Unconventional Weapons in D&D 3.5

[thezip]

Hey-

I'm designing a 1st level campaign where part of the early campaign has the characters in possession of a chest. This chest is an ordinary chest, wooden, and between the chest and its contents it weighs approximately 65 to 70 pounds. There is a chance that the players will resort to having their character carry the chest, and in the event of an encounter, I am unsure of what the rules permit for this player carrying the chest. I am assuming that if the player chooses to put the chest down, he must spend a full turn between putting down the chest and drawing his weapon. Furthermore, if he drops the chest, the chest will take some damage, and he still spends a half turn (or a full turn) drawing his weapon. If he chooses to attack/defend himself with the chest... I haven't a clue. Where can I find the rules that deal with 1) the durability of chests and 2) the use of an unconventional weapon?

Thanks!

-Zip

[Quietus]

Dropping an item is a free action, and by default, does nothing to damage said chest.

As to durability : http://www.d20srd.org/srd/exploration.htm

As wood, it'd have hardness 5 (so even if you give it 1d6 damage as if it was dropped from ten feet up, the most damage it'd take is 1), and 10 HP per inch of thickness. So unless you heavily houserule to nerf the guy carrying the thing, the worst that could happen is it lands weird (6 on the d6 damage) and takes a little damage. But really, even that is unnecessary. If someone's carrying a chest that's heavy enough to bother with this with, they're probably high strength, and thus melee. They don't need the nerfing, or they'll demand that someone ELSE carries the damn loot next time.

[The Sauceror]

Improvised weapons take a -4 to hit. Treasure chests have a hardness of 5 and a break DC of 23. A full chest weighs 51-100 lbs, does 3d6 damage, and has a critical range of 20/x2.

[Combat Reflexes]

I'd rule the chest worked like medium encumbrance: it's not particularly heavy but quite cumbersome.
Carrying a big chest with you reduces your speed, decreases your maximum Dex bonus to AC and gives you an armor check penalty*.

Also, can't you just put the thing on Tenser's Floating Disk?

Attacking with the chest should be nearly impossible (-8 or so), with the exception of bull rushes, which could use the extra momentum.

Defending with the chest gives him... cover? Maybe cover is the best option. +4 AC because the chest is between him and the attacker, and +2 Reflex because he can take cover behind the shield to dodge fireballs :D


* would it give a bonus to Swim checks? :smalltongue:

[HalfDragonCube]

If he chooses to attack/defend himself with the chest... I haven't a clue.

Why would he attack himself with a chest?:smalleek:

Furthermore, what are the rules for people attacking themselves?:smallconfused:

P.S. I recommend buying a mule and a cart. Much easier than lugging around a big heavy chest.

[mangosta71]

If someone has sufficient strength to lug the thing around, what's to stop him from rigging a harness and wearing it like an oversized backpack? It would be far more practical to carry that way, though less useful as an improvised weapon/shield.

[Vladislav]

Dropping an item is a free action, and by default, does nothing to damage said chest.

<snip>

The contents of the chest, however, may not be as lucky, especially if there are vials of potions in there.

[thezip]

Wow, thanks for the advice guys! I really like the idea that the chest is cumbersome, it seems the most realistic way to handle a combat situation involving this chest.




Also, can't you just put the thing on Tenser's Floating Disk?


Well, yes and no. For most adventurers, Tenser's Floating Disk would be the easiest way to carry anything remotely heavy. However, I hadn't mentioned in the question that the players who are in this situation are first level adventurers who have never played D&D before! I would be suprised if they have even heard of Tenser's Floating Disk, much less be able to use it. If they manage to pull it off, good for them!

Thanks again for the help!

-Zip