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That decision is probably made for game mechanics reasons, not to match realism.
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I just noticed for the first time the other day that slings actually have reload and it seems so weird??? like are you really telling me that putting a rock in a sling is equivalent to cranking a crossbow or loading a bullet? That these actions take similar time/effort? if anything I'd think that pulling and knocking an arrow is much closer...
You're thinking about a slingshot, not a sling. This is a sling and how it is used and it VERY much needs to be loaded before you wind up to swing it to release the stone/bullet.
I just noticed for the first time the other day that slings actually have reload and it seems so weird??? like are you really telling me that putting a rock in a sling is equivalent to cranking a crossbow or loading a bullet? That these actions take similar time/effort? if anything I'd think that pulling and knocking an arrow is much closer...You're thinking about a slingshot, not a sling. This is a sling and how it is used and it VERY much needs to be loaded before you wind up to swing it to release the stone/bullet.
They do need to be loaded, but a sling does not actually take that long to reload. It's significantly closer to a bow's reload time than a crossbow or flintlock musket's.
I think the reason is more historical (to the game). Slings have always been designed to be bad weapons in D&D. In PF1, they were not only bad, but specifically barred from taking the Rapid Reload feat to intentionally make them harder to improve. They sucked in 3.5 too, weren't very good in 4e and aren't very good in 5e either. That's just how the designers like them.
That and Paizo probably didn't want to publish a reload 0 simple weapons.
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Right? Very disappointing gunslingers have 0 feat support using firearms as sling ammunition. Highly misleading class name.
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I just noticed for the first time the other day that slings actually have reload and it seems so weird??? like are you really telling me that putting a rock in a sling is equivalent to cranking a crossbow or loading a bullet? That these actions take similar time/effort? if anything I'd think that pulling and knocking an arrow is much closer...You're thinking about a slingshot, not a sling. This is a sling and how it is used and it VERY much needs to be loaded before you wind up to swing it to release the stone/bullet.They do need to be loaded, but a sling does not actually take that long to reload. It's significantly closer to a bow's reload time than a crossbow or flintlock musket's.
I think the reason is more historical (to the game). Slings have always been designed to be bad weapons in D&D. In PF1, they were not only bad, but specifically barred from taking the Rapid Reload feat to intentionally make them harder to improve. They sucked in 3.5 too, weren't very good in 4e and aren't very good in 5e either. That's just how the designers like them.
That and Paizo probably didn't want to publish a reload 0 simple weapons.
Big Archery has been manipulating the TTRPG industry for decades.
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Well, if the Sling didn't have Reload 1, why would anyone EVER use a Composite Shortbow? Same damage dice, same Propulsive trait, and similar ranges (50' for the sling vs. 60' for the bow), but the sling is lighter (Light vs. 1 Bulk), easier (simple vs. martial), and cheaper (free vs. 14g).
Mechanically, getting Reload 0 would probably require reducing the damage die to 1d4 and/or losing the Propulsive trait.
In earlier editions, you had the similar combination of simple proficiency, cheap cost, lots of static damage bonuses typically making the weapon damage less important, and the fact that 'Your Strength modifier applies to damage rolls when you use a sling' combining to make a potentially ridiculously powerful weapon that needs to be 'kept down' as it were...
Remember when it comes to Crossbows and Firearms, these weapons fire absurdly quickly in these games for similar gameplay reason: I think one 'early firearm' shot every 3-5 rounds is much more realistic (maybe 3 shots per minute from a musket, and you are still fairly likely to miss the broadside of a barn from inside the barn itself), but that just doesn't play well and this is just a game, so saying the sling's rate of fire is closer to a bow than a crossbow is kinda meaningless*
*To be fair, the rate of fire for D&D3 + PF1 bows is also extremely silly if you expect to do any damage: Bows are just springs and every ounce of energy you get out of them needs to be put in by your arm muscles, so if you are shooting really quickly, you probably aren't putting much energy into each shot...
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Technically correct (the best kind of correct): That image does not actually includeit seems to me that everything in that image is the action of firing a sling, not reloading.I just noticed for the first time the other day that slings actually have reload and it seems so weird??? like are you really telling me that putting a rock in a sling is equivalent to cranking a crossbow or loading a bullet? That these actions take similar time/effort? if anything I'd think that pulling and knocking an arrow is much closer...You're thinking about a slingshot, not a sling. This is a sling and how it is used and it VERY much needs to be loaded before you wind up to swing it to release the stone/bullet.
- 1) retrieving the loose end of the sling (as per image C) and returning it to your 'swing' hand,
- 2) drawing of a bullet/stone from a bag/pocket, and
- 3) loading it into the 'business end' of the sling.
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Well, if the Sling didn't have Reload 1, why would anyone EVER use a Composite Shortbow? Same damage dice, same Propulsive trait, and similar ranges (50' for the sling vs. 60' for the bow), but the sling is lighter (Light vs. 1 Bulk), easier (simple vs. martial), and cheaper (free vs. 14g).
because deadly d10 is kind of a big deal???
a much better comparison would be the hand crossbow which would be strictly worse, with the only caveat that crossbows have a lot of feat support from various sources whereas slings have exactly 1 support feat tied to an ancestry
Honestly, I prefer not to think about the Hand Crossbow at all, as it is (for lack of a better term) 'weapons-grade' fantasy BS in every edition: Its tiny size means no real leverage when loading and should result in either a horribly slow reload (as in 'downtime activity' slow) or 'slingshot-level' damage...
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Well, if the Sling didn't have Reload 1, why would anyone EVER use a Composite Shortbow? Same damage dice, same Propulsive trait, and similar ranges (50' for the sling vs. 60' for the bow), but the sling is lighter (Light vs. 1 Bulk), easier (simple vs. martial), and cheaper (free vs. 14g).
because deadly d10 is kind of a big deal???
a much better comparison would be the hand crossbow which would be strictly worse, with the only caveat that crossbows have a lot of feat support from various sources whereas slings have exactly 1 support feat tied to an ancestry
Honestly, I prefer not to think about the Hand Crossbow at all, as it is (for lack of a better term) 'weapons-grade' fantasy BS in every edition: Its tiny size means no real leverage when loading and should result in either a horribly slow reload (as in 'downtime activity' slow) or 'slingshot-level' damage...
Modern versions have self-spanning/self-cocking lever-action spanning mechanisms: There are real life versions of of such items from at least the 16th centuries so it seems like it shouldn't be an issue to have them in hand versions in pathfinder. Now it DOES take a bit of brute strength to use them but you can get an 80 lbs draw for 160 FPS which should be fine for the damage it does in PF2.
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Technically correct (the best kind of correct): That image does not actually includeit seems to me that everything in that image is the action of firing a sling, not reloading.I just noticed for the first time the other day that slings actually have reload and it seems so weird??? like are you really telling me that putting a rock in a sling is equivalent to cranking a crossbow or loading a bullet? That these actions take similar time/effort? if anything I'd think that pulling and knocking an arrow is much closer...You're thinking about a slingshot, not a sling. This is a sling and how it is used and it VERY much needs to be loaded before you wind up to swing it to release the stone/bullet.Once these steps are complete, then you are ready to start your actual 'attack swing' (per image A).
- 1) retrieving the loose end of the sling (as per image C) and returning it to your 'swing' hand,
- 2) drawing of a bullet/stone from a bag/pocket, and
- 3) loading it into the 'business end' of the sling.
Not to mention the time spent swinging the sling to max velocity before releasing the stone (ie, the actual Strike). Much longer than using a bow and arrow IMO.