10 foot pole
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The 10-foot pole is an equipment item appearing in the Dungeons & Dragons role playing game in each series.
Overview
A 10-foot pole is a wooden stick, 10 feet (3.0 m) in length. Thickness is about 2 inches (5.1 cm).[1] It is often used to explore areas of dungeons that are dark or potentially trapped. With ingenuity, a ten foot pole can be used for a nearly infinite number of tasks. A huge part of D&D back in the day was its exploration aspect, mainly in dungeons. There were no "skill checks" so plausible innovation was the primary game mechanic for those scenes. You had to use your mind and whatever gear or other things you could leverage to find pits, bypass deathtraps, cross chasms, climb ledges, prod corpses, etc. Furthermore, the ten foot pole (along with mirrors and stake & mallet) was one of the handful of noncombat equipment items listed in D&D gear lists all the way back to OD&D Volume 1: Men & Magic.
As a result, the ten foot pole more than any other piece of equipment captured players' imaginations as the universal multi-tool (like the Doctor's "sonic screwdriver") to use in exploration. Entire Dragon Magazine articles were dedicated to its merits. The trope spread to other systems quickly - I own a Rolemaster equipment book entitled "...and a ten foot pole" that is a universal gear book covering multiple historical ages (very useful), but takes its name from the pole because that so obviously brands it a gear book to gamers! Anyway, its ubiquity in early systems and its nearly infinite uses is what turned it into such a persistent trope.
D&D didn't invent the 'ten foot pole', it comes of course from the popular idiom "I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole."
History
Classic D&D
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In 1985, when the Japanese version of the Classic Dungeons & Dragons was released, it was not written only as 「10フィートの棒」 in the item table, and specific description rules were not written.[2] Therefore, the Japanese players, not yet familiar with RPGs, did not know well what it was used for. ja:安田均 also asked the same question to American players, and was told that it was used to determine whether there was a trap and to poke the dungeon.
Then, 「D&Dがよくわかる本」 was released from Fujimi Dragon book in 1987, and a detailed use of the 10 foot pole was commented on in it.[1] Player usage of the 10 foot pole that was found here for the first time was also significant.
In 1994, the paperback edition of D&D was published from :ja:電撃ゲーム文庫, and the description says posted "pole (wooden)" as the "Players" Fascicle 1, and there are a variety of uses served.[3]
AD&D
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3rd edition
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The 10 foot pole is in the 2000 3rd edition D&D[4] and 3.5 edition of 2003[5] Also in the "Players Handbook", it is listed in the illustrations with a brief description in the chapter "equipment".
4th edition
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In 2008's 4th edition D&D, although not listed in the "Player's Handbook" and "Chapter 7 Equipment",[6] "10 foot pole" emerges in the "Mordenkainen's magnificent emporium" supplements in Chapter 6, "adventure equipment". It is described as "can be operated from a safe place, away 2 trout traps many", and the illustrations actually show it being used.[7]
D&D NEXT
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Influence
Dungeon of D&D was a style where you declared a fine action against the depiction of the Dungeon Master, and picked a dungeon with a 10 foot pole, checked the wall, and... listened carefully, to proceed carefully. Therefore, adventurers who did not have a 10 foot pole were also made fun of as "immature who are not familiar with the dungeon." In the third edition since D&D, it can be integrated to act skill check one or "search" and "sense", to increase the play speed and to simplify the work being done.
The 10 foot pole is not always necessary for adventure, but anyone who has it is considered a veteran player, and is often talked about as one of the items that represent D&D.[8] In some cases, it is also posted on other RPG systems such as Tunnels & Trolls.[9]
Parodies
In the "Munchkin" card game by Steve Jackson Games, an item called ELEVEN-FOOT POLE appears. A large item of both hands possession that gives +1 bonus to a player, it can also be used as treasure worth 200 gold coins.[10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 ja:黒田幸弘『D&Dがよくわかる本』170ページ 1987/07 ja:富士見ドラゴンブック ISBN 4-8291-4218-9 本書の中では「竿」として紹介されている。なお1994年7月にja:電撃ゲーム文庫から発売された『D&Dがよくわかる本 改訂版』 ISBN 4-07-301606-7 の165ページでは「棒」と書かれている。
- ↑ 『ダンジョンズ&ドラゴンズ ベーシックルールセット』ja:新和 1985年
- ↑ TSR,Inc.編 訳・構成／安田均「D&Dルールサイクロペディア① プレイヤーズ」338ページ 1994/08 :ja:電撃ゲーム文庫 ISBN 4-07-301820-5 343ページにはイラストも掲載されている。
- ↑ ja:ジョナサン・トゥイート、ja:モンテ・クック、ja:スキップ・ウィリアムズ「ダンジョンズ&ドラゴンズ プレイヤーズハンドブック」107ページ 2002/12 ja:ホビージャパン ISBN 4-89425-284-8
- ↑ ジョナサン・トゥイート、モンテ・クック、スキップ・ウィリアムズ「ダンジョンズ&ドラゴンズ プレイヤーズハンドブック 第3.5版」124ページ 2005/01 ホビージャパン ISBN 4-89425-361-5
- ↑ ja:ロブ・ハインソー、ja:アンディ・コリンズ、ja:ジェームズ・ワイアット「ダンジョンズ&ドラゴンズ 基本ルールブック 第4版 プレイヤーズ・ハンドブック」 2008/12 :ja:ホビージャパン ISBN 978-4-89425-798-6
- ↑ ジェレミィ・クローフォード、スティーヴン・シューバート、マット・サーネット「ダンジョンズ&ドラゴンズ第4版 サプリメント モルデンカイネンの魔法大百貨」125ページ 2012/08 :ja:ホビージャパン ISBN 978-4-7986-0452-7
- ↑ ja:朱鷺田祐介『RPG用誤辞典』89ページのja:金澤尚子のイラスト 1997/09 :ja:富士見ドラゴンブック ISBN 4-8291-4341-X
- ↑ ケン・セント・アンドレ著、安田均訳『トンネルズ&トロールズ 第7版 (Role&Roll Books)』2006/12 ja:新紀元社 ISBN 978-4775305188
- ↑ スティーブ・ジャクソン 安田均訳『マンチキン日本語版』2007年 アークライト
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