Glue Shot Sling Bullets balanced?

[Ravingdork]

My player brought this to me from the D&D Compendium:

Glue Shot Sling Bullets (3)
Category: Gear
Price: 1 gp
Weight: 5 lb
Description: Sling bullets are used up when you fire them from a projectile weapon. A target hit by a Glue Shot Bullet is immobilized (save ends).

Apparently, they are in the DMG and are readily purchaseable. Should I, as a DM, allow such an item? Or is there some unforseen balance issue that may crop up as a result?

The player is a low-level laser cleric, by the way, with an extreme emphasis on Wisdom and an extreme de-emphasis on Strength (or most any other stat).

If I do decide to allow it, I'm thinking of letting the player make them via the Alchemy feat. I am also going under the assumption that they don't deal damage like an ordinary sling bullet (just the immobilization effect).

What do you guys think?

 

[RefinedBean]

Actually, they're found on kobolds in the sample adventure in the back. I don't think you can buy them, except from kobolds. However, they can certainly take them off of some dead baddies, and then learn to make them with some Alchemy, maybe?

 

[kerbarian]

As RefinedBean mentioned, they're a monster ability, thematically granted by gear rather than by innate powers. Like many monster abilities, they can be dramatically overpowered in the hands of PCs.

The PC equivalent would be the tanglefoot bag from the Adventurer's Vault. Those cost 25 gold per shot or more (up to 65,000 for the level 27 version) with range 5/10, and they immobilize for one turn and then slow for one turn.

 

[IceFractal]

Only thing is - if you don't want PCs getting ahold of these, better not use the Kobolds that have them. Kobolds not being known for their bravery, it'd be rather a stretch to claim interrogating one for the recipe was impossible. And, Kobolds not being know for their wealth, it'd be unlikely they were even using 25g ammo, much less more expensive stuff.

 

[RefinedBean]

Bah, just say they can't figure out how to load them without getting them to stick to their hands, and have the kobolds be tight-lipped on how they work.

 

[kerbarian]

Bah, just say they can't figure out how to load them without getting them to stick to their hands, and have the kobolds be tight-lipped on how they work.

Or say that the glue hardens up within a day if not regularly treated with kobold saliva. Let the characters make use of the loot as a short-term handy ability, but don't give them permanent access to something more powerful and far cheaper than the equivalent (presumably balanced) items.

 

[Holy Bovine]

Or say that the glue hardens up within a day if not regularly treated with kobold saliva. Let the characters make use of the loot as a short-term handy ability, but don't give them permanent access to something more powerful and far cheaper than the equivalent (presumably balanced) items.

Change saliva to feces and you'll never have to worry about anyone touching them again.

 

[WalterKovacs]

Change saliva to feces and you'll never have to worry about anyone touching them again.

Actually based solely on the description of what the substance looked like, the players had already decided they didn't want to touch it.

 

[frankthedm]

What do you guys think?

say No.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

My player brought this to me from the D&D Compendium:

Glue Shot Sling Bullets (3)
Category: Gear
Price: 1 gp
Weight: 5 lb
Description: Sling bullets are used up when you fire them from a projectile weapon. A target hit by a Glue Shot Bullet is immobilized (save ends).

Apparently, they are in the DMG and are readily purchaseable. Should I, as a DM, allow such an item? Or is there some unforseen balance issue that may crop up as a result?

The player is a low-level laser cleric, by the way, with an extreme emphasis on Wisdom and an extreme de-emphasis on Strength (or most any other stat).

If I do decide to allow it, I'm thinking of letting the player make them via the Alchemy feat. I am also going under the assumption that they don't deal damage like an ordinary sling bullet (just the immobilization effect).

What do you guys think?

I am a little surprised by the price point. I think it's a placeholder since the Glue Pot thingies are never described in the books as sellable. But they are loot, as described in the MM Kobold Slinger entry.

I think treating them as alchemical items might work fine - they attack with the bonus as Kobold Slingers do.

When I ran my first Kobold Slinger encounters, I just allowed them to be used by the PCs.

I think the primary problem would be that of any alchemical item - they become too cheap at higher levels. So setting a fixed attack bonus should solve the balance problem - if you allow them to be bought at all. If they require you to find and kill Kobold Slingers, no worries.