[3.5] Buff Spears pls?

[Simanos]

I'm not sure if this should be here or in the Homebrew Subforum, but here it is anyway.
I don't like how Spears are given such low stats. They had a devastating effect in the history of mankind no matter how simple their concept.

Shortspears are 1d6(x2), wielded one-handed, thrown 20'
Spears are 1d8(x3), but are wielded two-handed, thrown 20'
Longspears do 1d8(x3), wielded two-handed, can't be thrown, but have reach.
Javelins do 1d6(x2), thrown 30', -4 in melee
All simple weapons.

That sucks in my opinion. At the very least spears need to reflect their first-strike nature. I would give them +2 to +4 improved initiative. Also I would give x3 crits to all of them. I would make the Spear able to be used one-handed as a martial weapon (instead of simple). (Maybe exotic though)
Also giving Javelins a -4 in melee when you can use rapiers and small daggers, even a knife just fine is ridiculous. At best make Javelin in melee proficiency be a martial one (thrown Javelin still a simple weapon though). Naturally some types of Javelin (like Roman Pilum) would be easily damaged with repeated use.
I would also allow a Javelin thrower to hold 2 extra javelins in his off-hand (even with a shield if it allows it) and make a full attack without needing the Quick Draw feat. But I allow that for all thrown weapons. It only helps in the first round much.

Who's with me?

[Kurald Galain]

Using a spear in melee does not strike me as simple. Stabbing may be obvious but defending yourself is not.

Come to think of it, how exactly does one throw a spear using both hands?

[Another_Poet]

I think your changes are better represented by feats, rather than changes to the weapons themselves. You should make a line of spear or javelin feats that grant the bonuses (e.g. improving initiative) and abilities (e.g. disabling a shield) that you're talking about. If you want to improve spears themselves, I would make the following changes.

Shortspears are 1d8(x2), wielded one-handed, thrown 20'
Spears are 1d8(x3), but are wielded two-handed, thrown 20'
Longspears do 2d4(x3), wielded two-handed, can't be thrown, but have reach.
Javelins do 1d6(x2), thrown 30', no penalty in melee
All simple weapons.

I would also add a new Exotic weapon:

Exotic weapon: Sarissa
2d6 (x3), wielded 2-handed, cannot be thrown
15' reach for medium creatures!
Deals double damage when set against a charge
Reduces speed by 10' (medium creatures).

[Person_Man]

Spears are simple weapons, and deal damage comparable to other simple weapons. And historically, that's exactly what they've been. More advanced spears are called polearms, and have various special abilities. So I'm sorry to say that I disagree with you.

Of course, if you want to make spears better for your game, go ahead. I'd just say that if you want to buff them, you should make them a martial or exotic weapon.

Also, having a weapon grant an Initiative bonus doesn't make sense. Does my Wizard who's holding a spear get an Initiative bonus, even if he's going to cast a spell?

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Longspears are already the single most powerful simple weapon in the game, by virtue of having the highest damage/crit multiplier of any simple weapon, and are the common choice of 1st level Sorcerers.

Longspears have a mechanical advantage with Reach: It's called an Attack of Opportunity. He closes with you. Before he gets you attack, you have an attack of opportunity on him. You get to attack first, even when he attacks you first. If you set to receive, you automatically do double damage (or 4x! on a crit).

That's pretty damn powerful.

Add in the feat that forces opponents to stop when they get hit by an AoO, and you get a very deadly weapon.

[Draz74]

You should be able to handle a Spear freely either one-handed or two-handed. You should be able to wield a Longspear one-handed, too, but it might either require a special feat, or at least Martial Weapon Proficiency. (Kinda like the bastard sword, only simple/martial instead of martial/exotic.)

That's the main change I'd make.

[Kurald Galain]

Also, having a weapon grant an Initiative bonus doesn't make sense. Does my Wizard who's holding a spear get an Initiative bonus, even if he's going to cast a spell?

