Of course, I neglected to add tables for missile weapons in my last post. This was due in no small part to my frustration with adding tables to this blog (if I can figure it out, I will go back and edit my prior post).
The combat system in D&D has been explained as an abstract one...it does not model blow-by-blow combat, but rather a series of blows and maneuvers every round. When a "hit" is scored on an attack roll, it simply means the attacker managed to inflict damage on his opponent. Strength provides a bonus in melee as warriors try to push aside an opponent's defenses and place a telling blow. Dexterity bonuses to Armor Class measure not just a character's agility but the ability to use a weapon or shield in defense, parrying and blocking. The Armor Class of a particular type of armor takes into account not only the hardness and degree of coverage, but also the maneuverability and wearer's ability to best block with bracer or roll with a blow to the helm.
The table of weapon damage previously presented measures the variable amount of pain and suffering inflicted by a particular class of character in a given round, assuming the character is successful with an attack roll. Missile weapons, though, use a slightly different table due to the rather impersonal nature of missiles:
CLASS | Short Bow | Long Bow | Light Crossbow | Heavy Crossbow |
Cleric | 1D4 | 1D6 | 1D8 | 1D10 |
Dwarf | 1D6 | n/a | 1D8 | 1D10 |
Elf | 1D6 | 1D8 | 1D8 | 1D10 |
Fighter | 1D6 | 1D8 | 1D8 | 1D10 |
Halfling | 1D6 | n/a | 1D8 | 1D10 |
Magic-User | 1D4 | 1D4 | 1D6 | 1D8 |
Thief | 1D6 | 1D8 | 1D8 | 1D10 |
All slings do 1D6 damage, regardless of class, and thrown weapons do the same of damage as their melee counter-part, as determined by class (though only small and 1-handed weapons may be thrown). Bows, whether short or long, may be loaded, aimed, and fired twice in a single round if the wielder is not in melee. Heavy crossbows may only be fired every other round unless the wielder has a Strength of 18, gauntlets of ogre power, or the like.
Missile weapons are the great equalizer of the combat world, just as they are in real life. Game-wise, balance is achieved by both a high cost of purchase, a rare range of magic items, and the limited supply of ammunition. However, the mechanical nature of missile weapons, especially crossbows, can give even lesser archers a leg up over many melee combatants.
I agreed with this series up till this post.
ReplyDeleteI don't see why missle(thrown?) weapons are the great equalizer? It takes just as much skill and luck to use sling/bow/??? as it does a sword.
And I don't think missle weapons are great equalizers in real world. Think about the amount of hits and thus damage a librarian compared to a trained sniper would do with a gun.
But, on the other hand if you want missles to be the equalizer in your game, so be it.
Hmm..."the great equalizer" is probably a pithy little phrase I stole from somewhere else because I lack eloquence.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I think I'm modeling what I want to model. Crossbows do enough damage that historically they were outlawed by the Church (on threat of excommunication) due to a commoner being able to take out an armored noble/knight. I still downgrade the magic-user's ability to aim it properly (the librarian compared to the sniper, yeah?).
Bows on the other hand vary a bit more...dwarves, elves, halflings, and fighters (all being martial classes) do the same damage, though the shorties cannot use long bows (as per the B/X rules). Clerics (who I think of as paladins, see my recent B/X Paladin post) do lesser damage...but paladins are supposed to engage in hand-to-hand anyway, right? Smiting the un-believer and such? So they don't practice much with the bow.
Magic-users are poor with all weapons, ranged or otherwise...they spend a lot of time studying magic, and will need spells that bolster their weapon use if they want to be more martial...see Thulsa Doom's use of the bow in the Conan the Barabarian movie.