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Request to make slings "mighty"

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 1:59 pm
by Dirk Cutlass
According to 3e rules, slings are supposed to have strength bonus added to damage...
Projectile Weapons: Light crossbows, slings, heavy crossbows, shortbows, composite shortbows, longbows, composite longbows, hand crossbows, and repeating crossbows are projectile weapons. Most projectile weapons require two hands to use (see specific weapon descriptions). A character gets no Strength bonus on damage rolls with a projectile weapon unless it?s a specially built composite shortbow, specially built composite longbow, or sling. If the character has a penalty for low Strength, apply it to damage rolls when he or she uses a bow or a sling.
But in NWN they get no such bonus. Is this embedded in Bioware code? Is there some way to fix it (much like a lot of the spells have been fixed)?

I thought that maybe slings could be made "mighty", but this would increase their cost as NWN treats this as a magical property I think.

Anyone got any oppinions?

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 2:02 pm
by Jordicus
it's not that all slings are supposed to be "mighty" but that they can be if created that way
character gets no Strength bonus on damage rolls with a projectile weapon unless it?s a specially built composite shortbow, specially built composite longbow, or sling.

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 2:05 pm
by Brannor
Nothing against you but I have often wonderd who makes these rules.

Where the hell does strength come into play when using a sling?
Kinda like saying a Katana weighs 10 pounds.
:roll:

If it is in the rules, then we will check it out.

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 2:06 pm
by TheElvenKing
Well, we already have craftable longbows with the Mighty property, the best one being the Mahogany Longbow (+1 To hit, +2 Mighty, +2 Massive Criticals). Why not have a craftable sling with the Mighty modifier? Not only would this introduce a nice new craftable into a niche of the market previously untapped, it would also satisfy sling lovin' halflings everywhere! :lol:

I couldn't agree more with Dirk on this one; slings should be able to use the Mighty feature for their potential properties.

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 2:07 pm
by Heronimous Fox
Jordicus wrote:
unless it?s a specially built composite shortbow, specially built composite longbow, or sling.
This could be taken to read that the sling part does not need to be specifically built but the other two do. Its a bit ambiguous.

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 2:07 pm
by Dirk Cutlass
Jordicus wrote:it's not that all slings are supposed to be "mighty" but that they can be if created that way
character gets no Strength bonus on damage rolls with a projectile weapon unless it?s a specially built composite shortbow, specially built composite longbow, or sling.
Well that's a very selective use of bold there Jord'. If you read it again ...
character gets no Strength bonus on damage rolls with a projectile weapon unless it?s a specially built composite shortbow, specially built composite longbow, or sling.

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 2:07 pm
by Brannor
quick question:
WHO uses slings?

Halfings? I thought they only get bonuses for thrown weapons.
Does that include the slings as well?

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 2:12 pm
by Khaelindra
Brannor wrote:quick question:
WHO uses slings?

Halfings? I thought they only get bonuses for thrown weapons.
Does that include the slings as well?
Druids. The true ones, not the ones that circumvent their oath just because they can...

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 2:14 pm
by j5hale3
David used a sling to great effect.

and from a hard core grammarian, Dirk's reading is more correct.

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 2:17 pm
by Dirk Cutlass
Brannor wrote:quick question:
WHO uses slings?

Halfings? I thought they only get bonuses for thrown weapons.
Does that include the slings as well?
I do ;) Actually, they make a good missile weapon for a fighter because you can still use your shield. Yet they are very light so no need to lug a crossboq or longbow around for the few occasions when you use them.

As for the question about "who makes up the rules?" ... by which I guess you mean that you can't see how a sling could use strength.. Well I found a reference to this before (I'll link it later, it was quite interesting). Basically a sling is like a thrown weapon as you can put your weight behind it. The stronger you are the faster you can "twirl" it over your head, and therefore the more energy it gets. Well, that's the theory.

Maybe the simplest thing is to make a craftable mighty sling then.

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 2:23 pm
by Deider
My main character uses a sling. It's his primary weapon. With Rapid Shot, he does more damage with a sling in combat that he does with his sickle (he's a druid). And that's with standard bullets.

Mighty wouldn't help me (my PC has STR 8 ), but I agree that it would be nice if we had mighty slings. Be patient, folks, recipes are being added to crafting as we speak, so maybe you'll get your wish.

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 2:32 pm
by Draconis
Brannor wrote:quick question:
WHO uses slings?