Well, it kind of does, but only if all other weapons also get an initiative mod (although some could be +0). That would essentially be switching to the 2E initiative system.

[BRC]

Nope, sorry, I can't agree with you.

You see, spears were used so often in history because they were cheap to make and easy to train people with. Also, a spear doesn't make you react faster (which is what Initative represents), it gives you a reach advantage. Really, you would need somthing like Shadowrun's system (Which gave melee bonuses for whomever had a longer reach). They can also be set against a charge.

You see, the problem is that in Real life soliders would need to be trained for each weapon they use individually, spears were easy to make and use, so they were the primary weapon for must of history. However, in Dnd where soldiers (warriors) come with basic training in everything from spears and slings to longbows and greatswords. And since most DM's and players don't worry about 13 gp when it comes to equipping, spears are hardly ever used.
Edit: Grr, hyperninjad

[Tacoma]

Also imagine there are three Longspear wielders standing side by side in a hallway. Three swordsmen advance on them. The spear wielders each have Combat Reflexes and can get three AoO per round (or at least the middle one, the others only need 2 AoO each).

When the middle guy advances, he enters the threatened square of all three. He takes three AoO. The two side swordsmen are threatened by two spearmen each.

It gets super nasty if the spearmen have more spearmen behind them, because if a swordsman does step forward he's still under attack normally by the back-row spearmen and the forward-row spearmen take their movement next round to back up straight 10'.

That said, I imagine a bunch of feats that could do what you want:

Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Pilum (You can Disarm a shield with a Pilum by striking then leaving it in the shield. It takes a STR (16) check and a Full Round Action to pull out the Pilum. So long as the Pilum is in, the shield is useless)

Monkey Grip for one-handing the Spear (though it would look silly to one-hand a Long Spear, this makes it possible).

I'd ignore the Initiative bonus. Those are only good in the first combat round. The Long Spear already takes the first-strike reach thing into account.

[Tacoma]

Also: armies like spears because wielders could fight very close together, perhaps 3' from spearpoint to spearpoint. In a closed space like a street where they can't be outflanked, you might see two spearmen able to fight in the same space one enemy swordsman can fight. This means not only do the spearmen support each other as I described above against individual opponents, but even paired off one to one there are twice as many spearmen as swordsmen on the front lines.

Spears can also be used to keep someone at bay, or unhorse someone charging at you, or injure the horse so it throws its rider or flees. At least keeps the horse from charging straight through the pike formation.

Finally, the spear is the earliest refined weapon, as it's really just a pointy stick. Every culture with a spear has had so long to perfect its construction and use that any other weapon is going to be a latecomer and must be substantially better or serve some other role to be adopted.

[Irreverent Fool]

I've experienced Tacoma's description of massed spearmen first-hand (though with blunted weapons). While it takes a some training with a sword to fight effectively without overswinging or leaving yourself open to an attack, a few spearmen fighting together need very little skill and training to become a force to be reckoned with. You just can't get near them without getting poked full of holes. God help you if they know how to advance and withdraw.

Even in D&D this can be true because of the AoO system and 5-ft steps.

Add in some shields and you can make an effective unit out of a band of peasants in a very short time and for the low low price of hacking down some trees.

As a simple weapon I think the mechanics of spears in D&D are just fine. A shortspear is identical to a shortsword (a martial weapon) except that it only crits on a 20 and can be thrown in a pinch.

The longspear is only one die size smaller than a greatsword and has reach.

The javelin does as much damage as the shortbow, is much cheaper than a crossbow, and can be used as a melee weapon in a pinch without having to take an AoO.

Hot dang. I want to amass me some shield-bearers and get me a formation going! You don't need tower shield proficiency to use one to grant cover. March, commoners, march!

obnoxious
sig

[Tacoma]

You can get the same effect if your tower shield rides around on wheels and you have a little window and a hole through which you can poke with your spear. The spear is always sticking out of the hole, you just jab and jab with it. When you want to move around, push the shield.

