After having to answer many of the same questions over and over again I finally decided to try to sit down and write down some basic info on the choices of the polearmer.

This info was gained from many sources and I will try to make it as complete as I can. Much of this info can be credited to posts and talks with other active polearmers of all sorts. Please keep in mind that there are many different opinions about some of these points. I will do my best to present it completely and objectively.

Here we go!


In choosing the path of the polearmer you have decided to go on one of the less traveled paths in the Lands. Like every choice it has its good points and its bad ones. I'll try to address some of those below.

RACE...

First off you will need to decide what type of polearmer will you be. Are you going to be a heavy hitter using that lance or are you going to try to be a fast swinger who uses many different types? There are many shades of polearmer in between but the reason you need a plan from the outset is that your race has a big impact.

If you ever want to be able to swing that lance at a 5 RT you will need to choose one of the quick races. Those with elven and sylvan blood are the most common choice here. There are actually quite a few halfling polearmers as well though the weapons seem a bit awkward in their hands. ;) If you just want to hit hard you may want to be a giantman for the extra power. The quicker races will have a slightly better DS but also suffer from having less blood/health.

STATS...

Not going to say much here since this will be highly dependant on the race, what type of growth you are looking for, and what fighting style you prefer. Three of the most important things to keep in mind for any polearmer though are STR, DEX, and AGI.

Strength is important in the end because you are going to want to hit hard. It doesn't NEED to be really high in the beginning but you will want it to be able to grow decently if you are a weapon swinger.

Dexterity and Agility are important because they affect that ever important swing RT. Agility of course also affects your DS, which suffers greatly without that shield. If you want to swing fast early on you will need higher stats here. Otherwise look at your race and growth characteristics and put them where you feel comfortable with them. I would still give them decent numbers to start regardless of race though. (For instance, even though I am a dark elf I started both my DEX and AGI at 60.)

One of the good things about the new character manager is that you can tailor your STATS better to your choices, race, and profession. I made Ice before that was implemented so my "roll" was a bit oddly spread out, still good, but tailoring may be a better way to go.

PROFESSION...

Again not much to say here. Each profession has its own strengths and weaknesses. The most common polearmers are warriors and bards due to the lower training costs for polearm training. You will however find that there are polearm users in most if not all classes. I have seen wizard, cleric, and empath polearm users that do well due to their spell capability.

I personally wouldn't recommend trying a polearmer with one of the "pure" spellcasting classes unless you really know that profession well and can use their spells effectively. (For the purpose of this discussion I am calling wizards, sorcerers, empaths and clerics pures, since they can only train in a weapon skill once per train, but 3 times in spells.)

WEAPON...

WARNING: If you have never played a two-handed weapon user in the lands you are in for a shock. The lower DS against missiles and bolt attacks without a shield can take a lot of getting used to. Generally you have to be very picky about what type of creatures you hunt. Much moreso than a OHE or OHB and shield user. OHP and shield is an option as well but is generally only used by the spellcasting polearmers on a regular basis.

The general power of two-handed polearms but lack of defense means that you are often best off hitting as hard as you can to take the creatures out quickly. This is one of the reasons that many polearmers choose to use the lance, which is the most powerful weapon in many cases. The awl-pike should not be forgotten though, since it is a bit lighter and actually hits better against some armor types.

I however am from another train of thought in the polearm ranks. Personally I try to choose the weapon that will best serve my purposes at the time and will still let me swing quickly. I feel more comfortable getting back into defensive stance quicker since I tend to hunt alone. Sure that lance might hit harder but it doesn't do me a lick of good if I'm standing there in offensive for a few extra seconds when another creature walks in the room.

One of the advantages of polearms is we have a wide selection of weapons that will give us good capabilities against any opponent. We even have the option of the spear/shield combo, though for most this is really only very useful for rescues; running through areas where there are bolt casters and missile users; or wandering in unfamiliar areas.

THP- Advantages - good damage dealt in general, automatic DS bonus when in right hand with left hand empty (the bonus is changed from GSIII and seems to actually be higher, I have no hard numbers on the amount now as it may contain variables in the formula), TRIP capability. Disadvantages - heavier weapons are slow, low DS vs. bolts and missile attacks, you get no ambush bonus from hiding with an THP (when you hide and ambush with two handed polearms, you'll just come out of hiding and aim your shot).

NOTE: Trying to use a shield with a THP will greatly reduce both your AS and DS though you will have a slightly better DS vs. missile and bolt spells.

