Gone for the Weekend…
I'm leaving early tomorrow morning for my friends' wedding on the other side of the continent, and shouldn't be back before Sunday. In the meantime, here's an interesting topic.In my game, flasks of oil used as Molotov cocktails are adjudicated this way:
Flasks of oil normally hold half a liter of oil. To hit, roll a d20. A 20 means double damage, 2-19 means normal damage, a 1 means that the thrower catches himself on fire for normal damage. The oil normally does 1d6 dmg per half-liter and does 1d4 dmg per half-liter every successive round if the victim doesn't actively try to put out the fire.
I was entertaining the idea that this might have been too beneficial to the players, seeing as they've always been the ones lobbing the flaming oil flasks, but they recently seem to have abandoned the practice, so they must not seem to think it's so beneficial… I don't know.
Anyway, how do you run flaming oil flasks in your games? Is it too easy to use flaming oil flasks in my game? What about when the PCs start encountering tuckerized kobolds that use the flaming oil flasks and hit them on 2-20? Do you have any good stories that involve flaming oil or other hot or burning liquids?
I handle oil flask this way:
ReplyDeleteThe flasks are not suited to be a throwing weapon. They are not as aerodynamic as throwing daggers or axes, or arrows. It's harder to hit with them, and if the target is aware it's easier to dodge them.
Also, when the flask hits the target, it has a chance of failing. Possible, but not all, failures are:
-The flasks breaks but the burning liquid is not spilled on the target;
-The flasks hits a soft part of the body and doesn't break at all.
They are not very reliable, being very dangerous to carry a lot of them in your backpack, and also easy to turn useless if they get wet.
As any improvised weapon the thrower has a chance of hurting himself with it.
And finally, if it's a molotov-like flask you need time to light the wick before throwing it.
Turning all that into rules, the oil flask attack has a -2 to hit roll.
On a natural 1 the thrower hits himself for full effect.
If the target it aware of the attack, he receives a saving throw to avoid all damage.
It takes a round worth of actions to prepare the flask.(unless the flask uses a special oil that ignites when in contact with air, but in this case it's a lot more expensive, and carrying those is even more dangerous...).
Characters still can make use of flasks but in a more tactical way, for surprise attacks and diversions, but not as a cheap mini-fireball.