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Old 11-21-2020, 07:31 PM   #1
phiwum
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Boston area
Default Spears for throwing

How many spears can a man carry on his back? Surely, spear throwers must carry several, right?
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Old 11-21-2020, 07:50 PM   #2
Terquem
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Idaho Falls
Default Re: Spears for throwing

just imagining ease of use and awkwardness of storage I would guess no more than 5 to 8, of the short spear type, but longer spears might be harder to manage in any sort of quiver that you could draw from. If I remember correctly the roman soldier typically only carried 2 or 3 pilums, but they are significantly heavier than a simple leaf tipped spear.
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Old 11-21-2020, 08:57 PM   #3
TippetsTX
 
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Default Re: Spears for throwing

As there are no specific rules for this, we must decide what is reasonable... i would limit it to 3 full size spears (assuming one is being held) or up to 6 javelins.
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Old 11-21-2020, 09:03 PM   #4
phiwum
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Boston area
Default Re: Spears for throwing

I was leaning towards three myself, which seems in line with what Tippets suggests. I'm surprised by how many Terquem suggests.

Terquem, when you refer to "short spears", we're still talking spears and not javelins as the terms are used in TFT?

ETA: According to Wikipedia, a pilum was about two meters, which puts it in the spear category for TFT. The weight is about right for a TFT spear too (though of course we take the official weights with a grain of salt). So, I'm reckoning two to three still seems about right. Five sounds like rather a lot for spears, but okay for javelins.

Last edited by phiwum; 11-21-2020 at 09:06 PM.
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Old 11-21-2020, 10:37 PM   #5
Axly Suregrip
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Durham, NC
Default Re: Spears for throwing

I stick with the rules on ITL pg 65. Everything is carried "in the hands", "on the belt" or "on your back". I do not treat these literally. That is, they are readied, ready for quick access and packed; respectively.

So, "On the Belt" is any weapon that can be readied in one turn in combat. For these two of weight greater than 2.0 lbs is allowed. And upto 4 more of 2.0 lbs or less. For these if they are too large they may be slung across the back but still count as "on the belt" since they were placed to be available. These on across the back would be shield, pole weapons and two handed weapons.

To answer your question, this means I would allow two spears or two javelins to be "on the belt" ready to be drawn. If the players wants, I would allow one more in each hand. Thus one ready to throw and 3 more almost ready.

And if they want more tied to a pack, then I would allow unlimited ones in the pack. These, as per pg 65, would take 4 turns to remove from the pack after 2 turns to remove the pack from your back. Or a friend pulls them from your pack for 4 turns a piece without having to spend turns removing the pack.
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Old 11-22-2020, 03:19 AM   #6
Chris Rice
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: London Uk, but originally from Scotland
Default Re: Spears for throwing

I only allow 1 spear to be carried. But you can carry several javelins.
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Old 11-22-2020, 07:45 AM   #7
phiwum
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Boston area
Default Re: Spears for throwing

Axly's solution is pretty reasonable. Two can be readied in one turn ("on the belt") and one in hand. I'd limit the number tied to the pack to something or other.

Don't know why I didn't think of "on the belt" as abstract. That's an obvious by-the-rules interpretation.
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Old 11-22-2020, 09:09 AM   #8
Terquem
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Idaho Falls
Default Re: Spears for throwing

I actually, due to my T&T experience, sometimes think of short spears that are not javelins. I am reminded of one, I think it was called the assegai which is either a short spear or a javelin depending on who is talking about it. But yes I am talking about a shorter spear which could be both a two hand thrusting weapon of about 5 feet in length or a light throwing weapon, but only in an idea formulation way not in any rule book interpretation way.
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Old 11-22-2020, 02:54 PM   #9
Helborn
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Default Re: Spears for throwing

From my perspective the problem is the bulk.

While walking out onto a coliseum floor with several spears is doable, going on an adventure with 6'+ sticks hanging off your back makes for a tripping experience.
I have limited my players to one Pole Weapon at a time and it had to be in the hand unless they were:
Javelins and those were limited to 1 in the hand and two on the shield or in the other hand, or
Pole Weapons carried on the shoulder in a sheaf.

I would think that Pole Weapons allowed on the backpack would require a roll of 3/DX every Turn to avoid tripping or becoming unbalanced and falling down.


One of the reasons in antiquity for chariots was that you could store multiple Javelins or spears along the sides of the cart.
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Old 11-22-2020, 03:16 PM   #10
Miley Spears
 
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Default Re: Spears for throwing

Quote:
Originally Posted by phiwum View Post
How many spears can a man carry on his back? Surely, spear throwers must carry several, right?
You can only carry one of me. :D
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