Halfings? I thought they only get bonuses for thrown weapons.
Does that include the slings as well?
My character is a fighter and uses one because it allows him to carry more for his crafting. :lol:

And it is pretty good in battle for a fighter with a shield. :wink:

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 2:43 pm
by kombinat
Have your STR 8 druid cast Bulls Strength and Blood Frenzy. Presto, you're making use of the Mighty bonus :)

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 2:46 pm
by Dirk Cutlass

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 3:00 pm
by Jordicus
Dirk Cutlass wrote:
Jordicus wrote:it's not that all slings are supposed to be "mighty" but that they can be if created that way
character gets no Strength bonus on damage rolls with a projectile weapon unless it?s a specially built composite shortbow, specially built composite longbow, or sling.
Well that's a very selective use of bold there Jord'. If you read it again ...
character gets no Strength bonus on damage rolls with a projectile weapon unless it?s a specially built composite shortbow, specially built composite longbow, or sling.
from 3.0 ed
A character can use a two-handed projectile weapon (such as a bow or a crossbow) effectively in two hands. If the character has a penalty for low Strength, apply it to damage rolls when you use a bow or a sling. Add no Strength bonus to damage with a projectile weapon unless the weapon is a mighty composite shortbow or longbow.
Ranged weapons are thrown weapons or projectile weapons that are not effective in melee. Apply a character's Strength bonus to damage dealt by thrown weapons but not to damage dealt by projectile weapons (except for mighty composite shortbows or longbows).
Mighty Bow and Crossbows are specifically defined in the player handbook, but Mighty Slings are not. at least that I could find.

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 3:03 pm
by Dirk Cutlass
Well, it was in the reference I found (3.5 rules). http://www.wizards.com/D20/article.asp?x=srd35

*shrugs*

Your definitions are still ambigous though. And in any case I'm not actually suggesting that there would be "a mighty sling" in PnP rules, I am suggesting that according to 3.5 rules they should have STR bonus, and a simple way to achieve this in NWN is to give them a "mighty" property.

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 8:37 pm
by Fuzz
Actually, for a sling, your str modifier does add damage directly, it doesn't need to be specially built.

Think about it. It's a cord with a bag on the end and you HURL rocks or whatever you want with it. The harder you can throw, the more distance and power you get with it.

This is unlike a bow, which you simply draw a standard tension, as defined by the wood, and this tension provides the force to move the projectile, thus giving people of varying strengths similar results with the same bow. A composite bow is different because of the makeup and design of the actual yew, and thus a stronger person can in fact draw the bow further back without snapping the yew, and thus get more tension, which translates into more projectile force.


Edit: Slings count in the thrown weapon category, since all a sling does is assist your throw.



You want to argue, I can draw up the mechanics of the three examples and give you equations, but that really isn't necessary in the least if you have even a slight understanding of physics.

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 8:38 pm
by Jordicus
Dirk Cutlass wrote:Well, it was in the reference I found (3.5 rules). http://www.wizards.com/D20/article.asp?x=srd35

*shrugs*

Your definitions are still ambigous though. And in any case I'm not actually suggesting that there would be "a mighty sling" in PnP rules, I am suggesting that according to 3.5 rules they should have STR bonus, and a simple way to achieve this in NWN is to give them a "mighty" property.
i think you misunderstood me. you can add the mighty property to slings in NWN. all I'm saying is that they all shouldn't be mighty by default..

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 8:57 pm
by FunkOdyssey
A sling just uses physics to enhance/multiply your existing throwing strength. They should most definitely apply your entire strength bonus to the damage. In NWN this will require a very high mighty value, like +10.

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 9:06 pm
by Fuzz
Technically, there should be alimit to the mighty, however.

If you, say, had +10 Strength, and tried whipping a normal sling around as fast as you could, you would most likely snap the cord. There's a complex ratio of the mass of the pellet to the tensile strength of the sling and the speed with which you spin it (and thus the angular momentum)

Thus, rather than having a bonus, you would really have a strength limit on slings... up to a certain strength is fine, but if you go over that, you would snap the sling. That's if you want to be mildly realistic. Actually getting the ratio of the weight of the pellet and the sling's actual tension rating would be both pointless and unneccesary.

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 9:08 pm
by Vanor
Jordicus wrote:all I'm saying is that they all shouldn't be mighty by default..
Well according to 3.5, they should be mighty +5 by default, based on how NWN works.
From 3.5 SRD wrote:Sling: Your Strength modifier applies to damage rolls when you use a sling, just as it does for thrown weapons.

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 4:59 pm
by Spell Singer
A sling is shot as a ranged weapon (you get your dex bonus add to your to hit chance) but does damage as a thrown weapon (add your strength bonus to it).

This is from the phb 3.5e under the description of a sling in the equipment section.

They are good weapons...in SP my Bard/wizard killed the fire giant king with a sling firing giants bane at PBR. After level 5 they beat most crossbows due to multiple shots. They should do more damage given what a sling bullet realy is though.

Anyway all slings should be mighty +5 in NWN terms as vanor says

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 6:55 pm
by Fifty
Slings are cool.

Kered uses a sling, which proves this.

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 9:13 pm
by Caatt
A slight sidetrack but since the druids and weapons popped up I thought I'd ask which ones, as far as edged weapons are concerned, do not violate druidic oaths since sometimes you are able to use weapons that do. More specifically does a scimitar?

And yes.. slings are cool.

Taylin

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 9:15 pm
by Tangleroot
There's a thread million miles long about druidic weapons. It was so intimidating to read that I never got to use any weapons at all.. :)