Say i'm a dwarf and I'm looking for a little edge to take down a spirit. By CC, I can't use exceptionally large melee weapons without a +4 because I'm just too damn short. Would this apply to willpower dueling with a spirit? The weapon causes no damage, nor do you have to have any skill (the weapon is merely your symbol of long range ass beating) and you can't use combat pool. Modifier or not?

Also, could you hurt yourself with a monofilament whip in willpower fighting?

when willpower fighting you're not using any physical weapons, you're just being really mean to the spirit with your emotions. so no, +4 modifier won't apply cause you're not using it to fight with, at the moment it's just a pointy stick in your hand for decoration

Actually, I dont think Raptor's opinion is backed up by the rules. Since you do get the reach bonus from your melee weapon when engaging in a contest of wills, it seems clear to me that you *are* using the weapon in some way. The melee weapon is a means of focusing your will... and if you're using a weapon that is far too big for you, I imagine it would be harder to focus your will through it.

However, if you look at the table on page 99 of CC, it does not say that "all weapons of reach 2" are considered overly large - it goes on to list the very specific weapons to which that modifier applies. There are plenty of reach 2 weapons that avoid the +4. Combat Axes, Javelins, and Spears can all be used by dwarves without penalty.

I would also say that it's possible to hurt yourself with a monofilament whip used against a spirit. If you get the reach bonus, then you are swinging it around. Against a spirit, though, you would be better off using a regular whip for the same affect. Unless it is a low-Force spirit - if it is Force: 4 or less, its immunity to normal weapons won't be high enough to protect it against the monowhip's damage code (something like 10S I believe), so you could forego the contest of wills and make a normal melee attack.