linear paths, not branching. Ghouls, Hags and Giants are the primary ones established thus far- though Giants do branch a bit, and Trolls are an offshoot.
Genetic flexibility is inherent in every creature in the setting to some extent, though. The setting is a piece of land about the size of Australia that is floating in a pocket dimension; the God that stole it and put it there knew the limited gene pool could cause problems, so they introduced the blood of Changelings, Doppelgangers, and Shifters into all the creatures of the place. Interbreeding between races is pretty normal, so we get some odd mixes... The current party includes a Half Gnome/Half Orc Cleric and a Half Elf/Half Dwarf Barbarian. (Plus a Deep Gnome Bard/Rogue, a Kobold Paladin, and a Warforged Druid... Quite the menagerie this campaign, lol.)
Spear is already one of the best melee weapons in the game, because it (along with quarterstaff) is the only one-handed weapon you can use with polearm master, thus being able to benefit from the bonus action attack while still using a shield, and also benefitting from dueling fighting style for all of your attacks at the same time.
It's not realistic to do a buttstroke bonus action attack with a 1 handed spear, which is why spear wasn't included for the first 7 or 8 years of 5e. I restrict that part of polearm master to weapons used in 2 hands.
@@hawkname1234 Yeah, great idea to nerf martials from one of their few viable builds. But regardless, that is a homebrew rule from you, not raw, which is what I was talking about here. It is not realistic for guy to throw around fireballs either, and yet nobody is banning fireball. d&d is not meant to be realistic, and making houserules based on what is realistic will just seriously unbalance the game.
I really like these two changes, simple but effective in mechanics and selling the fiction, I'll definitely be adopting these
The thing about spears is that there are different kinds for different things.
A long spear that takes two hands is a pike but there is no set length for a pike. So a really big guy could use a pointy stick as a short spear while a little guy would use it as a pike.
A short spear is throwable but a throwing spear like a javelin is better for throwing. I would say that a spear with reach would gain the heavy property and either lose the thrown property or have disadvantage on thrown attacks.
It does bother me that a dagger and a spear have the same attack range but people also don't actually take up 5 square feet when standing up.
Another option would be to allow the spear to make reach attacks but it cause the player to have to be off balance so attacks against them have advantage until the start of their next turn. Even with a 7 foot spear if you held it by the end and stuck it straight out while keeping your hand in a 5 foot square only a foot or so of the spear could get through the 5 foot square next to you and into the square next to that square.
Getting longer than that for a spear and it starts to not be a versatile weapon anymore. Go try to wave a ten foot wooden pole with a weight at the end of it around with one hand.
I have pikes with 15' reach and can only attack at ranges of 10-15, not adjacent.
Great takes on both the ogre and spear. Just letting you know the overall volume was really low.
Wow, I can't wait to try this flavorful homebrew for ogres! Oops, how did I TPK my party?
Admittedly I haven't play tested this, but my first thought is that reckless would help ogres way more than it would hurt them. Ogres only have 11 AC to begin with, so having advantage vs them doesn't help much. Ex: Assume the PCs have the same bonus to hit as the ogres, a +6. Vs the ogres AC of 11, advantage increases the hit % from 85% to ~98%. But vs a PC with an AC of 16, advantage increases the hit % from 55% to ~80%. Also, crits help ogres more than PCs because their damage rolls include 2d8, whereas your PCs probably only include a 1d8 or 1d10.
So if you're gonna use this homebrew, consider balancing it by increasing ogres CR to 3.
that flavour text for ogres is really interesting to me, it sounds a lot like it was written for an early version of 5e that included the bloodied condition from 4e
I cant agree about the spear. Coz its the only one handed weapon worth taking for a martial character. Why? Coz you can use a shield, and still get a bonus action attack with polearm master. And with the dueling style its basically a d10 weapon. Ill argue that its better than nearly any other weapon unless youre a barbarian
New subscriber from Tampa Florida. Keep up the great work.
