A dwarven rogue in my group requested an original ranged weapon for this character. I call it a rock chucker. It's basically a wooden version of the toy below that is built rather like a longbow (half a long bow) with a claw on the end. It grasps a projectile, shaped like an 8 sided die, made from low quality metals, rather like a sling stone (similar size). It does a D8 and has the same range as a sling. The player loves this thing. The character carries the mold around with him and when they go to town and he has a blacksmith make him a couple dozen from whatever crap metals the blacksmith has lying around. Sometimes it's just a little creativity that makes a character special for a player.
Why does this do twice a sling’s damage then? Similar size, range and ammo as a sling (as you say) so why d8 instead of d4? Besides wanting to do more damage?
Why does this do twice a sling’s damage then? Similar size, range and ammo as a sling (as you say) so why d8 instead of d4? Besides wanting to do more damage?
Ruleswise, it's just a short ranged longbow. No problem there.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
But what is the reasoning behind the rule? I'm just curious since it kind of just seems a sling made out of wood, doing the same thing with the same kind of projectile. His game, can do what he wants... Just curious if there is actual science behind it or just what they decided.
Makes sense. Like a crossbow but with bludgeoning damage. I'd probably have made it a 1d6 attack like a shortbow or hand crossbow - 1d8 ranged actually makes this the best ranged rogue weapon in the game. That's unlikely to make a big difference though.
Why does this do twice a sling’s damage then? Similar size, range and ammo as a sling (as you say) so why d8 instead of d4? Besides wanting to do more damage?
I'm no engineer, but it seems like this would have more velocity than a sling. The faceted bullets are a little larger than a sling stone, about the size of a plum.
Why does this do twice a sling’s damage then? Similar size, range and ammo as a sling (as you say) so why d8 instead of d4? Besides wanting to do more damage?
I'm no engineer, but it seems like this would have more velocity than a sling. The faceted bullets are a little larger than a sling stone, about the size of a plum.
Technically, there is no way this item could even approach the velocity that a sling could produce. The centrifugal forces generated by a sling are incredibly high.
Hey, you know that old story of David and Goliath. The surprising thing about that story, is not the fact that the little guy won. It's that they expected him to lose, when he had a sling. In history, slings are OP. In D&D 5e, not so much:
"Ancient peoples used the sling in combat—armies included both specialist slingers and regular soldiers equipped with slings. As a weapon, the sling had several advantages; a sling bullet lobbed in a high trajectory can achieve ranges in excess of 400 metres (1,300 ft). Modern authorities vary widely in their estimates of the effective range of ancient weapons. A bow and arrow could also have been used to produce a long range arcing trajectory, but ancient writers repeatedly stress the sling's advantage of range. The sling was light to carry and cheap to produce; ammunition in the form of stones was readily available and often to be found near the site of battle. The ranges the sling could achieve with molded lead sling-bullets was surpassed only by the strong composite bow."
Slings could hit people from more than 1,200 feet away, were easy to make, were very deadly and easy could kill basically anyone if you hit the correct place. People with training in slings could be very accurate, and when a whole army was fitted with slings and were trained, they could be deadly.
This is because of the velocity that a sling can reach from swinging it in a circular motion.
Just straight up chucking a rock attached to a stick, that's not going to hurt more than a sling.
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Well not in reality, but this is D&D, where the bow out ranges the rifle, and the idea of a d8 slashing finesse weapon are unheard of. If D&D mapped reality, the sling would have the range of a hunting rifle, do at least d6 damage, and the hunting rifle would Be off the charts. So why not? An atlatl could give the Javelin a range of 50/150 if it were in D&D, and this device he wants to use works off of the same principle of extending leverage.
Well not in reality, but this is D&D, where the bow out ranges the rifle, and the idea of a d8 slashing finesse weapon are unheard of. If D&D mapped reality, the sling would have the range of a hunting rifle, do at least d6 damage, and the hunting rifle would Be off the charts. So why not? An atlatl could give the Javelin a range of 50/150 if it were in D&D, and this device he wants to use works off of the same principle of extending leverage.
This is correct, D&D isn't designed to be a simulator for the real world, but there is some realism to it.
A rock-chucker like the one depicted above wouldn't do more damage than a sling, it would do less.
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Maybe it would if fantasy dwarves stuck big rocks specially shaped like golf balls. Would lengthen the dwarves’ leverage to approximate a humans. Think of a super shotput. Those were invented to throw at enemies after all. Do you know any fantasy dwarves IRL? Me neither, so I guess we have no way to test it. 🤷♂️ So since their the DM, I can’t tell them they’re wrong.
If all you want are reasons, look at the aerodynamics of golf balls, and the effects of leverage by something called an atlatl or “spear-thrower.” There you would find both scientific and historical president for your concept at the very least.
