Telekinetic Projectile + Alchemical bombs = Fun Times!

[The Fifth Wanderer]

This one came up a while ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting it.

Telekinetic projectile can throw any item of Bulk 1 or less. Bombs are bulk L items. So can you use Telekinetic Projectile as a magical grenade launcher? I see this going one of three ways

a) You do the bomb damage but not the damage from telekinetic projectile.

b) You do the damage from telekinetic projectile, but not the damage from the bomb

c) You do the damage from the bomb *and* the damage from telekinetic projectile.

Personally, I'm in favor of a. That gives them some benefit from combining the two without the player feeling they're wasting the bomb. C feels just a touch overpowered.

[HammerJack]

According to the text if the spell: "No specific traits or magic properties of the hurled item affect the attack or the damage."

So the Rules answer is B.

If you really want it to work at your table, you could go for a homebrew answer, but it's pretty unambiguous.

[Aratorin]

The Fifth Wanderer wrote:

This one came up a while ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting it.

Telekinetic projectile can throw any item of Bulk 1 or less. Bombs are bulk L items. So can you use Telekinetic Projectile as a magical grenade launcher? I see this going one of three ways

a) You do the bomb damage but not the damage from telekinetic projectile.

b) You do the damage from telekinetic projectile, but not the damage from the bomb

c) You do the damage from the bomb *and* the damage from telekinetic projectile.

Personally, I'm in favor of a. That gives them some benefit from combining the two without the player feeling they're wasting the bomb. C feels just a touch overpowered.

You can throw a bomb, but it will just do the Telekinetic Projectile Damage.

Quote:

No specific traits or magic properties of the hurled item affect the attack or the damage.

A Telekinetically hurled bomb has the exact same effect as a Telekinetically hurled flower.

[Burntgerb]

No specific traits or magic properties of the hurled item affect the attack or the damage.

It seems as though this would not work on an Adamantine Chunk and the like (in order to get past DR) as well - correct?

However it WOULD work (even as a readied action) on an unattended/dropped weapon, I believe.

[Gortle]

The Fifth Wanderer wrote:

This one came up a while ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting it.

Telekinetic projectile can throw any item of Bulk 1 or less. Bombs are bulk L items. So can you use Telekinetic Projectile as a magical grenade launcher? I see this going one of three ways

a) You do the bomb damage but not the damage from telekinetic projectile.

b) You do the damage from telekinetic projectile, but not the damage from the bomb

c) You do the damage from the bomb *and* the damage from telekinetic projectile.

Personally, I'm in favor of a. That gives them some benefit from combining the two without the player feeling they're wasting the bomb. C feels just a touch overpowered.

(c) would be what you would likely say based on on physics. This is something that a GM should just say no to. It just causes balance problems.

Likewise never allow them to stack 100 flasks together and allow for a super explosion. Such things are only ever plot points and never a tactic PCs can use. Why? It just breaks the game.

As a GM I would say that the alchemical flask shatters as it is picked up by Telekinetic Projectile so all that happens is a few shards hit the target (b). Or if a tougher flask is used, then not have the flask not shatter on impact (still b).

I suppose (a) could be possible as a middle ground if you throw the bomb via a sling or telekinetic projectile. The PCs could experiment to work out the right flask to do that. Just make sure that that operation is always slower than normal use of alchemical bombs.

Explicitly never ever allow (c).

[thenobledrake]

As others have said, it's unambiguously b).

To add to that and answer the question about the hurled item being a special material - that also does not count.

The reason: if the rules let any detail of what you chose as a projectile have more impact on the effect of using this spell, it couldn't be balanced against other cantrips. It would be unquestionably more versatile and more potent than all of the other options, with the margin only growing larger and larger the more varied or dangerous an inventory the party built up.