mabriss lethe
2007-07-15, 11:10 PM
OK.I was just flipping through Sandstorm and saw their entry for an Atlatl. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlatl)
What were they thinking? They basically made one of the simplest and most effective weapons ever created by humanity into a flaming waste of ink on the page. It's stats are a copy/paste for a sling that does piercing damage with a slightly better critical (X3). On top of that, it's pretty darned expensive and the numbers just don't add up right.
Let's take a look. The atlatl amunition deals damage as per a dart with longer range. It costs more, it weighs more, and you have to carry around the actual spear thrower, to boot. Let's face it. I just don't like how they handled it.
Here's my take on the Atlatl: (by no means perfect...)
Exotic weapon* Atlatl
{table]weapon|cost|damage|critical|range increment|weight|damage type
Atlalt|10gp|special|19-20/X2|50 feet|2 lbs.|Piercing[/table]
Atlatl: the atlatl is a simple, lever-like device used to enhace the range and power of a thrown spear. The butt of the spear is knocked against a spur or cup at the far end of the atlalt and the shaft is held parallel to the atlatl's flattened throwing surface. when thrown, the spurred end acts as an extention of the weilder's arm, effectively lengthening his cast, to propel the spear with greater force than normally possible with a hand thrown projectile. Any spear-like weapon with a thrown range increment may be used as ammunition for an atlatl. (this includes Darts, javelins, shortspears, spears and tridents) Instead of its usual range and damage, it has a 50 foot increment and deals damage one die type higher (see table below). However, any spear-like weapon that can normally be readied against a charge cannot use that ability while it is loaded into an atlatl. Loading an atlatl is a move action that provokes attacks of opportunity.
Atlatl amunition (for medium creatures)
{table]spear type|thrown damage| atlatl damage
Dart|1d4|1d6
Javelin|1d6|1d8
Shortspear|1d6|1d8
Spear|1d8 |1d10
Trident|1d8|1d10[/table]
I only added the Tridnt for completeness. It seems to be the only one that doesn't really work right (since it has a 10 ft range increment, all the others are at least 20)
I'm not going to get into a physics debate on how an altatl transfers energy to it's projectile. I know how, I was just trying to say it in laymans terms, even if they aren't 100% accurate. Wanna know more about how they operate? Look it up yourself.)
What were they thinking? They basically made one of the simplest and most effective weapons ever created by humanity into a flaming waste of ink on the page. It's stats are a copy/paste for a sling that does piercing damage with a slightly better critical (X3). On top of that, it's pretty darned expensive and the numbers just don't add up right.
Let's take a look. The atlatl amunition deals damage as per a dart with longer range. It costs more, it weighs more, and you have to carry around the actual spear thrower, to boot. Let's face it. I just don't like how they handled it.
Here's my take on the Atlatl: (by no means perfect...)
Exotic weapon* Atlatl
{table]weapon|cost|damage|critical|range increment|weight|damage type
Atlalt|10gp|special|19-20/X2|50 feet|2 lbs.|Piercing[/table]
Atlatl: the atlatl is a simple, lever-like device used to enhace the range and power of a thrown spear. The butt of the spear is knocked against a spur or cup at the far end of the atlalt and the shaft is held parallel to the atlatl's flattened throwing surface. when thrown, the spurred end acts as an extention of the weilder's arm, effectively lengthening his cast, to propel the spear with greater force than normally possible with a hand thrown projectile. Any spear-like weapon with a thrown range increment may be used as ammunition for an atlatl. (this includes Darts, javelins, shortspears, spears and tridents) Instead of its usual range and damage, it has a 50 foot increment and deals damage one die type higher (see table below). However, any spear-like weapon that can normally be readied against a charge cannot use that ability while it is loaded into an atlatl. Loading an atlatl is a move action that provokes attacks of opportunity.
Atlatl amunition (for medium creatures)
{table]spear type|thrown damage| atlatl damage
Dart|1d4|1d6
Javelin|1d6|1d8
Shortspear|1d6|1d8
Spear|1d8 |1d10
Trident|1d8|1d10[/table]
I only added the Tridnt for completeness. It seems to be the only one that doesn't really work right (since it has a 10 ft range increment, all the others are at least 20)
I'm not going to get into a physics debate on how an altatl transfers energy to it's projectile. I know how, I was just trying to say it in laymans terms, even if they aren't 100% accurate. Wanna know more about how they operate? Look it up yourself.)