So joined a campaign, level 3 Drow Divine Soul Sorcerer. One of the spells I picked was Catapult. I was looking through items offered in the PHB and was looking what might make good items to stock to use as a reliable source of stuff able to throw with the Catapult spell. At first thought a bag of 1000 ball bearings might do the trick, but think an individual ball bearing might be too light for Catapult states that item needs to weigh at least 1 pound to do so. I was then thinking why not stock up on sling ammunition, that is heavy enough, but if going through the has for the sling ammunition might as well get a sling. So what would work best to stock up on for the Catapult spell?
Catapult spell uses them for more damage. When out of spell slots you use the sling.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Well 20 Sling bullets is 1.5 pounds, so one piece of ammo isn't quite big enough for Catapult.
A Flask or tankard is 1 pound and at 2cp each they are likely the cheapest option you can buy. Though as a container they are mostly empty space and would take up a lot of space in a backpack or a Bag of Holding
Our you could just gather rocks as you travel. They are free and about as space efficient as you can get.
Though honestly, finding yourself in an environment without a 1lb object to use already at hand seems extremely unlikely.
Are you just looking for flavor for this? In my campaigns, we e generally just assumed there was a nearby rock or branch or book or something and not made caster carry around ammo.
Are you just looking for flavor for this? In my campaigns, we e generally just assumed there was a nearby rock or branch or book or something and not made caster carry around ammo.
I think it would also be fair to just have a character gathering hefty rocks on their own. It's probably the easiest way to justify having ammo... to just buy a sack at one point and mention during a short rest or something that you spend your time gathering a few 1lb rocks, which will have you covered just fine without having to spend any coins.
Although one of the nice things about Catapult is that you can also use it as a delivery system for other things. You can slam enemies with a random little rock for some extra damage... or you could fling a bag of caltrops at them and deal some damage then also create an area of difficult terrain around them. So if you're thinking of investing actual in-game money into ammo specifically for the catapult spell, the priority should be finding things that give you additional effects after damaging your target, rather than just trying to figure out what fulfills the minimum weight requirement.
That’s creative, but I’d check with your DM before you do it. It allowing a spell to apply an effect beyond how it was designed — damage and applying a movement penalty — and is therefore making the spell a bit more powerful.
It’s not a lot more powerful, and I realize we’re basically talking about 5’ of movement. But it does kind of set a stage for throwing, I don’t know, a few flasks of alchemists fire bundled together or otherwise allowing additional effects.
That’s creative, but I’d check with your DM before you do it. It allowing a spell to apply an effect beyond how it was designed — damage and applying a movement penalty — and is therefore making the spell a bit more powerful.
It’s not a lot more powerful, and I realize we’re basically talking about 5’ of movement. But it does kind of set a stage for throwing, I don’t know, a few flasks of alchemists fire bundled together or otherwise allowing additional effects.
That's a good point. I think most DM's would probably allow it... Alchemist's fire is one of those things that seems really cool at first, but ultimately doesn't really deal that much damage on its own and can be kind of hard to actually hit a given target with it, since it's a single-use improvised weapon that costs 50 gp. If you had a spell that worked on its own exactly like Catapult except it also set the target on fire and it had a 50GP Component cost consumed at every casting, it would be a terrible spell. But despite all that justification, if a DM doesn't want those shenanigans in their game, there's not really much anyone can do about that.
I agree with Transmporpher! I was going to say you could still fling the bag of ball bearings, and it it rips (which it should since it takes the damage too), it would scatter them on the floor making basically difficult terrain or the chance to prone enemies.
Definitely check with DM. I would probably say a bag (with ball bearings or caltrops or whatever) would be similar to net and that it might require slashing damage to bust it open. Bludgeoning, from catapult, probably wouldn’t do much to a cloth bag, imo. But others could rule it differently.
I mean .. for the least amount of space for the proper weight, balls of lead might be good. Or plutonium. Although having several pounds of plutonium in your fannypack is a poor idea for other reasons.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
I agree with Transmporpher! I was going to say you could still fling the bag of ball bearings, and it it rips (which it should since it takes the damage too), it would scatter them on the floor making basically difficult terrain or the chance to prone enemies.
Definitely check with DM. I would probably say a bag (with ball bearings or caltrops or whatever) would be similar to net and that it might require slashing damage to bust it open. Bludgeoning, from catapult, probably wouldn’t do much to a cloth bag, imo. But others could rule it differently.
