Throwing vs. Archery

[Abstraction]

From a numbers standpoint, thrown weapons are a little wimpy. I hope this gets fixed, because I like the idea of thrown weapon specialist covered in dagger scabbards.

 

[Crosshair]

The only reason I like thrown weapons, is for +1 wounding daggers.

Otherwise, bows all the way. I'm not a big fan of slings or crossbows.

 

[Someone]

For a build completely dependant on one or other style, bows. As a backup weapon you keep at lower levels to make a ranged attack now and then, thrown.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

I like the throwing weapons for style reasons, but unless the DM drops nice returning weapons into your lap it is too expensive enchant the throwing weapons sufficiently to be competitive with the bow.

 

[TheEvil]

Depends on the build to me. I have seen good builds which have used each.

Overall better? no idea. Which stat is overall better? Pink lemonaid or yellow? half empty or half full?

If I want to build a guy using thrown weapons then they are better, useing bows then them, useing crossbows then those.

Well, since this is an opinion poll:
Bow
Strength
Yellow
Half Full

 

[ARandomGod]

I like the throwing weapons for style reasons, but unless the DM drops nice returning weapons into your lap it is too expensive enchant the throwing weapons sufficiently to be competitive with the bow.

AND unless he alters the returning enchantment so that you can "throw" and have returned more than one item per round.

It's not too big an alteration. I think (off the top of my head) I'd recommend a "scabbard of recieving" that automatically catches a returned item... perhaps that becomes attuned to the item IN it so that it only catches that item (to prevent confusion as both your scabbards try to catch the same knife).

 

[Jarrod]

Bows: tons of PrCs that give you extra damage to keep up with the power-attacking melee monster.

Thrown weapons: tons of PrCs that fill in fundamental holes in the mechanics (the halfling get-'em-back-right-away, Master Thrower).

Thrown weapons are weaker than bows, and WotC's been working on PrCs to fill in the holes ever since. On the other hand, thrown weapons are also cooler. Call the shuriken a "throwing dagger" so you don't get accusations of "Ninja!" and let Magic Weapon work on 50 at a time.

 

[was]

Most of the time, I'd have to choose bows because of their range. I could see, however, someone preferring thrown weapons to take advantage of a good strength stat.

 

[Victim]

Duh. Use both.

Because of their superior range, bows tend to dominate open areas, versus flyers, etc. They're also much easier to magic up and get multiple attacks with. If you want to be a ranged specialist, using bows is probably a good bet. However, it's not too hard to sunder a bow, thus removing an archer's teeth.

On the other hand, many encounters will occur at short ranges - with sneak attack, Point Blank Shot, and Specialization only working within 30 ft, ranged characters are encouraged to stay pretty close to their enemies. For a melee specialist, the ability to add full STR bonus at a low price is a pretty big deal.

 

[jgsugden]

Yup. Jai Alai. There was also a scoop-em type children's beach toy in the late 70s (with rip-offs thereafter.)

As a note, I once calculated the actual distance a jai-alai ball could travel with the proper arc if it begins its flight at 160 miles per hour ... and it was impressive. Needless to say, the PCs were surprised when their ship was nailed by multiple glass spheres filled with alchemist fire while they were still far out to sea ...

As a side note, if allowed as a standard weapon, I recommend a 50' range with up to 20 range increments with the cesta (the jai-alai 'glove' or 'scoop') and pelota (the balls). It is a pain to aim those things at any distance ...