Obsidian arrow/spear heads? (3.5)

[Seharvepernfan]

How would you rule them?

From what I understand, obsidian holds a sharper edge than steel, but of course is more fragile. Would an obsidian arrow have a harder time penetrating steel or any other hard material?

Obsidian is lighter, right? Would the faster speed of an obsidian tipped arrow affect its penetration power?

Im just curious because I want my homebrew elves to be mostly metal-less.

[Solaris]

It wouldn't fly appreciably faster, if at all, and it would hit with less force. Weapon weight is actually pretty important to it causing damage, that's why I chuckle at mithral.
The way I work stone is that it takes a -2 to attack and damage against opponents wearing metal armor. I also go with obsidian increasing the critical threat range by one, not stacking with the keen property (or its piercing equivalent). My elves are fairly similar, a magic-heavy chalcolithic society running around with magic-light Industrial Revolution humans and dwarves.

[Spiryt]

It wouldn't fly appreciably faster, if at all, and it would hit with less force. Weapon weight is actually pretty important to it causing damage, that's why I chuckle at mithral.
.

Why wouldn't it fly faster.

Lighter arrow travels faster, assuming that bow can handle that velocity, obviously.

Naturally, you can just make lighter arrow out of iron/steel as well, and it will probably be better in most applications.


Anyway, obsidian has very low density compared to iron, so I can't see it be really good penetrator of metalic armors.

It could be pretty damn good against any kind of cloth/soft armor.

Low density also causes the need for large heads to form any kind of heavier arrows, that can be problematic too.

Brittleness would obvously be problem, but AFAIK, obsidian has quite high cleavage property, so it can be relatively easily split in shapes that won't split further as easily. So obviously quality of design and making would be very important.

[Veklim]

Why wouldn't it fly faster.

Lighter arrow travels faster, assuming that bow can handle that velocity, obviously.

Technically it flies faster, less mass = better acceleration curve out of the bow, but from the moment it leaves the bowstring it deccelerates rapidly because less mass also = less inertia. (And yes, for those who know a little about balistics I juat said the same thing twice, I know, I know...)

I'd say Solaris is spot on with -2 att/dam vs metal (or stone) armour and a higher crit. I'd also reduce the amount of arrows you can retrieve by 50% of standard arrows, since stone is brittle and far more likely to break.

[Serpentine]

I believe there's actually stats for this somewhere. Not sure where, though... I thought there was stuff about alternate setting periods somewhere?

[revquigley]

I thought there was stuff about alternate setting periods somewhere?

In the Arms and Equipment Guide it discusses stone and bone weapons, and it has Solaris' -2 attack and damage, as well as the adjusted hardness and hp. Obsidian isn't mentioned, but an increased critical range sounds right.

If you're set on making them metalless: What culture are they? The Tolkienesque High Elves? If you had them parallel a real world culture without metal, your options would widen a lot... Aztec, for instance, if you really want to use obsidian.

[Veklim]

I believe there's actually stats for this somewhere.

DMG pg 144

[Serpentine]

Ah, knew it was there somewhere.
More to the point: Fooooound it. Maztica from 2e was partially translated to 3.5e in Dragon Magazine #315. Here it says "Stone-edged weapons are just as effective as metal ones (obsidian in particular holds a wicked edge), but they are more prone to wear and tear. A natural 1 result on an attack roll means the character has not only missed but has blunted his weapon (if standard) or lost the +1 bonus (if masterwork). A second natural 1 result blunts a formerly masterwork weapon... A blunted weapon imposes a -1 penalty on damage rolls until repaired with a successful Craft (weaponsmithing) check."
Personally I prefer this more forgiving version, but there's two RAW options, anyway.

[Veklim]

I'd say that's far more relevant to melee than ranged. Possibly worth using both rulings, one for projectiles (-2 vs. metal) and one for melee weapons (blunting rules). Where a spear comes into that I dunno, because it's either/both. I'd say the blunting is primarily for slashing (and perhaps piercing) weapons, but then again bludgeoning wouldn't make much difference either way, but both or either or neither could apply as you like it...

[Solaris]

In the Arms and Equipment Guide it discusses stone and bone weapons, and it has Solaris' -2 attack and damage, as well as the adjusted hardness and hp. Obsidian isn't mentioned, but an increased critical range sounds right.

It lacks the caveat of "Against metal armor" though, which I find rather important.

With the 'blunting' thing, perhaps making it so that a character can sharpen his weapon afterwards would be in order.

[Serpentine]

It is incorporated into it. See the last line in my quote.

[Solaris]

D'oh. Teach me to speed-read.