D&D (2024) Blowgun, is there a use for them?

[Paul Farquhar]

They’re sneaky, and at least in movies, people hit with blowgun darts think they’ve been bitten by an insect before they topple over.

The prime example of this would be Agatha Christie’s Death in the Clouds. A blow pipe is used to murder someone aboard a crowded plane, and a wasp is used as misdirection.

 

[TiQuinn]

Well yeah, cause they suck

But what if a player wants to use one? They still have to make the choice between playing an effective character or playing a character with a flavorful weapon choice they find appealing. Thats pretty lame if you ask me.

I’d let them surreptitiously use it the way I described if that’s a thing they want to try to do, though unlikely, even if that’s not a specific rule in the book.

 

[TiQuinn]

The prime example of this would be Agatha Christie’s Death in the Clouds. A blow pipe is used to murder someone aboard a crowded plane, and a wasp is used as misdirection.

Oh man, I forgot I read that book ages ago! Yes, this. It’s obviously never going to be someone’s main weapon but in an urban campaign featuring a lot of intrigue, I could see it.

 

[TiQuinn]

Which would of been a really cool weapon mastery to give it.

But it as Vex and Loading.

Easily house ruled though if a player wants to use it.

 

[MarkB]

But the game mechanics don’t reflect that. They don’t have any bonus to concealment or stealth, and they’re no more effective at delivering poisons than any other weapon.

That's because the narrative purpose they would serve is difficult to balance in a combat-oriented game. How do you make it possible to take down a worthwhile target in a single unseen attack without making that the solution to any combat against a single foe?

 

[Gorck]

Which would of been a really cool weapon mastery to give it.

But it as Vex and Loading.

Thinking about this point, I'm not sure what would be a good Mastery for the Blowgun.

Cleave - Doesn't make sense since the needles tend to stick in the target. Unless you somehow managed to blow the needle hard enough to go through the target into the person behind them.
Graze - I suppose this makes sense. But at 1+DEX damage, Graze would only be doing 1 less point of damage (just the DEX straight up).
Nick - Nope. Not a Light weapon.
Push - Like Cleave, I doubt you could blow with enough force to knock the target backward.
Sap - Seems a bit of a stretch that the needle will be enough of a distraction to cause Disadvantage for the target.
Slow and Topple - Don't make sense in and of themselves. Maybe if some poison were on the needle that would slow or topple the target, they would make sense. But, then, that would be the effect of the poison itself.
Vex - Unlike Sap, being hit with a needle from out of nowhere might be enough of a distraction to allow you to make a second attack (once you're level 5 or higher to utilize Extra Attack). But it seems one of the two reasons to use a blowgun is to deliver a poison rather than doing damage, so a second attack (with the blowgun or another weapon) is pointless. The only other reason I can think of to use a blowgun would be stealth, in which case you'd probably want to slip away from the scene instead of sticking around to make another attack.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Can anyone think of a reason to use a blowgun?

The delivery of poison at range in cultures which have not developed a more efficient method of doing so?

 

[Micah Sweet]

A blowgun is lighter, cheaper, and can be used with one hand?

Potentially easier to conceal as well. And it could be a matter of bow technology not being known or usable in the blowgun-using culture.

 

[Micah Sweet]

with no special rule for blowgun, it is next to useless unless concealment is in the scenario,

Sounds like an area that could use some special rules

 

[Micah Sweet]

A sling is easier to conceal.
And doesn't have the loading property.

Less sneaky to use, what with all the whirling and noise.