D&D 5E Thief Rogue throwing Ball Bearings everywhere

[Undrave]

I'm tempted to make a villain for a chase scene and stat him out like a 007 car, with either his ride or his outfit kitted out with ready-to-deploy items from the standard equipment list, so that he can just pull a cord and scatter oil or caltrops or ball bearings in his wake.

Tinker Gnome or a Goblin then? Maybe one stealing from the other?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Not if you only use them for tripping people up.

You can also make glass marbles for the same effect.

Peebles might work, but I have enough experience of walking on pebble beaches to know that whilst they might slow you down, they don't make you fall over. But then ball bearings wouldn't work either unless they where just the right size - too big and you kick them aside, too small and they fit in the grooves of your boots.

Marbles are a much more plausible alternative for a pre-industrial revolution world, yes.

Slippery oil or grease would be a lot cheaper and widely available in a low tech setting though.

 

[MarkB]

Peebles might work, but I have enough experience of walking on pebble beaches to know that whilst they might slow you down, they don't make you fall over. But then ball bearings wouldn't work either unless they where just the right size - too big and you kick them aside, too small and they fit in the grooves of your boots.

Marbles are a much more plausible alternative for a pre-industrial revolution world, yes.

Slippery oil or grease would be a lot cheaper and widely available in a low tech setting though.

There's a difference between pebbles on a beach and pebbles on a smooth surface. And in any case, slowing you down is mostly what ball bearings do, by the book - you can ignore their tripping effect if you choose to move at half speed.

 

[Quartz]

Not sure if you are being serious here, but the Romans had iron weapons and could work iron, including melting iron, long before the medieval era.

They could work iron but they couldn't melt it. The best they could do was get it to a temperature where it was somewhat plastic.

 

[jasper]

They could work iron but they couldn't melt it. The best they could do was get it to a temperature where it was somewhat plastic.

Gold melts 1945F Cast iron 2060F you think they couldn't do than for marble size pieces. And you are forgetting magic. And why are people think ball bearings are only made out metal?

Melting Points of Metals | OnlineMetals.com®

Learn about the importance of a melting point and the different melting points of metals including the melting point of aluminum | Online Metals®

www.onlinemetals.com

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Marbles are a much more plausible alternative for a pre-industrial revolution world, yes.

Also for a college fraternity on double secret probation.

 

[Omand]

Full disclosure, I am trained as a historian, but the history of Roman metallurgy is not my specialty. That said, the following Wikipedia articles all seem to have compelling sources about metallurgy, smelting and iron working in the ancient world and the Roman Empire:

Archaeometallurgical slag - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Roman metallurgy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Iron - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Smelting - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

According to the Iron article, Cast iron was first developed in 5th Century BCE China and spread to Europe in the Middle Ages/Medieval Period (around the 15th Century/1400s).

Blast furnaces for being able to refine purer forms of iron have been discovered in Europe dating to roughly 1100 CE, and the slag located in some archaeological sites seems to indicate (not definitive) that earlier forms for "Cold Blasting" of iron existed in the first century BCE (just before 1 CE).

Blast furnace - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So, can I definitively say that the Romans melted iron to a full liquid? Well, I suppose not since I was not there. The accumulation of evidence from the brief research I have done seems to indicate it was possible, and likely probable that they could. Why do we not have Roman cast iron? Could be the vagaries of what is preserved, or yes, it could be they never made it.

Having said that, the technology was in place by the middle of the Medieval era (generally held to run c. 450 - 1450), and since our argument is about whether or not D&D as a medieval simulator can allow this. I would say yes.

Now, to go back to the OP question. The boots would not be something I would allow as a DM. As already pointed out, if the party rogue can make them, why has no one else thought of this. Also, why even bother, since you can jump over or move at a slower speed to avoid any issues.

Cheers

Edited due to typos and fat fingers.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Thanks to a mishap at the freezer tonight I have an idea for another solution: blueberries + cone of cold.

When this technique saves you from a TPK, you can send me a Bitcoin via pm as a thank you.

 

[Undrave]

Something else came to me... You could always make wooden clogs to protect yourself from caltrops

 

[Guest 6801328]

Something else came to me... You could always make wooden clogs to protect yourself from caltrops

Until they all stick to your clogs, your clogs fall off from the weight, and you find yourself barefoot in a sea of caltrops.