Throw an Object

WaterRabbit · Jan 11, 2019

Has anyone worked a reasonable calculation for throwing objects? I have a goliath character that is always looking to see how far he can throw something, be it an object or another PC. So far he hasn't been looking to use them as thrown weapons.

For example, to avoid a trapped stairwell he wants to throw characters up the stairs onto the landing above (10' horizontal, 6' vertical). The characters range from 150-300 lbs. (with gear).

I am thinking of a system that is based off carrying capacity, but since jumping is based purely on Strength Score/Modifier I could see that working as well.

Improvised weapons have a 20/60 range, but they are always much much less than the weight of most objects (barrels, bags of coal, elves).

Any thoughts?

Oofta · Jan 11, 2019

WaterRabbit said:
Has anyone worked a reasonable calculation for throwing objects? I have a goliath character that is always looking to see how far he can throw something, be it an object or another PC. So far he hasn't been looking to use them as thrown weapons.

For example, to avoid a trapped stairwell he wants to throw characters up the stairs onto the landing above (10' horizontal, 6' vertical). The characters range from 150-300 lbs. (with gear).

I am thinking of a system that is based off carrying capacity, but since jumping is based purely on Strength Score/Modifier I could see that working as well.

Improvised weapons have a 20/60 range, but they are always much much less than the weight of most objects (barrels, bags of coal, elves).

Any thoughts?

My thoughts are that many times when you start to think "what would make sense" you get into trouble with D&D rules.

In general I'm okay with that because I prefer the simplicity.

But that doesn't really help so if I were to come up with a general house rule I'd keep it simple (but it also depends on which rules you use). Basically you can carry 15 X your strength or, using the variant rules you can carry 10 X strength before becoming encumbered. So I'd say anything beyond 10 X strength either can't be thrown or maybe can only be thrown 10 ft. Then use the "throw an object" rules if the "object" is not conscious. You'd have to figure out the target "AC" of course if there even is one.

But a conscious person that wants to be thrown? I'd probably call for an athletics check with advantage using the goliath's athletics score. If successful (with a DC based on the weight of the PC as a percentage of carrying capacity), use the goliath's strength to determine distance.

Zero Cochrane · Jan 11, 2019

I have been using variations on the following house rule for decades --

• Thrown objects have a maximum range of 10’ x Strength, horizontally; 2’ x Strength, vertically; 10’/3 x Strength, slinging vertically. (These numbers are based on actual human performance). Weapon range increments remain the same.

This is for throwing objects that weigh 1-2 lb. If you want to throw something heavier, it's a bit more problematic --
You could divide the distance by half the object's weight in lb.
Or, you could subtract the amount of Strength required to lift the object from the character's actual Strength score, and use this number as the "Effective Strength" for the above calculation.
I'm inclined to use the second option in games (such as 3rd edition) where lifting weight does not vary linearly with the Strength score.

Satyrn · Jan 11, 2019

I believe my method can be written out as 3 steps.

1) My ruling is 10 feet, or 60 feet. Choose the one that makes sense. If it's a ball I choose 60 feet. If it's a dwarf I choose 10.

2) If there's a compelling reason to modify my choice from step 1, then I do so. If I think throwing a gnome instead of a dwarf nets an extra distance, I'll tack on 10 feet. If it's a Goliath, I'll steal 5 feet from the final distance.

3) I might require a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check if failure matters, DC 15 if the quarterback is trying for a hail Mary from his own 30 yard line.

WaterRabbit · Jan 11, 2019

So after a bit of discussion, it looks like the simplest formula would be:

distance thrown = maximum carrying capacity / Object Weight * X

Where X = 1, 2, or 4 depending upon if it was balanced and aerodynamic.

This allows a goliath to be able to throw things a bit further than a character without the Powerful build perk. The numbers also come in close to real world values for things like javelins, shotputs and the like.

It also has the advantage of being easy to calculate. So throwing another cooperating character only gets about 5' of distance except for an exceptionally strong goliath.

For example a 50lb gnome that cooperates thrown by a 20 strength goliath would be 1200 / 50 * 2 = 12 feet. If the gnome is not cooperating that gets 6'.

This also scales for Large / Huge monsters. The same gnome thrown by a fire giant comes out to 15' when unwilling.

