Throwing rocks

[hcobb]

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]

Very sensible. I like it.

[hcobb]

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]

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]

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]

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