[Low-Tech] Adding Axe Head to Pollaxe

[thedanster7000]

I'm trying to add an Axe Head to a Pollaxe, as per Low-Tech Companion 2 p.13, but am not sure what damage to use. The Axe Head description says to use damage -1 relative to Crushing or +1 relative to Impaling. However, the Pollaxe has both, should I use the higher or lower damage value?

Thanks in advance.

[Balor Patch]

I'd say sw+3 except... it's ridiculous. The pollaxe has a hammer on one side, a spike on the other, and another spike at the tip. Where would you put this extra axe blade?

[Anaraxes]

I usually imagine a pollaxe as an axe head opposite a hammer head or spike, with a spiked tip, rather than a hammer-and-spike(a warhammer)+spike.

I guess you have to put the extra axe head at right angles to the first one. Which of course just means you need another spike/hammer opposite the second axe! Woohoo! Make sure it's the opposite of the first pair, so you can do swing cr, cut, and imp along with your thrust imp.

[DanHoward]

A pollaxe is an axe with a poll on the back. If you want a second axe head, you have to remove the poll, which gives you a double-bitted axe.

I usually imagine a pollaxe as an axe head opposite a hammer head or spike

The hammer IS the spike; they used the term differently back then. On a warhammer, the "hammer" is the sharp spikey part, not the flat bludgeoning part. The flat bludgeoning part is called a "poll". Another term for warhammer is "pollhammer".

If it doesn't have a poll, it can't be called a pollaxe. Many people confuse pollaxes with halberds.

[Polydamas]

Low Tech page 60 "A dueling polearm with an axe or hammer head ... The weapon on the table has a hammer head; if equipped with an axe head instead, it’s identical to the DUELING HALBERD (p. 68)."