[DF] Slingshot launched pixies?

Anders · 02-23-2012, 05:53 AM

Are pixies small enough to be launched from a sling? What damage would they do if, say, armed with a longspear?

mhd · 02-23-2012, 06:51 AM

European or African pixies?

gilbertocarlos · 02-23-2012, 06:59 AM

The damage a slingshot would do, at +1 and impaling probably.

Anders · 02-23-2012, 07:06 AM

What would happen to the Pixie?

mlangsdorf · 02-23-2012, 07:08 AM

Pixies weigh 1-2 lbs, versus sling ammo of 0.05 lbs. So generally no.

Low-Tech introduces the Heavy Sling, capable of chucking 1 lb rocks for sw +2/cr damage. I'd probably use that, reduce the range for a fully equipped delving pixie, and change the damage to sw+2/im for his long spear.

I'd also require both the slinger and the pixie to make attack rolls, with a fair penalty for the pixie (presumably dizzy after being whipped around a bit). If the slinger hits but the pixie misses, treat it as a slam attack by the pixie; if both hit, the pixie manages to align the spear and do the sw+2/im damage.

d_ns · 02-23-2012, 07:36 AM

Yeah, the dizziness is the main issue, and the forces the pixie would endure.

I recommend an atlatl or other spear/javelin lever device instead. Gives a nice bit of leverage without those other issues.

Bruno · 02-23-2012, 08:09 AM

Pixies are already very dense for their volume (approaching the density of steel). I suspect they can endure g-forces far in excess of what a human could ever survive. They don't have Acceleration Tolerance on their character sheets, but it's DF, that's the kind of trait I'd expect to see stripped out as "almost never mattering", don't spend points on it.

I would give someone with a spear-thrower a skill penalty though - a pixie is not a carefully crafted and balanced dart or spear. A -2 seems roughly appropriate - a pixie is worse than even a Cheap spear/dart, because it's not even approximately the right shape.

A staff-sling might be a better plan.

David Johnston2 · 02-23-2012, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Are pixies small enough to be launched from a sling? What damage would they do if, say, armed with a longspear?

No. But you could fire them with an arbalest. Realistically though they'd start to tumble wildly.

Anthony · 02-23-2012, 06:24 PM

Well, a pixie is basically a 7" tall lump of solid iron (it is 10x heavier and 25x stronger than a flesh and blood creature of similar dimensions), so it probably actually has okay air resistance for its weight. It's a horrible shape for accurate aiming, though. Also, are you talking about a sling or a slingshot? A sling would probably result in a dizzy pixie and 1-2 lb is a rather heavy object to throw with a sling, a slingshot isn't really available pre-rubber and 1-2 lb is really heavy, but the lack of spinning and dizziness would allow the pixie to effectively control its own flight.

Snaps · 02-24-2012, 01:27 AM

Well, lets say a slingshot has a range of ST x5.

The way I am reading the entry in DF3, Pixies only have 1 hit point normally (-5 ST than a further -4 to HP).

So a guy with a 10 ST, shooting a pixie with a slingshot would send that pixie flying at about move 50.

pg. 371 tell us that a pixie moving at 50 yards per second would do (1 x 50)/100 dice of damage. A 0.5 result gives us a damage of 1d-2.

Now if you want to allow the rules on pg. 397 used for attacking from a mount, then it gets interesting. Those rules let you use ST x velocity /100 instead of HP x velocity /100.

So if you use the pixies average ST of 5 the damage becomes 5 x 50 /100 = 2d. With a pixie lance this would become 2d-3 imp.

If however you allow the pixie to use the SHOOTERS ST (he's firing the little guy from the slingshot after all) then damage becomes 10 x 50 /100 = 5d of damage, -3 for that pixie lance so 5d-3 imp.

02-23-2012, 05:53 AM	#1
Anders Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden	[DF] Slingshot launched pixies? Are pixies small enough to be launched from a sling? What damage would they do if, say, armed with a longspear? __________________ “When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...” Marcus Aurelius Author of Winged Folk. The GURPS Discord. Drop by and say hi!

