DnD's Spiked Chain

[Old Man]

It's funny, because on my browser, when I do that only my posts get stretched--everyone else's fit just fine.

[keithcurtis]

What browser?

Keith "Safari" Curtis

[Trencher]

It's funny, because on my browser, when I do that only my posts get stretched--everyone else's fit just fine.

Mine to, I was wondering why Old Mans posts were so long.

I just figured it was because he had gotten more longwinded with age.

[Michael Hopcroft]

You should try figthing a half-Ogre with a spiked chain and a package of Feats designed to take full advantage of it.

I wonder how -- and if you would want to -- you would simulate this effect ion HERO.

[Killer Shrike]

Something built on Continuous AoE Radius, 0 Range, Selective, Gestures Throughout would be a pretty close approximation.

[Old Man]

Mine to, I was wondering why Old Mans posts were so long. I just figured it was because he had gotten more longwinded with age.

Silly man, age has nothing to do with it. I have always been this longwinded!

Browser is Safari, of course.

[dbcowboy]

You should try figthing a half-Ogre with a spiked chain and a package of Feats designed to take full advantage of it.

I love that comic.

Returning to lurk-mode......NOW

[bblackmoor]

Flails, in my opinion, have more momentum behind them than swords of equivalent usage. That spiked-chain / kusari is even more so.

A flail has a handle (typically a long handle), which acts as a lever. This increases the kinetic energy of the object on the end of the chain (the atlatl operates on the same principle). The D&D style "spiked chain" weapon does not have this.

[bblackmoor]

Well, it's nice to see that AD&D still has basic game balance issues after thirty years.

To be fair, the "attack of opportunity" mechanic is nowhere near that old. Most of AD&D's flaws were eliminated with D&D 3.0/3.5. The addition of "attacks of opportunity" was an interesting attempt to resolve the problem of people brazenly walking past each other in combat.

It's not how I would handle it (I would prefer something along the line of allowing an "abort", as Arcady suggested), and I'm not sure the problem it was created to address was really that much of a problem, but it's not intrinsically unplayable. My main complaint is that it's too complex: many, many people do not understand how "attackss of opportunity" are actually supposed to work (that cartoon with the half-ogre being a particularly good example -- although I agree it's amusing).

[Old Man]

Maybe they should use the Free Attacks rules from IK? If you move into HtH range of an oponent and are in their attack arc, then move out of said range then they get a Free Attack on you.

[arcady]

It's not how I would handle it (I would prefer something along the line of allowing an "abort", as Arcady suggested), and I'm not sure the problem it was created to address was really that much of a problem, but it's not intrinsically unplayable. My main complaint is that it's too complex:

Yeah, the Spiked Chain is the only weapon in DnD3.5 that is routinely problematic when mixed with the Attack Of Opportunity rules. Most other weapons and situations for the mechanic work out well enough, although it is more complex than most DnD rules tend to be.

Given the nature of DnD, that's not all that bad of a track record. DnD's biggest flaw is that there are unique mechanics for so many things, and in that sort of situation you are bound to have issues pop up as the different elements come into interaction with each other.

That said, the spiked chain is an obvious interaction that should have been foreseen and addressed. And again, that noted, many DnD fans think it has been addressed by the simple requirement of needing a feat to be able to use the weapon. However the loss of one feat is not that major comparred to how much you gain, in my opinion.

That said, I don't do anything when I run DnD to address it. Part of the appeal of DnD is exploiting the flaws... Sit around a DnD table and the 'fanboys' will rant and rave about 'special combos' they have unlocked, mush as you might do when sitting around a 'Magic: the Gathering' table...

Spiked Chain is just the 'freebie combo' for the newbies. It's so obviously there, and it sort of 'wets the appetite' to novices to let them know that if they really 'get into it' with their DnD geekdom, they will unlock even more easter eggs that might prove even better than the Spiked Chain.

So if you agree with that logic, you might come away thinking Spiked Chain is unbalanced on purpose - to draw you in to what DnD 3e's authors like to call 'mastery of the game'...

[Captain Obvious]

You're probably right, but