Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Avalon JaKoro 11-09-05, 10:17 PM	It's true if you think about it. All weapons are tools of combat. But how does a person convert to use other tools as weapons or weapons as other tools? Examples: {Climbing spikes that go on the shoes are made for climbing (obviously) but in theory they could also be used just like a punching dagger for the foor instead of the hand.} {Don't have a crowbar you say? Just shove your sword flatways through the crack in the box and use it as a lever!} That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. You can be practicle, or you can be completely ludicress. All I ask is that the people who are serious don't start flaming on the the people who read and write here to get a few laughs. Some of therse could turn out to be great ways to cut back on how much gear you're carring and on how much gold you spend. So get your unusial thinking caps out (you know, the one with all the wacky whos-a-ma-things and the kagillion gold stars on it) and have some fun!
ShinAkuma2 11-09-05, 11:45 PM	Well, this IS accounted for in the PHB already, as far as what using them means. For an improvised item (such as longsword for crowbar, or dagger as thief's tools): Give the skill user a –2 circumstance penalty to represent conditions that hamper performance, such as being forced to use improvised tools or having misleading information. For improvised weapon: Sometimes objects not crafted to be weapons nonetheless see use in combat. Because such objects are not designed for this use, any creature that uses one in combat is considered to be nonproficient with it and takes a –4 penalty on attack rolls made with that object. To determine the size category and appropriate damage for an improvised weapon, compare its relative size and damage potential to the weapon list to find a reasonable match. An improvised weapon scores a threat on a natural roll of 20 and deals double damage on a critical hit. However, I understand that the nature of this thread is to come up with ways to use items outside of the box. As such, I will repeat my above entry of "daggers as thief's tools", since I had to do that myself at one point. That was no fun...I just made the DC, though.
Yoho1.5 11-09-05, 11:55 PM	The climbing spikes that go on shoes are called crampons and they friggin hurt if you get one in the leg but I wouldn't put them on par with a punching dagger. (note to self avoid kicking myself in the leg this ice climbing season.) A whip makes a servicible short length of rope and a woodsmans axe is just as good as a war version and vice versa.
Keenath 11-10-05, 12:00 AM	{Don't have a crowbar you say? Just shove your sword flatways through the crack in the box and use it as a lever!}YAAAAH! NEVER EVER DO THIS! A sword is not made to take stress across the flat! This sort of action is almost guranteed to break the sword! It hurts just thinking about somebody mistreating a weapon like this... And I know there's a story that ninjas used their ninja-to blades as platforms when climbing and as prybars; neither is true. Sometimes a reinforced sheath could be used as an improvised pry-bar, but in general a ninja either brought the tools he needed, or (more likely) disguised himself as a traveller or servant to get into position for a deadly strike.
Rulebook 11-10-05, 07:45 AM	to be fair, you probably wont break your sword doing that... you'll just bend it to the point where it wont spring back. it wont lift anything you cant lift with your bare hands otherwise. ive done the whole "Dont have a latrine handy? Well your buddy the Paladin has a HELMET right?" thing though...
Quirriff 11-10-05, 08:20 AM	YAAAAH! NEVER EVER DO THIS! Just the thought it it seems to make you feel pain, but as a person who appeciates swords, I can feel your pain, Also touching the blade, If you touch the blade it's very bad, you don't want fingerprint oil on them, it makes them rust, AHRAASGAHAHA.
Keenath 11-10-05, 09:49 AM	to be fair, you probably wont break your sword doing that... you'll just bend it to the point where it wont spring back.It's pretty likely to snap the blade, frankly. Swords are made to be stiff, not flexible (chinese jian aside; those rubbery-looking swords are totally hollywood anyway) and they're far more likely to snap than bend if put under stress. The same aspects that make a sword a good weapon also mean it can't flex much. Also touching the blade, If you touch the blade it's very bad, you don't want fingerprint oil on them, it makes them rust.Yeah, but still, that's not as bad as the horrible mistreatment suggested by some people. I mean, compare a sword to a crowbar. A sword, made for cutting people -- two to four inches wide and perhaps a quarter-inch thick at the middle. A crowbar, made for prying things -- nearly an inch across the middle and solid steel to both ends. Does it make the least bit of sense that a sword could be anything like a decent prybar?