An Ogre is a CR 2 creature. Giving it reckless easily makes it a CR 3 creature. If you have a balanced encounter with lower level PCs and you give your Ogres reckless, very likely that there will be player deaths. 4 level 4 PCs vs 4 Ogres should be a managable fight. Give the ogres reckless though and its likely to be a TPK.
FYI the spear is already a go-to weapon for many melee martial builds at low levels (typically 1-3), at least among optimizers. Reason being, there are only 2 one-handed weapons compatible with the polearm master feat, and the spear is one of them. No objections to the homebrew, I think it's balanced and interesting. But the spear is not underrated at all IMO.
I give spear reach in 2 hands and also finesse in 2H for characters proficient in all martial weapons. I also make greatswords reach because that's literally the only point of the weapon.
Spear doesn’t have reach as it’s a Simple weapon. It’s a game balance thing.
Giving a monster the reckless trait is going to significantly increase the amount of threat they pose against a party. Monsters are damage sponges, as they are designed to have low armor classes because it isn't fun to miss but given high HP to compensate. Therefore, PCs that are designed to hit, will the majority of the time. Giving a monster reckless nearly doubles the value of that monster's action with almost zero downside. Just keep this in mind.
Sure but ogres as they are struggle to touch martials that are even slightly optimized in this CR/level range they’re a joke.
New sub here, thank you for these great suggestions
You are speaking about a lance here, wich is a long spear. Spears cover a wide variety of weapons and they could have called the lance long spear( then can’t be thrown) , short and light spears are the javelins and more robust ones the spears wich are not really longer than a greatsword.
You could also allow the use of 2-hand weapon with one hand with a strenght minimun, but no 2 weapon style unless you also are large
a medieval lance has nothing to do with an spear.
A lance has a block for the hand to prevent slipping on impact and later could be locked to the saddle. To transfer the whole motion force.
D&D is sadly totally underestimating the force of an rider on a 500kg horse putting this forse on a pointy end. Damage for a charge with a lance should be more something line 6D10. Since the force of impact is magnitudes higher then an crossbow or warbow hit.
The contrast is the napoleonic age lance, with three metres.
You cannot use a medieval lances on foot.
Just being long does not make you a spear. Same as an Ahlspieß has nothing to do with a spear or an estoc. Having Ahlspieß would be really fun. :)
Spears varies in size from 1.50m to 2.50m. Triarii had 2m, hoplites more towards 2.5m and the sarissa is a pike.
A normal sized 2-handed sword weigts less then 2 kg. You can handle it one handed, easily. No need for strength requirement. But you loose the benefit of "recovering" the weapon fast after an strike to get into guard. So you make yourself vulnerable. Since in D&D armor is your only defense, it totally neglect that the normal way of not getting hit is by threatening your opponent with your weapon and parrying.
Earthdawn makes this far nicer by the way. You can have a number of active parries/dodges per round, you have a physical to hit number based on your agility and your armor reduces damage when you get hit. Proper martial system.
I just treat the spear in the PHB as a short spear and add a long spear that has reach and the damage die is one step up. I'm inclined to give the ogre a whirlwind attack when bloodied to represent its blind rage. Even its allies should keep their distance.
Damage 2d8+4! WOW, absolutely lethal to AD&D 1e characters! The problem is not the Ogre it is your characters!
Great ideas, simple and effective.
Really like this little series
time for the party to fight an ogre with a spear
In dnd, if you are a standard person with a Dagger, so if you have 10 strength and 10 dexterity, there is 0 chance you can kill a Wizard without critting.
The Dagger has 1d4 damage, the Wizard has 1D6 + Constitution and the first hit die is always maxed... This means that even a wizard with 8 in Constitution has at least 5 HPs, and a maxed roll Dagger damage die will do 4 damages.
Dnd is not meant to be always realistic, it's meant to be fun.
Technically a Dagger should potentially be able to kill any human, even a Hero, but that's not the case, because a level 20 Fighter will have something like 184 HPs, which means that if you take the average damage of a Dagger (2,5) it will require 74 stabs before the fighter dies.
