Re-reading the original question, it was whether or not you can use the Magic Spear as a weapon against normal opponents. I believe that Project Aon treats the Magic Spear as a weapon-like Special Item which would mean that you can indeed use it as a "normal" weapon in combat.
However, some rebuttals to your points: On 23/02/13 11:11, John TFS wrote:
As I recall, until book 6 you don't actually get the option to leave stuff in "safe keeping."So, In book 3 if you have the Magic spear, you also have the Sommerswerd.
http://www.projectaon.org/en/xhtml/lw/02fotw/discplnz.htmThis additional skill, together with your five or six other skills and any Special Items that you have picked up in Books 1 and 2, *may* then be used in the next adventure ...
http://www.projectaon.org/en/xhtml/lw/03tcok/gamerulz.htmYou may also carry over *any* Weapons and Special Items that you held at the end of your last adventure, ... (You are still limited to two Weapons and eight Backpack Items.)
The implication here is that you can choose as many (or as few) weapons/backpack/special items as you like to carry over from the end of your previous adventure. While youre right that there is no option for "safe keeping", this does not mean that you are forced to carry over everything (although you would lose access to anything you dont carry over).
Plus, let's be honest here. If Lone Wolf has experienced Book 2 and gotten the Sommerswerd, he has at least indirectly (and perhaps directly) encountered Vonatar. He knows that Vonatar is a powerful magician who can summon up lots of undead (ie, the death-hulks). The Sommerswerd is extremely effective against both magic (which it can absorb/deflect) and the undead (which it does double damage against). It is absurd that Lone Wolf who leave behind the Sommerswerd in favor of the Magic Spear when he knows he's going after Vonatar. The only reason to do that is sheer cussedness on the part of a player, which should not be rewarded.
Or role-playing?The books are not about power-gaming. The Kai Wisdom states that you should be able to complete the gamebook regardless of your initial Combat Skill/Endurance Points. Logically, you do not *need* the Sommerswerd to succeed (otherwise how would someone starting book 3 be able to succeed) and you are not forced to take it. Your character could chose to create a shrine for it or hide it away from evil instead of risking losing it in, I dont know, some random sewer system somewhere.
In my opinion, if the Helghast is close enough to strangle you, it's too close to deploy the Magic Spear.
You are no longer being strangled when you have the option of engaging with the Sommerswerd.
http://www.projectaon.org/en/xhtml/lw/03tcok/sect328.htm"You desperately gasp for air as the skeletal fingers tear and burn at your throat. You lose 6 ENDURANCE points. If you are still alive, you can break free from his steely grip"