At the other end, it allows for throwing something like a javelin a reasonable distance. For all, just use Max. Dist. / 3 for the short range. So a 2 lb javelin thrown by a 10 STR character is 150 feet -- book range is 120', so not a terrible approximation for just throwing something at 25' square area. It gets a little crazy for a 20 STR goliath at 600 feet but not too crazy compared to a longbow or some such.

Blue · Jan 11, 2019

I'd take a different route. A light, aerodynamic weapon is at worst 20/60, regardless of STR. Heaviest of those is 4 lbs. So I'd say that's the top end for throwing. Looking at the Variant: Encumbrance, 5 * Strength is the max before you are encumbered, so anything over that I would make a 5 foot throw tops. Then just prorate between those two, and maybe halve it for things that aren't aerodynamic. By that 10 STR could probably throw a 25 lb object about 30 feet, or 15 feet if it's not aerodynamic. That's pretty generous.

As a side note, for "throwing" other characters I'd do it a little different. If they are running and jumping and he's giving a boost, then I'd just use the higher of their two Strength scores for the jump calculations, and if they need to make an Athletics check it's at advantage like the Help action.

Ovinomancer · Jan 11, 2019

Use the jumping rules for throwing characters, but substitute the goliath's STR and height, where relevant.

WaterRabbit · Jan 12, 2019

Blue said:
I'd take a different route. A light, aerodynamic weapon is at worst 20/60, regardless of STR. Heaviest of those is 4 lbs. So I'd say that's the top end for throwing. Looking at the Variant: Encumbrance, 5 * Strength is the max before you are encumbered, so anything over that I would make a 5 foot throw tops. Then just prorate between those two, and maybe halve it for things that aren't aerodynamic. By that 10 STR could probably throw a 25 lb object about 30 feet, or 15 feet if it's not aerodynamic. That's pretty generous.

As a side note, for "throwing" other characters I'd do it a little different. If they are running and jumping and he's giving a boost, then I'd just use the higher of their two Strength scores for the jump calculations, and if they need to make an Athletics check it's at advantage like the Help action.

Javelin is 2 lbs, 30/120. 323 ft.
Olympic Hammer Throw: 16 lbs record 284 ft.

So have the ceiling at 20/60 seems a bit low to me. Again, I am not looking at it from a combat but just trying to hit a 5' on a side square.

On the other hand:
Caber 135 lbs, looks to be thrown about 20 ft. So, by my method a 20 STR human could just barely toss one 3' so that is still a bit low.

Greater than 5 * STR max 5' might be a bit too stingy. As even the calculations I have are on the low side for heavy object and the high side for light objects.

WaterRabbit · Jan 12, 2019

Ovinomancer said:
Use the jumping rules for throwing characters, but substitute the goliath's STR and height, where relevant.

In the jumping rules a 20 STR halfling and a 20 STR goliath can jump the same distance unless they are jumping for an object, so I don't see how that models throwing something very well. Instead of a halfling how far can a goliath throw a keg of beer (161 lbs.)?

doctorbadwolf · Jan 12, 2019

WaterRabbit said:
Has anyone worked a reasonable calculation for throwing objects? I have a goliath character that is always looking to see how far he can throw something, be it an object or another PC. So far he hasn't been looking to use them as thrown weapons.

For example, to avoid a trapped stairwell he wants to throw characters up the stairs onto the landing above (10' horizontal, 6' vertical). The characters range from 150-300 lbs. (with gear).

I am thinking of a system that is based off carrying capacity, but since jumping is based purely on Strength Score/Modifier I could see that working as well.

Improvised weapons have a 20/60 range, but they are always much much less than the weight of most objects (barrels, bags of coal, elves).

Any thoughts?

Google how far a human can throw a little person (humans are weird, so this is a thing you can google easily) or sacks of potatos, and then abstract from there. Make that the average, rather than the ceiling, if your games assume PCs are exceptional, or the race has a strength bonus and/or the "you count as bigger for carrying junk" trait. Make it the normal ceiling barring exceptionally high rolls, or the absolute range, if you like to keep things more grounded. I'd still add something like strength mod in feet for goliaths and firbolgs, though, since they should be able to chuck things farther than humans.