Sling Bullets: What counts as improvised here?

[missmvicious]

As far as I can tell, they're just rocks, right?

If you pick up a rock in the woods, drop it in your sling and let loose, does it have improvised weapon penalties?

It never occurred to us to ask until my Druid cast Magic Stone on some pebbles and read the instructions on how it works. (I know, as a level 5 Wizard, what am I still doing with a sling, but seriously, I almost never have to resort to weapons.) It turns out that Magic Stone makes pebbles work like sling bullets... which implies that they wouldn't work like sling bullets before the spell was cast.

What's the rule here?

[Worira]

You can hurl ordinary stones with a sling, but stones are not as dense or as round as bullets. Thus, such an attack deals damage as if the weapon were designed for a creature one size category smaller than you and you take a -1 penalty on attack rolls. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/weapons.htm#sling)

Also, that font's irritating.

[Darrin]

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="4"][COLOR="Purple"]As far as I can tell, they're just rocks, right?


Generally, no, sling bullets are lead weights specifically shaped to fly farther and hit harder than just ordinary stones. When you run out of lead weights, though, I would assume most slingers then grab whatever might be handy that has the same sort of weight/shape, and without access to molds and other smelting tools, they use rocks.

While it might be technically appropriate to give ordinary rocks a penalty because they may not have a uniform weight/shape, it's hard for me to imagine any DM actually requiring such a level of detail.

[missmvicious]

Thanks!

And my apologies, Worira. I haven't had any complaints before, and the Mods don't seem to mind. It's just sort of how I post, kind of like a signature style; besides, it goes with my Avi. I use this font and color on other message boards as well. I didn't intend to irritate you, and thank you for helping to answer my question, regardless.

[Cieyrin]

Generally, no, sling bullets are lead weights specifically shaped to fly farther and hit harder than just ordinary stones. When you run out of lead weights, though, I would assume most slingers then grab whatever might be handy that has the same sort of weight/shape, and without access to molds and other smelting tools, they use rocks.

While it might be technically appropriate to give ordinary rocks a penalty because they may not have a uniform weight/shape, it's hard for me to imagine any DM actually requiring such a level of detail.

Indeed, specifically 1/2 pound balls of lead, at least for a Medium creature. That's a marked difference between that and a good sized rock you find on the ground.