Jaid 11-10-05, 08:00 PM	4' x 7' doors make reasonably good covers for 5'x5' pit traps ;) dunno if that was what you were looking for exactly, but it seems to be along the same lines :P also, statues can make quite effective battering rams too :D
Avalon JaKoro 11-15-05, 10:21 AM	4' x 7' doors make reasonably good covers for 5'x5' pit traps ;) dunno if that was what you were looking for exactly, but it seems to be along the same lines :P also, statues can make quite effective battering rams too :D NOW THIS PERSON GRASPS THE CONCEPT OF THE THREAD! Talking about what can be done as aposed to arguing about wether a sword will bend or break. And by the way, I was fake fighting with my friend and we were using katanas. Mine was straight to begin with but at the end of the fight it had close to thirty dings in the cutting edge (We didn't count them) and it was warped all to hell and back. Swords are made of metal, and given the right conditions, any metal will bend. PS:Heh, welcome to painful abstraction. You can gently toss an iron fask of alchemist's fire onto a pile of fluffy, fluffy pillows and it will still shatter and explode. Meanwhile, your glass potion bottles can survive re-entry and impact with the earth.
Rulebook 11-15-05, 11:08 AM	keenath, have you ever bent a real sword? and i dont mean one of those 20 dollar flea market pieces of junk. i can bend my broadsword to almost a 90 degree bend and it will spring back into shape. swords are most certianly -not- built to be stiff an inflexible (even the "stiff" swords like katana can bend fairly well). if they were inflexible, they'd shatter when they struck a hard surface (armor, shields, other weapons, whatever.) if they can bend and flex, they can vibrate and shock absorb better, so they -dont- shatter. movie jian are pretty much just practice jian (one idea being that if you can control the wibbly sword, the straight one will bea piece of cake)
theAlastorian 11-15-05, 12:14 PM	Apologies, Avalon for continuing this a bit further, but I had to put in some info. One of the tests that swordmakers use for their blades is, in fact, a bend test. Find Cold Steel's website and get their free dvd's. It'll show you exactly how much bend a steel blade can take. Rulebook is exactly right, the steel HAS to be able to flex to keep from shattering when striking another blade. Unless your blade is made from Pakistani or Japanese steel which is inherently more brittle than other types. That's why the Japanese perfected the folding technique, to avoid the problems of the chemical makeup of their native metal. Getting back on track, I enjoyed warping the group fighter's battleaxe into a drinking flagon and then giving it to him as a present.
dogolopee 11-15-05, 01:22 PM	Using the Gnome of the party as a shield by running your arm though his belt. Undergarments can make nifty make-shift slings. You can use a whip as a belt or short rope Metal Bracers can be used as a garden hoe Gaunlets can make an intersting beer mug as can boots Completly dissassemble a suit of chain mail and you have a bunch of amke shift caltrops Taking apart a suit of armor and stringing it up makes nice wind chimes/an interesting early warning system Streach a Cloak or leather clothing item over a Boot or large hallow object and you have a makeshift drum Tower Shields make nice snow boards, or add skate and it doesn't even have to be icy Boots of skating tied to a plank or shield and you have an all weather snow board A helmet filled with oil and a wick makes a nice makeshift lantern I'm not sure, but a bag of holding filled with oil and a wick sticking out might make a really long burning lamp. You can use a crossbow as a makeshift nut cracker (load walnut in crossbow, put rock or wood at end of bow, fire) Two mirrors and some wood or other item and you can make a parascope Scrolls make nice paper hats and origami figures Animal Skulls make nice bowls, and the claws/horns can serve as untensils Tent + Cart + creative engineering = sail cart Blankets can be be used as bags as can shirts, pants, and tube socks Tie off the foot holes in a pair of pants. Fill legs with rocks (or dirt) tie off tops of legs and you have duel wielded pants of death. Tie the tails of two dead rats together to make rat-chucks (works well with kobalds too) Darts make intersting toothpicks the Ninja star thingies are good for hanging up laundry against a wall Use that adhesive stuff I can't remeber the name of right now to seal letters or attach bells to someone' armor Knives are good for shaving Fill a flask with oil, add a wick and use as a lamp Illithid fat makes a nice soap and lamp oil A hollow tube is good for blow darts, breathing underwater, blood letting, bypassing block airways, and drinking.