Or attach the shield to a Goblin Tricycle ...

Things are getting out of hand.

[Shpadoinkle]

Spears are simple weapons, and deal damage comparable to other simple weapons. And historically, that's exactly what they've been. More advanced spears are called polearms, and have various special abilities. So I'm sorry to say that I disagree with you.

Pretty much. If you want a better spear, use some kind of polearm and just call it a spear.

[Simanos]

I will refute most of you now

Person_Man, Spears deal less damage than maces, another simple weapon. Also I already said that some buffs required martial prof. The initiative bonus is like the trip and disarm bonuses. Obviously you would get them when using the spear in melee (only) not casting a spell. Not all my ideas have to be applied.
I think the average medieval polearm soldier would not want to be facing the average ancient spearman (or hoplite)

ShneekeyTheLost, firstly I did NOT even change the Longspear FFS! Your criticism would be irrelevant even if accurate (it isn't completely).
I know how AoO work, do you know that double damage is only when the enemy Charged you? What you say is relevant to all reach weapons. You can also ready an attack and hit him once when arriving at your threatened square and again when he leaves it to get you. But then that's why there's tumble and failing that spring attack, no AoO for you...
Feat that forces opponents to stop when they get hit by an AoO? What feat is that (other than a trip attack that other polearms have)?

Draz74, I even allowed for martial prof instead of simple for the spear to be used one-handed. Using a Longspear one handed is the equivalent of a Lance and it could barely be allowed when mounted. Even then a Lance has been built with support for one hand so it's up to DM to decide. A reach weapon wielded one-handedly would be broken without these caveats.

BRC, there are varied levels of spear expertise. That said you are right about initiative, but I couldn't give Spear reach, it would be a major buff, there's no smaller square than 5' sadly in the scale. I could say that it can reach only straight and not diagonally though. Hmm, now the threatened area can become from 8 squares to 12, but that's too gamey for my likes, I can imagine people abusing it (offensively and defensively). Maybe if I went with the optional combat facing rules...
I think you're underestimating the power of the spear as a weapon though. In formation and out of it. Sometimes the simplest answer is the best. D&D just caters to fanboism more than realism. That's the only reason a spear got bad stats. The shield is also hugely underestimated in D&D.

Tacoma, the Longspear and the Spear are quite different. It does not look silly. In fact the Ancients used a shield with the Longspears. For example the Macedonian Sarissa (longspear) was combined with a light shield probably heavy by D&D standards, but whatever, certainly not a small buckler. They had mad-skillz . They also used composite materials for shields (and armor) not simply wood or metal.
There's no reason for the Shortspear to do 1d6 while the Spear does 1d8. It's the same "warhead" pretty much. The bastard sword does the same (1d10) one-handed and two-handed.
I think I will have to go with Another_Poet's suggestion. There's no reason to have 3 spears. Short/Long are enough, 1d8 one handed / 2d4 two handed, thrown with no reach / not thrown with reach.
What you describe is the advantage of all reach weapons, not just Longspears (which FFS I didn't even change). Also the AoO is not for entering the threatened square, it's for LEAVING it. And if the Longspear soldiers have combat reflexes and high dex then the swordsmen have high tumble or spring attack negating the AoOs. It gets supernasty because it's supposed to DOH! Don't charge a wall of Longspears (or similar reach weapons)! About the initiative, you don't like it for the Longspear fine, but what about the OTHER spear-types?!
BTW, the two side swordsmen are threatened by THREE spearmen each. Check the rules on reach. I'm just trying to be fair and open here.

