Old Weapons
We need to clarify some details about weapons which appeared in the Player's Handbook.
One-Hand, Two-Hand
Weapons, for purposes of how they're held and wielded, fall into four
categories: one-handed only, one-handed but can be wielded two-handed, one-handed or
two-handed, or two-handed only.
One-Handed Only means the weapon can only be wielded one-handed, in one hand or the other.
One-Handed But Can Be Wielded Two-Handed refers to a weapon principally designed for one-handed use but which can be
used two-handed. These weapons have enough haft or hilt on them that the wielder
can wield the weapon in both hands, which confers no benefit . . . unless the
character has taken a Style Specialization in Two-Hander Fighting Style (see
the description of Two-Hander technique in the Combat chapter).
One-Handed Or Two-Handed weapons are designed specifically to be used with one or both hands, and have
separate damage listings for the two different fighting styles.
Two-Handed Only weapons can only be wielded in two hands.
Examples
Each of the weapons from the Player's Handbook falls into one of those four categories, as follows:
One-Handed Only
Dagger/dirk, Dart, Footman's mace, Hand/throwing axe, Knife, Lances (all),
Scourge, Sickle, Sword/Khopesh, Sword/Scimitar, Sword/Short, Whip.
One-Handed But Can Be Wielded Two-Handed
Battle axe, Club, Footman's flail, Footman's pick, Horseman's flail,
Horseman's mace, Horseman's pick, Morning star, Sword/Long, and Warhammer.
One-Handed Or Two-Handed
Harpoon, Javelin, Spear, Sword/Bastard, Trident.
Two-Handed Only
Arquebus, Blowgun, Bows (all), Crossbows (all), Mancatcher, Polearms (all),
Quarterstaff, Sling (one hand to load, one hand to throw), Staff sling,
Sword/Two-handed.
More On One-Handed or Two-Handed
As you can see, five weapons fall into the One-Handed Or Two-Handed category:
The Bastard Sword, and four spear-like weapons (Harpoon, Javelin, Spear,
Trident).
In the Player's Handbook, it's presumed that you're fighting with Spear one-handed, and with Harpoon,
Javelin, and Trident two-handed. (This is because Spear is a Medium weapon and
the others are Large.) However, in The Complete Fighter's Handbook, any of these weapons can be used either in one hand or in both.
But they can also be wielded two-handed, and do even more damage when they
are. The table shows both the one-handed and two-handed damage for each of the
four weapons.
Also, to this list we're adding the Long Spear. This is like the ordinary
spear, but mounted on a much longer (12'–18') shaft. It's not especially suited to
one-handed use, but inflicts a lot of damage when used two-handed.
The Harpoon, Javelin, Spear, and Trident can all be thrown, but the thrown
weapon damage is always the one-handed damage, never the two-handed damage. The
Long Spear is not built for throwing.
These five spear-like weapons are as fast and maneuverable when used
two-handed; therefore, unlike the Bastard Sword, their speed factor does not worsen when
they are used two-handed.
Item
| Cost
| (lbs.)
| Size
| Type†
| Factor
| S-M
| L
|
Harpoon%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
One-handed
| 20 gp
| 6
| L
| P
| 7
| 1d4+1
| 1d6+1
|
Two-handed
| 20 gp
| 6
| L
| P
| 7
| 2d4
| 2d6
|
Javelin%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
One-handed
| 5 sp
| 2
| M
| P
| 4
| 1d4
| 1d4
|
Two-handed#
| 5 sp
| 2
| M
| P
| 4
| 1d6
| 1d6
|
Spear%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
One-handed
| 8 sp
| 5
| M
| P
| 6
| 1d6
| 1d8
|
Two-handed#
| 8 sp
| 5
| M
| P
| 6
| 1d8+1
| 2d6
|
Spear, Long%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
One-handed
| 5 gp
| 8
| L
| P
| 8
| 1d8
| 1d8+1
|
Two-handed#
| 5 gp
| 8
| L
| P
| 8
| 2d6
| 3d6
|
Trident%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
One-handed
| 15 gp
| 5
| L
| P
| 7
| 1d6+1
| 3d4
|
Two-handed
| 15 gp
| 5
| L
| P
| 7
| 1d8+1
| 3d4
|
% This weapon is intended for one-handed or two-handed use.
# This weapon inflicts double damage when firmly set to receive a charge.
Table of Contents