Topic: Throw weapon

[rsarres]

Hi all.
Quick question: If a player has some ranks on Handaxe (1H weapon Melee), can he throw his axe using the same OB bonus using the already learned ranks or he must develop a separate ability for handaxe throw weapon?
From ArmsLaw text for thrown weapons, I think it is a separate ability:
"If a stationary combatant is trained with a one-handed throwing weapon, they may throw that weapon using 50% of their normal OB and still melee in the same round with a -50 modification to their melee OB (or throw a second one handed melee weapon from their off hand.). "

[Hurin]

The text you quote is just referring to the action cost, not OB. Your OB for Thrown has to be developed separately from your OB with melee (unless you are using the Companion II rules about skill similarity, IIRC).

[Spectre771]

As Hurin stated, it is a separate weapon category and usually has it's own cost depending on which how many other weapons classes have been chosen.  You also have to add in the range penalties from the attack chart unless the axe the PC is using happens to be a throwing axe.  It's something some of our PCs have done out of desperation. -50 for unskilled, range penalty for non-throwing axe.  It's a Hail Mary throw normally. 

[rsarres]

Thank you for the answers. It was not clear for me that the text about thrown weapons in Arms Law is referring to the action cost. It makes sense now.
But about the range penalty: "You also have to add in the range penalties from the attack chart unless the axe the PC is using happens to be a throwing axe."
I currently apply the table range penalty to all throwing weapons. It could make sense to reduce the penalty in the case of a weapon made specifically to be thrown, but I currently apply an OB penalty to an attacker throwing a melee weapon because, for example,  a handaxe is a very bad throwing axe (weapon quality penalty). I do not change the range penalty.
If you do not use the handaxe table range penalty for throwing weapons, what range penalty do you use for a throwing axe, for example?

Lastly, about this sentence: " It's something some of our PCs have done out of desperation. -50 for unskilled, range penalty for non-throwing axe."
The unskilled OB (no rank developed) is -25 plus stat bonuses, right? Or am I missing something?

[Spectre771]

You're probably correct.  The -50 is most likely our house rule from the time we started playing RM2.  With the stat bonuses, -25 wasn't much of a penalty and too many players were just taking a -25 to too many skills to do too many things for the sole purpose to get around buying skill ranks.  It felt like it was breaking the spirit of the game (or PC development.)  The -50 made it more of a penalty and discouraged that.  Another Companion went further and listed skills that couldn't be attempted without at least 1 rank.

[OLF, i.e. Olf Le Fol]

The "Arms Companion" gives more sensible penalties in the description of its Weapon casting skill. For instance, for a handaxe, penalties are -30 up to 10', -60 up to 20', -120 up to 30', -275 up to 40' and -600 (!) up to 50', penalties being possibly offset by the skill bonus.
(The funniest penalty goes to 1-hand crushing weapon, with a -800 penalty for trying to throw one at a distance from 41' to 50'! Good luck with hitting anything at such a range!! XD)

[Spectre771]

The "Arms Companion" gives more sensible penalties in the description of its Weapon casting skill. ...

Yes!  Thank you.  That was the skill I was trying to think of.  I couldn't remember which book it was from.