A Weapon PCs Can Love To Hate
I love weird weapons, the stuff that NPCs use but players would find worthless. I find that it gives the game a good appeal to add stuff off of the cuff. One of my favorite odd weapons is the bola. Now these things have made a comeback in recent years, but more as an outdoor toy called Ladderball. The toy ones are made of plastic, and the players compete against one another to see how many points they can make by wrapping the bolas around rungs of a short ladder. IT’S FUN! And very challenging, and the great thing about it is that it is a level playing field; kids have a good chance at beating an adult, it doesn’t rely on strength or intelligence but finesse and dexterity.
Bolas were ancient weapons, two or more hard balls tied to a rope, but instead of dishing out damage like a regular weapon, these things provide other nasty functions, namely hampering an enemies movement.
To use the bola, one simply twirls it over their head until they are ready to let go. The balls do the rest! These things are dangerous, the balls are much heavier then the toy ones that we use today. Typically the weapon used against man-sized targets are made of leather, the strap is about 56 inches, on the ends are 4 inch pockets for rocks or metal balls.
A simple weapon, but effective when working together as a team with spearmen. On a regular attack, a hit holds the victim fast, and they must spend a round trying to get out by making a successful STR check, else stay immobile.
Of course in the hands of an expert, these things have many other uses. Called shots against a targets legs not only prevents movement, but the target must make a DEX check (if they are moving at the time of the hit, there is a -3 penalty to the check) else fall prone.
Called shots against the arms causes the bolas to entangle either the enemies weapon hand or shield hand (attackers option), this stops either all attacks or removes the AC bonus for the shield until a successful STR check is made with a -2 penalty for the lack of leverage.
A successful Called Shot to the victim’s head can cause a knock-out, the victim must make a Saving Throw vs. Paralysis or be knocked unconscious for 1d4 rounds, plus additional rounds due to DEX bonuses of the attacker.
THE CRUNCH!
Bola cost 5sp to make, weigh 2lbs. Are M size weapons of the B type. They have a speed factor of 8. If you are a stickler, and the proper save is made by the victim, you can still have it inflict damage (though I never do) it can do 1d3 to Small or Medium targets, and 1d2 to large foes.
Bola has a rate of fire of 1/1. Short range is 6, Medium range of 12, and a long range of 18.
Strategy
Weapon grade bolas require room to get the thing going, almost 5 feet of room (an entire square), thus this is primarily an outdoor weapon. Individually, the weapon is practically worthless, but working with a team the bola can give spearmen an opportunity to attack targets without fear of being counterattacked, or at least giving them an edge. A good mixture of 20% proficient bola fighters, 5% bola specialists, and 60% spearmen could easily be a formidable lot!
Because this is such a simple weapon to construct, humanoids would have access to it. The bola can also be thrown while running, a typical bola fighter would have at least 3 bolas on his person, throw them and then leave the field while the spearmen or melee fighters do their jobs. Bolas must be retrieved before they can be used a second time, if this is possible, the bola fighters may stop and pick them up to continue fighting.
Alternatively, the bolas can be used by the fighters themselves as they rush an enemy and close for melee combat. In cases like this, they would typically all have 1 or 2 bolas, throw them, and then draw their primary weapons.
