I’m here for it, if they earn it. I love players having OP bullshit magic, but it’s no fun unless they work for it. Changing magic artifacts isn’t easy; everything about them is intrinsic to how they work. This is why wizards are useless without their cookbooks detailing every little step, and sorcerers always get weird side effects with their “fuck it, we ball” casting. This is where you tell the players that they’re going to need to return to the forge that cast the ring, or find a way to get help from someone high up in the jeweler’s guild or something like that. Sure, you could always try to DIY your magic canon, but you’re basically doing fantasy electrical engineering with vibes and a screwdriver; ask yourself, what could go wrong?
What could go wrong? The gun/shooting makes the size and effect of the field unstable. Weird effects on size and momentum and direction, causing damage and hit chance reduction based on rolls you select every shot. Also, after about three shots the field it unstable enough to reach into the barrel and ruin it by having the next ball expand inside, jamming and destroying the weapon.
That’s how I run my table. I am a merciful god, but also a petty god if you reach for the heavens a little too hard. D&D magic already screws with thermodynamics to the point where free energy just exists, so I try to draw a line just short of where anyone figures that part out.
In the back of my mind, I’m always asking the question: “Why wasn’t this loophole exploited in the world already?” That usually prompts a suitable response.
you’re basically doing fantasy electrical engineering with vibes and a screwdriver; ask yourself, what could go wrong?
Exactly. In the situation that OP raises, I ask myself: “Does Newton or Gandalf win this argument?”
In the situation that OP raises, I ask myself: “Does Newton or Gandalf win this argument?”
Exactly. Does the bullet remain moving at the speed it already was? Or does the conservation of momentum require that it slows as it grows larger (and heavier)? If so, it would basically be useless as a weapon, because a handheld firearm couldn’t exert enough force to actually fire a cannonball any effective distance; At most, it can only exert as much force as the recoil exerts on the character. And a 12 lb cannonball would get rolled across the floor by the recoil, but not fired across the room.
I’d probably rule it’s somewhere in between, because “rule of cool” is just plain fun and that’s why we’re all playing the game. Having it be a full blown “it fires cannonballs at full speed across the room” weapon is obviously super broken. But maybe I rule that the bullets aren’t near the ring long enough to fully regrow, but it gets a +2 modifier to damage because you’re effectively firing rifle sized rounds with a handgun.
Or maybe I rule that they slow down as they grow, but the spell takes some time to wear off, which limits the maximum range and effectively makes it a devastating close-up weapon, but relatively useless at longer distances.
The point is that the players worked for it, and get some sort of payoff. Even if it’s not a complete game-breaking reward.
I was thinking they could do it as many times as they wanted. But every time they use it that way they have to roll a d20 to see if they broke it. And then they have to roll Con to see if they took damage firing it, and whether they remain standing.
The problem is with this specific case. A 12 pound cannonball is going to end a lot of fights before they even start. There’s not a lot of ways to have non boss enemies take that kind of projectile and say they aren’t dead right away.
Either that or come up with some flavor for it not coming back to full size/weight. Effectively allowing them to have a +1/2/3 weapon. I’m all for giving players stuff that makes them feel powerful and giving them fluff fights for the same reason. But some stuff really does need push back.
I’m here for it, if they earn it. I love players having OP bullshit magic, but it’s no fun unless they work for it. Changing magic artifacts isn’t easy; everything about them is intrinsic to how they work. This is why wizards are useless without their cookbooks detailing every little step, and sorcerers always get weird side effects with their “fuck it, we ball” casting. This is where you tell the players that they’re going to need to return to the forge that cast the ring, or find a way to get help from someone high up in the jeweler’s guild or something like that. Sure, you could always try to DIY your magic canon, but you’re basically doing fantasy electrical engineering with vibes and a screwdriver; ask yourself, what could go wrong?
What could go wrong? The gun/shooting makes the size and effect of the field unstable. Weird effects on size and momentum and direction, causing damage and hit chance reduction based on rolls you select every shot. Also, after about three shots the field it unstable enough to reach into the barrel and ruin it by having the next ball expand inside, jamming and destroying the weapon.
That’s how I run my table. I am a merciful god, but also a petty god if you reach for the heavens a little too hard. D&D magic already screws with thermodynamics to the point where free energy just exists, so I try to draw a line just short of where anyone figures that part out.
In the back of my mind, I’m always asking the question: “Why wasn’t this loophole exploited in the world already?” That usually prompts a suitable response.
Exactly. In the situation that OP raises, I ask myself: “Does Newton or Gandalf win this argument?”
Exactly. Does the bullet remain moving at the speed it already was? Or does the conservation of momentum require that it slows as it grows larger (and heavier)? If so, it would basically be useless as a weapon, because a handheld firearm couldn’t exert enough force to actually fire a cannonball any effective distance; At most, it can only exert as much force as the recoil exerts on the character. And a 12 lb cannonball would get rolled across the floor by the recoil, but not fired across the room.
I’d probably rule it’s somewhere in between, because “rule of cool” is just plain fun and that’s why we’re all playing the game. Having it be a full blown “it fires cannonballs at full speed across the room” weapon is obviously super broken. But maybe I rule that the bullets aren’t near the ring long enough to fully regrow, but it gets a +2 modifier to damage because you’re effectively firing rifle sized rounds with a handgun.
Or maybe I rule that they slow down as they grow, but the spell takes some time to wear off, which limits the maximum range and effectively makes it a devastating close-up weapon, but relatively useless at longer distances.
The point is that the players worked for it, and get some sort of payoff. Even if it’s not a complete game-breaking reward.
I was thinking they could do it as many times as they wanted. But every time they use it that way they have to roll a d20 to see if they broke it. And then they have to roll Con to see if they took damage firing it, and whether they remain standing.
The problem is with this specific case. A 12 pound cannonball is going to end a lot of fights before they even start. There’s not a lot of ways to have non boss enemies take that kind of projectile and say they aren’t dead right away.
Either that or come up with some flavor for it not coming back to full size/weight. Effectively allowing them to have a +1/2/3 weapon. I’m all for giving players stuff that makes them feel powerful and giving them fluff fights for the same reason. But some stuff really does need push back.
Or they have to use it like a mortar because of low muzzle velocity
That requires a grounding in physics to explain it to the group and I’m not that guy.