D&D 5E What to do with ball bearings?

[aramis erak]

They weigh 0.002 lbs each. (That is 0.032 ounces, or 0.9 gram.)
Far too small and light to be usable as sling shot - not even as buckshot. They'd go all over the place and have no kinetic force.*

And besides, there is this.





* If you could even launch them. Put small stuff in a sling and swing it - they would not be held down by their mass enough to stay in the pouch**.
And putting 1000 of them in a sling? However would you do that? And 2 lbs is too heavy for a sling - about 1/2 pound is about as much as a bullet can weigh.

** Which isn't a pouch as such - the stone/bullet would get caught in it and not fly well, if at all.)

I've fired 7mm rocks from a staff sling. They stay in just fine. They break windows nicely. Velocity is far more important than raw mass, and slings and staff slings generate plenty. .22 cal bullets (not rounds, just the bullet) also work reasonably well. Remember E=MV^2, and Penetration (very) roughly corresponds to (E/D)^0.5, where E=Energy, M=mass in grams, V=velocity in meters per second, and D is diameter in millimeters

A proper medieval sling is a leather oval tied in such a manner as to form a pocket; one can make it a shallow cup with a little water and some stretching, and still have it work. A well used sling develops that bulge over time as well. 2-3 bullets can be loaded at once and will stay. Hell, a Ping Pong ball also stays nicely. And leaves a nifty bruise at 10-20', but sheds energy to air resistance way too fast for much further.

 

[jrowland]

I've fired 7mm rocks from a staff sling. They stay in just fine. They break windows nicely. Velocity is far more important than raw mass, and slings and staff slings generate plenty. .22 cal bullets (not rounds, just the bullet) also work reasonably well. Remember E=MV^2, and Penetration (very) roughly corresponds to (E/D)^0.5, where E=Energy, M=mass in grams, V=velocity in meters per second, and D is diameter in millimeters

A proper medieval sling is a leather oval tied in such a manner as to form a pocket; one can make it a shallow cup with a little water and some stretching, and still have it work. A well used sling develops that bulge over time as well. 2-3 bullets can be loaded at once and will stay. Hell, a Ping Pong ball also stays nicely. And leaves a nifty bruise at 10-20', but sheds energy to air resistance way too fast for much further.

Alaska, where the men are men and making weapons cure boredom

 

[Henrix]

I've fired 7mm rocks from a staff sling. They stay in just fine.

BB shot are quite a bit smaller, though.

And perhaps you can fire them - but not well. There are reasons historical sling bullets were not birdshot size.
Even a random rock is probably better.


(Still does not answer who manufactures all those ball bearings, and why, and how at such an incredibly low cost.)

 

[aramis erak]

Alaska, where the men are men and making weapons cure boredom

Has more to do with having been a reenactor for a couple years and an SCAer for 20. It does help that there are plenty of places to go practice without homes nor businesses nearby.

Though I do know a surprising number of bladesmiths... smithing can be done as a good indoor activity in winter...

what you can sling varies by the leather used for the cup; 2oz can fire 7mm reasonably (.30 cal), 16oz will barely work for a golf ball or marble. lead 13mm (.50 cal) or 15mm (.60 cal) ball is excellent ammo. I know a guy who can hand sling a 13mm into a man-sized target at 50yd accurately, and penetrate 5/8" plywood. He can sling an egg 100yd, and a golf ball about 150. (We were taught on a football field.)

BB shot are quite a bit smaller, though.

And perhaps you can fire them - but not well. There are reasons historical sling bullets were not birdshot size.
Even a random rock is probably better.

Historical bullets tend to be 1cm x 3 cm to 2cm x 5cm, of lead, almond shaped, 10g to 50g, or clay in similar sizes but 1/4 the mass. Bullets up to about 150gm have been found.

As for the bearings... 1000 = 2 lb; 500/lb, assuming a light iron sg 7, 1 lb, 0.9g, that's 5mm. Slightly bigger than a bb (4.3mm). They're certainly not great ammo; I'd say damage would be reduced to 1d4-2 base or so... still, in a pinch, it's a reasonable emergency ammo.

(Still does not answer who manufactures all those ball bearings, and why, and how at such an incredibly low cost.)

That is the best question... I suspect the answer involves magic.

 

[Astrosicebear]

My mage prestidigitations them into magical ben-wa balls.

 

[TheMadGent]

(Still does not answer who manufactures all those ball bearings, and why, and how at such an incredibly low cost.)

Ball bearings proper don't really appear until the industrial age, I don't know how much technology would be necessary to make them. Stone and glass marbles go back well into antiquity, though. I also imagine that you could easily make metal balls out of cast lead, but I don't know how smooth you could get them.

 

[Ellington]

Rogues with the Thief archetype can use them as a bonus action. Very handy for setting up advantage for yourself in the same turn.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Making items, Gnomes go through them quickly, rotors and spinning items like axles mostly. So, in most of my games they are just needed to help them build or repair an item in game.

Stuff like:
...Revolving cylinder that holds darts for Dart Gun
...Quick drawing crank on cross bow
...Hand held drill

 

[TarionzCousin]

I suspect advanced gnomes use ball bearings in their fancy engine machine things.

 

[Hussar]

Maybe ball bearings are made from rather than by gnomes.