These weapons are non-lethal, a successful hit on a lone target would be in a heap of trouble as a full company of spearmen could have him surrounded in moments. Monsters could use this to slow down the retreats of pesky humans who are faster then they are. These are just some ideas on how to utilize these simple weapons, and while wizards may take a fancy to using them, the other classes would probably consider them worthless, relying on more traditional weapons.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
|
Labels:
combat,
money and equipment,
Proficiencies,
races,
Time and Movement
|
- campaign ideas
- NPC's
- combat
- Miscellany
- encounters
- rants
- Ripper's Gaming Sessions
- monsters
- money and equipment
- Reviews
- pc classes
- magic
- Proficiencies
- Treasure
- Time and Movement
- Sunday Supplemental
- experience
- campaign add-ins
- Alignment
- races
- Mechanic Series
- vision and light
- Ability Scores
- wizard spells
- Supplemental
- priest spells
My Blog List
-
The Legend of Drizzt with Mike Witwer – Episode 268 – 5/30/2023 - Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #268 – 5/30/2023 Author and D&D historian Mike Witwer shares the details on his newest book The Legend of Drizzt Visual Dic...14 hours ago
-
more cool skeletons - These cool party dudes are from a 19th century work by an artist named Kyosai.21 hours ago
-
Dungeon 23 - Wk 24 - I Can't Stop Mapping! Sharing More Random Tables - I think I may have a slight problem... I am enjoying mapping way too much and I can't stop at just 5 to 10 min. Over the past week, I've filled up half ...1 day ago
-
[Review] Noofutra - I spent much of my teenage years playing *Shadowrun* - a game I once called "the most fundamentally awful and crass idea ever invented [...] a crime agai...1 week ago
-
The Astral and Ethereal Went From Interchangable to Overcomplicated. How Can D&D Fix Them? - As introduced in the original Dungeons & Dragons supplements, the astral and the ethereal planes seemed like two names for the same place. D&D characters v...1 week ago
-
Is it Appendix N worthy material? The Sword Itself by Joe Abercrombie (Review & my Appendix N) - *This is part 2 of our book review series. "Our" meaning that Eric Diaz over at the wonderful blog Methods & Madmen and yours truly started readig books...3 weeks ago
-
Vecna Rebooted and Greyhawk - Having spent most of my life working as an archaeologist and now as a public historian, I suppose it is not surprising that I would be drawn to puzzles ...3 weeks ago
-
Magical Magic That Feels Magical - *14. Heart Of The Beast: Cast this spell on a slain monster’s heart (or reasonably equivalent organ or portion), then consume it. At any time, you may ...2 months ago
-
Kezmarok, Counting Houses, and Amazon Battle-Barges: Recent News from the Hill Cantons - And now the news from the Hill Cantons… The great half-ruined southern metropolis of Kezmarok is back in the shouted news of Cantonal town criers with...2 months ago
-
New Wotc D&D Survey - New Wotc D&D Survey I enjoy filling these out and telling them things they don't want to hear.2 months ago
-
Coming Fast! 50th Anniversary of OD&D January 2024 (OGL comments) (& how Wizbro is stupid) - The 50th Anniversary, the 50th Birthday of OD&D is approaching and will be here in January 2024. Wizards of the Coast, instead of preparing for something s...3 months ago
-
Original Dungeons & Dragons Has Its 50th Anniversary In January 2024 (Feb 2023) - The countdown to the 50th Anniversary of the Original Dungeons and Dragons in January 2024 continues. Give the drama with Wizards during January 2023, it...3 months ago
-
I'm In!! The monthly posting challenge leadup to the 50th Anniversary of OD&D in 2024 - I am inspired by this post found here, to be part of the monthly posting during 2023 and 2024 to highlight the 50th Anniversary of OD&D. We were challeng...4 months ago
-
Gli Sproloqui del Grognardo: il Cacciatore di Regolamenti - Ciao, capita anche a voi quando passate vicino alla libreria dove rimangono – ordinatamente e in bella mostra - i manuali con i quali avete giocato negli...9 months ago
-
The Cultist, The Torturer, and the Slaver classes for OSR Sword & Sorcery Games. - Why these three classes? Honestly because I'm bored in my medical retirement and I want a few classes besides my Barbarian, Brute, etc builds to run my Swo...10 months ago
-
It's been a decade, now... - This is a tough time of year for me. So, with your indulgence, here's this link to a post I did a decade ago... EDIT: I have no idea why it didn't take. S...1 year ago
-
