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hello

question in dd 3.5:

if there is a character with a reach weapon (eg longspear), if it has a character before him, he may even attack when? Has it a penalty?

thank you

normal reach weapons, like the long spear,cannot hit enemys next that are in the range they would threaten with a non reach weapon. for medium characters that would be everything right next to their char. there are reach weapons, like the spiked chain, with which you can also hit the squares normally not threatend with a reach weapon.

If the question is "can you attack someone using reach even if there is someone between you and the target?" the answer is YES but you should note that the target will get cover from the thing between you.

I think we have another case of English being a second language here.

But I'll hazard a guess, by the word "when" in there...

I have a feeling he may be asking if he can attack before his initiative turn with a longer reach weapon than his opponent. 

My understanding of the question:

If a character is equipped with a reach weapon (longspear, for example) and there's an enemy adjacent to him, can he attack it?  Does it have a penalty?

If so, it's already been answered.   

Feb 25, 2013 -- 11:27AM, NeueRegal wrote:

I think we have another case of English being a second language here.

But I'll hazard a guess, by the word "when" in there...

I have a feeling he may be asking if he can attack before his initiative turn with a longer reach weapon than his opponent. 

Almost certainly a case of poor English.  I wouldn't blame it on English as a second language either because I have seen plenty of people in that situation who do just fine, or even better, then some native speakers.

It seems we have three different ideas about what the question means: I have a reach weapon...

1.  "Can I attack someone with a shorter weapon before they attack me?"
2.  "Can I attack someone who is adjacent too me?"
3.  "Can I attack someone when there is someone else between me an my target?"

1.  Sometimes.  The reach weapon will give you a threatened area that an attacker without reach will need to pass through inorder to get close enough to attack you.  Depending on how they move through that area they may provoke an Attack of Opportunity which lets you strike at them before they can strike at you.  There are ways for them to avoid drawing that attack.  You also need to be threatening the area to make the AoO which means your "turn" needs to have come up in initiative once in most cases.

2.  Generally no or at least not with the reach weapon.  There are a few reach weapons that can strike adjacent targets as well with the spiked chain being the most common but normally a reach weapon leave a hole in your the area you can attack.

3.  Yes but you may have to deal with cover issues.
 

There are a couple feats that allow you to attack adjacent squares with a normal reach weapon.
Short Haft (PH2) allows you to shorten the reach of a reach weapon by 5' as a Swift Action. Returning it to its normal reach is also a Swift Action.
Shorten Grip (Dragon 331) allows you to attack adjacent enemies with a reach polearm with which you have proficiency at a -2 penalty.