ShinAkuma2 11-15-05, 02:04 PM	Scrolls make nice paper hats and origami figures The wizard pulls out his Scroll of Cloudkill and...*crumple fold crease* A goose! *flick*
Vahenir 11-15-05, 02:18 PM	Some swords are fairly flexible. Some are fairly stiff. It depends on the style of the sword (a 15th century thrusting sword is extremely rigid whereas a 9th century 'Viking' sword is extremely flexible). All of that, however, is immaterial. A sword cannot stand the stress of being jammed into a door and used as a prybar. It will either warp, break, or bend permenently (meaning, it won't come back to shape as it does during a flex-test).
Jaid 11-15-05, 07:41 PM	candles can provide a slippery surface by melting wax onto stuff (and can also be used to get a copy of things carved into stone and whatnot. the wax can also be used to fill in small holes and whatnot, so if you have wax and appropriately colored dust, you can make things look like they are undamaged even when they've got scratches, fill in important warnings (in case someone is following you), etc. it also can be used as a (rather weak) "glue" if you're desparate. it also can be used to seal things, and for waterproofing. they are also much cheaper than sealing wax. chalk can be useful for when you need to write stuff on stone walls/floors. for example, if you are scouting out a dungeon, you can draw a map for people behind you, leave warnings, etc... and it can all be easily erased before the wrong people see it. also good for making water cloudy, and if it comes in different colors, you can make codes and whatnot based on color. potentially you could also crush it, mix in a little water, and make paint that will wash off. in desparate circumstances, flint + steel can be made into arrowheads. clay jugs can be an effective distraction when thrown. oil could be used for oil slicks, not just for burning stuff (although combining the two is also fun). note that wax could also make an "oil slick" type trap, or possibly using the wax to cover dirt and pour oil on that (normally oil would seep into the dirt, but not through the wax ;) ) oil can also waterproof stuff. a spyglass/magnifying glass can be used to start fires. or to burn ants, if you feel so inclined. bells can be used to make alarm traps, if you have string, twine, etc (and you definitely should have lots of string/twine/etc) canvas... waterproof? if not, make it waterproof, and then stretch it over a frame and you have a boat. also useful for setting up concealment when used in combination with string (remember, the more string the merrier) and sticks. firewood is nice and cheap, and in a pinch can be used for building materials (provided you are desparate) if you have other necessary items (like string, and canvas). it can also make a decent fake person in a bedroll, or fake cargo in a wagon if you want to look like a merchant caravan for some reason (for example, if raiders are attacking caravans and you want to lay a trap as their next target). also useful as a counterweight in any elevator contraptions you make, as well as improvised catapults. Pitons can make heavy duty nails, and could probably make an improvised dagger. stick one through a piece of firewood and you have an improvised pick. stick a bunch through in various directions, and you have an improvised greatclup or mace. soap is another nice slippery substance (made from grease), and could also be used to make water undrinkable (for example, grind it to powder and dump it into an enemy's well to sabotage it). that's all i got for now.
Avalon JaKoro 12-05-05, 12:20 AM	Ingredients: 1 Pair boots or other shoes 2 Daggers 1 Physical binding spell of some kind or 1 Ball of twine/string or some glue Procedure: Use whatever binding material you have chosen to adhear the daggers to the soles of the shoes/boots Result: Ice Skates (I got this idea from Naruto when he used his chakra to hold 2 knives to the bottems of his shoes)
