1) Is obsidian equivalent to stone for purposes of weight, damage, hardness, etc?
2) For the Athasian weapons listed in the DS3 document, I'm confused about the Weights. For example, the Puchik is described as a bone or obsidian punching dagger... but stone weighs 4 times as much as bone. So what does the weight in the Puchik listing represent, the bone version or the obsidian version? Or are they meant to be the same??
3) If any of the Athasian weapons were somehow made of metal instead of stone/bone/wood, would they do more damage? For example, would a metal Puchik do 1d4+1 dmg instead of 1d4?
2) Yes. :P
3) No. Those weapons which are designed as stone/bone weapons are intentionally made of those materials. I, for one, would simply rule that such a weapon made out of metal would be considered masterwork, due to being constructed of "superior" materials. The main benefit to making such weapons out of metal would be for the purposes of piercing damage reduction.
I think Aram is right on all counts, except for the masterwork bit.
I have to agree just because something is made of metal it doesn't mean it is masterwork
4) Why do "Bolts (10)" under Fixed Crossbow cost 3 times as much as crossbow bolts listed in the PHB, and weigh 3 times as much? Are they supposed to be larger & incompatible? If so, I think a separate description should be added to the weapon descriptions, or rename them to "Bolts, fixed crossbow (10)" or something similar
5) Why does the hinged pelota have a x2 critical, when it deals no damage? Is this x2 supposed to apply to the damage from whatever is inside it?
6) Why does the lasso have a x2 critical, when it deals no damage?
Thanks for the responses! Here's more:
4) Why do "Bolts (10)" under Fixed Crossbow cost 3 times as much as crossbow bolts listed in the PHB, and weigh 3 times as much? Are they supposed to be larger & incompatible? If so, I think a separate description should be added to the weapon descriptions, or rename them to "Bolts, fixed crossbow (10)" or something similar
5) Why does the hinged pelota have a x2 critical, when it deals no damage? Is this x2 supposed to apply to the damage from whatever is inside it?
6) Why does the lasso have a x2 critical, when it deals no damage?
4. Yes, they are larger, like a small ballista.
5. Yes, there are a number of different things that can be loaded into a Pelota.
6. I don't know, that's probably an oversight.
I think I'm satisfied for now :D
The only other medium size weapon doing 2D8 at medium size is that Slugiin from Frostburn, and you will need the slugiin mastery feat for it to be useful. I am assuming that the full blade wasn't reprinted in 3.5.
To balance this, we can compare it to some of the best PHB weapons, the greatsword, greataxe, and halberd.
All three weapons are Martial, inflict between 1d10 or 1d12, have x3 (or 19-20/x2) critical, and cost between 10 and 50 gp. The halberd can also be used against a charge and you can make trip attacks with it.
While the swatter inflicts a wallop of 2d8, it's Exotic, has x2 critical, costs as much as a double weapon (85 Cp), and you can't use it for any special maneuver.
A half-giant can have as good a weapon as a large swatter using a large greataxe: costs 1/4 the price, is Martial, inflicts x3 critical, and inflicts only a few points of damage less.
Hmm, making the comparaison...I'm wondering if the swatter shouldn't be made cheaper by maybe 15 Cp...
Yes, there are a number of different things that can be loaded into a Pelota.
This isn't really correct. The one that you can load different things into is the Hinged Pelota. Regular Pelotas are lead balls covered with spikes, fired by use of a Dejada, an exotic weapon, and use their listed damage. Pelotas can also be thrown; the thrown pelota listing is found under Simple weapons. Hinged Pelotas are used with Splashbows, lack said spikes, and can be filled with various nasty substances - they're the ones that don't deal base damage.