Perhaps a good bonus for the "spear-type" would be to allow more(1? 2? 3?) spearmen than swordsmen to fit in the same 5 foot square, fighting side by side. Or allow Swordsmen to squeeze together like that too, but with penalties (-1 to attack and to damage sounds OK... per extra man )

Irreverent Fool, the Shortspear is not a Light weapon like the Shortsword. The Heavy Mace is a simple one-handed weapon like the Shortspear and it does 1d8 not 1d6.
In D&D 5' steps do not cause AoO. Also there's tumble and spring attack. Or you can just take it. 1 free AoO attack is like you just lost initiative at best, or at worst 1 free attack.
The Javelin sucks because of its weight and storage problems too. Don't compare it with a Bow which has easy ammunition and does not need for Quick Draw feat. At least Rapid Shot works for Javelins too (supposedly). Also the Longbow does 1d8.
The Longspear is 1d8 (and has reach), a Greatsword 2d6, Greataxe 1d12, many polearms are 1d10 (or at least 2d4). Also I did NOT change the god damn Longspear DID I?!


Look, I just think the D&D spear is getting a bad rap. And maybe that's the reason I've almost never had a player use it as a main weapon. Not even when I throw in javelins of lightning and piercing and bane spears of venom. I wanna see more iconic spearmen.


PS: Another_Poet, nice ideas. I'm thinking...

[ShneekeyTheLost]

I will refute most of you now

ShneekeyTheLost, firstly I did NOT even change the Longspear FFS! Your criticism would be irrelevant even if accurate (it isn't completely).
I know how AoO work, do you know that double damage is only when the enemy Charged you? What you say is relevant to all reach weapons. You can also ready an attack and hit him once when arriving at your threatened square and again when he leaves it to get you. But then that's why there's tumble and failing that spring attack, no AoO for you...
Feat that forces opponents to stop when they get hit by an AoO? What feat is that (other than a trip attack that other polearms have)?

There may be tumble, but there's also Hold The Line, which lets you hit him anyways, even if he tumbled, because it's a seperate AoO. This also works in conjunction with Hold The Line which easily lets you stop opponents from even reaching you, simply because you have reach.

Furthermore, anyone who wants to seriously use a reach weapon is going to get Combat Reflexes, because they have so much more potential for making AoO's. Most swordsmen, on the other hand, do NOT have Tumble, which is a cross-class skill for most classes that can even use a sword.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

I agree that a Spear should be able to be wielded with one hand if you have martial weapon proficiency. Otherwise I wouldn't make any changes.

IMHO, Shortspear = Assegai, Longspear = Pike/Sarissa, Spear = Hoplite-style Spear

[Tacoma]

I will refute most of you now

Tacoma, the Longspear and the Spear are quite different. It does not look silly. In fact the Ancients used a shield with the Longspears. For example the Macedonian Sarissa (longspear) was combined with a light shield probably heavy by D&D standards, but whatever, certainly not a small buckler. They had mad-skillz . They also used composite materials for shields (and armor) not simply wood or metal.

According to Wikipedia:
The Sarissa was 13-21' long and used as a standard pike in phalanx formation. This is probably longer than what we think of as the long spear because it has a reach of 10' which means when the wielder stabs, the butt of the spear is perhaps 2-3 feet behind the wielder's center and so is at the very short variety of the Sarissa. Assuming it's two-handed. If it were one-handed it would need to be longer so the butt end could counter the weight.

The wiki also suggests that the Sarissa was useless outside that formation - probably because an individual spear could be dodged around because it was so heavy, and once you were inside the spearhead it couldn't do diddly squat to you.

And I still don't see how you could use something that long with one hand. I was envisioning the Greek dude spearing down overhand as if to throw, with a 6' spear, as being rather the longest you could do and still move freely. As in, not have the butt planted in the ground.

Oh well.

[RS14]

You see, spears were used so often in history because they were cheap to make and easy to train people with. Also, a spear doesn't make you react faster (which is what Initative represents), it gives you a reach advantage. Really, you would need somthing like Shadowrun's system (Which gave melee bonuses for whomever had a longer reach). They can also be set against a charge.

