Use of Polearms

Polearms (and any other weapons with long staff-like elements—quarterstaves, lances, spears, etc.) are good weapons to have when you're trying the Pull/Trip maneuver.

You can Pull/Trip someone at the maximum range of your weapon, for instance, with no additional penalty to attack rolls.

You can Pull/Trip moving animals with a polearm; this is at a –6 penalty to attack rolls if the animal is Large (but you can't even try it on a Large animal without a pole of some sort).

And, finally, they are very useful for knocking riders off their mounts. With a mancatcher or polearm (though not with a quarterstaff, lance or spear), you can attack a mounted rider and have a good chance of pulling him from his horse. The Dexterity modifiers listed above also apply to the rider's chance to stay mounted.

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