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, Template:Convert in length. Thickness is about Template:Convert.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 is not written only as 「10フィートの棒」 in the item table, description rules specific written did not.Therefore, the Japanese players are not familiar with RPG still, I did not know well to what you use on earth.
ja:安田均 also the same, and when I asked of uses to American players, that was crawling on is said to be "used to determine whether there is a trap and poked the dungeon."

Then, 「D&Dがよくわかる本」 is released from Fujimi Dragon book in 1987, a detailed use of 10 foot pole has been commentary in it.Player usage of 10 foot pole that was found here for the first time was also not a few.

In1994,The paperback edition D&D was published from ja:電撃ゲーム文庫,Description says posted "pole (wooden)" as the "Players" Fascicle 1, and there are a variety of uses have been served.

### 3rd edition

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10 foot pole is the 2000 3rd edition D&D and 3.5, edition of 2003Also in the "Players Handbook", it is listed in the illustrations with a brief description in the chapter "equipment".

### 4th edition

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Of 2008 to 4th edition D&D is,Although not listed in the "Player's Handbook" and "Chapter 7 Equipment","10 foot pole" is the emergence of "Mordenkainen's magnificient emporium" supplements in Chapter 6, "adventure equipment",It is described as "can be operated from a safe place, away 2 trout traps many",The illustrations are actually used has also been published.

## Influence

Dungeon of D&D was a style that you declare a fine action against the depiction of the Dungeon Master, and picked a dungeon with a 10 foot pole, check the wall, and ... make the ears, to proceed carefully.Therefore, adventure who do not have a 10 foot pole, was also being 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 is being done.

10 foot pole is not always necessary to adventure,Anyone have it if adventure veteran, veteran players to talk to species as one of the items that represent the D&D in many cases.In some cases, it is also posted on RPG other systems such as Tunnels & Trolls.

## Parodies

In the "Munchkin" card game by Steve Jackson Games,Item called ELEVEN-FOOT POLE appeared.Large items of both hands possession that gives +1 bonus to a player, it can also be used as treasure worth 200 gold coins.

## References

1. ↑ 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。
2. ↑ 『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
3. ↑ 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。
4. ↑ 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
5. ↑ 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
6. ↑ 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
7. ↑ 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
8. ↑ 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
9. ↑ 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
10. ↑ 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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