02-23-2012, 06:51 AM	#2
mhd Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Land of the Beer, Home of the Dirndls	Re: [DF] Slingshot launched pixies? European or African pixies?

02-23-2012, 06:59 AM	#3
gilbertocarlos Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Caxias do Sul, Brazil	Re: [DF] Slingshot launched pixies? The damage a slingshot would do, at +1 and impaling probably.

02-23-2012, 07:06 AM	#4
Anders Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden	Re: [DF] Slingshot launched pixies? What would happen to the Pixie? __________________ “When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...” Marcus Aurelius Author of Winged Folk. The GURPS Discord. Drop by and say hi!

02-23-2012, 07:08 AM	#5
mlangsdorf Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Austin, TX	Re: [DF] Slingshot launched pixies? Pixies weigh 1-2 lbs, versus sling ammo of 0.05 lbs. So generally no. Low-Tech introduces the Heavy Sling, capable of chucking 1 lb rocks for sw +2/cr damage. I'd probably use that, reduce the range for a fully equipped delving pixie, and change the damage to sw+2/im for his long spear. I'd also require both the slinger and the pixie to make attack rolls, with a fair penalty for the pixie (presumably dizzy after being whipped around a bit). If the slinger hits but the pixie misses, treat it as a slam attack by the pixie; if both hit, the pixie manages to align the spear and do the sw+2/im damage.

02-23-2012, 07:36 AM	#6
d_ns Join Date: Jan 2012	Re: [DF] Slingshot launched pixies? Yeah, the dizziness is the main issue, and the forces the pixie would endure. I recommend an atlatl or other spear/javelin lever device instead. Gives a nice bit of leverage without those other issues.

02-23-2012, 08:09 AM	#7
Bruno Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Canada	Re: [DF] Slingshot launched pixies? Pixies are already very dense for their volume (approaching the density of steel). I suspect they can endure g-forces far in excess of what a human could ever survive. They don't have Acceleration Tolerance on their character sheets, but it's DF, that's the kind of trait I'd expect to see stripped out as "almost never mattering", don't spend points on it. I would give someone with a spear-thrower a skill penalty though - a pixie is not a carefully crafted and balanced dart or spear. A -2 seems roughly appropriate - a pixie is worse than even a Cheap spear/dart, because it's not even approximately the right shape. A staff-sling might be a better plan. __________________ All about Size Modifier; Unified Hit Location Table A Wiki for my F2F Group A neglected GURPS blog

02-23-2012, 06:24 PM	#9
Anthony Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Berkeley, CA	Re: [DF] Slingshot launched pixies? Well, a pixie is basically a 7" tall lump of solid iron (it is 10x heavier and 25x stronger than a flesh and blood creature of similar dimensions), so it probably actually has okay air resistance for its weight. It's a horrible shape for accurate aiming, though. Also, are you talking about a sling or a slingshot? A sling would probably result in a dizzy pixie and 1-2 lb is a rather heavy object to throw with a sling, a slingshot isn't really available pre-rubber and 1-2 lb is really heavy, but the lack of spinning and dizziness would allow the pixie to effectively control its own flight.

02-24-2012, 01:27 AM	#10
Snaps Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Provo, UT	Re: [DF] Slingshot launched pixies? Well, lets say a slingshot has a range of ST x5. The way I am reading the entry in DF3, Pixies only have 1 hit point normally (-5 ST than a further -4 to HP). So a guy with a 10 ST, shooting a pixie with a slingshot would send that pixie flying at about move 50. pg. 371 tell us that a pixie moving at 50 yards per second would do (1 x 50)/100 dice of damage. A 0.5 result gives us a damage of 1d-2. Now if you want to allow the rules on pg. 397 used for attacking from a mount, then it gets interesting. Those rules let you use ST x velocity /100 instead of HP x velocity /100. So if you use the pixies average ST of 5 the damage becomes 5 x 50 /100 = 2d. With a pixie lance this would become 2d-3 imp. If however you allow the pixie to use the SHOOTERS ST (he's firing the little guy from the slingshot after all) then damage becomes 10 x 50 /100 = 5d of damage, -3 for that pixie lance so 5d-3 imp.