Favourite Weapons

Speed? Light on your feet?
The one thing you need above all else when using a shield + spear combo is speed to jab in and jab out, providing you know how to use your weapons. The right footing means all in a 1v1 fight.

>wielding the spear overhand

I know a couple autists who would have a field day with that shit.

When you thrust, you roll the spear onto the back of your hand like a snooker/pool cue. It helps keep the trajectory of throwing/lunging while not bending your arm into awkward positions.
Thrust to hard underhand and you'll snap your tendons also.

The ultimate (civilian) combination, bar firearms.

Sword + Torch. I like the idea of using the torch to scare away or light some enemies on fire, but obviously it only really fits for adventurers going through tombs instead of in open warfare.

Also; sword + staff for magic users.

Why? Both ways are acceptable. Plus with the spear overhand you can throw it at your opponent if they let their guard down.

God I love dungeon-crawling, this post only reminds me.

Always fists/feet.

Nothing else. Weapons are gay.

"All the world will be your enemy, Prince With A Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first, they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people will never be destroyed."

Cestus/Bare Knuckles
Shovel
Ball 'n' Chain

Torches are great too, so is everyone having a sword.

top3
>halberd
>Oakeshott Type XIV and a small flat round shield
>the ahistorical kanabo pictured or just a big tree like club

There's something satisfying about beating a motherfucker to death with a chain, even when you have other options. I suppose I just played too much Castlevania as a kid.

I've always liked sabers as weapons. They're just the right kind of elegant weapon without dipping into katana faggotry. Wish I could say the same about googling sabers, though.

>googling sabers
Don't do that.

Remember, kids: When googling sabers, always remember to turn on your SafeSearch!

Pollaxe.
But I am a big bitch for pole weapons in general.

Wait what

This combo was probably as much of a gimmicky meme 2000 years ago as it is now but damn if it isn't cool.

Rapier and wheellock pistol.

why don't you give it a shot, bro

go without a condom on the google image search

it's not like it's bluewaffle or lemonparty

There is several but I got a soft spot for the bec de corbin.
Technically everyone's soft inside that armor.

this user gets it. I personally like a rapier, some daggers and a pistol

Gauntlet sword, particularly the Pata. I know the weapon is probably more limited than most swords due to the way its held, but since I saw the weapon in Age of Empires III I've always found it cool-looking as fuck.

Alternatively, here.

I love bardiches

I am You are a gentleman and a scholar

While I agree with OP that spear and shield is based, I also have to say that using a two-handed hammer is great shit.

Net and Trident is indeed very cool.

I need to try that if I ever get into another D&D game.

>t. Someone who doesn't know what a phalanx is.

How do you propose to use underhanded grip while forming a dense shield wall with your fellow soldiers?

The spear is the greatest weapon.

Cheap, simple, effective.
The king of weapons, beats any other option in unarmored fighting through reach and speed.
Equally good with a shield or used in two hands.
At home in any setting from the Stone Age to the gunpowder era.
Works aesthetically with any character from a kung fu master to a Celtic warrior.

The pike. I know the German dude lost this scene but it still looked pretty fucking sick.

Weaklings are seriously impaired if forced to use a two-handed hammer.

separating by campaign:
Epee & spiked shield

Syringe on a stick

Steel war fan

A briefcase that is also a gun

While I do think the spear is great, in 1v1 unarmored combat, all it takes is for someone with a shortsword to deflect/dodge a thrust and get within your effective range. Then you get shanked to death, especially if you don't have a shield.

Arcane focus, normally a staff or a ring.

...

>in 1v1 unarmored combat, all it takes is for someone with a shortsword to deflect/dodge a thrust and get within your effective range.
Or they could just stab you in the leg. Having a short weapon and no shield is the worst place to be against a spear because a spear in two hands can switch high to low really quickly, so you can't effectively defend.

I see games stat differenlty war hammers and war picks, but is completely artificial, am I right? Or there is some basis?

You can adjust your grip on the spear to get a shorter range as well, like with halfswording.

Someone can still get you the moment they get past your guard, but that's no different than any other weapon.

Depends on which end you're using? I mean, there's some difference in emphasis (and sharpness) between something like that and something like this, but they do blend into each other at some point (but then so do knives and swords, and there is certainly a sizable difference between a dirk and zweihander). RPGs commonly portray war hammers as unusably massive, Mjolnir-inspired things with two hammer-heads. And picks are only slightly less likely to be portrayed with two long spikes (or like a mining pickax).

Type XIV is very nice, but I'm partial to the XIII.

Not gonna lie, I had a blast playing a Dual-shield wielding Lizardfolk

Can't be said it was the most practical though.

Powerfist + pistol

Wow, the first objectively wrong answer.

You need two power fists.

Flail + shield. God, I fucking love flails.

Bonus points for using the chain to choke/break someone's neck.

...

Pillium, javelins and other throwing spears. Otherwise the khopesh

My nigga

See a lot of old paintings of heroes fighting monsters using a shield and spear. I like it, has that classical heroic theme going on and it's practical. Why the hell should I get so close to the dragon when I can poke it from a safe distance from behind my large shield?

