Forum

Is it possible to open combat with more than one Volley. How would this work with a Spear?

- Does the player need to recover the Spear?
- A second volley could be allowed because of distance. Can a Spear be thrown that far? Is the Spear therefore only used in the last, closest, volley?
- After using the Spear for a ranged attack or volley; does a player need to spend a main action to recover his weapon?

Unfortunately, while archers never have to count their ammunition for their bows, a spear can be thrown only once, and the load limits of carrying several for as rarely as you will use them make it seem unreasonable to carry the second. It is generally assumed you can pick up the one you threw after the fight ends, though; I suppose you could recover it as a secondary action during the fight, but you would usually have switched to your melee weapon by then. There's no rule saying you can't throw it in the first volley, though both narrative logic and tactics suggest you might want to wait for the second if there will be two.

I have seen this question asked a few times on different forums: and the "you can only have one throwing spear" description suits most people. However, I did see one response where the spearman involved had a set of throwing javelins (about three or four) in a quiver. There was a nice picture of such a piece of kit too.

https://rpggeek.com/thread/2210596/rega ... ng-volleys scroll down to the end of this page on the RPG geek forum for 1st edition which has the image.

While I would permit a player to throw several javelin-spears from such a quiver if they were shooting in successive Rounds of Combat, I feel that there would not be time to throw javelins more than once in the Opening Volley segment. That sort of thing narrates better with bow - equipped missile troops for me.
(I also would always permit the possibility of a wider debate in a very specific narrative however.)

Distance isn't the only reason why you might be able to have more than one volley. Your party might have a superior position that is difficult to approach (fortification; the high ground; etc.). And, yes, I remember researching the javelin quiver!

I suppose you could recover it as a secondary action during the fight, but you would usually have switched to your melee weapon by then.

The rules mention ‘recovering your weapon… that was previously dropped’ as a main action.

One of the players has Spear as their main proficiency. So I fully expect the question to arise sooner rather than later; is picking up a main or secondary action?

I suppose you could recover it as a secondary action during the fight, but you would usually have switched to your melee weapon by then.

The rules mention ‘recovering your weapon… that was previously dropped’ as a main action.

One of the players has Spear as their main proficiency. So I fully expect the question to arise sooner rather than later; is picking up a main or secondary action?

Main.
It says picking up a dropped weapon is a main action - secondary is dropping one or drawing one. It could be easily argued that it's actually two main actions - one to move across the battlefield to its location, then another to actually pick it up.

It says picking up a dropped weapon is a main action - secondary is dropping one or drawing one. It could be easily argued that it's actually two main actions - one to move across the battlefield to its location, then another to actually pick it up.

Yes, there is a big difference between recovering a spear that has been dropped in melee combat and recovering a spear that has been thrown any distance.

Final thought:

Might be a nice twist to have the enemy throw it back? An enemy with a spear proficiency could use that. (If they are not profiecient just roll a single feat die…)

Final thought:

Might be a nice twist to have the enemy throw it back? An enemy with a spear proficiency could use that. (If they are not profiecient just roll a single feat die…)

True! But not ideal. There is the very real possibility of you or a companion being struck by your own spear. Also, the opponent could use the spear for a melee attack and not throw it at all.

Thx for all the ideas and feedback.