RPG Superstar 2009 Top 4
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I have a giant NPC barbarian, with the "Hurling" series of rage powers. He's capable of throwing objects of huge size. Is there intent or precedent for a thrown huge object to attack all targets in a 15x15 area? Or is the attack against a single target only - with the huge object size simply a measure of how much damage the thing does?
Thanks for any thoughts on the matter...
Reads to me like they were expecting not that you would try to pick up a perfect cube of stone fitting 15x15x15-foot dimensions (where would you find such a handy object on short notice?), but that you would be picking up an object that simply fits that general size category, and is to hand. Like a large wagon or maybe an advanced stone golem or really big statue, etc.
It does seem easily breakable, as-written, though. But then, this is where the GM has to be on guard to protect verisimilitude. He has to put limits on what is on hand to hurl, and be careful to consider the nature of the hurled object. Hopefully, a smart GM will ask the player who requests a 15-foot cube as a custom weapon, how he intends to haul it around from adventure to adventure.
As to the original question, again, it depends on the nature of the hurled item, but I think this is a case where the GM must really get involved. A really round boulder, for instance, might strike its target, then keep on rolling into another. That wagon I mentioned might explode into splinters when it hits. And so on. One could make a case for a lot of different outcomes from different hurled objects. No doubt, in my game, I would allow myself a little leeway, much to the players' delight, as they would find all sorts of objects offer area attack options when hurled this way.
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Think I answered my own question. I found a chart from 3.5 srd that correlates weight to size "Assumes that the creature is roughly as dense as a regular animal. A creature made of stone will weigh considerably more. A gaseous creature will weigh much less." and stone is about 2.5x denser than water which is the primary ingredient in animals.
size /weight animal from chart / weight stone calculated by me by multiplying 2.5
Fine/ 1/8 lb. or less/ 5/16 pounds or less
Diminutive /1/8 lb. - 1 lb./ 5/16 pounds - 2.5 pounds
Tiny/ 1 lb. - 8 lb. / 2.5 lb - 22lb
Small/ 8 lb. - 60 lb. /22lb - 150lb
Medium/ 60 lb. - 500 lb. / 150lb to 1250 lb
Large / 500 lb. - 2 tons / 1250lb - 5 tons
Huge / 2 tons - 16 tons / 5 tons - 40 tons
Gargantuan/ 16 tons - 125 tons / 40 tons - 312.5 tons
Colossal / 125 tons or more / 312.5 tons or more
So, a greataxe (12 lbs) is only a Tiny item when hurled? And a suit of chainmail (40 lbs) would count as a small item?
Just for grins, work it out this way:
Granite (a fairly common stone, at least where I am) is 168lbs per cubic foot. So, a 1 foot diameter ball of granite would weigh in at about 87 lbs, or a small object (less than a light load for a str 18 character).
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 4
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I think I know how I want to house-rule this... I am ruling that an object's size category does not mean it takes up the entire space, so the huge boulder mentioned earlier does not actually fill a 15x15 area. Instead, for purposes of throwing stuff, it determines how many adjacent targets it can hit... sort of like a ranged "cleave." You still need to be able to lift the object to hurl it.
For each size category above medium, a thrown object can strike one additional adjacent target, using the same attack bonus. Each target can make a reflex save for half damage.
A thrown object of size large or larger creates either an obstacle or difficult terrain (depending on its condition after applying damage) in a number of squares equal to one size category smaller than the object. So a large boulder fills a 5' square area, a huge boulder fills a 10x10 area and so on.
to quantumcat's questions, though:
1.) I don't think this power was intended to let you throw things you can't lift. I suspect adding clarifications like that would have eaten up wordcount and made for a clunkier wording of the power.
2.) This is definitely a "DM call" area that's not explicitly spelled out in the rules, and was the basis for my question. PF changed falling object damage to be by size rather than weight (which is a great change, because it prevents silly abuses) but trying to figure out what you can pick up and throw based on size became a little unclear.
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A greataxe is a tiny item but is a medium weapon meaning it is a weapon designed to a medium creature to wield and does damage as such however it is itself tiny so that if it falls on you from a height and the blade does not hit you it will deal the damage of a tiny item (being nothing). If that chainmail falls on you it will count as small and deal 2d6 (more if it falls from really high I believe). At least that is my reading. The chart for the size to weight is at http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/movementPositionAndDistance.htm#bigandLitt leCreaturesInCombat by the way and I was using 157 lb/cubic foot for the density so we agree there. Water is 62.5 lb/cubic foot.So, a greataxe (12 lbs) is only a Tiny item when hurled? And a suit of chainmail (40 lbs) would count as a small item?
Yep.
Had I written the rule, I would have made it off of weight. So the one handed throw would be for any item that counts as a "light" load or less and the two handed would be for "medium" load items. That way it is based off of str and not size entirely.
If you are curious, I pulled my values from