Exactly. Use a spear with two hands as normal from a safe distance, and once the enemy gets too close then take one hand off the spear and onto the shield.

Always been a fan of maces, clubs, flails and such. But the kanabō has to take the cake for me. It's the coolest.

a lot of asymmetrical dual wielding appeals to me

arming sword + buckler
saber + pistol
etc

I really like the idea of sword and gauntlet but there isn't a lot of information about it (though there are a few references) and representing gauntlets in rules is very rare.

>all it takes is for someone with a shortsword to deflect/dodge a thrust and get within your effective range
Which is waaay easier said than done.

You're going to easily dodge or deflect a thrust from a guy with a two handed weapon with a fuckton more leverage than you and can retract and re-thrust faster than a rapier.

Flails are cool and were a historical weapon, unlike what pseudo-history nerds think.

Spear and shield is not actually that great 1v1 because you lose most of the speed and ability to quickly change reach that way.

A spear when used in two-hands is at least three weapons in one. It could work in long, medium and even close range.

It also looks cool in fantasy if used right.

youtu.be/EdkW7nHD5wU?t=54

Go to bed Marneus

V E R S A T I L E

remember, if the haft is strong enough, you can just swing the spear and use it as a bludgeoning weapon.

Gigantic maces.

Sir.

Sir, that's a tree.

Yes. Yes it is.

>scifi game
Any kind of futuristic melee weapon. Specifically if its just a knife with some extra bullshit to it.

>modern
Revolvers. Fuck i love the look of those guns

>fantasy
A broken sword. Maybe a bastard sword, maybe just a long sword, but it broke and theres only a foot or two left of blade. And for whatever reason i still use it as a weapon.

>This is Narsil, the sword of Elendil used by Isildur to cut the One Ring from the finger of Sauron. It is the Sword That Was Broken That Will Be Reforged when it, according to prophecy, kills Sauron once and for all.

>why's it all bloody then?

>well I'm walkin round the shit parts of Middle Earth with just a broken sword, might as well get SOME use out of it.

Fisticuffs

If you use a weapon, you are automatically a coward

GURPS here, this combination is devastating to the point of being cheesy. You are a scholar.

How? I thought spears sucked due thrust/impaling damage not being that good.

Shield and spear is average in GURPS just like it is in real life. You do not get the full reach of the weapon because you have to hold it further along the shaft.

With a spear held two handed you get more reach and can do fancy things. You might as well throw the spear Viking style and draw a sword if you are carrying a shield and are not fighting in formation.

Roughly depending on tech level:

Spear and shield, preferable round, centergrip one.

Sword without a shield. Oakeshott XIIIa or XVIa, preferably. Unlike the spear and shield, it's a sidearm, so it can be brought into more situations too.

Sabre and pistol if the setting allows it.

Though it's not really practical personal weapon, I'm partial to grenade launchers.

As for eastern weapons, I just love jians.

Polearms are cool too.

>Mjölnir
>Massive
Pick one and only one.

>Flamberge
>Schiavone basket hilt sword
>Lucerne

Compared to real warhammers? Definitely.
Compared to typical fantasy "hammer"? Yeah, no.

This.

Bardiches are metal as fuck, especially when used as gun-rests by Muscovite musketeers.

There are so many combat maneuvers you can get with a polearm it is ridiculous.
Impaling damage is the most powerful damage in the game (the other would be explosions, but come on), with a bonus chance of hitting a vital area, increasing the damage even further.
It has enough reach to be used from behind another person, or cover with very little adjustment, because it is a pole used mostly to thrust.
If you drop the shield you can use with two hands, further increasing its reach, opening up for more maneuvers.
It is a throwing weapon by default (with a solid range), and the shaft can be used as a quarterstaff.
If broken, you could end up with a cheap mace (that can be used as a mace or shortsword) or an improvised dagger.
With enough ST you go for the limbs, rendering them useless with most hits, because its an impaling weapon. With enough skill, you can go for neck/head for an instant kill or a major injury. In either case, the combat is very fast, and brutal, which is delicious.
Spear is an average skill, making the point-cost relatively cheap; a spear is one of the cheapest weapons of the game, and requires a minimum ST to use so low, that a child can use one effectively.
Then you have a shield, a cheap and effective; a shield is also a weapon.
Effectively you have two weapons, one can block, the other can parry, so you can use all your active defenses in combat; you have reach, cover, and throwing potential, you can either bludgeon or impale, and cause enough havoc to body and limb from behind somebody else.
You can make an effective character using spear and shield with less than 100 points, and he will kill most PCs/NPCs. It is cheese, it is so fucking cheese.

Loki specifically sabotaged Mjölnirs forging which resulted in it coming out too short, this was done for the purpose of fucking with Þór. All of the old depictions showed it as a short thing.

