Not that I'm running at game at the moment, but spiked chain will still be a reach weapon in both my campaigns.
That's all you really need to know. If you want the sordid history, keep reading.
Back in 3.5 and Pathfinder Beta, it was possible to pimp the system using spiked chain, Combat Reflexes, Improved Trip, and Spring Attack. It was even worse if you could somehow finagle a character that had reach. It went down like this:
Wait for target to pass thru your threatened area. Ding! AoE! On your turn, 5 ft step to the right, Spring Attack 15 feet away. Lather, rinse, repeat. Double the AoE if you have reach of your own, which means 2 free attacks every turn with Combat Reflexes.
OR
Using the Trip Monkey build, use a trip attack for your AoE, opponent falls. Ding! Another AoE. Standing up in your threatened area? Ding! AoE!
This exploit isnt valid anymore. Combat Reflexes (may only AoE an opponent once, no matter how many of your threatened squares he runs thru) and Spring Attack (must move more than 5ft before and after to use) have been slightly nerfed to stop it. Trip has been significantly nerfed (split into 2 feats) to stop it.
So, no reason to nerf spiked chain, but here we are. The special qualities for spiked chain now are Trip and Disarm. If all you want is a weapon that does Trip and Disarm, get a heavy flail and it wont cost you an exotic weapon feat, plus it will average more damage.
So; my game. Spiked chains keep their reach.
Combat Reflexes never did allow more than one attack for movement through more than one square.
ReplyDeleteYou could get more on one target from them standing, moving through, casting a spell, picking something up, etc.; but not from moving through multiple squares.
The spiked chain is also weapon finesse-able by the way. I think it and the Elven Curve Blade are the only two-handed weapons that are, or even able to be wielded two-handed (rapier cannot).