Items · Melee Weapons · Combat
Chain Spear
A unique spear that was lost in production.
Full Item Description
The chain spear looks quite odd. The actual spear is made of strong steel. The end of it is linked to a long chain that goes through a thick steel belt. The belt has shoulder straps for its wearer. It is mildly heavy, but light armor can still be worn under it.
History
The chain spear was made in the city of Berenha. The city was busy, rich. It was a time of war however, and the city was suffering greatly. So, in a bid to end the war quickly, many weapon smiths invented new weapons for their armies. Some great creations came from Berenha, the twinblade, Claymore, and halberd were some of the weapons that quickly spread throughout the world. But there were also many failed weapons, one of which was the chain spear.
The prototype was made by an unknown smith, but all who have held the weapon praise him as a god. The smith had made it to reduce the cost of creating spears. His idea was to make a device that could allow a spear to hit targets, and then come back to the owner. This way one would never have to use another spear. His first design included a crank to retract the spear, but he realized it would take too long to pull it back. So, he contacted a wizard.
He made a model of the chain spear before he visited the unknown wizard. It had a steel spear with a chain an shoulder belt. He asked the wizard to enchant the device to work to his satisfaction. Within minutes the chain spear was finished. The wizard told the smith that to retract the spear the wearer would have to simply say 'retract' while wearing the belt. The smith was going to present his weapon, when Berenha was attacked by enemy forces. A soldier found and took the chain spear, using it in battle. He was eventually killed in war, and the weapon fell into unknown hands.
It was sold many times throughout history, until it landed in the hands of a hunter by the name of Kaiser. Kaiser made a living off of animal pelts, and when he saw the chainspear on his travels, he bought it. He used it for many years, becoming a master at it. He became well known as the chain hunter, people have even tried to learn from him. Only now, in his old age, is he accepting students to learn from him. It is said he will give the chain spear to his greatest student.
PLOT
Kaiser lives on huge grounds by the (insert name) woods. There he will hold a training program on spears. The pc will have to have considerable skill to even enter his land. They will have to pass a test or two to get become a student, and then train there for a small while. If they are the most skilled by the end of a set amount of days they are put to train with the chain spear. After they master the chain spear they will have to fight Kaiser to win the chain spear.
Magic/Cursed Properties
The chain spear can be thrown a long distance, and by saying 'retract' the one in its possession will see it reverse its course.
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A very useful item.
Explained well with a suitable background. I can see enterprising players trying to figure out how to recall the spear, and the effects that it can be put to when they do succede. An all round solid item that isn't a blazing sword of slaying.
Thanks guys! I really don't like spears, so I tried to come up with a way to make it better. This is what I got.
Im confused, does the spear return or retract. Retract means that chain it is connected to goes inside it or dissapears when it comes back. If it simply returns, then there will be a lot of extra chain that has to be wielded after.
I would like to understand the exact mechanics of this weapon before I vote.
By retract I mean the chain pulls the spear backwards, the chain being attached to the belt as well as the end of the spear, so that the spear can be caught by the wielder. It is very hard to master.
It's a decent idea, although it seems to me that there are a few flaws to it that'd keep it from being particularly popular...
First, the chain itself would add to the mass to be moved and drag the spear down, so you're going to have a much shorter range with this weapon.
Second, if it just retracts and you have to catch it, I'd say a number of people are going to decide that it's too dangerous to use - it's likely to lacerate them if they miss a catch, from the way it sounds to me.
Third, what about if they have to use it in combat? All that chain is going to be a real pain with melee fighting when you're already using something that amounts to a quarterstaff with one end already razor sharp.
Can it jam? What happens if it does? Does it need a wizard to fix it, or just time and patience? Is it rustproof? If it really is that effective, why hasn't it been copied by smiths who've heard about it? Is it only in rural areas?
Overall, it's a good idea, I just see some issues with it.
Other things that occur: exactly how solid a chain are we talking here? The weight and thickness of it are going to cause problems with throwing it, the belt itself has to have some fairly severe encumbrance if the chain is sturdy, and all someone has to do is break one link and you've got a fairly useless retractable chain and a spear-on-a-rope that's so imbalanced as to not een be worth considering.
I am still under impressed by this item. The write up is merely par, the item, to me, is uninspired. I thought I had made these comments a while ago... but they are not here. So here we go again.
Revising my vote in light of the problems someone else and I have been batting back and forth. Really, the underlying concept is workable - a returning spear, which exists in mythology already, I believe, in the form of Odin's spear - but the retracting chain is just an ineffective method.
returning/retracting makes little difference to me, there is a spark of something mildly original here at least. Kassil does point out good...points, however.
If we ignore the physical impracticability of the weapon - which can be hand waved away like the 6-round limitation of a cowboy's revolver, it has decent visuals.