The Archer's Tragedy

[daan]

10% makes me wanna grab my butterknife instead .. I'd definetly raise that a bit. I'm doubtfull of the -6 though . .that's very close to no save allowed in SoA. Good for ToB though

[Rataxes]

15% and a -4 Save Bonus then?

[Dundee Slaytern]

I have tweaked it to 15% and -4 save. Slightly more powerful than the Axe of Unyielding +5, but not too powerful to the point where enemies just commit seppuku when they see you.

Edited the post to reflect this new change.

[SixOfSpades]

I happen to think there are too many Vorpal weapons already (especially considering that the creatures you MOST want to Vorpal are immune). Remember when I wanted to turn the Wyvern's Tail into a Vorpal weapon that Clerics could use, and the "Oh, not ANOTHER Vorpal weapon" was brought up?

Instead of Vorpal, or Stun, or whatever, it'd be nice to see the Impaler turned into a (possibly 1-handed) melee weapon that did additional Bleeding damage--that would fit rather well with the concept of impaling. (Or is Bleeding damage treated like Poison damage, where everybody & their mother is immune?)

[Alson]

A question for you, Weimer, if you happen to see this... Just how hard it is to create a new "effect" (a la Stun, Slow, Charm, Sleep, Fear, etc), and inserting it into the game via a new weapon? This would mean a whole new world of opportunities.

[pcgiant]

Hmmmm...

Have I slipped into the Twilight Zone? In my game, at least, Archers can dual and GM in Slings?

Could this be a problem with my game? Or everyone else's?

OK.
Am I right in saying that the real grievance with the upgraded Impaler is the fast rate of fire? Because I see no real problem with having a throwing spear. Remember that by the time you can upgrade it, you'll be in Chapter Six. If you are patient enough to GM in spears up until that point with essentially useless weapons available, I think that you should be rewarded with a decent spear.

Remember, by this time you can have: Crom Faeyr, Celestial Fury, Carsomyr, Soul Reaver, Firetooth, Staff of the Magi, Gesen Bow, Heartseeker etc.
How well does Upgraded Impaler compare to each of these elite weapons?
You decide.
But remember, if you want the Upgraded Impaler, you'll have virtually no decent weapons until Chapter Six, whereas almost all the other weapons do. (In some cases they are obtainable in Chapter TWO.)

I think that the Upgraded Impaler should have it's rate of fire reduced, however, for reasons already illustrated.

Cheers, pcgiant.

EDIT: Close tags next time

[ 03-08-2003, 04:06 AM: Message edited by: pcgiant ]

[Dundee Slaytern]

Archers cannot GM in Slings or Darts. If yours can, you must have installed a mod that allows Grandmastery for everybody or something( I'm suspecting the multiclass GM mod here).

[pcgiant]

Well, I guess I must have. I can't remember it though.
If Archers can't GM in slings, then the supposedly great Archer/Cleric combo just went down quite a few notches in my book.

[Butterfingers]

Well, back to the spear issue, why not add a Sharpness effect like in PnP?

Valygar sort of has it on his personal Blade. Massive bleeding damage. However, Sharpness has a % to randomly lop off an arm or a leg in one stroke, not sure how this would be handled in game.

Personally, if the Impaler was to be upgraded, I think it should cause massive bleeding damage. Not all the time, but, % based. Like say, 10% chance to cause 4d4 bleeding damage for 1d10 rounds. Of course, this will only work on creatures that can actually bleed. Or a slow effect. Having your guts yanked out on a barbed spear can really slow you down if you get my drift.

Impaling damage in PnP was terrible. If you got impaled, ie, somebody got a critical on you with a stabbing weapon, you were skewered. You could make no attacks, do nothing to defend your self, your base AC set to 10, and you took massive bleeding damage and would die very quickly. However, the person impaling you had it no better. If he held on to his weapon, he too suffered the huge AC penalty, and was unable to do anything else while making sure his spear stayed stuffed in somebody's guts. You could free your self from impalement only if you rolled a successful system shock roll and if you had enough strength to push somebody away. You then had to deal with removing the spear though.

So, that said, make the Improved Impaler a Cursed Weapon. Give it massive damage, and the above discribed effect. Make it lock the person impaled as well as the wielder of the Impaler locked into place till one of them dies.

[Dundee Slaytern]

Ingredients:
----
Impaler +3
Halcyon Spear +1
Cloak of Reflection
Rogue Stone
20,000 Gold

Impaler +4

The Impaler has a palpable aura of magic that hints at the vicious nature of the weapon and why it has been a favorite of several powerful orc chieftains in the past. When a victim is struck they are, as one would guess, very nearly impaled, run through as the massive enchantment does its dirty work. This weapon has been upgraded by < CHARNAME > into a vorpal weapon.

STATISTICS

Equipped Abilities: Immunity to Electricity( aka +100% Electrical Resistance)

Combat Abilities: 15% chance for each hit whereby the opponent must save vs death with a -4 penalty or suffer instant death.

THAC0: +4 bonus
Damage: 1D6 +4, +10 piercing damage, +4 electrical damage
Damage type: piercing
Weight: 3
Speed Factor: 3
Proficiency Type: Spear
Type: 2-handed
Requires: 5 Strength
Not Usable By:
Cleric
Mage
Thief

Impaler +4

The Impaler has a palpable aura of magic that hints at the vicious nature of the weapon and why it has been a favorite of several powerful orc chieftains in the past. When a victim is struck they are, as one would guess, very nearly impaled, run through as the massive enchantment does its dirty work. This weapon has been upgraded by < CHARNAME > into an even meaner weapon.

STATISTICS

Equipped Abilities: Immunity to Electricity( aka +100% Electrical Resistance)

Combat Abilities: 25% chance for each hit whereby the opponent must save vs death with a -4 penalty or suffer 2 bleeding damage for every 2 seconds for 4 rounds.

5% chance that the target is stunned for one round with no save.

THAC0: +4 bonus
Damage: 1D6 +4, +10 piercing damage, +4 electrical damage
Damage type: piercing
Weight: 3
Speed Factor: 3
Proficiency Type: Spear
Type: 2-handed
Requires: 5 Strength
Not Usable By:
Cleric
Mage
Thief

[ 03-11-2003, 01:24 PM: Message edited by: Dundee Slaytern ]