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Master at Arms: Spear Sentinel
Master at Arms
• Spear Sentinel •
Written and Created by
Aeryn “Blackdirge” Rudel
Editing/Proofreading
John Ball
Playtesting
Andy Paras, Dwight Hulse, John Ball, Monsterbait, Salanis
Illustrations
Jesse Mohn
Graphic Design & Layout
Erik Nowak
Reference to other copyrighted material in no way constitutes a challenge to the respective copyright holders of that material.
Blackdirge Publishing, and the Blackdirge Publishing logo are trademarks of Aeryn Rudel. All rights reserved.
Dungeons & Dragons and Wizards of the Coast are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
in the United States and other countries and are used with permission.
‘d20 System’ and the d20 System logo are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
in the United States and other countries and are used with permission.
The following is designated as Open Game Content: all rules and stat blocks (but not the proper names of characters
and places or their backgrounds). To be clear, the
Master at Arms
property is CLOSED. None of the character names,
backgrounds, place names, stories, or any other part of the
Master at Arms
product is open content.
Published by Blackdirge Publishing, ©2007
publishing
n
Master at Arms
• Spear Sentinel •
Ranseur
than the “sexier” swords and axes that feature so prominently
in fantasy literature today.
So let’s take a closer look at the ranseur. It’s a reach weapon,
does respectable damage, and what’s better, it allows you to use
the disarm action with a +2 bonus on the attempt. That’s a pretty
good package for a martial weapon.
One other thing players might overlook about the ranseur is
the fact that you don’t need the Improved Disarm feat to disarm
effectively. Because the ranseur has reach, you don’t provoke
an attack of opportunity with a disarm attempt against Medium-
sized foes – they can’t reach you to make one! Of course, like
all reach weapons, the ranseur can be problematic in certain
situations, like tight dungeons and thick forests.
The abilities of the spear sentinel prestige class are drawn
from the ranseur’s historical use, as well as its features as a
d20 weapon. Over the shoulder is a nod to the formation tactics
utilized by medieval armies, where a polearm wielder would
often fight over and around his fellows within pike hedges and
phalanxes. Ranseur rush and push back can be traced back to
accounts of ranseur wielders using the projecting prongs of their
weapons to hold back and even pin down an enemy. Finally,
weapon breaker and cleaving disarm simply expand upon and
diversify the ranseur’s ability to disarm a foe.
The general flavor of the prestige class – its “guard” theme –
I took from the ranseur’s use as a ceremonial weapon, especially
among royal guards at court through the 17th century.
Although one of the class requirements for the spear sentinel
is membership in a new guild, it can easily be discarded. DMs
who do not wish to incorporate the Spearwatch Guild into their
campaign can utilize the spear sentinel without any changes.
Spear Sentinel
Historical Perspective
The ranseur (sometimes called a runka or rawcon) is a
type of polearm featuring a spear-point with a cross hilt affixed
to its base. Often this cross hilt is crescent-shaped, giving the
ranseur an appearance similar to a trident. The ranseur typically
measures between six and eight feet in length, with a weight at
or around eight pounds. The ranseur likely evolved from other,
similar pole weapons, such as the partisan and spetum.
Unlike the spetum and partisan, the projecting hilts of the
ranseur are not sharpened. They are used to hold an opponent
at bay or entangle his weapon rather than inflict further damage
upon him. A skilled ranseur wielder can disarm a foe by
catching his weapon between the central spear-point and one
of the projecting cross hilts, applying pressure via a twist of the
ranseur’s shaft. Fragile weapons, such a sword blades, can even
be broken in this manner. The ranseur can also be used to pull
mounted opponents from the saddle by hooking a rider’s armor
or clothing with the projecting prongs of the weapon.
The ranseur was popular throughout European battlefields
in the 15th century and was used in much the same way as
other pole weapons, such as the halberd, spetum, glaive, and
pike. Phalanxes were the most common formation for polearm
wielders, and ranseur users were no exception to this. The long
reach of the ranseur, and the tightly packed formations in which
it was used, gave its wielders a powerful defense against cavalry
and even heavy infantry.
Like most polearms, the ranseur disappeared from
the battlefield toward the end of the sixteenth century. The
prominence and improved reliability of firearms made such
weapons obsolete, and they were quickly abandoned. The
ranseur, however, was retained as a ceremonial weapon, and
could be seen at court up through the seventeenth century.