Halberd/polearm base - this is our general weapon category and is decent overall but a little weak against heavier armors. Base RT is 6.

Naginatas - these natural 4x weapons fall under this class. They can be ebladed to give you an 8x flaring weapon or blessed giving you a 4x blessed weapon. Generally speaking it is a good idea to keep one of these about once you reach 20th level and can handle the 8x. Some people hunt with these almost exclusively even though they don't hit as hard as some of the other choices.

Hammer of Kai - heavier, slower weapon but a good all around one. DF and AvD is better than the polearm base. Base RT is 7. Still usable for mstrike but a little riskier. Very few people have ever used these and most don't realize that they do still puncture occasionally. The name is a bit decieving but if you think of most polearms as a combination of blade/spike/blunt surface on the end of a pole, that is what you are seeing here. Good overall weapon for DF and AvD. A bit better against heavier armors.

Jeddart-axe - Again a heavier, slower weapon. THIS IS THE ONLY POLEARM THAT NEVER PUNCTURES. Base RT is 7. Good overall weapon.

Awl-pike - One of the heavy hitters here. Low AvD against unarmored critters though, This weapon is lighter than a lance and is actually better than the lance vs. certain heavier armors. Base RT is 9.

Lance - The overall big hitter of the polearms. Slow and heavy but boy do they hurt. Base RT is 9.

OHP - I have very little experience with them but I will make some comments on them. Advantages - that you can use the shield and can ambush from hiding with them (spear and pilum base). Disadvantage - They hit much lighter than the other polearms. You cannot trip with a OHP. Spear in base RT 5, pilum has been lowered to base 3 RT.

- As I mentioned earlier most people do not hunt using the OHP/shield combo. When compared to the two-handed polearms they have lousy DF and AvD against anything higher than leather armor. If you are used to using OHE, the spear is approximately as strong as a scimitar or short sword, pilums are weaker. If you know what you are hunting well and choose wisely you MAY still be able to hunt decently with these. I have not tried to hunt with them as yet but I may in the future, especially once I reach the point where I can double strike at one creature using Mstrike.

GRIPPABLE Polearms - There are now certain polearms that can be used either one or two handed. I believe the current plan is for TRIDENTS and SPEARS to be used via the GRIP verb, allowing them more versatility. The DF factor does change depending on whether one of these weapons is GRIPped in one or two hands. This is a new and welcome addition to the polearm versatility.

- Training in shield is entirely optional. By choosing your hunting areas well you can negate the need for shield training though you may have some difficulty travelling through some areas and during invasions and such. After the mid-40's it becomes progressively harder to do this, due to creatures being mixed in among each other more often (so you will generally find casters in most areas).

NOTE: All THP with the exception of the jeddart-axe do some combo of puncture/slash/crush damage. The percentages vary but they are always there. I haven't tested any OHP but I expect it is the same for them, though you may find that they are heavily geared towards puncture attacks.

TRIP...

A nice addition to our combat capabilities, but perhaps a little odd in its implementation. Some factors seem to be size/encumbrance of target, age difference between polearmer and target, STR of polearmer, DEF/AGI/mobility of target, polearm skill (though it doesn't seem to make much difference), and who knows what else. These are all just educated guesses on my part and going on info from other polearmers.

There are some creatures which seem inordinately hard to trip and others on which it seems impossible. (..and no you can't trip something if its non-corporeal) Not sure if this was by design or just because of whatever odd formula there actually is for the success rate. A successful trip can lead to extra RT for the target, bringing it to its knees or fully to the ground, and rarely a stun. Below are listed some of the possible effects (the RT listed is your RT, not the creatures):

 - 0 pt of damage, 7 rt. Your attempt to trip fails miserably. Instead, you've managed to hit yourself in the foot! Self-inflicted blow leaves you hobbling about in excruciating pain! (seems to be age difference based predominately) (NOTE: your actual RT seems to be 12, 5 for the attempt plus a 7 second penalty).