This Blog is now on Indefinite Hiatus - Greetings, I haven’t been able to post except sporadically for a while. I just found out I will need to find a new place to live within the next few months...1 year ago
-
Alignment and Lawful Clerics - This is the third in a series of web log posts where I describe what “alignment” must mean in the Perilous Realms, based upon our group’s tone and play-s...1 year ago
-
Ind of the Year - The Colors of Magic - On December 1st, there will be a nice bundle of small, indie itch RPGs from around the world called the *Ind of the Year Bundle 2020* that includes *The Co...2 years ago
-
Be The DM, 1 - OK, I've run plenty of games and I've talked with and read the thoughts of many other DM's. One thing is certain; No two DM's are the same. I have seen ...2 years ago
-
The Crowning of King Harold - Here is a spooky story that comes from my latest novel, Lions Red and Gold, available now in digital and dead tree only on Amazon. I post it here in ho...2 years ago
-
MIDLANDS CHARACTER GENERATION - Character development (of Player via imagined formative experiences) in my dog in DMing. Placyer character development is a huge part of my sandbox. I use ...2 years ago
-
Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign: Merlynd the Magician: A Remembrance of Don Kaye, ... - Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign: Merlynd the Magician: A Remembrance of Don Kaye, ...: LINK to Description and Ordering: https://www.tlbgames.com/colle...3 years ago
-
Character Concepts: Planescape pt 3 - Part 1 Part 2 Continuing my series on oddball Planescape Faction Personalities... Harmonium Sidby the Stick (LG/halfling/fighter) - Sidby's a good enough b...3 years ago
-
D&D Sling Damage vs. Large Targets - In many early editions of D&D, weapons were assigned two damage values: one for small/medium targets (i.e. man-sized) and one for large targets (giants and...3 years ago
-
Announcing the Contest Winner! (Plus Some Interesting US Coin Facts) - The third semi-annual Save Versus All Wands contest - What is the Value of this Coin Hoard - is over. $1,000 was the winning guess, only a bit below the ...4 years ago
Statcounter
Contact me at Ripx187@gmail.com
Search This Blog
Blog Archive
-
►
2018
(5)
- ► October 2018 (1)
- ► September 2018 (1)
- ► April 2018 (1)
- ► February 2018 (1)
- ► January 2018 (1)
-
►
2017
(39)
- ► November 2017 (1)
- ► September 2017 (3)
- ► August 2017 (2)
- ► April 2017 (6)
- ► March 2017 (5)
- ► February 2017 (5)
- ► January 2017 (4)
-
►
2016
(58)
- ► December 2016 (4)
- ► November 2016 (6)
- ► October 2016 (5)
- ► September 2016 (4)
- ► August 2016 (4)
- ► April 2016 (4)
- ► March 2016 (4)
- ► February 2016 (4)
- ► January 2016 (7)
-
►
2015
(24)
- ► December 2015 (6)
- ► November 2015 (7)
- ► October 2015 (7)
- ► September 2015 (4)
-
▼
2010
(14)
- ▼ March 2010 (5)
- ► February 2010 (5)
- ► January 2010 (4)
-
►
2009
(123)
- ► December 2009 (3)
- ► November 2009 (4)
- ► October 2009 (6)
- ► September 2009 (4)
- ► August 2009 (13)
- ► April 2009 (15)
- ► March 2009 (14)
- ► February 2009 (5)
- ► January 2009 (10)
-
►
2008
(73)
- ► December 2008 (3)
- ► November 2008 (4)
- ► October 2008 (5)
- ► September 2008 (4)
- ► August 2008 (4)
- ► April 2008 (18)
- ► March 2008 (5)
6 comments:
Good fun! :D
Awesome post! I really do appreciate the under appreciated weapons in games.
The hunting boomerang is my personal favorite - a meter long, hardwood, was used to break the legs on kangeroos for hunting! You figure that has to be a nasty D6 or D8 in damage, plus, probably a really mean weapon to use in groups against a calvary rush...
This weapon was invented by the natives of my land, in Patagonia, Argentina. I've tried to use a real one, several times, but its really difficult to get the thing to work. The tehuelches here used to use it to hunt ostriches, entangling their long legs while running or riding horses.
LOL bolas are AMAZING. Personally, I've always been a fan of the Urumi...this guy is basically a wood handle with about 4 or 5 razor sharp metal whips. It's used in India I think.
So, basically: Use a bola and you've just secured instant badass appeal. Especially if you're in a corridored dungeon. I suddenly feel like making many characters possessing many, many bolas. I want so many bolas equipped to my character that he has to roll dexterity checks just to walk around.
I think you missed the bit where Bolas with heavy balls (Stone or metal) were used to target necks in order to strangle a target and beat them about the head with the equivelent of multiple club hits that might cause unconciousness.
Unfortunatly that will likely be proven when some kid playing bola goes a fellow human...
Post a Comment