Depends on setting. A level one commoner is proficient with one simple weapon, and unenchanted spears are just about the cheapest, most effective simple melee weapon available (with the sling being the best budget ranged weapon, and the heavy crossbow probably the best overall ranged weapon for an army). If you're thinking of outfitting 100,000 commoners to fight, these expenses can be quite serious.

On the other hand, if all armies are professional affairs with all soldiers having real class levels, you can probably afford to outfit a small force properly.

Edit: Er, actually meant to quote this bit:

YHowever, in Dnd where soldiers (warriors) come with basic training in everything from spears and slings to longbows and greatswords. And since most DM's and players don't worry about 13 gp when it comes to equipping, spears are hardly ever used.

[Keld Denar]

Are you wearing a fall-arrest harness for that soap box? If not, I know a couple of OSHA inspecters who want to talk to you.

In all seriousness, there is already a difference between wielding a spear in 1 hand, and wielding it in both hands. Its called 1.5x str bonus. This consitutes for an adventurer, typically a +1-2 bonus to damage for wielding it with both hands. Thats also why a Bastard Sword does the same damage when 1handed or 2handed, the str bonus counts for the extra damage inflicted.

Also, in the grand scheme of things, like I just posted in your shield thread, base weapon damage means almost ZERO most of the time. Seriously, you want to change a spear from 1d6 to 1d8? Do it. Thats an average of 1 extra damage per hit. A 2handed meleer, if built right, should be doing ~25-30 damage per hit by about level 6 or so, so increasing it to 26-31 damage per hit is tiny. If you want to go out of your way to change the rules, more power to you. Personally, I think they are fine. Just like the time a poster on here introduced rules for having a wet bow string. Most small facets of game design REALLY don't make much difference, or make things needlessly complicated, or just don't add enough to the game to be worth making changes. Really. If you are that ambitious that you want to change things around, by all means. But don't come here and say ZOMG SPEARS ARE UNDERPOWERED BUFFS PLZ!

Oh, and btw, did you know that the game designers of 3.0 and 3.5 even came out and said that not all game choices are created equal? So, the Heavy Mace does 1 more damage per hit than the Short Spear...Hmmm, guess which one you should pick if you want to squeeze every last drip of damage out of your weapon? Not a hard choice. But, if you don't want to use a Heavy Mace, you really arn't losing much by going to the Short Spear, since by the time you factor in everything else, you are talking about a such a tiny difference, its not worth getting worked up about.

I guess some people just liked to get worked up...

[BRC]

I suppose to properly simulate Medival armies, you would just give a bunch of commoners spears. But nobody uses commoners for combat, people use Warriors, which are proficient with the martial-weapon equivalent, the trident.

[RS14]

I suppose to properly simulate Medival armies, you would just give a bunch of commoners spears. But nobody uses commoners for combat, people use Warriors, which are proficient with the martial-weapon equivalent, the trident.

That only works if you can afford to maintain a standing army. And I'll agree, in most settings, you do, because a) monsters can show up out of nowhere and start eating people, and b) a mid-level full-caster demolishes any massive conscript army. In those settings, it's ok that spears don't matter, because they're not much like real life, and we decide that our experience in real life no longer applies. In the low power settings, though, spears are plenty powerful as a cheap weapon.

[BRC]

That only works if you can afford to maintain a standing army. And I'll agree, in most settings, you do, because a) monsters can show up out of nowhere and start eating people, and b) a mid-level full-caster demolishes any massive conscript army. In those settings, it's ok that spears don't matter, because they're not much like real life, and we decide that our experience in real life no longer applies. In the low power settings, though, spears are plenty powerful as a cheap weapon.

I suppose the medival army class equivilant would be
Commoner= Peasant conscript
Warrior= Professional solider
Fighter= Knight or other elite with formal training.

[Simanos]

There may be tumble, but there's also Hold The Line, which lets you hit him anyways, even if he tumbled, because it's a seperate AoO. This also works in conjunction with Hold The Line which easily lets you stop opponents from even reaching you, simply because you have reach.