That's partly why I used Caltrops as an example... it's something that could reasonably destroy a bag and burst out of it if slammed into someone's chest hard enough. Although I'd imagine bags built for carrying caltrops are probably designed to not rip apart so easily, but replacing a solid leather satchel with a cheap sack isn't too big of an investment of either time or resources.
I agree with Transmporpher! I was going to say you could still fling the bag of ball bearings, and it it rips (which it should since it takes the damage too), it would scatter them on the floor making basically difficult terrain or the chance to prone enemies.
Definitely check with DM. I would probably say a bag (with ball bearings or caltrops or whatever) would be similar to net and that it might require slashing damage to bust it open. Bludgeoning, from catapult, probably wouldn’t do much to a cloth bag, imo. But others could rule it differently.
That's partly why I used Caltrops as an example... it's something that could reasonably destroy a bag and burst out of it if slammed into someone's chest hard enough. Although I'd imagine bags built for carrying caltrops are probably designed to not rip apart so easily, but replacing a solid leather satchel with a cheap sack isn't too big of an investment of either time or resources.
Exactly.
Bags designed to safely store caltrops might be rugged enough, maybe, to withstand bursting open. But bags designed to hold exactly one pound of caltrops to burst on impact from being launched shouldn't be unheard of in a world where this 1st level spell exists.
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I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
I agree with Transmporpher! I was going to say you could still fling the bag of ball bearings, and it it rips (which it should since it takes the damage too), it would scatter them on the floor making basically difficult terrain or the chance to prone enemies.
Definitely check with DM. I would probably say a bag (with ball bearings or caltrops or whatever) would be similar to net and that it might require slashing damage to bust it open. Bludgeoning, from catapult, probably wouldn’t do much to a cloth bag, imo. But others could rule it differently.
That's partly why I used Caltrops as an example... it's something that could reasonably destroy a bag and burst out of it if slammed into someone's chest hard enough. Although I'd imagine bags built for carrying caltrops are probably designed to not rip apart so easily, but replacing a solid leather satchel with a cheap sack isn't too big of an investment of either time or resources.
Exactly.
Bags designed to safely store caltrops might be rugged enough, maybe, to withstand bursting open. But bags designed to hold exactly one pound of caltrops to burst on impact from being launched shouldn't be unheard of in a world where this 1st level spell exists.
And that is a perfectly reasonable conclusion. I only mentioned it because I believe somewhere on these forums it was asked about launching a Net with Catapult and the issue of damage destroying the net or not came up.
So it’s best to ask your DM how they will rule a bag of ball bearings etc.
Use apples. The target will get applesauce all over them, making them the perfect target for a bard's Vicious Mockery!
lol
but it would be funny...
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As a race with Darkvision, someone probably has torches spare from their starting pack, and if not, they're only 1c each. Free action to light, action to catapult. Might be granted bonus fire damage, or at least you have a very illuminated target.
Don't forget about Holy Water. Put it in a potion vial. Let fly against mummies, vampires, etc.
Another good idea: Anything particularly hot or sticky that you can somehow manage to cram into a closed glass container. This might include certain creatures, like Boggles.
So joined a campaign, level 3 Drow Divine Soul Sorcerer. One of the spells I picked was Catapult. I was looking through items offered in the PHB and was looking what might make good items to stock to use as a reliable source of stuff able to throw with the Catapult spell. At first thought a bag of 1000 ball bearings might do the trick, but think an individual ball bearing might be too light for Catapult states that item needs to weigh at least 1 pound to do so. I was then thinking why not stock up on sling ammunition, that is heavy enough, but if going through the has for the sling ammunition might as well get a sling. So what would work best to stock up on for the Catapult spell?
Sling ammo.
Catapult spell uses them for more damage. When out of spell slots you use the sling.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
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Well 20 Sling bullets is 1.5 pounds, so one piece of ammo isn't quite big enough for Catapult.
A Flask or tankard is 1 pound and at 2cp each they are likely the cheapest option you can buy. Though as a container they are mostly empty space and would take up a lot of space in a backpack or a Bag of Holding
Our you could just gather rocks as you travel. They are free and about as space efficient as you can get.
Though honestly, finding yourself in an environment without a 1lb object to use already at hand seems extremely unlikely.
Are you just looking for flavor for this? In my campaigns, we e generally just assumed there was a nearby rock or branch or book or something and not made caster carry around ammo.
