Pike

Game Stats

• Range: melee
• Base damage: 1d6 (impaling)
• Secondary: +5 melee avoidance
• Concealable: no
• Civilian Carry: no

Description

The term "pike" can refer to any polearm used exclusively for thrusting and long enough to be wielded comfortably with two hands.  This can describe weapons as short as the height of the user.  When used as a term of art in military circles, "pike" refers more specifically to a long thrusting weapon too heavy to be used except with two hands, primarily because of its length.  It is distinguished in such contexts from the long spear by

Use and Characteristics 

Pikes proper are simple but enormous weapons, with a warhead about 12 to 18 inches long atop a slim hardwood shaft that is usually at least twice the height of the wielder.  Pike lengths vary considerably across the Circle, but in military usage, "pike" most often refers to the weapon of Harkanian pikemen, which is 18 feet long.  The butt end of a pike is usually balanced by a spike-shaped counterweight that places the weapon's balance point a third of the way up the shaft from the butt.  This results in two-thirds of a pike's length extending in front of the pikeman when the weapon is held in a neutral lowered position (this length is referred to as the pike's "projection").

To keep the weight of the weapon down, pike shafts are usually only slightly thicker than an inch in diameter, and often taper.  Nevertheless, the enormous length of the shaft and the correspondingly enormous weight of the butt-spike to balance a warhead at the end of such a long projection makes the pike a truly monstrous weapon.  Very long pikes can weigh upwards of 15 pounds.  The standard Harkanian pike weighs just over 14 pounds, more than twice the weight of even most greatswords.  This makes the pike by far the heaviest hand weapon on the battlefield.  Often a neck sling is used for the forward arm to help manage some of the weight.

Compared to most other weapons there is little art to the use of the pike.  Its enormous length restricts it almost entirely to thrusts.  It is a difficult weapon to use cleverly, both because of its great weight and because even hardwood shafts over 15 feet in length droop visibly, giving the weapon an awkward shape for the close circular attacks a spear is capable of.  The weapon's simplicity is acceptable, however, because its enormous weight means that even the strongest soldiers quickly tire when using it vigorously.

The pike is thus fundamentally a defensive weapon.  It is quite capable of running an enemy through, but its primary value is as a barrier.  True pikes are intended to be used not as dueling weapons (where their enormous reach would be more than offset by fatigue and inflexibility) but in close order formations where many rows of pikes project beyond the front rank of men.  Opponents who attempt to force their way through one rank or seize its warheads are attacked by a flurry of jabbing thrusts from the next, giving the simple row of poles a surprisingly complex and layered defense.  This method of use allows pikemen to concentrate on the relatively simple task of holding their weapons firmly in place, with only brief bouts of thrusting a 14-pound pole back and forth to cause fatigue. 

Advantages

The pike's principal (almost its only) advantage is its reach.  With a projection of 12 feet on many weapons, the pike has easily twice the reach of any other hand weapon.

Disadvantages

The pike's disadvantages are its inability to attack anything closer than the end of its projection and its great weight.  Unlike most other polearms, a pike is too large to use like a staff, and too heavy to do so in any case.  Moreover, the weight of the weapon makes it more fatiguing than most others.

Like the spear, the shaft of a pike is fragile enough that it can be broken in combat.  The slim shaft is necessary to keep the weapon's weight within even halfway manageable levels.  While broken spearheads are often recovered after a battle, most pikemen treat their weapons as expendable.  Despite this fragility, the pike is a surprisingly difficult weapon to break deliberately.  It can be snapped by a strong man's bare hands, but attempts to grab a pike in practice often result in crippling hand wounds as the next row of pikes suddenly thrusts forward.  The pike is difficult to break with a weapon simply because its long, thin shaft and balance point mean that even a strong blow is more likely to push the weapon aside than shear through it.

Variants

Pikes are produced with high-quality steel (referred to as "steel" colloquially) and low-quality steel (referred to as "iron" colloquially) warheads.  Their butt-spikes are most often bronze, as bronze is denser than steel (and thus makes a more compact counterweight) and more resistant to corrosion (and thus can be used to stand the pike upright by thrusting it into the potentially damp ground).  Because of the risk of losing a spearhead in battle, almost none are produced with crystal edges or from Dolotai steel.  Moreover, the true pike is usually a low-status weapon, as it is only effective when used en masse.

Pikes are simple weapons whose form is dictated by the necessities of design more than cultural fashion.  A weapon as long as a pike cannot help being massively heavy, and a weapon so heavy has little room for embellishment or variation.  One variation that has myriad forms is to taper the shaft of the weapon to reduce weight, although if taken too far this also tends to weaken the pike beyond acceptable levels.  Another variation common with pikes issued to soldiers on long campaigns is to break the shaft into two halves, joined before battle by a metal sleeve.  This increases the weight of the weapon even further, but by breaking the weapon down into two spear-length pieces it makes the pike considerably easier to carry on long marches.

Party Associations

None

Back to equipment.