I'm good guys, thanbks for your input. It's just a fun little idea that the player loves that doesn't unbalance the group. He's gotten quite good at hiding during combat and using it for ranged sneak attacks.
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A dwarven rogue in my group requested an original ranged weapon for this character. I call it a rock chucker. It's basically a wooden version of the toy below that is built rather like a longbow (half a long bow) with a claw on the end. It grasps a projectile, shaped like an 8 sided die, made from low quality metals, rather like a sling stone (similar size). It does a D8 and has the same range as a sling. The player loves this thing. The character carries the mold around with him and when they go to town and he has a blacksmith make him a couple dozen from whatever crap metals the blacksmith has lying around. Sometimes it's just a little creativity that makes a character special for a player.
Neat idea. Just wait until he realizes he can also chuck bottles of oil or poison with it.
Or Acid (Vial) or Alchemist's Fire (flask).
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Yes, and then rolls a 1. Can't wait.
Why does this do twice a sling’s damage then? Similar size, range and ammo as a sling (as you say) so why d8 instead of d4? Besides wanting to do more damage?
That's neat, and very similar to the logic behind an atlatl. Could the player use it to toss spears?
Ruleswise, it's just a short ranged longbow. No problem there.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
But what is the reasoning behind the rule? I'm just curious since it kind of just seems a sling made out of wood, doing the same thing with the same kind of projectile. His game, can do what he wants... Just curious if there is actual science behind it or just what they decided.
Bigger rocks? There is president for a similar device called an atlatl designed to increase leverage, and therefore range of a spear, so why not?
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Makes sense. Like a crossbow but with bludgeoning damage. I'd probably have made it a 1d6 attack like a shortbow or hand crossbow - 1d8 ranged actually makes this the best ranged rogue weapon in the game. That's unlikely to make a big difference though.
I'm no engineer, but it seems like this would have more velocity than a sling. The faceted bullets are a little larger than a sling stone, about the size of a plum.
Technically, there is no way this item could even approach the velocity that a sling could produce. The centrifugal forces generated by a sling are incredibly high.
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If he was using metal shot the results would have been different. But throwing lead or metal around is bad for the environment.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Hey, you know that old story of David and Goliath. The surprising thing about that story, is not the fact that the little guy won. It's that they expected him to lose, when he had a sling. In history, slings are OP. In D&D 5e, not so much:
"Ancient peoples used the sling in combat—armies included both specialist slingers and regular soldiers equipped with slings. As a weapon, the sling had several advantages; a sling bullet lobbed in a high trajectory can achieve ranges in excess of 400 metres (1,300 ft). Modern authorities vary widely in their estimates of the effective range of ancient weapons. A bow and arrow could also have been used to produce a long range arcing trajectory, but ancient writers repeatedly stress the sling's advantage of range. The sling was light to carry and cheap to produce; ammunition in the form of stones was readily available and often to be found near the site of battle. The ranges the sling could achieve with molded lead sling-bullets was surpassed only by the strong composite bow."
Slings could hit people from more than 1,200 feet away, were easy to make, were very deadly and easy could kill basically anyone if you hit the correct place. People with training in slings could be very accurate, and when a whole army was fitted with slings and were trained, they could be deadly.
This is because of the velocity that a sling can reach from swinging it in a circular motion.
Just straight up chucking a rock attached to a stick, that's not going to hurt more than a sling.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
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Well not in reality, but this is D&D, where the bow out ranges the rifle, and the idea of a d8 slashing finesse weapon are unheard of. If D&D mapped reality, the sling would have the range of a hunting rifle, do at least d6 damage, and the hunting rifle would Be off the charts. So why not? An atlatl could give the Javelin a range of 50/150 if it were in D&D, and this device he wants to use works off of the same principle of extending leverage.
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This is correct, D&D isn't designed to be a simulator for the real world, but there is some realism to it.
A rock-chucker like the one depicted above wouldn't do more damage than a sling, it would do less.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
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Maybe it would if fantasy dwarves stuck big rocks specially shaped like golf balls. Would lengthen the dwarves’ leverage to approximate a humans. Think of a super shotput. Those were invented to throw at enemies after all. Do you know any fantasy dwarves IRL? Me neither, so I guess we have no way to test it. 🤷♂️ So since their the DM, I can’t tell them they’re wrong.
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Sorry, I was just looking for reasoning, not to start a debate.
the DM is final arbiter in any game and that’s good enough for me.
If all you want are reasons, look at the aerodynamics of golf balls, and the effects of leverage by something called an atlatl or “spear-thrower.” There you would find both scientific and historical president for your concept at the very least.
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I'm good guys, thanbks for your input. It's just a fun little idea that the player loves that doesn't unbalance the group. He's gotten quite good at hiding during combat and using it for ranged sneak attacks.