I think it would also be fair to just have a character gathering hefty rocks on their own. It's probably the easiest way to justify having ammo... to just buy a sack at one point and mention during a short rest or something that you spend your time gathering a few 1lb rocks, which will have you covered just fine without having to spend any coins.
Although one of the nice things about Catapult is that you can also use it as a delivery system for other things. You can slam enemies with a random little rock for some extra damage... or you could fling a bag of caltrops at them and deal some damage then also create an area of difficult terrain around them. So if you're thinking of investing actual in-game money into ammo specifically for the catapult spell, the priority should be finding things that give you additional effects after damaging your target, rather than just trying to figure out what fulfills the minimum weight requirement.
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That’s creative, but I’d check with your DM before you do it. It allowing a spell to apply an effect beyond how it was designed — damage and applying a movement penalty — and is therefore making the spell a bit more powerful.
It’s not a lot more powerful, and I realize we’re basically talking about 5’ of movement. But it does kind of set a stage for throwing, I don’t know, a few flasks of alchemists fire bundled together or otherwise allowing additional effects.
That's a good point. I think most DM's would probably allow it... Alchemist's fire is one of those things that seems really cool at first, but ultimately doesn't really deal that much damage on its own and can be kind of hard to actually hit a given target with it, since it's a single-use improvised weapon that costs 50 gp. If you had a spell that worked on its own exactly like Catapult except it also set the target on fire and it had a 50GP Component cost consumed at every casting, it would be a terrible spell. But despite all that justification, if a DM doesn't want those shenanigans in their game, there's not really much anyone can do about that.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Flask of Oil, bag of flour, a net, a bag of caltrops.
If you got more money or an alchemist jug: acid and alchemist fire.
Attack: [roll]3d20dl2+6[/roll] Damage: [roll](if([roll:-1:critical], =0, 1d8, 2{1d8}.expand()))+4[/roll] Sneakattack: [roll](if([roll:-2:critical], =0, 2d6, 2{2d6}.expand()))[/roll]Molotov cocktails. Molotoval cocktails flying everywhere. Or vials of acid.🥸
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Definitely check with DM. I would probably say a bag (with ball bearings or caltrops or whatever) would be similar to net and that it might require slashing damage to bust it open. Bludgeoning, from catapult, probably wouldn’t do much to a cloth bag, imo. But others could rule it differently.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
I mean .. for the least amount of space for the proper weight, balls of lead might be good. Or plutonium. Although having several pounds of plutonium in your fannypack is a poor idea for other reasons.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
That's partly why I used Caltrops as an example... it's something that could reasonably destroy a bag and burst out of it if slammed into someone's chest hard enough. Although I'd imagine bags built for carrying caltrops are probably designed to not rip apart so easily, but replacing a solid leather satchel with a cheap sack isn't too big of an investment of either time or resources.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Exactly.
Bags designed to safely store caltrops might be rugged enough, maybe, to withstand bursting open. But bags designed to hold exactly one pound of caltrops to burst on impact from being launched shouldn't be unheard of in a world where this 1st level spell exists.
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
And that is a perfectly reasonable conclusion. I only mentioned it because I believe somewhere on these forums it was asked about launching a Net with Catapult and the issue of damage destroying the net or not came up.
So it’s best to ask your DM how they will rule a bag of ball bearings etc.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
Sling ammo would work for the Magic Stone spell, but Catapult needs to throw something bigger.
whetstone is 1 lb for 1 cp, and in a reasonably compact shape.
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Use apples. The target will get applesauce all over them, making them the perfect target for a bard's Vicious Mockery!
lol
but it would be funny...
Hi all, I'm Druid_Girl31, but please call me Druid. I am (a/an) CERTIFIED INSOMNIAC, PAN, alterhuman, BADDD DM, and obsessed with HAMILTON! Why? I'm just cool like that!
She/her pronouns please. TITLES: Savior of the Woods by Drummer! Send me a PM! PRAISE JEFF! Join the Hamilton Cult! Hate on Gen Alpha Slang! <--- ( all links)
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As a race with Darkvision, someone probably has torches spare from their starting pack, and if not, they're only 1c each. Free action to light, action to catapult. Might be granted bonus fire damage, or at least you have a very illuminated target.
Don't forget about Holy Water. Put it in a potion vial. Let fly against mummies, vampires, etc.
Another good idea: Anything particularly hot or sticky that you can somehow manage to cram into a closed glass container. This might include certain creatures, like Boggles.
1-5 lb. rocks would be the cheapest as you can find some almost anywhere for free.