Hand and a Haft
Hello everyone and welcome to Extraordinary Feats, where we provide you with an ever-growing selection of feats, week after week, which are well, extraordinary. This week I want to talk about weapons which never seem to see much use: pole arms. I know pole arms aren’t the most romantic of weapons, but they do win wars—more wars than swords ever did—so it only seems fitting that they see at least some amount of gameplay. As a result, today’s article will be all about promoting the fantastic art of pole arm fighting. So grab your becs-de-corbin and guisarmes, dust off your trusty halberd, and let’s get started.
Cavalry Killer
Many a pole arm has saved the life of a soldier when the cavalry came crashing down against him, and you have mastered the art of stopping charging knights in their tracks.
Prerequisite: Improved Brace.
Benefit: Whenever you successfully deal damage to a charging creature after setting a brace weapon against a charge, that damage cannot be prevented with a Ride check (as with the Mounted Combat feat) unless the character using the feat has at least 4 more ranks in the Ride skill than your base attack bonus.
Improved Brace
Nothing stops an enemy charge quite like a braced pole arm, and experience has taught you how to position yours for the most damage.
Prerequisite: Base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: Whenever you set a brace weapon against a charge, you deal triple damage on a successful hit against a charging character.
Normal: If you set a brace weapon against a charge, you deal double damage on a successful hit against a charging character.
Mighty Charge
It is a well-established fact that charging cavalry armed with lances can be devastating to their foes; it is perhaps a better-kept secret that a footman armed with a spear can be equally devastating.
Prerequisite: Base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: Whenever you make a charge attack with a two-handed weapon that deals piercing damage, you deal twice the normal damage against the target on a successful hit.
Pike Defense
In practical warfare, pole arm fighters often have nothing to rely on for defense other than the armor on their back and the pike in their hand; you have learned to use the latter to your advantage.
Prerequisite: Base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: You gain a +2 shield bonus to AC whenever you wield a weapon with the brace or reach special qualities.
Step Back
You know how to make the most out of your weapon’s long reach to keep your foes at bay.
Prerequisite: Base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: Whenever a character leaves your threat range and moves at least 5 feet closer to you, you may move 5 feet directly opposite and away from that character as an immediate action. This movement never provokes attacks of opportunity. You may not move in this way more than once in any given round.
Whirling Pole Arm
You know how to use the entire pole arm as a weapon, striking with both the weapon’s edge and its pole to accomplish your ends.
Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +1, Two-Weapon Fighting.
Benefit: You may use any two-handed weapon with a wooden or metal haft as a double weapon, using the weapon’s normal attack for the bladed end, and making a second attack with the butt of the weapon, which deals 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage and has a critical multiplier of x2. If you choose to use this ability, you incur all the normal attack penalties associated with fighting with two weapons, just as if you were using a one-handed weapon and a light weapon. Weapons with reach retain that quality, though in this case you incur penalties for fighting with two weapons as though you were using two one-handed weapons, instead.