I have recently seen a character in a comic who used pies as an improvised weapon in order to deal damage. Is this actually possible to do?
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asked Nov 6, 2018 at 17:25
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6\$\begingroup\$ Have you seen the rules on improvised weapons? Is anything unclear about them? What makes you think this doesn't work? This question is a bit low on context right now. \$\endgroup\$– ErikNov 6, 2018 at 17:30
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\$\begingroup\$ Are you asking about throwing the pie for an in-the-face hit of custardy goodness, or throwing them like a frisbee and hitting with the tin? \$\endgroup\$– NotArchNov 6, 2018 at 18:09
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\$\begingroup\$ Old tins used to be thicker than these modern grocery store bought thin aluminum ones. \$\endgroup\$– XAQT78Nov 6, 2018 at 18:29
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3\$\begingroup\$ I had a guy want to play a wrestler. I let him have a club in the shape of a folding chair (two handed). It made him so happy. \$\endgroup\$– KieveliNov 6, 2018 at 20:56
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1\$\begingroup\$ Would this character happen to have been a clown? Who tragically died holding up a colapsing building? \$\endgroup\$– tox123Nov 7, 2018 at 4:13
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2 Answers
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You're going to have to ask your DM, but don't be surprised if you get pie in your face.
includes any object you can wield in one or two hands, such as broken glass, a table leg, a frying pan, a wagon wheel, or a dead goblin.
While a pie absolutely falls in that category, it is well within a DM's purview to say they have no idea how this would actually hurt someone and tell you that you can't use it as such. A DM could logically state that not every object can deliver meaningful damage.
For those interested, a brief history on Pieing.
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2\$\begingroup\$ The trick is to hit the enemy with the edge of the pie, not the comedy classic 'pie-inna-face' way. \$\endgroup\$– GreySageNov 6, 2018 at 18:06
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6\$\begingroup\$ I can easily see the victim of a pie-in-the-face attack taking a temporary charisma reduction until it is wiped off (those goblins just don't respect a guy with custard in his hair). And with an accurate hit you might blind your opponent for a bit. \$\endgroup\$ Nov 6, 2018 at 22:08
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8\$\begingroup\$ I could also see this causing blindness until the goblin spent an action (or bonus action, not sure) wiping it out of their eyes. \$\endgroup\$– anonNov 6, 2018 at 23:43
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\$\begingroup\$ @NicHartley it also protects them from exploding lights and other stuff that only does damage when seen. \$\endgroup\$ Nov 7, 2018 at 5:40
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Yes; The Improvised Weapon rules cover this
In the Player's Handbook, Chapter 5, Section Weapons, under the header "Improvised Weapons", the following rule is given to improvised weapons which do not otherwise resemble a regular weapon (according to the DM's whims):
An object that bears no resemblance to a weapon deals 1d4 damage (the DM assigns a damage type appropriate to the object). If a character uses a ranged weapon to make a melee attack, or throws a melee weapon that does not have the thrown property, it also deals 1d4 damage. An improvised thrown weapon has a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet.
In this case, a pie being thrown at an opponent would have a damage dice of 1d4 (+the Strength modifier of the thrower) and have a range of 20 feet, or 60 feet with Disadvantage on the Attack Roll.
As DM, I'd probably put a negative modifier of 1 or 2 on the damage of the pie (the pie itself would probably cushion some of the blow), but that's up to DM fiat and not something inherent to the rules.
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2\$\begingroup\$ Wouldn't a thrown pie add the Dex modifier? Unless it was close combat pie-schmooshing, then it would be Str. \$\endgroup\$– KieveliNov 6, 2018 at 20:53
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2\$\begingroup\$ @Kieveli The Pie would need to have the Finesse Property (i.e. it would need to resemble a Dagger) or it would need to qualify as a "Ranged Weapon". If it were thrown like a Frisbee, you maybe, maybe, might be able to make a claim for it, but for the classical "throw a pie in their face" move probably would not qualify. \$\endgroup\$– XiremaNov 6, 2018 at 21:27
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\$\begingroup\$ @Xirema a pie thrown like a Frisbee would probably spin off all the pies and leave only the plate. There's no way a pie is designed to withstand that kind of force. \$\endgroup\$– NelsonNov 7, 2018 at 1:13
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2\$\begingroup\$ So technically throwing a sponge or throwing a brick at someone would deal the same damage? \$\endgroup\$– vszNov 7, 2018 at 11:28
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2\$\begingroup\$ @Dave Yes, I am arguing that you, as DM, should default to the Improvised Weapons rules for most improvised weapons, but that you'll need to make adjustments for objects which should logically have adjustments made to their total damage output. \$\endgroup\$– XiremaNov 7, 2018 at 15:21