Ventruenox
2017-10-02, 05:00 PM
As part of a character concept I've been working on, I realized I needed some way to make slings viable for the crunch aspect. Slings have suffered from the romanticized notions of archery in 5E. While there are a number of articles (http://ludusludorum.com/2016/05/12/a-defense-of-the-humble-sling/) which provide the evidence of how badly they have been nerfed and provided a bunch of mechanics as a means to fix it, I believe that the simplest approach is usually best. The PHB ammunition errata is what really killed the sling as a viable weapon, so why not a feat to undo it?
Sling Mastery
Purpose: Load ammunition in a sling one-handed; throw items with a sling.
Benefits: Increase your dexterity score by one, to a maximum of 20.
Your mastery of this simple ranged weapon enables you to load ammunition into the sling without requiring a free hand to do so.
Additionally, you may utilize your object interaction to load a small lightweight item into the sling that would typically require throwing by hand. You may use this item instead of normal ammunition on your next attack. (Vials or acid or holy water, bags of ball bearings, or coins are examples of the types of items that may be used.) Firing an object in this manner will cause the normal bludgeoning damage as sling bullets would, and with normal range provided by the sling; but will also carry the effects that throwing such items normally would. (Vials breaking, ball bearings being scattered, etc.)
Comments and criticisms are welcome.
Sling Mastery
Purpose: Load ammunition in a sling one-handed; throw items with a sling.
Benefits: Increase your dexterity score by one, to a maximum of 20.
Your mastery of this simple ranged weapon enables you to load ammunition into the sling without requiring a free hand to do so.
Additionally, you may utilize your object interaction to load a small lightweight item into the sling that would typically require throwing by hand. You may use this item instead of normal ammunition on your next attack. (Vials or acid or holy water, bags of ball bearings, or coins are examples of the types of items that may be used.) Firing an object in this manner will cause the normal bludgeoning damage as sling bullets would, and with normal range provided by the sling; but will also carry the effects that throwing such items normally would. (Vials breaking, ball bearings being scattered, etc.)
Comments and criticisms are welcome.