missile combat

From: steven mathers <stevenmathers_at_...>
Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 00:40:15 -0000

Hi. newbie to HW. Played the first example session from the narators book so far.

One weird thing that came to mind is missile combat.

The rules suggest playing this as an extended combat, but that doesnt make logical or dramatic sense to me.

For instance, as one of the dog-headed beings was fleeing the combat, one of the player characters, a hunter, tossed a spear after it. Now this seems to me to be an absolute outcome thing. Dramatically speaking, either the spear lodges in the creatures back, or hits it in the leg or whatever, and the thing is brought down, or else it misses and the dog-head scoots off into the darkness.

Surely this must be a simple contest of spear throwing ability vs. speed/agility/dodge or distance or something? The degree of success of the simple contest giving the degree of harm to the target from "none, and thanks for the spear" at one end of the scale to "urk, gurgle, thud" at the other?

I just dont see missile combat in any situation being an extended contest at all -- dramatically or otherwise. Every movie Ive ever seen of such things...the targets of the missile fire either take it on the shield and laugh, or go down in a heap.

??

Steve