Barbed arrows. Another errata?

[gran_orco]

The barbed crossbow bolt description says that we must see the entry on barbed arrows for details, but there is no barbed arrow desccription.

If the description is a "copy-paste" of the previous edition, it should say the following:
"Arrow, Barbed: While a normal arrow can cause
quite a wound, these wickedly designed arrows have
extremely sharp reverse-curved barbs that tear even
more flesh when removed. Barbed arrows are always
considered to have Impaled their target if they roll
the maximum damage their bow is capable of (not
including Damage Modifier)."

But, obviously, this should be modified for the new RQII, so what should it say?

Any official help?

 

[Draconis13]

Perhaps it should work like a trident where if the arrow is pulled out it does +1 damage, that is pretty close to the historical and described use of barbed arrows in that they are not easily removed without causing extensive injuries. Also on the topic I am wondering about barbed darts since they do no damage, and having them do +1 damage when removed is pretty brutal. Then again its not exactly a overpowering weapon and could make up for the fact it does superficial wounds in regards to its normal ammo.

 

[Titus]

I think the +1 damage when pulling it out seems right.
I also think the First Aid check to pull it out without causing damage would be Difficult (-20%).

 

[gran_orco]

I think that I will do that.
Loz, could you give us an official answer as it is an omitted description of the book?

 

[Loz]

I'd agree with Titus's house-rule. Seems sensible.

 

[gran_orco]

Thank you guys. I have seen that barbed arrows does not appear in the table. Should it be there, or has it been omitted for any reason?

Only one more question. barbed blowgun darts says this:
Blowgun Darts, Barbed: Although no more damaging than regular darts, barbed darts stick in any wound that they roll their maximum amount of damage for. These darts, while imbedded, penalise all skill tests by –5% per dart, and infl ict an additional point of damage when a Combat Action is taken to remove them (without the proper First Aid test).
Does it mean that I need to achieve the maximun value with the dice to gain these benefit? And, according to the empaling rules, weapons inflicts a skill penalty of -10% per size category, so should penalize barbed darts with -15% or just -5%?

 

[Loz]

If a barbed dart rolls Max Damage, and/or you apply that CM, then it sticks in there. This is in addition to Impale.

But do use some common sense: a dart is a small weapon and won't hinder skills by -10%. Use -5% instead.

 

[PhilHibbs]

If a barbed dart rolls Max Damage, and/or you apply that CM, then it sticks in there.

or if it's had Damage Enhancement cast on it...

 

[Draconis13]

The problem is darts do 0 damage now instead of 1d2 as in MRQ1, so they dont roll damage they kill small animals and deliver poisons.

 

[PhilHibbs]

The problem is darts do 0 damage now instead of 1d2 as in MRQ1, so they dont roll damage they kill small animals and deliver poisons.

Err... oh yeah, you're right, a blowgun does '-' damage so they can't roll maximum. Errata please, Loz/Bryan? (although B_Steele hasn't posted in this forum since December)

 

[Deleriad]

The problem is darts do 0 damage now instead of 1d2 as in MRQ1, so they dont roll damage they kill small animals and deliver poisons.

I guess I would rule that they do 1 point of damage if yanked out of a target without using First Aid. Probably doesn't need to be any more complicated than that.

 

[PhilHibbs]

I guess I would rule that they do 1 point of damage if yanked out of a target without using First Aid. Probably doesn't need to be any more complicated than that.

Yes it does - there's a specific rule that if the dart rolls maximum damage then it sticks in its target. Loz even mentions this rule in his post, yet there is no rolled damage for a blowgun.

 

[Deleriad]

I guess I would rule that they do 1 point of damage if yanked out of a target without using First Aid. Probably doesn't need to be any more complicated than that.

Yes it does - there's a specific rule that if the dart rolls maximum damage then it sticks in its target. Loz even mentions this rule in his post, yet there is no rolled damage for a blowgun.

There is no "specific rule that if the dart rolls maximum damage then it sticks in its target" in RQII, the errata, A&E II or its errata. I presume that Loz either didn't have the rulebook in front of him or was looking at A&E 1 when darts did damage. In RQII and quoting directly from A&E 2 blowgun barbed darts are "no more damaging than normal darts." In RQII darts don't do damage but rely on hitting unarmoured spots.

 

[PhilHibbs]

There is no "specific rule that if the dart rolls maximum damage then it sticks in its target" in RQII, the errata, A&E II or its errata

Blowgun Darts, Barbed: Although no more damaging than regular darts, barbed darts stick in any wound that they roll their maximum amount of damage for. These darts, while imbedded, penalise all skill tests by –5% per dart, and inflict an additional point of damage when a Combat Action is taken to remove them (without the proper First Aid test).

Also:

Crossbow Bolt, Barbed: See the entry on barbed arrows for details on this item, as the two function exactly the same.

Er, there isn't an entry on barbed arrows.

 

[gran_orco]

That is the reason why I have opened this post (no barbed arrow entry) :S

 

[PhilHibbs]

That is the reason why I have opened this post (no barbed arrow entry) :S

Oh yeah. I forgot. Oh well, good to get the thread back on track anyway. Maybe the errata will be as simple as "where it says see barbed arrows, see barbed darts instead".

 

[Deleriad]

That is the reason why I have opened this post (no barbed arrow entry) :S

Yes, this is all getting confused between barbed blowgun darts and barbed arrows. Don't have my book in front of me right now.

The rules I'll be using for darts are.

Any blowgun dart which hits unprotected flesh is considered to stick in (impale) but to have no negative effective impact on skill. It's painful but so are most bad effects of combat. A barbed blowgun dart that sticks in will inflict 1 HP damage if it is pulled out without using the First Aid skill. (Barbed blowgun darts that are stuck in someone do not have a negative effect on skills.)

Without being able to check, I would rule that barbed arrows (or any kind of impaling weapon) do an extra point of damage if yanked out without using First Aid skill.

 

[duncan_disorderly]

there's a specific rule that if the dart rolls maximum damage then it sticks in its target. Loz even mentions this rule in his post, yet there is no rolled damage for a blowgun.

In which case, a blowgun dart always does it's maximum (0) damage, so always sticks in! (but unless the target is unarmoured or you use an "avoid armour" type CM, it will only stick in the armour, since it's damage won't be enough to penetrate the armour....

 

[tomasites]

there's a specific rule that if the dart rolls maximum damage then it sticks in its target. Loz even mentions this rule in his post, yet there is no rolled damage for a blowgun.

In which case, a blowgun dart always does it's maximum (0) damage, so always sticks in! (but unless the target is unarmoured or you use an "avoid armour" type CM, it will only stick in the armour, since it's damage won't be enough to penetrate the armour....

But if you hit on the unarmored part, the penetration would be severe on such cases.


_____________________
“With jungle vegetation, where he had made a blowgun from tubes of rustless metal as a weapon gift for small winged men -- but were they men?”

 

[Mixster]

Also, while we are on the topic, Blowguns can Impale, but they have a SIZ and damage of - . So there is no merit to using the impale manoeuvre.