On Magic Users and Darts: What's Up With That?

[Lanefan]

The optimal/powergamer thing was darts, casuals went more for staff while smarter casuals went for daggers.

Hmmmm...I dunno...I've had and seen all kinds of players over the years and I can't recall any of them taking darts as an MU or Illusionist's first proficiency - or their second, for that matter.

Daggers having a melee option and a lot more common. You might find a +2 or +3 dagger at reasonably low levels as well.

So yeah I had an illusionist wading into melee with such a weapon. No cantrips,+3 dagger level 4 or 5.

Monsters also had a range of hit points so hitting a 2 or 3 HD critter or less with such a weapon had a reasonable chance of killing it.

More importantly, monsters generally had far fewer hit points in 0-1-2e, and by RAW didn't get any sort of bonus for high Con even if it made sense they would. A typical 1 HD Orc would have an average of 4.5 h.p., a 2 HD Orc would average out at 9; and unless wearing armour their AC was certainly nothing to write home about.

All you needed - even as a lowly spell-exhausted MU - was a little dice luck and down they'd go.

A multiclass mage could also benefit from gauntlets of ogre strength. A fighter/mage could cast strength as well which often gave you 18/xx strength as well.

Then 1d3 becomes 1d3+6 with 3 attacks.

Tell me about it - in my game right now I've got a PC Fighter with a girdle of giant strength who's been specialized in darts since day one.....and she's a bloody Hobbit to boot i.e. gets to-hit bonuses with hand-thrown missiles. Deadly, I tell ya!

 

[Stormonu]

Darts, all the way. Not only a better rate of fire, they're easier to poison the tips (just keep a cork on the end until your ready to throw so you don't prick yourself).

Also, I seem to recall that Throwing Dagger was a different proficiency than (melee) Dagger.

 

[Zardnaar]

Hmmmm...I dunno...I've had and seen all kinds of players over the years and I can't recall any of them taking darts as an MU or Illusionist's first proficiency - or their second, for that matter.

More importantly, monsters generally had far fewer hit points in 0-1-2e, and by RAW didn't get any sort of bonus for high Con even if it made sense they would. A typical 1 HD Orc would have an average of 4.5 h.p., a 2 HD Orc would average out at 9; and unless wearing armour their AC was certainly nothing to write home about.

All you needed - even as a lowly spell-exhausted MU - was a little dice luck and down they'd go.

Tell me about it - in my game right now I've got a PC Fighter with a girdle of giant strength who's been specialized in darts since day one.....and she's a bloody Hobbit to boot i.e. gets to-hit bonuses with hand-thrown missiles. Deadly, I tell ya!

I saw parts if the dart combo back in the day with Combat and Tactics. Dart grand master theory craft. We were very cheap with gauntlets and girdles though so didn't connect that part of the combo.

 

[Shades of Eternity]

don't forget the need to take riding land based.

buy a riding horse and improve your ac by 6 even if you have to replace it regularly.

There's a reason I used to call them "rodeo mages."

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Sepulchrave II]

I had a Magic User in 1981 who had three darts. He killed a kobold with one.

Can't speak to their general prevalence.

 

[Iry]

Darts were standard equipment for NPC magic users in the gold box games.
Also, Darts of the Hornet's Nest were glorious things.

While appearing to be nothing more than a magic dart, this missile weapon is of far greater power. Once it is hurled, the dart multiplies in the air, even as it speeds toward its target, all the while making an angry buzzing noise similar to the sound of a swarm of hornets. When such a dart is hurled, percentile dice are rolled to determine the bonus “to hit” and the appropriate number of darts contained in this particular item. Note that the bonus applies only to hit probability - not to damage, which is of the standard amount (1-3 vs. S or M, 1-2 vs. L) for a dart of normal sort.

Bonus
d% To Hit No. of Darts
01-40 +1 5-20 (5d4)
41-70 +2 4-16 (4d4)
71-90 +3 3-12 (3d4)
91-00 +4 2-8 (2d4)

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Celebrim]

Well, that's why I'm trying to understand where the whole, "Magic Users with darts" stereotype came up.

As far as your thesis goes, I suspect you are right that it didn't become a stereotype until the 2e era. I know I hadn't given it much thought until the Unearthed Arcana came out, and because I tended not to play single classed M-U's, I never tried to optimize a low level M-U. Indeed, I didn't play with a heavily system optimized group until about 1990, so in that sense "darts weren't associated with MUs when I was playing" either.

However, by the early 90's I had enough system mastery to understand why you'd opt for darts if playing an M-U, and certainly the possibility of starting a character with 15+ Str, and 17+ Int as a fighter with dart weapon specialization, and then switching at 2nd level or some other low level to M-U, for the advantage in hit points and combat ability (especially with darts) was something that was discussed.

 

[Lanefan]

Darts, all the way. Not only a better rate of fire, they're easier to poison the tips (just keep a cork on the end until your ready to throw so you don't prick yourself).

As long as you don't mind playing an evil character, as poison use was specifically called out as an evil act in 1e. (which is why Assassins were generally the only class that could do it)

Also, I seem to recall that Throwing Dagger was a different proficiency than (melee) Dagger.

Not in 1e, I don't think. Can't speak to 0e or 2e.