Halberds vs two handed swords

Spikeyjoey

Have just started a new game, and I wanted my kensai to have a reach weapon.. his specialisations are

long sword +
halberd ++
two handed weapon style +

I like the idea of a halberd wielding kensai, but am I shooting myself in the foot with regards to decent gear?
I have played through BG, and I know two handed swords tend to be much better than halberds...
I still havent left the first town, so i could start again - is it worth it?

DetectiveMittens

From a quick glance at EE keeper you aren't going to have a wide variety of Halberds to choose from.
You have a few +3 halberds to choose from and a smattering of +4s but halberds are about as popular as katana's are in IWD.

Halberd Darig's Rest +2 UHALB3B
STATISTICS:

Combat abilities:
– 10% chance target will sleep for 15 seconds

THAC0: +2
Damage: 1d10+2 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 8

Halberd Diseased Halberd +1 UHALB2A
STATISTICS:

Combat abilities:
– 10% target is infected with disease (1 damage every 2 seconds) permanently

THAC0: +1
Damage: 1d10+1 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 8

Halberd Doom Halberd +3 UHALB4A
STATISTICS:

Combat abilities:
– 50% chance of dealing +2d3 fire damage
– 15% chance target is stunned for 3 seconds

THAC0: +3
Damage: 1d10+3 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 8

Halberd Fayr's Halberd +3 FAYR
Statistics:

THAC0: +3
Damage: 1d10+3 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 6
Proficiency Type: Halberd

Halberd Finest Halberd UHALB2B
STATISTICS:

Equipped abilities:
– Slashing Resistance: +10%

THAC0: +2
Damage: 1d10 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 8

Halberd Giant Halberd UHALB2C

STATISTICS:

Equipped abilities:
– Armor Class: -2

THAC0: -1
Damage: 2d8 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 8


Halberd Great Halberd +4 UHALB5A

STATISTICS:

Equipped abilities:
– Magic Resistance: +10%

Combat abilities:
– 50% chance of dealing +2d3 acid damage

THAC0: +4
Damage: 1d10+4 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 8

Halberd Halberd HALB01
STATISTICS:

Damage: 1d10 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 9

Halberd Halberd +1 PLYFLIND
STATISTICS:

THAC0: +1
Damage: 1d10+1, +1 fire damage
Damage Type: Piercing
Speed Factor: 8


Halberd Halberd +1: Defender UHALB3A
STATISTICS:

Equipped abilities:
– Armor Class: +1
– Piercing Resistance: +10%
– Slashing Resistance: +10%

THAC0: +1
Damage: 1d10+1 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 8

Halberd Halberd of Sparks +1 UHALB1A
STATISTICS:

Combat abilities:
– 15% chance of dealing +1d10 electrical damage

THAC0: +1
Damage: 1d10+1 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 8

Halberd High Quality Halberd HQHALB
STATISTICS:

THAC0: +1
Damage: 1d10 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 9

Halberd Life Halberd +2 UHALB3C

STATISTICS:

Combat abilities:
– 10% chance per hit of healing 1d6 Hit Points to self

THAC0: +2
Damage: 1d10+2 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 8

Halberd Long Cleaver +4 LONGCLEV
STATISTICS:

THAC0: +4
Damage: 1d10+4 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 5

Halberd Peasant's Reward +2 PEASREW
Statistics:

THAC0: +2
Damage: 1d10+2 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 7

Halberd Star-Forged Halberd +3 UHALB4B
STATISTICS:

Equipped abilities:
– Dexterity: +1
– Slashing Resistance: +5%
– Piercing Resistance: +5%

Combat abilities:
– 15% chance target is stunned for 3 seconds

THAC0: +3
Damage: 1d10+3 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 8

Halberd The Icon of Power +3 POWER
STATISTICS:

Charge abilities:
– Symbol, Pain three times per day
-2 to Dexterity, -4 to THAC0, and -2 to Armor Class (Save vs. Spell negates)
Range: 35 ft.
Duration: 11 turns
Area of Effect: 18-ft. radius

THAC0: +3
Damage: 1d10+3 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 5


Weight: 15
Halberd Tongue of the Gloomfrost +4 TONGGF

STATISTICS:

Equipped abilities:
– Fire Resistance: +10%
– Cold Resistance: +10%

Combat abilities:
– 3% chance of Cone of Cold on the target
Damage: 10d4+10 cold (Save vs. Spell for half)

Charge abilities:
– Storm Shell once per day
Fire, Cold, and Electrical Resistance: +50%
Duration: 1 turn
Area of Effect: The wielder

THAC0: +4
Damage: 1d10+4 (piercing)
Speed Factor: 5

I provided a list of halberds (and the important details) and removed the flavour text, you can either research where to find them or cheat them in.

There are about as many magical 2H swords too. So doing a run with either shouldn't be too much of a problem. Speaking from experience you can obtain a +3 two-handed sword very early on in the game however.

xscott71x

Spikeyjoey said:

I like the idea of a halberd wielding kensai, but am I shooting myself in the foot with regards to decent gear?

Not shooting yourself in the foot as much as gimping your character for quite some time. There is a PHENOMENAL halb mid-game, but you have to wait until the Underdark to get it.

Sharguild

Maybe not the best for a Kensai; since they are very fast, and halberds are rather slow, you may not wish to gimp his speed. A fast weapon for hit and run may prove more ideal.
Halberd works great on a tank, a guy that stands there, takes it, and delivers devastating hits back.

wubble

It's not really a great idea to spread your points out, generally a kensai will work best with two points in chosen weapon and two points in the relevant weapon style. That way you can get grand mastery as fast as you possible. Halberds could be a very nice idea though, put your kensai behind your tank and he can hit enemies over the tank's shoulder.

RAM021

One thing to consider is that the Kensai's speed advantage works better the slower the weapon is...

meagloth

Halberds are very strong. Honestly in my experience iwd isnt exactly overflowing with any weapon. except maybe daggers.

wubble

meagloth said:

Halberds are very strong. Honestly in my experience iwd isnt exactly overflowing with any weapon. except maybe daggers.

Longswords?