Thrown Weapons... what can make them viable?

[The Souljourner]

Thrown weapons are down there underneath crossbows and the whip as far as underused and underpowered combat tactics that you really wish were more viable.

I was reminded of this when the barbarian of our party decided that the throwing axes he put on his sheet were actually there for combat and not for flavor.

Is there a way to make using thrown weapons viable throughout a character's career? The drawbacks are just so huge - you have to have quickdraw to get more than one attack (two if you're holding throwables in both hands). Once magic comes into play, you have to pay the full price for a magic weapon for each throwable or waste a full spell on each. Finally, you just can't justify carrying too many of the most common thrown weapons on you - the archer may have 50 arrows on his back, but the hand axe thrower can't reasonably have more than 4 or 5 strapped around him... so you have to worry about running out. Finally... you're throwing thousands of GP worth of equipment at the enemy. A smart target would rip that item out of his chest and just run away with the free loot you gave him.

Are there throwing feats out there that make it better? I know there's one or two classes, but they're often the sneaky kind of thing, and I'm thinking more of an addon to a fightery class.... like a ranger who carries a couple handaxes.

Thoughts and suggestions welcome.

-Nate

 

[Votan]

Thrown weapons are down there underneath crossbows and the whip as far as underused and underpowered combat tactics that you really wish were more viable.

I was reminded of this when the barbarian of our party decided that the throwing axes he put on his sheet were actually there for combat and not for flavor.

Is there a way to make using thrown weapons viable throughout a character's career? The drawbacks are just so huge - you have to have quickdraw to get more than one attack (two if you're holding throwables in both hands). Once magic comes into play, you have to pay the full price for a magic weapon for each throwable or waste a full spell on each. Finally, you just can't justify carrying too many of the most common thrown weapons on you - the archer may have 50 arrows on his back, but the hand axe thrower can't reasonably have more than 4 or 5 strapped around him... so you have to worry about running out. Finally... you're throwing thousands of GP worth of equipment at the enemy. A smart target would rip that item out of his chest and just run away with the free loot you gave him.

Are there throwing feats out there that make it better? I know there's one or two classes, but they're often the sneaky kind of thing, and I'm thinking more of an addon to a fightery class.... like a ranger who carries a couple handaxes.

Thoughts and suggestions welcome.

-Nate

The problem is that the archer has every possible advantgae. Strength bows remove the issue of less damage than a thrown weapon. Magic bows enchant every missle fired from them making this a cheap way to improve things. Archers often carry way more arrows that I could imagine being viable but weight limits are often enforced on axes and spears (if the archer has 150 ready to use arrows, why is 6 spears a problem?).

I wonder if a magic glove that imparted enchantments to thrown weapons (i.e. a +2 shocking glove of throwing) would at least narrow the gap.

But it's not an easy problem to tackle.

 

[James McMurray]

There's a feat that lets you power attack with thrown weapons. I think it's called Power Throw but could be wrong.

Halfling Master Thrower + Divine Might can output some nasty damage with a bunch of touch attacks every round. Shuriken also count as ammo so you free up a feat and can get magical versions cheaper.

 

[pawsplay]

Thrown weapons are down there underneath crossbows and the whip as far as underused and underpowered combat tactics that you really wish were more viable.

Tell me another way to get Str to damage at a range using two weapon fighting and inexpensive items.

Okay, so suggestions:

Master Thrower is just nasty. Combined with Weapon Specialization, the number of thrown items involved can be huge and the damage very significant. Ranger favored enemy bonus can help as well.
Quick Draw combined with Two Weapon Fighting lends itself to a considerable rate of attack.
In a slightly different direction, Brutal Throw and Power Throw can turn your Strength into a powerful ranged attack.
Weapons with the returning property can alleviate the need to throw "thousands" of gold pieces of weapons at the enemy each turn.
Most thrown weapons can also be used in melee, something which an archer cannot say. Thus, Close Quarters fighting, Combat Reflexes and other feats are handy for the thrower as well.
With Throw Anything, you can Throw Anything. That dragon is flying away? Throw your holy dragon bane longsword at him, then pick it up off the floor.
You don't spend as much cash on ammunition.
With Tumble or Mobility, or just a certain level of caution, you can move around the battlefield collecting thrown weapons to throw again.

 

[Krafen]

Bloodstorm Blade from Bo9S.

 

[two]

Really easy

Bloodstorm Blade from Bo9S.

Either allow the "returning" enchantment to be instant, so you can chuck the same weapon 4 times in a round, or...

Create "bracers" of enchantment, which enchant weapons thrown from the hand.

So the bracers could be +4 shocking, making every mundane axe you chuck +4 shocking for a round.

That is enough to partially fix it.

Of course, your range still sucks and you need to burn a feat (quick draw) that archers don't but...hey. That's life.

More feats, custom magic, and you are still worse than the archer.

D&D, gotta love it.

 

[frankthedm]

An idea for the 'returning" property is to allow the thrower to throw it as a full round action to have the weapon take the wielder’s full BAB based compliment of attacks as it ‘returns’. Sort of how the batarang ricocheted off multiple targets in Batman Returns.

There's a feat that lets you power attack with thrown weapons. I think it's called Power Throw but could be wrong.

Its a very nasty feat once the giants get a hold of it.

 

[Dross]

There is also a feat in the (I think) miniatures Handbook that lets you throw a weapon at the person you are charging, Quick Draw (a pre-req) a weapn and hit the person at the end of a charge.

but yes, creative ideas are needed for a dedicated thrower to not be too underpowered.

 

[Rhun]

Hulking Hurler?

 

[Hairfoot]

Sneak attack + shuriken overcomes some limitations, especially with flurry of blows. Monk/rogues can be vicious, but they need a good setup to get the attacks in. Also, shuriken are enchanted in bunches of 5.