Class Overview
When nobles, politicians, and other persons of significant
social stature require expert protection, they will invariably seek
out a member of the Spearwatch Guild. The guild’s reputation
for supplying professional and highly effective bodyguards is
renowned. Each member of the Spearwatch Guild, called a
spear sentinel, is an expertly trained warrior skilled in the use
of the ranseur. This weapon, although archaic, provides each
spear sentinel with a wide array of options when dealing with a
threat, including non-lethal alternatives.
The majority of spear sentinels begin their careers as
fighters, with the occasional paladin or motivated warrior
rounding out the ranks. Rangers, although rare, are not unheard
of, and can be found in a few of the more remote Spearwatch
guild houses. The chaotic bent of the barbarian class makes
it unsuitable for spear sentinels, and there have only been a
handful of barbarians to join the guild in its entire history.
Humans and half-elves are the most common race among
spear sentinels, although a fair number of dwarves and lawfully
aligned half-orcs can be found among guild members. Although
the Spearwatch Guild welcomes prospective spear sentinels
Design Notes
Here’s something to try the next time you and your group
get together to game. Ask all of your players to describe what a
ranseur looks like (without peeking at the PHB). I’d be surprised
if one in four could do it. I know I wouldn’t have been able to
before I started researching the weapon for this product.
This is precisely the problem with most polearms. Despite
how useful they can be, polearms just don’t get much press
when compared to swords, axes, and other “kewl” weapons.
And that’s really a shame because historically, many battles
were waged and won with polearms. Perhaps even more so
2
Master at Arms
• Spear Sentinel •
S
PEAR
S
ENTINEL
E
NTRY
R
EQUIREMENTS
Hit Die:
d10
Class Skills:
Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha),
Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Profession
(Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spot (Wis)
Skill points at each level:
2 + Int modifier
Base Attack Bonus:
+5
Feats:
Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, Weapon
Focus (ranseur)
Skills:
Diplomacy 2 ranks, Listen 2 ranks, Spot 2 ranks
Special:
Membership in the Spearwatch Guild
Alignment:
Any non-chaotic
Level
Base
Attack
Bonus
Fort
Save
Ref
Save
Will
Save Special
Fighter Feat
Advancement
+1 level
+1 level
+1 level
+1 level
+1 level
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
+1
+2
+3
+4
+5
+2
+3
+3
+4
+4
+0
+0
+1
+1
+1
+0
+0
+1
+1
+1
Over the Shoulder, Ranseur Rush
Bonus Feat, Improved Disarm
Weapon Breaker, Pinning Strike
Bonus Feat, Push Back
Cleaving Disarm
from all races, few meet the guild’s standards. Certain races
possessing a disposition contrary to the guild’s aims are unlikely
to join, or even dissuaded from doing so.
NPC spear sentinels can usually be found guarding
important people. They often work in pairs, but occasionally
larger groups can be found guarding nobles or those simply
wealthy enough to afford the guild’s stiff fees. Although rare,
rogue, evil spear sentinels are not unheard of. Those that turn
away from the guild are shunned, and sometimes even hunted
down and executed, especially if their actions could impugn the
reputation of the guild in any way.
accuracy. When using the ranseur the spear sentinel subtracts
his spear sentinel level from the AC bonus granted to an enemy
because of cover.
Ranseur Rush (Ex):
The projecting hilt of the ranseur
allows the spear sentinel to use his weapon to initiate a bull
rush action without having to move into his opponent’s
square. He must first make a successful melee attack with his
ranseur against his opponent (inflicting normal damage), and
if successful, he can attempt to push his opponent back per the
bull rush rules.
Bonus Feat:
At 2nd and 4th level, a spear sentinel may
choose a bonus feat from the list of feats available to fighters.
This is in addition to the feats that a character of any class
normally gets from advancing levels. The character must still
meet any prerequisites for these bonus feats, including levels of
fighter for the Weapon Specialization, Greater Weapon Focus,
and Greater Weapon Specialization feats.
Improved Disarm (Ex):
The spear sentinel receives
Improved Disarm as a bonus feat at 2nd level.
