# New way throwing piercing weapons work?

**URL:** <https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-way-throwing-piercing-weapons-work/765>\
**Category:** The Drawing Board\
**Created:** [April 11, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-way-throwing-piercing-weapons-work/765 "2013-04-11T00:35:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 11\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mr\_Epic\_Cheese\_Man](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/mr_epic_cheese_man/32/54_2.png) [@Mr\_Epic\_Cheese\_Man](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Mr_Epic_Cheese_Man)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-way-throwing-piercing-weapons-work/765/1 "2013-04-11T00:35:25Z")

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Maybe if you throw a small enough weapon it will pass through? Or if big enough, become lodged in certain parts of the body and cause EXTREME pain?

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**Author:** ![KA101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/278dde/32.png) [@KA101](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/KA101)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-way-throwing-piercing-weapons-work/765/2 "2013-04-11T23:18:46Z")

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Huh. Here I thought this was a request to let certain things make it through a chain-link fence, etc.

I guess it might be possible to throw something through someone, but that implies some combination of extreme velocity & dense/sharp projectile. If throwing knives (!=shuriken; the extra points would make them lose momentum in the target) made it in, those might work.

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**Author:** ![Flare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c0e974/32.png) [@Flare](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Flare)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 1:41am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-way-throwing-piercing-weapons-work/765/3 "2013-04-12T01:41:31Z")

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Wouldn’t big things have a higher chance of getting lodged and penetrating armor? I would imagine something much smaller have magnitudes less velocity than som3thing like a weighted spear.

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**Author:** ![KA101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/278dde/32.png) [@KA101](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/KA101)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 2:03am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-way-throwing-piercing-weapons-work/765/4 "2013-04-12T02:03:30Z")

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Yeah, if armor’s a concern a good long metal-tip unit would be the best thing to throw. Pretty confident that such a spear wouldn’t make it through and continue on, though.

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**Author:** ![TaintedHolyWater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@TaintedHolyWater](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/TaintedHolyWater)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 5:13am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-way-throwing-piercing-weapons-work/765/5 "2013-04-12T05:13:21Z")

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Sadly the ability to throw an object trough another person is not humanly possible for a few reasons.  
I’ll not go into mathematical explanations and use lemmas terms for simplicity… and because I don’t know the math of the top of my head/am to lazy to look it up.

a) The object in flight would need a lot of kinetic energy to pierce through the subject.  
a2) Meaning you would need to throw it really fast.  
b) The object would also need enough momentum to maintain that energy on impact.  
b2) Meaning you would need to be throwing a heavy object really fast.  
c) The object would need to be small enough to not catch on the subject as it passes through the wound.  
c2) Meaning this heavy fast moving object needs to be very small and thus very dense.

For reference a Ballista fires a relatively high weight, low profile projectile at great speeds. This can put a arrow through you. Can, not will, as the chances of shooting clean through someone are still low. Something thrown? Unlikely.

On an alternative note, guns fire dense, small, very fast moving projectiles so they are three for three for penetration. The only problem is that most bullets deform on impact resulting in addition damage to the target and not a clean hole through. There are of course exceptions to this, namely any bullets intended for armor penetration are made to not deform or deform less on impact and thus cut through the armor or in this case a person.

As for lodging it in the target to cause pain/impairment that is a quite possible outcome. Unfortunately I have no idea how you would implement that mechanically.

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**Author:** ![deadmerits](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/deadmerits/32/19_2.png) [@deadmerits](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/deadmerits)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 8:23am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-way-throwing-piercing-weapons-work/765/6 "2013-04-12T08:23:15Z")

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How soft are some of these guys? Decaying bodies, and blob monsters. I could see it happening.

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**Author:** ![Mr\_Epic\_Cheese\_Man](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/mr_epic_cheese_man/32/54_2.png) [@Mr\_Epic\_Cheese\_Man](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Mr_Epic_Cheese_Man)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 10:58am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-way-throwing-piercing-weapons-work/765/7 "2013-04-12T10:58:01Z")

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> How soft are some of these guys? Decaying bodies, and blob monsters. I could see it happening.

Exactly what I was thinking, and with mutations like insanely strong, it’d surely happen

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**Author:** ![TaintedHolyWater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@TaintedHolyWater](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/TaintedHolyWater)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-way-throwing-piercing-weapons-work/765/8 "2013-04-12T13:18:32Z")

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Had completely overlooked the fact they’d be going through zombies…

On that note how pulpy are our zombies? “Week in dry heat” kind of festering? “Week in the rain” kind of decayed? “Two weeks [S]marinating[/S] in a shallow bog” kind of [S]fall off the bone tender[/S] mush?

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**Author:** ![Goober](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/goober/32/875_2.png) [@Goober](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Goober)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-way-throwing-piercing-weapons-work/765/9 "2013-04-12T16:57:41Z")

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All of this can be handled programmatically using modulus of elasticity and ultimate tensile strength. We know energy is proportional to mass \* velocity^2. We can assign masses to the projectiles, masses to the targets, and also assign the area of impact (the reason spears, arrows, darts, and bullets have pointy like tips is to reduce their cross sectional area at time of impact).

A target that is hit will only absorb the amount of energy from the projectile that is delivered up to the point it “breaks”.

There is more to this, but I have to go eat lunch …

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**Author:** ![ArgusTheCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@ArgusTheCat](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/ArgusTheCat)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 8:20pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-way-throwing-piercing-weapons-work/765/10 "2013-04-12T20:20:18Z")

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For throwing weapons, this is probably just too out-there without the aid of CBMs. But some firearms, on the other hand, would do well to add this mechanic. Sniper rifles, slug-loaded shotguns, that sort of thing. Maybe just simplify the mechanic to ‘piercing’, and have each bullet from a tagged weapon have a 10% chance to not stop after dealing damage.

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**Author:** ![Flare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c0e974/32.png) [@Flare](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Flare)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 10:34pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/new-way-throwing-piercing-weapons-work/765/11 "2013-04-12T22:34:01Z")

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[quote=“Mr. Epic Cheese Man, post:7, topic:765”]

> How soft are some of these guys? Decaying bodies, and blob monsters. I could see it happening.

Exactly what I was thinking, and with mutations like insanely strong, it’d surely happen[/quote]

I don’t know about that, bodies are made up of mostly water, and if mythbusters are anything to go by, it seems to be a very good substance in absorbing shock and momentum.