Throwing rocks

hcobb · 10-16-2018, 05:48 AM

A thrown rock of the suitable size (easy enough for humans to find, less common for a giant sized boulder, but at least they've got a longer reach to grab them) does the same damage as a melee (not HTH) unskilled unarmed strike.

I.e. you do exactly the same damage hitting an adjacent figure with a rock as with your unskilled bare fist, just at -1 DX adjustment for range.

Thrown Weapons is the skill to use a sling, which gives +1 damage to the thrown rock. This is still a thrown weapon at -1 DX per hex, but at least you've got the +2 DX from thrown weapons. Thrown Weapons also enables the slinger to fire on the same turn he readies the pellet. Without it fire every other turn at -4DX.

A staff sling adds a further +1 damage, but fires only every other turn. (If the shooter doesn't have Thrown Weapons this is every third turn.) The staff can also be used as a light club for one less damage than a normal club.

platimus · 10-16-2018, 08:30 AM

Very sensible. I like it.

hcobb · 10-16-2018, 09:14 AM

Note all the prep work here to take shots at only 10 yards against a fixed target.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28r-MQejnHg

platimus · 10-16-2018, 09:28 AM

Yes, which is why I'd use Thrown Weapons for basic use of a sling but I would create Sling Expert and Sling Master talents.

Skarg · 10-16-2018, 09:43 AM

I like this, but I was once quite practiced at throwing rocks (and Nerf footballs, and some other things), yet I would certainly have to practice a while to know what to do with a sling... though I'm not sure how much practice it would take for me to be as good with a sling as throwing a rock... maybe it's just a "familiarization" road bump?

If not, then I'd sort of think there should also be a 1-point basic Sling talent.

I also wonder if Thrown Weapons shouldn't set the thrown weapon range penalty to more like -1 per megahex. And have a long-range thrown weapon table for people with Thrown Weapons like the missile weapons one, although both should probably have limits on the max resulting accuracy against moving targets at long range.

I'm thinking of actual experience and professionals throwing things and hitting at long range, and historical accounts of slings being on par with bows (albeit they probably mean for aiming at armies, not so much bullseye-ing individual men from 100+ meters away).

hcobb · 10-16-2018, 10:22 AM

Replace the +2 DX from Thrown Weapons with +2 range increment then. That's minus one per megahex right there.

Skarg · 10-16-2018, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hcobb

Replace the +2 DX from Thrown Weapons with +2 range increment then. That's minus one per megahex right there.

Doesn't help for having a measurable chance to hit something 30 yards away, or have a roll to hit a group of enemy soldiers 100+ yards away.

hcobb · 10-16-2018, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skarg

Doesn't help for having a measurable chance to hit something 30 yards away, or have a roll to hit a group of enemy soldiers 100+ yards away.

At 100 yards you are 33 megahexes (sling stones reach that far?) so -33. I.e. at base DX to hit a group 34 hexes across.

Jack O'All Trades · 10-17-2018, 12:23 AM

Yeah, you can find youtube videos with guys shooting slings waaay off into the distance, and historical account seem to give them at least 100 yards (in some ancient cases they're stated to out-range bows, so maybe 200+ yards depending on the bows in use in whichever army). But bows also have prohibitive DX modifiers at longer ranges if you don't consider long distance shooting rules (I forget how these work in old ITL and haven't read the latest new ITL on it yet). So for either you need additional rule to resolve "formation shooting."

10-16-2018, 05:48 AM	#1
hcobb Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Pacheco, California	Throwing rocks A thrown rock of the suitable size (easy enough for humans to find, less common for a giant sized boulder, but at least they've got a longer reach to grab them) does the same damage as a melee (not HTH) unskilled unarmed strike. I.e. you do exactly the same damage hitting an adjacent figure with a rock as with your unskilled bare fist, just at -1 DX adjustment for range. Thrown Weapons is the skill to use a sling, which gives +1 damage to the thrown rock. This is still a thrown weapon at -1 DX per hex, but at least you've got the +2 DX from thrown weapons. Thrown Weapons also enables the slinger to fire on the same turn he readies the pellet. Without it fire every other turn at -4DX. A staff sling adds a further +1 damage, but fires only every other turn. (If the shooter doesn't have Thrown Weapons this is every third turn.) The staff can also be used as a light club for one less damage than a normal club. __________________ -HJC

10-16-2018, 08:30 AM	#2
platimus Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: behind you	Re: Throwing rocks Very sensible. I like it.

10-16-2018, 09:14 AM	#3
hcobb Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Pacheco, California	Re: Throwing rocks Note all the prep work here to take shots at only 10 yards against a fixed target. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28r-MQejnHg __________________ -HJC

10-16-2018, 09:28 AM	#4
platimus Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: behind you	Re: Throwing rocks Yes, which is why I'd use Thrown Weapons for basic use of a sling but I would create Sling Expert and Sling Master talents.

10-16-2018, 09:43 AM	#5
Skarg Join Date: May 2015	Re: Throwing rocks I like this, but I was once quite practiced at throwing rocks (and Nerf footballs, and some other things), yet I would certainly have to practice a while to know what to do with a sling... though I'm not sure how much practice it would take for me to be as good with a sling as throwing a rock... maybe it's just a "familiarization" road bump? If not, then I'd sort of think there should also be a 1-point basic Sling talent. I also wonder if Thrown Weapons shouldn't set the thrown weapon range penalty to more like -1 per megahex. And have a long-range thrown weapon table for people with Thrown Weapons like the missile weapons one, although both should probably have limits on the max resulting accuracy against moving targets at long range. I'm thinking of actual experience and professionals throwing things and hitting at long range, and historical accounts of slings being on par with bows (albeit they probably mean for aiming at armies, not so much bullseye-ing individual men from 100+ meters away).

10-16-2018, 10:22 AM	#6
hcobb Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Pacheco, California	Re: Throwing rocks Replace the +2 DX from Thrown Weapons with +2 range increment then. That's minus one per megahex right there. __________________ -HJC

10-17-2018, 12:23 AM	#9
Jack O'All Trades Join Date: Jul 2018	Re: Throwing rocks Yeah, you can find youtube videos with guys shooting slings waaay off into the distance, and historical account seem to give them at least 100 yards (in some ancient cases they're stated to out-range bows, so maybe 200+ yards depending on the bows in use in whichever army). But bows also have prohibitive DX modifiers at longer ranges if you don't consider long distance shooting rules (I forget how these work in old ITL and haven't read the latest new ITL on it yet). So for either you need additional rule to resolve "formation shooting."