Furthermore, anyone who wants to seriously use a reach weapon is going to get Combat Reflexes, because they have so much more potential for making AoO's. Most swordsmen, on the other hand, do NOT have Tumble, which is a cross-class skill for most classes that can even use a sword.

Ah a psionic feat. No wonder I don't like them. Still:
"When a foe’s movement out of a square you threaten grants you an attack of opportunity, you can give up that attack and instead attempt to stop your foe in his tracks."
If your foe uses tumble or spring attack he doesn't grant you and AoO so you can't use this feat anyway. So you are wrong again.
The swordsmen can try tumble anyway, or they can use spring attack, or use a Tower Shield as cover to advance.
Also you didn't bother answering my MAIN point. That I did NOT change the Longspear AT ALL. Stop trolling please...

[Simanos]

...

Do you have a point? I was just pointing how they could use at least a Light Shield (more than a buckler) and still effectively wield a big Longspear two-handed (I didn't imply they used it one-handed, that would be silly). D&D doesn't allow you to use a shield with a Longspear, but not even with a spear (perhaps it should)
All I said about two-handed going to one-handed was about the Spear (not the Longspear) and I made that a martial prof req. Bonecrusher Doc got it, why can't you? Maybe it's better to keep the Spear as two-handed and simply make a special rule to allow shield-use too, but not other weapons. The shield would have a telemon/shoulder-strap for this anyway. This would also make the spear different enough to other weapons. I'm still thinking, so far 3 ideas are nice in this thread.

[Simanos]

Keld Denar, I see you've had many dealing with OSHA yourself
I don't understand why you mention the STR mechanics, I didn't show anywhere I wasn't aware of them and they aren't really relevant (you don't show it). You can wield a Bastard Sword in one hand by going up a weapon prof level, but you can't do that with a Spear. So you agree with me that you should or not?
I understand that it doesn't make a big difference in the end. But many players will look at it when they are beginning their careers and every bit helps and they will not choose the noble spear. Plus it's dumb how "they" made the stats in D&D.
BTW, I wasn't worked up when I posted it. I was in a funny mood. That's why I used MMO lingo like "buff" and "pls". As a joke. Now it may have gone over your head so you accuse me of being an MMO-geek, but that's your failing not mine. Your point about the designers is irrelevant since we are discussing their very failings.


BRC, the Trident is one-handed unlike the Spear. Though you could argue the Trident is a buffed up Shortspear with bigger damage dice. In real combat it would depend on the skill level and on the armor and shield levels whether a trident would be better than a spear.

[Draz74]

Draz74, I even allowed for martial prof instead of simple for the spear to be used one-handed. Using a Longspear one handed is the equivalent of a Lance and it could barely be allowed when mounted. Even then a Lance has been built with support for one hand so it's up to DM to decide. A reach weapon wielded one-handedly would be broken without these caveats.

I was just trying to simulate a historical phalanx. Some of them definitely used spears that were long enough to have reach; yet they still used shields, too. I guess instead of letting them use a longspear one-handed, you could make a feat that let them use one hand for a longspear (or normal spear) and a shield at the same time.

[ericgrau]

I am really tired of the forums eating my posts. Honestly this only increases traffic even more during periods of high traffic b/c people have to redo their posts. Some form of error prevention would reduce lag. A long wait instead would be enough to discourage excessive posting. Time for a shorter version:

Other weapons have also been devastating historically, this is not a reason to buff it.

Spears get first strike from being thrown or reach. Rogues, especially halfling rogues (+3 AB) can take advantage of using it as both their first round ranged SA weapon and a second round flanking SA weapon. Plus it combines well with weapon focus (only need 1 feat), rapid shot and TWF. Full BAB classes can use the reach to stop charges and disarm/trip before the enemy gets near, w/o provoking an AoO even if they don't have the feat yet. That's auto denial of attacks against yourself and nearby allies. The AoO happens when they leave the threatened square, so you could do both the readied anti-charge attack and AoO. A fighter would use the better trident or a pole-arm, which also give disarm/trip bonuses btw. You can avoid the high magic item cost problem of having two weapons by getting other magic items (e.g., stat boosts) at early levels instead of a magic weapon, then getting the returning enchantment at higher levels when paying for an extra +1 isn't as bad.

