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Old 10-22-2018, 05:45 PM   #31
Helborn
 
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Default Re: Should sling be its own talent?

That's what I said originally.
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Old 10-22-2018, 06:44 PM   #32
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Default Re: Should sling be its own talent?

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Originally Posted by Tenex View Post
I dunno about slingshots being modern. The only thing modern about them is elasticity for the bands. If someone conceived of it there's no reason an alchemist or chemist couldn't make a solution that imbued intestines with elasticity. Aside from that issue it's really a simple concept. Much simpler than a gun.
Mechanically a slingshot is a bow. It's just one limbs that are so floppy that they stretch when they bend.

My personal favorite fantasy material for enabling stretchy stuff, including slingshots, is giant spider silk. Real spider silk would work for slingshots (and some pretty impressive wind up power storage for clockwork gizmos), it's just too difficult to accumulate enough of it to be very workable, and fantasy setting pretty much always have *something* that produces webs big and strong enough to capture humans, which plenty of material for a catapult, never mind a slingshot.
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Old 10-23-2018, 06:53 AM   #33
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Default Re: Should sling be its own talent?

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Originally Posted by larsdangly View Post
I think a sling should be treated as a missile weapon with respect to range penalties, and thus that its 'upgrade' talent would be Missile Weapons.

Edit: If you poke around on the internet you can figure out that simple slings have maximum ranges exceeding 400 meters (!), and people who have practiced a bit seem to have no trouble hitting targets at ~50 yards. Range penalties in TFT are pretty harsh, overall, but I'd say this earns the sling a 'missile weapon' range treatment
That works too. As usual, I can see both sides to an argument. But there is some logic here, since a sling is an "augmented throw", with the centrifugal force added by the sling itself contributing to the range. In that way it could be considered to have more kinship with a bow and therefore be classes as a kind of missile weapon. The flamingo hunters I mentioned earlier were certainly hunting at a range and with an accuracy that was more like archery than someone just throwing a stone.
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Old 10-24-2018, 11:30 AM   #34
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Default Re: Should sling be its own talent?

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Originally Posted by Charles G. View Post
Disagree - at the least a purpose made lead bullet is going to dramatically outperform a simple rock. Simple physics - greater density + streamlining = better performance in terms of range and damage.
I think that the force there is the factor moreso than the form, though the shape does contribute to some degree of improvement. A rock fired from a gun is still going to have appreciable range and do significant damage, and a bullet hurled from a sling isn't going to be much better than a rock. It's the propellant force which is the core motivator of range and damage, though again improvements to form do lead to incrementally better performance.
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Old 10-24-2018, 11:48 AM   #35
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Default Re: Should sling be its own talent?

ITL 109: Thrown rock 8 oz
20 sling pellets: 16 oz

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sling_...%29#Ammunition
Almond shaped leaden sling-bullets were typically about 35 millimetres (1.4 in) long and about 20 millimetres (0.79 in) wide, massing approximately 28 grams (0.99 oz).

So the damage is the same for an 8oz random rock or a 1 oz lead pellet.
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Old 10-26-2018, 02:12 PM   #36
larsdangly
 
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Default Re: Should sling be its own talent?

TFT is a tactical but abstract game, so you are always going to have trouble connecting physical reality to any one game stat, viewed in isolation of the others. I think the important metric is, do the final outcomes feel about right? This is a case where I think the system is doing a pretty good job. A sling is an effective weapon (it can do damage, and on a rare multiple-damage roll could kill a normal person), but it isn't really effective against people with full coverage heavy armors. An arquebus will ruin your day every time it hits you, irrespective of who you are or what you are wearing (unless magic is involved). Those are the correct outcomes.
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Old 10-26-2018, 02:18 PM   #37
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Default Re: Should sling be its own talent?

As an historical aside, the Balearic slingers were famous throughout the Roman world and eagerly recruited by Rome as auxiliaries of great use, especially in major field battles with civilized opponents (e.g., Parthia). They were considered quite deadly.
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