Fria Ligans 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?

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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.