[Skarg]

Originally Posted by xane

1) it makes sense to me that the polearm needs to be "set" to defend against a charge attack to gain the advantages, therefore if an attacker does not actually attack they will instead carefully maneuver beyond the reach of the "set" polearm, which can be done if they do not need to close in order to strike with their own weapon, and so they will not be skewered.

I don't see the logic of that at all.

I don't get what you mean by "set"?

I don't see how the defender needing to do something "therefore" means that an attacker doing something different means the defender would not get their own weapon's advantages?

I don't get how you see the "attack" option having anything to do with a different in "maneuver" that is not any difference on the map?

I don't have a mental image for what "instead carefully maneuver beyond the reach of the "set" polearm" means, and I don't see how that can be the case if they are moving into an adjacent hex well within the reach of a non-pole weapon, and certainly withing the reach of a polearm.

Similarly "they do not need to close in order to strike with their own weapon, and so they will not be skewered" doesn't make sense to me if they are moving into an adjacent hex to the polearm.

Originally Posted by xane

4) it was explained in the other thread about this, the Defend and Dodge options already require a figure to declare their action before their "turn to act" in the adjDX order, so this is no different.

As discussed in various threads about Defend and Dodge, I and many others do NOT require Defend or Dodge to be declared before their turn to act comes unless and until they actually dodge or defend against an actual attack. As used to be abundantly clear before Legacy Edition trimmed the more detailed rule about Changing Options, Defend and Dodge can be switched to in reaction to changing circumstances (e.g. attacks) with the only limit being the amount of movement used, and the amount needed for both those options being 1/2 MA.

Even if you denied that for Defend and Dodge for some reason, it would still apply to the Pole Weapons question for all other maneuvers if you think the polearm defense bonuses requires an Attack option by the target, which I do not think is the case anyway.

In any case, the point is that what happens in play is figures move, then the pole weapon phase comes up, and pretty much no one ever has to say "I am planning to attack in my action phase" and therefore be eligible to be attacked with defensive polearm bonuses. Nor is there any mention of polearm targets declaring "I'm trading my right to chose an attack option on my turn for immunity to defensive polearm bonuses". People can add something like that as a house rule, but if it were intended by the printed rules, it'd want to be explained, and it's never mentioned except in these recent threads.

Originally Posted by xane

5) moving up to a polearm user and not attacking still gives the polearm user a minor advantage, they will have a "first attack" without retaliation.

No, in the printed rules, the advantage of extra damage is never separated from the advantage of attacking first, and in defenses it also always comes with the +2 DX.

Originally Posted by xane

I am absolutely in agreement that this could have been made clearer, but a charge attack is defined specifically on ITL p11 as "... and strike at your foe" and again under the polearm rules ITL p111 as "defined as an attack". There is just no getting away that the polearm rules were most certainly intended as an advantage against an attacking foe and not one that just moved up, because to attack means the attacker has to move within reach, and to not attack means to stay beyond reach.

Yes, there is a way around that, as I've explained in great detail several times above, and given all sorts of arguments and even quotes from the Interplay article discussing the subject, in which it was even more clear than in the rules that the condition for pole weapon bonuses is all about moving from non-adjacent to adjacent, and has nothing to do with options (except in original basic Melee).

Beyond reach of a polearm is 3 hexes away. Beyond reach of a charge situation is 2 hexes away. 1 hex away, close enough to attack with a shorter weapon (regardless of whether you promise to do so or not) is not out of reach of a pole weapon.

Originally Posted by xane

There is no need to refuse this argument as long as you accept that (a) just moving up to your a figure without attacking them means something different to actually getting within your own weapon range and striking, and (b) that declaring an action is legitimately done either on your turn or when you are forced to by a higher adjDX figure acting before (as with Defend and Dodge), otherwise you just end up addressing those issues instead.

I don't accept a) because 1 hex away is close enough to attack even with bare hands.

I don't accept b) because figures don't declare their actions in the pole weapons phase unless they are attacking with a pole weapon.