Missile Weapons in Dungeons and Dragons

Missile Weapons in Dungeons and Dragons can consist of a variety of things. Some are clearly formal weapons like bows and crossbows. But a piece of leather string and a rock can make an effective weapon too. That is basically all that a sling is.

In a previous article I wrote about melee weapons in Dungeons and Dragons. In this followup piece I am going to talk about, and show you, what many of the missile weapons of the middle ages actually look like along with some of the ammunition used with those weapons.

A quick look at the Players Handbook for any of the editionsof the game will show you that there are far less missile weapons in Dungeons and Dragons than there are melee ones. But sometimes you don’t want to get close to your opponent. Level draining undead, disease carrying mummies and magic using enemies at the rear of an enemy group are frequently good targets to engage with missile weapons.

Crossbows

Crossbows are frequently thought of when people are considering medieval weapons. They are often shown in old movies about the middle ages. They could be rather heavy. And they often required a heavy handcrank in order to put the bolt or quarrel into a firing position. This made them rather slow. But for defending castle walls they were quite effective.

Both heavy and lighter ones are shown in the picture above. You can see the handcranks used to cock the bolt back to firing position.

Long Bows and Short Bows

The bow and arrow have been around since earliest weapons were made. Elves are so proficient with them that they gain a +1 to hit with them in 1st Edition AD&D. They are, of course, the favored weapon of rangers in virtually every realm. Firing them should be faster as they do not require a handcrank in order to fire the next arrow.

Archers could fire over the heads of their front line soldiers and deep into the enemy ranks with impunity. They could pick off enemy leaders and destroy morale. One of my favorite scenes from the movie “300” is when the flight of arrows is raining down on the Spartans. One of the other Spartans reminds King Leonidas that when he was told by the enemy that the Persian arrows would blot out the sun he had replied “then we will fight in the shade!” I would not want to be sitting and waiting for a flight of these arrows to land on me.

The Long Bow was an important part of the weaponry of the English during medieval times. The long bow man gave the armies an advantage on the battlefield that was unequaled by their enemies of the time.

Slings

Slings are such a basic weapon. And they have been around forever. You remember the old biblical story about David slaying Goliath with a rock thrown from a sling? And slings are still used today. Just about any image that you see on television about confrontations between the Israeli troops and Palestinian boys shows kids using slings to throw rocks at the soldiers. Obviously rocks thrown by slings are less effective against armed soldiers wearing Kevlar helmets than they were in the Bible.

All you need to make a sling is a piece of leather or string even. For ammo a rock will do. But often more elaborate ammo than that was used. In Dungeons and Dragons the ammo is referred to as “bullets” but I am not sure if that was the name actually used in the middle ages. Perhaps it was. Perhaps not.

Sometimes ammo was made of lead or other heavy metals. This gives a bit more of a wallop to the target when contact is made.

Slings were usually made of leather. Usually they had a piece of leather to hold the rock or bullet in place while the user swings it overhead before letting it fly. I wonder about the accuracy of such a weapon. Obviously the Bible account suggests that a man can be killed with this weapon but I would rather have a crossbow myself.

While most slings of that era were probably made of leather the picture above shows that one could be made from rope, twine or cloth instead.

Even a Phillistine giant can be taken down by a well placed sling bullet. This guy is going to have a severe headache when this fight is over.

Spears and Javelins

The difference between a spear and a javelin is that a spear has a head attached to it. A javelin is one piece with a sharp end and is often weighted for throwing.

Spears have been around since the dawn of time. They were among the earliest weapons that man ever developed. And stone age civilizations used these weapons for hunting as well as for war.

Even cave men used these weapons. There are pictures on the walls of caves depicting the earliest men using these weapons for hunting.

Other Missile Weapons in Dungeons and Dragons

The creators of Dungeons and Dragons realized that there were other simple options available for missile combat. The hand axe. The throwing dagger. And even the hammer were used in this manner.

Even in old movies about knights and chivalry you occasionally will see the evil villain pull out a wicked looking dagger. Often he is trying to do something despicable like stab the hero while engaged with a sword or something. But sometimes you see the blade thrown instead.

Axes were often used for chopping wood and the like. But sometimes they could be thrown at an enemy that was within range.

Medieval Weapons in Dungeons and Dragons

As you can see there were many options for ranged combat in medieval times. And there are many options in Dungeons and Dragons as well. One does not always want to advance for close combat. Sometimes the enemy spell casters will do too much damage if you take too long to put them down. Sometimes the enemies have nasty abilities you do not want to get too close to. In either situation you want to be prepared to do some damage at range.