[Simanos]

I am really tired of the forums eating my posts. Honestly this only increases traffic even more during periods of high traffic b/c people have to redo their posts. Some form of error prevention would reduce lag. A long wait instead would be enough to discourage excessive posting. Time for a shorter version:

Other weapons have also been devastating historically, this is not a reason to buff it.

Spears get first strike from being thrown or reach. Rogues, especially halfling rogues (+3 AB) can take advantage of using it as both their first round ranged SA weapon and a second round flanking SA weapon. Plus it combines well with weapon focus (only need 1 feat), rapid shot and TWF. Full BAB classes can use the reach to stop charges and disarm/trip before the enemy gets near, w/o provoking an AoO even if they don't have the feat yet. That's auto denial of attacks against yourself and nearby allies. The AoO happens when they leave the threatened square, so you could do both the readied anti-charge attack and AoO. A fighter would use the better trident or a pole-arm, which also give disarm/trip bonuses btw. You can avoid the high magic item cost problem of having two weapons by getting other magic items (e.g., stat boosts) at early levels instead of a magic weapon, then getting the returning enchantment at higher levels when paying for an extra +1 isn't as bad.

How do halfings get +3 just from spear?
Lot's of ways to avoid AoOs, especially from movement. Many non core feats are imba, I don't allow that cheese.
You can't trip with a Longspear though...
Only a few weapons can trip, otherwise... unarmed attack only.
Returning property only works once per round. You need Quick Draw (unless you use my house rule) and multiple enchanted javelins...

[Keld Denar]

How do halfings get +3 just from spear?

Halflings get a +2 dex, which gives +1 to hit with thrown weapons. They also get a +1 size bonus on all attack rolls. They also get a +1 racial bonus on all things thrown or slung, just because throwing things is such a common halfling hobby (I guess?).

Lot's of ways to avoid AoOs, especially from movement. Many non core feats are imba, I don't allow that cheese.

Many non-core feats also are terribad, and some core feats are pretty imba themselves. Natural Spell is considered to be possibly one of the most broken spells IN THE GAME, and its right there in the PHB. Irrational fear of non-core material isn't healthy. Don't be afraid to venture out of core, there are lots of things that are amazingly fun to play there, like Warblades and Dragonfire Adepts and abilities that make Bards and Paladins rediculously fun to play. Lots of awesome stuff, as long as you know the stupidly broken stuff like Incantrix and Planar Shephard. I've never heard anyone call a DFA overpowered, yet everyone I know that has ever played one (myself included) have raved about how much fun the class was to play.

You can't trip with a Longspear though...
Only a few weapons can trip, otherwise... unarmed attack only.

No, but you can with a Guisarme, a martial weapon and a distant relative of the spear. I'm guessing that if you are planning to be a trip guru, you'll have at least one level in a class that grants proficiency with all martial weapons. Then its just the matter of choosing the best tool for the job. You wouldn't turn in a screw with a hammer, nor would you pound in a nail with a screwdriver. The beauty of a spear is that its a simple weapon for people limited to simple weapon proficiencies.

[Severedevil]

Best fix: Spear and Longspear can be used in one hand as a martial weapon, but their criticals fall from x3 to x2.

Now there's no weapon which is better in every way than the spear or longspear, whether you have access to martial weapons or not. (This modification means you can throw out the trident, too.) However, if you don't ever plan to throw the spear, it's slightly weaker than other one-handed martial weapons, and if you don't plan to use the longspear one-handed, it's weaker than the two-handed martial weapons. Further, this squares with historical use of both spears and longspears.

Stabbing sticks are flexible and effective weapons. Happy?