 - 0 pt of damage, 5 rt. The (creature) deftly avoids the stroke. The (polearm) flies harmlessly aside. (no effect at all)

 - 1 pt of damage, 5 rt. Half-hearted attempt does little to unbalance a (creature). (add 3-5? RT to creature, unreliable)

 - 1 pt of damage, 5 rt. Lucky strike leaves a (creature) totally off balance! (add 5-10? RT to creature, unreliable)

 - 1 pt of damage, 5 rt. A (creature)'s feet are swept cleanly from under it! (creature lying down)

 - 7 pt of damage, 5 rt. Quick strike is rewarded with a (creature) stumbling to the ground! (creature kneeling / sitting)

 - 10 pt of damage, 5 rt. Quick strike is rewarded with a (creature) stumbling to the ground! (creature kneeling / sitting)

&nbps;- 15 pt of damage, 5 rt. rare (creature STUNNED and on the ground)

One more thing, TRIP can be done from any stance. However, recent changes have made it so that your stance affects your chances of success. I'd recommend playing about a bit and finding a stance that gives you a reasonable amount of success OR if you hunt slower moving creatures and don't mind the risk, just go for it in offensive. I hunt vesperti, which are fast, so I trip in Forward stance since I normally will not get stunned if they manage to hit me (unless they shreik).

There have been some changes to TRIP since its implementation and I will try to keep my info as current as I can. For instance there have been some changes to the damage dealt during the attempts and I think I may have missed some of that info while I have been gone from the lands.


Well, I think that about does it. If there is anything you think I missed or messed up on let me know. I really want to make this info as accurate as I can. I didn't get into the profession aspect much because I am a bard and don't have any experience as a polearmer of another class.

Oh, one last thing...if you want to check out www.kulbaen.com he has a really good bunch of info on the weapons and armor. Pretty sure Amerlise does too. I think Kulbaen may have left the lands but the site was still active last time I checked. You can check out all the DF and AvD there. NOTE: There have been many recent changes and I have no idea if their info had been updated.

IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE A BARD POLEARMER...

Well, first thing you will probably notice about bards is the high cost for us to train in core skills compared to other weapon swingers. Yes we are "semis" but even the rangers seem to have a distinct advantage over us in training costs.

So...with the costs in mind you will need to decide if you are going for pure combat or are you going to try to get some secondary skills too.

Basic training for life (I think) should be 1x ARMOR, 1x CM, 2x POLEARM, 1x DODGE, 1x HARNESS POWER, and 1x SPELL. That's 31/34 before you even start on other things. You will of course want to get PT in early up to your max or close to it. You will need to work in SWIM and CLIMB to get places later on. MOC is a good thing and I strongly recommend you get at least a little bit of it in, unless you choose to go for the double strike at a single creature (like me). MOC has gotten many large changes as of late. I'm still unsure about how effective the new implementation is going to be. I'm still going to give it a go though. PERCEPTION, DISARM, ARCANE SYMBOLS, MIU, FIRST AID, TRADING, etc are all personal choices. All have their uses but these are generally the skills that a bard ends up deciding they can live without due to training costs (or at least not as much as they would like).

AMBUSH and HIDE are also there to consider but remember some things:

- two-handed polearms recieve NO ambush bonus to their attack when ambushing from hiding (the ambush ranks can still help in open aiming though)

 - song renewal (at least at present) automatically brings you out of hiding, so you may get a bit annoyed when you get pulled from hiding unless you care to watch that clock for your renewal time

One of the main advantages of the bard as a hunter is that we can generate a high AS. This is partly due to spells and partly because many bards double in CM as soon as it is feasible for them. This is totally a character choice. If you don't mind sacrificing some secondary skills, it can definitely make a difference. The same can be said for doubling in ARMOR or SHIELD. Our high song hindrance in armor can be a pain but some of the elder bards swear by their heavier armors.

I'm not going to get into stat placement since there are always plenty of people to answer those questions as well as some good sites (like Amerlise's where she has the statchecker or the Lost Ranger's site). These are old sites and the best source right now is probably Tsoran's Trainer Spreadsheet.

Which spell path to take is an important factor too. There are all sorts of choices to make in regards to that. I personally went all the way to 1020 before starting to learn MinE, since I wanted to be able to have a chance of being able to rescue people. (Being a dark elf with a mediocre strength when I started means I can't drag much.) Most people would be better off going to 1011 then over to MinE to at least 406 or vice versa. The reason I recommend going to 1011 is that Song Of Peace can save you if you get in a spot of trouble or it can let you help a fallen or stunned comrade. After that its pretty much your preference.

MinE has some really good spells but we also have Eonak's Song and Song of Mirrors, as well as some new songs in the works. These are just my opinions of course so do a little research and find the path that suits you.

Anyway, that's all I'm going to talk about for now. I think I pretty much covered all the general concerns. Let me know if there is anything else you need and I will try to answer it for you.

Icewhite, RWS inc.