Is homebrew Martial Spear as balanced as the Chultan spear (yklwa)?

Question

During a discussion at GiTP it appeared to me that there is a gap in the weapons table for spears: there is no martial spear, one handed/versatile, but there is a pike, which is both heavy and two handed.

I am working on a high quality spear used by Heavy Infantry with a bit of extra reach, that isn't a pike. My proposed Martial Spear is only usable by characters with a proficiency in martial weapons. Why? Weight and balance point requires training.

Martial Weapon
Spear, Military
Cost 6 GP
Damage: 1d6, 1d8(versatile).
Properties: versatile, reach {and maybe Thrown; (10/30)}

What was not clear to me is if having the reach property replace the thrown property is the right balance point. The local Spear for Chult (yklwa, in the Tomb of annihilation published adventure) is 1d8 1-handed, and has the thrown propety; but it has a shorter thrown range than the spear from the weapons table.

If I add the thrown property to this, with the shortened range, will that unbalance this?

Why I am doing this: since the polearm master feat has been errata'd (finally) to include spears as well as quarterstaffs, this spear has the potential to restore the heavily armored shield/spearman as a solid choice for the Fighter class.

I also have a variation on the Veteran NPC called Hoplyte that I am trying to firm up; this spear is part of that kit.

Question: Does this weapon remain within the general balance parameters of D&D weapons in terms of features if I keep the thrown property, or, should reach replace thrown to keep it within the balance/design scheme?

Answer 1

In order to be balanced with the other weapons, a Homebrew should fit into the patterns that the rest do. So, let's look at the patterns.

This spear is to the pike as the battleaxe is to the greataxe, in that both lose the heavy property and gain versatile. The versatile damage of the battleaxe is 1 step down from the greataxe (1d12 -> 1d10) and its one-handed damage is 2 steps down from the greataxe (1d12 -> 1d8). Your proposed spear has the exact same progression (1d10 -> 1d8 -> 1d6). From this, we can conclude that this new spear is balanced without the thrown property.

We can also say that the new spear is to the battleaxe as the pike is to the greataxe. We see that adding reach drops the damage die by one step, and this new spear is one step down from the battleaxe, and thus is balanced.

Now, if we look at the proposed thrown property, we see that it adds very little to the equation. As the normal thrown range is the same as the reach range, there are very few situations in which a character would want to throw it without disadvantage, in which case, it's not much better than throwing anything as an improvised weapon. Therefore, I think giving it the thrown property is superfluous if anything, and hardly unbalancing. If you think it's thematic, great, if not, just leave it off.

Answer 2

Real world example:

The weapon you propose is basically the Dory. The Dory was used by the Greek Hoplites in battle. It was a long spear (reach) and was aerodynamic enough to be thrown. It weighed between 2-4 lbs. Light enough to be used with a shield and be a one-handed weapon. The Dory had a butt spike or cap that allowed for better balance.

Game stats:

This weapon makes sense as a Martial Weapon in that it has comparable capabilities with Martial weapons damage and properties.

Answer 3

My opinion: For DnD, I think it's balanced. 1d6 for 1 hand and 1d8 for 2 handed is fair for DnD. If you think it's a heavier 8 ft spear, I would make it 2 handed only.

A spear can have reach and be thrown, especially if it's a martial spear.

Just a Thought: There's techniques to throw swords too in real life.