catzo 12-05-05, 03:29 AM	Completly dissassemble a suit of chain mail and you have a bunch of make shift caltrops You plan to combine two rings to make the caltrop right? Else I don't really see how this could be done. I think the rings are too smal and too "soft" to make effective cladrops against anything except barefodded babies. (You evil man!) ;) Streach a Cloak or leather clothing item over a Boot or large hallow object and you have a makeshift drum You really need ahelmet or something more rigid than a boot. Also it should really be thin leather and not cloth, as the cloth is to soft and would just strech. And it would really have to be streched hard to make any real sound. A dwarven helmet and some hairless goatskin would be perfect. I'm not sure, but a bag of holding filled with oil and a wick sticking out might make a really long burning lamp. I had first made up all types of uses for a Bag of holding that isn't affected by whats inside it, but it is :( (see p.248 DMG). A bag of holding containing a knife would be ruptured by it, destroying it. This does however opens up for some really powerfull bombs. :D Imagine what a 15lb of anything explosive does... and then take a 15lb bag of holding but fill it with 250lb of the same substance. BOOM BABY! Wouldn't it be possible to make a smaller version of a bag of holding? Say1,5lb containing "just" 25lb of explosvies. Who said Bag of flaming-fragments?! This is however qutie expensive. But they'll never see it comming. Aother interesting uses for Bags of holding is to find exotic not-pointy/sharpedged creatures, make them sleep, put them in a bag and catiously drop it off at the local market... imagine the "heroes" confusion when they try to figure out how the basilisk suddenly apeared in the local bakery and no magic was used? (Hah hah, stonebread.) To make new uses of items really also has to include the qeustion about the Mending cantrip. When is an item "one" so you can mend it. If you made a new item out of old ones and it broke, could you Mend it? (Maybe more important with Make whole). Btw. can you get proficiency with an improvised weapon? Who wants a hand axe when you can just as well use your standard issue spade. (Like WWII german soldiers). Uhm... my logic is hurting. I should go sleep. g'night. :zzz:
RavenDrake 12-05-05, 03:37 AM	Grappling Hook: Trip and Disarm from quite a ways away(even with the Non-proficiency penalty) Battering Ram: Tag Team Bullrush with Style! (only really useful against large or mounted targets). Fill a Bag of Holding with Caltrops. Attach said bag to the Bolt of a Crossbow. Open bag and fire over the heads of your enemies to create Caltrop lines. Alternate with Oil for more fun. Take a Tower Shield and Soverign Glue a Decanter of Endless Water to it on the inside. Add a bit of leather skirting(say, your cloak) and turn it on full stream. Boom, Instant Hovercraft... you just have to lean foward to create outspill at the back to move foward... can even(theoretically) take you over water.
Druidsrule 12-05-05, 09:16 AM	Champaign bottle + Prestidigitation = ka- BEOOOUM! 2d4. Pwnage.
Avalon JaKoro 10-18-06, 11:18 AM	A friend of mine told me this one last week Given: -passing an object from one person to a person next to them is a free action and can be done infinite times per round -crafting a quarter staff is free and is a free action so it can be done infinite times per round if you have the materials -humans take up a five foot by five foot square Now, get yourself 1000 peasents that you only need to pay one gold per day and line them up. Have them pass a quarter staff (or better yet, a spear) down the line. You now have a staff (or spear) that is accelerating to 833 1/3 feet per second (5000/6). Tadah, a makeshift railgun potentially capable of killing a dragon.
RobbyPants 10-18-06, 11:29 AM	Now, get yourself 1000 peasents that you only need to pay one gold per day and line them up. Have them pass a quarter staff (or better yet, a spear) down the line. You now have a staff (or spear) that is accelerating to 833 1/3 feet per second (5000/6). Tadah, a makeshift railgun potentially capable of killing a dragon. LOL Nicely done! Gotta love broken rules made for simplicity! :D
Melancholy 10-18-06, 12:21 PM	Kill a Dire Rat attach it's tail to a stick... TADA! RAT FLAIL! .
