Quote:
Originally Posted by Nils_Lindeberg
"...The main reasons the boomerang or the lasso/bola guys hasn't dominated the scene is because of lack of knowledge that they were great weapons and the most important, swords and bows are cooler and more of a fantasy cliché. It wasn't their lack of effectiveness that stopped their dominance."
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You bring to attention many good observations or points.
Having enjoyed playing a "unusual" character for years, It was fun indeed to be a special weapons user, but... outside of having Arena Fighting advantages in a pure combative role.
It wasn't all roses when adventuring. It was very difficult to build that character from day one, if you could get by with the no armor, lower ST character for a few adventures and not Die, then you had a chance.
But, there were tons of disadvantages: you never found a magical weapon of your type, or even a Fine weapon, when you had your weapons Lost or exhausted, or broken, it wasn't easy to replace them, and you were at a significant disadvantage, especially troublesome if jailed, robbed etc...
It didn't take long for that Eleven archer to make you look bad with his fancy bow, and quiver of never ending magical or finely crafted arrows.
I also wanted to touch on the infamous hobbit sniper. It seems every campaign as endured this pain in the ass, but in my experience they never lasted. to capitalize on the inherent racial advantages and actually make a very high DX sniper, they always sacrificed ST, and almost never wore armor... it was just a matter of time that the orc merc party put him down with a volley of crossbow bolts.
It's not IF you will ever be on the receiving end of a double damage roll, it's a matter of WHEN.
Also, there was an example above of a hobbit/halfling sniper with a war boomerang, not only is it a ST 11 weapon, but it's Large and Heavy, and not even a possibility in a new character.
What I hated above that though, was the hobbit with a GUN. (shakes head)
It took a "greater" creature in the old rules to pull off this boomerang, bola flinging character with enough ST to not die on day one, and although it was fun whipping two boomerangs or bolas at the bad guys, even though my off handed attack rarely landed, I was ALWAYS fighting, there was no rest for the wicked, and not everyone enjoys the company of a Reptile Man in their town, actually nobody does...
In the long run, the elven archer kicked my ass for advancement, and advanced character development.
a point I still hold a grudge to this day... damn elves....chosen SJG love children.