Improvised weapons have always been my favorite. Whiskey flame breath or death by teacup are cool as hell. Not to mention bludgeoning someone to a pulp with the blunt end of a sword.

>Impaling damage is the most powerful damage
I'm not sure I agree, Imp is mostly good for targeting the vitals but since it uses torso DR, it will be the most armored place. A swing/cutting or swing/crushing damage to the limbs is better imo; and if your skill is very high, just go for the skull.
>It has enough reach to be used from behind another person, or cover with very little adjustment, because it is a pole used mostly to thrust.
Spear one handed has reach 1, two handed reach 2 AND you have to waste a ready maneuver to change between reaches. It's the same as the bastard sword, except a bastard sword doesn't need to spend a ready maneuver to change reach. If you get a long spear, it's range 2,3 only so you can't strike people close to you... a bad deal imo.
>If you drop the shield you can use with two hands, further increasing its reach, opening up for more maneuvers.
The same can be said for swords, as they can be used two-handed as well.
>It is a throwing weapon by default (with a solid range), and the shaft can be used as a quarterstaff.
It's a good tactic to initate combat by throwing a spear and drawing your sword, yes.
>If broken, you could end up with a cheap mace (that can be used as a mace or shortsword) or an improvised dagger.
Might as well get a metal sword or mace, you're not going to hurt anyone with a broken spear.
>With enough ST you go for the limbs, rendering them useless with most hits, because its an impaling weapon. With enough skill, you can go for neck/head for an instant kill or a major injury. In either case, the combat is very fast, and brutal, which is delicious.
Nothing you said here applies specifically to spears, in fact impaling damage is worse than cutting for limbs.

1/2

>Spear is an average skill, making the point-cost relatively cheap; a spear is one of the cheapest weapons of the game, and requires a minimum ST to use so low, that a child can use one effectively.
Broadsword is also average, although spears are very cheap and good for militia, that's true.
>Then you have a shield, a cheap and effective; a shield is also a weapon.
Yes, but doesn't apply to spears only.

You might as well just get javelins to throw and then switch to a bastard sword. A bastard sword has BOTH swing and thrust, so you can go for the vitals if the torso isn't well armored or go for the limbs if it is.

2/2

Good luck deflecting a big ass lever held with two hand with your tiny lever held with one.

Kilij
Montante / Flamberge / Zweihander / greatswords in general
Sabers in general
Poleaxe

Mjolnir is supposed to be a metaphor for Thor's dick. It's a dick joke.

The majority of Norse mythology that we know today is from an old text that was supposed to be written from Loki's perspective, and he cuts no one any fucking slack.

I said it was cheese. The spear is not the best of the weapons, but it is economicaly viable to anyone. A feeble character with a spear is technically good enough to kill or badly injury most opponents.
Your example of broadsword is correct. The bastard sword is a ridiculously overpowered weapon, but it is too expensive compared with a spear (it costs $650, while a spear costs $40).

I think we have different definitions of cheese, then. I'd qualify a spear as a very cost-effective weapon, but not cheesy.

Not a physicist, and I'm not going to pretend to be one. I'm just a LARPer that kind of hangs around this board because it's relevant to my interests.

Simple fact of the matter is that a shortsword in the hands of an experienced user can and will protect the wielder from the likes of a zweihander. You have to absolutely fly in the face of your animal instincts to run away from a big thing flying at you, jumping into the fray and putting your hands in mortal peril. You have to risk your goddamned life because your brain knows that it'll save your bacon. You have to step forward when your every nerve is screaming "RUN AWAY, HOLY FUCK."

But if you don't panic, like you goddamned well should in that situation, you can step forward and brace your arm against a zweihander's downward chop, deflecting the blow, and hit him with whatever's in your other hand.

Though for some bizarre reason GURPS makes the bastard sword unbalanced when used one handed. And the longsword in low tech sucks.

I guess they did not want to make it "overpowered" to have a sword that is basically as nimble as an arming sword one handed but which can also be used in two for greater effect.

Yeah, it's why I usually try to stay away from swords altogether. I'm more fond of flails and maces, even though crushing damage isn't that good in GURPS, which is a shame.

Well all it takes is a quick chat with the GM. They messed up the falchion too, it should be the same weight as a normal sword, balanced and the same price or cheaper. The book makes it a horribly overpriced axe.

Also you can always take the cheap option and have things adjusted to setting. In the 14-15th century basic swords cost a day or two's wages for a common soldier.

Well I'd say Martial Arts firmly puts spears and swords at the same level of badassary. Due to there being perks that allow to effectively switch the grips and skills used with the spears. This removes the problems with attacking people in close combat

Spear/Staff combination is really good. Though Sword/Staff could also work for two-handed swords.

I'll have to take a look at Martial Arts, then. I heard both good things and bad things about it.

Ow

Ignoring the Mjolnirfag that answered you, thank you.
In fact my doubt lies in exactly this - the Mjolnir-like hammers did not exist IRL as weapons, right?
Unless one takes into account a maul used as a backup by a charged archer, or something like that...