Rulebook 10-20-06, 05:41 PM	you know, i was thinking last night at work about the railgun quarterstaff thing... is passing an item an action thatcan only be performed once per round per person? if you can do it as many times as you want, youve gone from a railgun to a weapon who's damage can only be calculated using Einsteinian Equations! get a few people in a circle and just pass it around. since its a free action you can keep doing it for virtually zero time, and eventually you approach the speed of light! wow, a weapon where air friction is your biggest foe! of course, if its a one at a time thing... well its still doable, just a LOT bigger scale (not 3 people)
drunkendrake 10-20-06, 07:00 PM	Step 1: take a arrow. Step 2: tie a piece of string round said arrow, just behind the head. Step 3: tie the other end of said string to an iron flask of alchemist's fire, a tanglefoot bag, or a bag of holding if you're really mean. Step 4: lay your item on the ground 10ft in front of you. Step 5: Fire you arrow above the heads of enemy. the arrow should pull along your chosen missile below and behind it, meaning that, if you have the aim right, you just delivered your chosen material directly into the face of your opponent. VARIANT: bag of holding when you launch a bag of holding, it is dragged along the ground behind the arrow. when it reaches the target, the target's legs are suddenly directly above a bag of holding. oh dear. Step 6: collect bagged opponent at your leisure. this is the only way I can think of to literally 'Bag' an enemy. remember to look up the suffocation rules inside a bag of holding...mwahahaha -Drake-
IrishRover 10-20-06, 09:07 PM	Sometimes people use mighty magics for trivial purposes. A pair of immovable rods are great for slinging a hammock. 6 more are great for putting up a tent without any poles, rope, etc. When I needed to climb a VERY difficult pole, I slid down 3 times before remembering to dismantle my tent and use the immovable rods for climbing.;:doh:
Cherubaddon 10-20-06, 09:44 PM	Hey guys, I love your Bag of Hoding ideas, but you forget one thing: if a Bag of Holding is damaged from within...I let you guess...IT TEARS A RIFT TO THE ASTRAL PLANE!!! Now imagine what you could do with said Bag of Holding, something piercing (daggers, caltrops, hell, chicken would do), and a ranged touch attack...hehehehe
Rulebook 10-21-06, 06:51 AM	where are you getting that? if you tear a bag of holding from within, it just spills its contents into the astral plane (and you can go there to look for them if they were THAT important)
cog_and_taz 10-21-06, 07:02 AM	Assuming that an explosion can cross planes through a gate spell... Line up roughly two dozen helms of brilliance. Now dump, say, 20 litres of oil and alch fire bottles, or more of everything if you can. Now, stuff this into a container via shrink item. Place the box in the middle of a town.(note: this is covered in quintessence to prevent the duration from running out.) Now, cast a gate spell across the pavement, like so. ------------- B ------------ ___________gggggggggg__________ The gate goes to the elemental plane of fire, run like hell.
Type2Demon 10-21-06, 09:32 AM	How to make an Anti-dragon missile: Ingredients: 1 Decanter of Endless Water 1 Necklace of missiles some Thunderstones A spell or Scroll of Unseen Servant Large feathers Glue Instructions: Lay the Decanter nozzle down. Glue Missiles and Thuderstones in a nice conical pile on the butt end of the decanter. (Do not drop it!) Glue feathers to the Decanter like flecthing on an arrow. Wait for Dragon to fly over. Cast Unseen servant on the Decanter....Instruct the servant to always point the butt of the decanter at the dragon. Activate Geyser mode and away goes the missile (A water rocket with unlimited fuel, tracking guidance and a warhead). Even if it missies, It will come back around for another strike. Also good against Gryphons and flying carpets. :)
Wonton2006 10-21-06, 08:27 PM	Tower Shields make nice snow boards, or add skate and it doesn't even have to be icy Better yet: Have your sorcerer with too many level one spell slots for his own good cast grease on it. Or you, and you won't even need a board. :D
woodwalker 10-21-06, 09:17 PM	It hurts just thinking about somebody mistreating a weapon like this... And I know there's a story that ninjas used their ninja-to blades as platforms when climbing and as prybars; neither is true. Sometimes a reinforced sheath could be used as an improvised pry-bar, but in general a ninja either brought the tools he needed, or (more likely) disguised himself as a traveller or servant to get into position for a deadly strike. i agree. every time i see a ruined knife, it saddens me. as far as the ninja-to being used for a prybar, i have never heard of this. the ninja-to was very commonly used as a machette, and wasnt even heattreated ( for some reason). dont use knives to pry stuff either.
Chibi_fro 12-05-06, 01:50 AM	take one character with Resistance to Energy (fire), and one flaming club... burn the plaque away! Why do people feel the need to apply RL science into D&D... get a life people...:tantrum: WARNING: Do not use gauntlets for oven mits. keep 'em coming people.... I need more radically wrong ideas to distract my DM from the ones that won't work, but'll slide cause he wants me to stop :schemes:
Zemyla 12-05-06, 01:37 PM	An adamantine light mace is relatively cheap, anyone can use it, and they can be used to break just about anything.
Kohdok 12-05-06, 05:03 PM	Kobolds make nice projectiles and the arm that you just hacked off of that orc is a nice animal deterrant. By the way, for the Bag of Holding Bomb, you need two of them. Set up your unseen servent to drop one bag into another bag while the Tarrasque is charging you. 60 feet of pure death.
prozacman 12-06-06, 04:14 AM	a tower shield strapped to the back of a warhorse makes a great way to travel across snowy plains quickly