Let’s face it, does AD&D 1e really need another pole arm? Not really. Gary Gygax already provided a pretty detailed list. Plus, given the variation in historical pole axes, the already present statistics for the Lucerne hammer or the bec de corbin are already probably a good enough representation of the pole axe.

But, both the Lucerne hammer and bec de corbin don’t have much in an axe portion. Now, not all pole axes actually had much of an axe but more of a hammer. So, if you want one more like that, choose the Lucerne hammer or a bec de corbin.

For reasons that escape me, for some of the polearms, Gygax gave a special ability to dismounting a rider with a score equal to or greater than the “to-hit” score. The Lucerne Hammer has this ability but the bec de Corbin does not. Why? The ability is just a footnote in the Player’s Handbook. But the pole arms are discussed more in Unearthed Arcana.

So, according the Gygax, the bec de corbin is a knightly weapon while the Lucerne hammer is not. And, the Lucerne hammer has a longer spike. Maybe it’s this spike that aids in the dismounting? Anyhow, the bec de corbin now looks to fit the pole axe bill. Hold it, it’s not a bill. A bill is another type of pole arm.

But if you’d like a little bit more choppy pole axe, that is also a knightly weapon, see below. This, with its shorter spike, does not have the dismounting ability and costs 8 gold pieces. It essentially fits right between the bec de corbin and a halberd.

If you think about it, I’ve now made AD&D 1e complete. A gross oversight has been corrected.