Weapon Breaker (Ex):
Starting at 3rd level, whenever the
spear sentinel makes a successful disarm attempt against a foe
with his ranseur, he may choose to inflict normal damage to his
opponent’s weapon rather than disarming him. In addition, the
spear sentinel may subtract one half his Strength bonus (round
down) from the hardness of any weapon he attempts to destroy.
Pinning Strike (Ex):
Starting at 3rd level, when a spear
sentinel strikes an opponent that is adjacent to a stationary,
unyielding object (a wall or even the ground if the opponent is
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency:
A spear sentinel is
proficient with all simple and martial weapons, all types of
armor, but not with shields.
Fighter Feat Advancement:
At each spear sentinel level
the character is considered to have gained one level of fighter
for the purposes of qualifying for specific fighter feats, such as
Weapon Specialization. He does not, however, gain any other
benefit a character of the fighter class would have gained, except
for access to feats. For example, a character with 7 levels of
fighter and 5 levels of spear sentinel would have 12 total fighter
levels for the purpose of qualifying for feats and could take the
Greater Weapon Specialization feat, normally only available to
characters with 12 true levels of fighter.
Over the Shoulder (Ex):
The spear sentinel is adept
at fighting over and around his comrades with his ranseur,
enabling him to strike at opponents using cover with greater
3
Master at Arms
• Spear Sentinel •
Spearwatch Guild Crest
C
APTAIN
K
YRGAN
L
ONGSTRIKE
CR 11
Male Hobgoblin Rogue 1/Fighter 5/Spear Sentinel 5
LG Medium Humanoid (Goblinoid)
Init
+1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +11, Spot +11
Languages
Common, Giant, Goblin, Orc
AC
23, touch 11, flat-footed 22
(+1 Dex, +10 armor, +2 buckler)
hp
91 (11 HD)
Fort
+11,
Ref
+6,
Will
+3
prone), he can make an immediate grapple check upon the opponent
as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If the
grapple check is successful, the spear sentinel establishes a hold
upon his opponent and can keep him from moving. The spear
sentinel cannot achieve a true pin in this fashion, and the held
opponent can break the hold as normal for the grappling rules.
Pinning strike only deals damage on the initial melee attack, and
does not continue to deal weapon damage to held opponents.
Push Back (Ex):
Starting at 4th level, when a spear
sentinel makes a successful attack of opportunity with his
ranseur, he may attempt to push the target back, keeping his foe
from advancing and within reach of his ranseur. This works in
exactly the same way as the bull rush action, save that the spear
sentinel cannot push his opponent back more than 5 feet nor can
he be pushed back on a failed opposed roll.
Cleaving Disarm (Ex):
Starting at 5th level, whenever
a spear sentinel makes a successful disarm attempt against
an opponent, he can make an immediate melee attack against
that foe at the same attack bonus used for the disarm. Cleaving
disarm cannot be used in conjunction with weapon breaker.
Speed
20 ft. in
+2 full plate
(4 squares); base speed 30 ft.
Melee
+1 contracting ranseur
(full length) +16/+11
(2d4+9/x3) or
Melee
+1 contracting ranseur
(contracted) +16/+11
(1d6+7/x3) or
Ranged
masterwork heavy crossbow +12 (1d10/19-20)
Space
5 ft.;
Reach
5 ft.
(10 ft. with
+1 contracting ranseur
)
Base Atk
+10;
Grapple
+14
Atk Options
Cleave, Combat Expertise, Improved
Bull Rush, Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Power
Attack, cleaving disarm, pinning strike, push back,
over the shoulder, ranseur rush, sneak attack +1d6,
weapon breaker
Combat Gear
potion of bull’s strength
(CL 3rd),
potion
of cure moderate wounds
(CL 3rd)
Abilities
Str 18, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 12
SQ
trapfinding
Feats
Alertness, Cleave, Combat Expertise, Improved
Bull Rush, Improved DisarmD, Improved Trip,
Leadership, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (ranseur),
Weapon Specialization (ranseur)
Skills
Climb +9, Diplomacy +12, Hide +1, Intimidate
+10, Jump +9, Listen +11, Move Silently +5,
Profession (guard) +5, Search +6, Sense Motive +9,
Spot +11
Possessions
+1 contracting ranseur,
masterwork heavy
crossbow, 20 bolts,
+2 full plate, +1 buckler, gauntlets of
ogre power, cloak of resistance +1
, 25 pp, 25 gp
4
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