I find it humorous that modern D&D players dismiss AD&D 1st edition because there's a whole chary on weapons for their speed, length, and adjustments vs armour types... then I hear "All the weapons are bland and meaningless!"
I like the edition that says you need to wary about weapon choices for the space you are in and the type of foe.
I blend editions, if you don't want to make all your bits and pieces, revert to a previous edition. The game is actually designed that way.
It baffles me that spears don't have reach in the official rules. I know that some very short spears exist, but a standard spear is over 6ft long and designed for reach, just like glaives and halberds, so of course they should actually *have* reach.
The berserker is basically the ogre with your improvements. You can easily put one at the head of a group of ogres and the players would have no reason to question it.
Spear doesn’t need reach as players can just use the pike. The benefit for more range is the cost of ac if player use shields which is fair, since a pike user can just hide behind the paladin or someone with a big shield. Spears I think should have a bonus with shields that grant a plus 1 to ac. In real history spearmen used shields with spears, hence why the hoplite was so effective, and with hoplites we know they had good defensive fighting. So picture using a spear with shield forces you to look like a single shield wall.
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I like those changes, for my ogres i like more the fairytale versión so i made them able to use Suggestion once a day, very little change but it can do very interesting things, because they are still stupid.
If you really want to spice up an ogre, you can also give them rage beyond death :).
We play characters with martial weapon proficiency get reach w spear. Farmers dont get reach but soldiers do.
I like your change with the Ogre. I always ran them as if they had the 18/00 strength they are credited with. In the Old Game they were +3 to hit +6 to damage with weapons . In my current game they are +4/+4 but heroically like Schwarzenegger strong. I had em chucking smaller rocks forty or fifty feet for 1d10 like Fezzik in Princess Bride. Sort of played them as Giant-lite. Big Hit knocks the PC down unless they save versus constitution. Critical hit knocks the PC down automatically and save versus constitution or stunned for 2-8 rounds. The Ogre can hit with his bare hands by grabbing the player and chucking them across the room 20-30 feet for 2-12. Character has to save (strength) to hang on to their weapons, save not to be stunned ( const) for 1-4 rounds. And at the very least if you make all those saves you spend a round getting up again as the ogre comes to crush you.
I like the idea of making the spear better. I give the spear carriers initiative over people carrying shorter weapons, long swords, short swords. I give halberds pikes initiative over the spear.
You are mispronouncing “Attribute”. When using it as a noun, the emphasis should be on the “AT” syllable. The way you are pronouncing it makes it a verb.
DnD "reach" rules are broken. A reach difference of 6 inches is an advantage in combat. Each 6 inch difference would be a +1 to hit. At 2 feet the reach advantage keeps the +3 to hit, and the wielder can execute an opportunity attack with each action, and execute an opportunity attack with each action that the opponent makes, except withdraw.
If you don't understand why that would be so, I can show you... 🤔
woudn't that break pikes and make Polearm Master a lot more powerful?
@@AlkaritNekoIf you were really going to try to make weapons more realistic, you would also have to account for a long weapon being a huge disadvantage if your opponent gets close. Pikes were also mostly a weapon used in a formation on the battlefield. Very difficult to transport or use out of very specific circumstances, not unlike a lance in those respects.
ATtribute, not atTRIbute. "Atribute" with accent on the 1st syllable is a noun, with an accent on the 2nd - a verb
>why would i pick a p2020 pistol, when r-301 assault rifle exists?!
cuz u get dropped down with nothing and u find the items at random. Get captured, stripped of your possession and ask yourself the same question - why r u picking up a shortsword off of the goblins, when a waraxe thats not there deals more dmg?! Why r u using a light crossbow instead of a recurve longbow? Cuz u r not proficient in recurve longbows and u dont get extra attacks.
Why pick a spear? Cuz its thrown. A glaive, lance, pike and whip have reach.