Damage of an Improvised Ranged Weapon

Question

I have a small character (Ratfolk) with Strength 8 and the Throw Anything feat which allows me to throw any objects I have on my person with alarming accuracy.

You are used to throwing things you have on hand.

Benefit: You do not suffer any penalties for using an improvised ranged weapon.

The Question

What sort of damage do these objects do and what is the heaviest/largest/most damaging object that I can throw?

My Findings So Far

The improvised weapon rules give some basic guidelines for damage, but doesn't give any limits on what can actually be thrown and weapon weights and damage don't tend to correlate a great deal.

To determine the size category and appropriate damage for an improvised weapon, compare its relative size and damage potential to the weapon list to find a reasonable match.

It might seem reasonable to base the damage off of a club (or greatclub) with 1D6 damage for a 3lb object and 1d10 damage for an 8lb object as a baseline. Do improvised weapons have a 'size' though. Are all thrown items considered to be small because the character is? If not, then is there a penalty for throwing an oversized object?

The carrying capacity rules give a limit on how much a character can lift over their head (and then could potentially throw), but this would be a generous assumption, letting the character throw something of up to 60lbs.

A character can lift as much as his maximum load over his head.

But this doesn't quite agree with the Strength rules which suggest that a Strength 8 character "has trouble even lifting heavy objects".

Answer 1

By the rules, only objects roughly the same size and weight as actual weapons your character can wield are allowed to be used as improvised weapons :

Improvised Weapons

Sometimes objects not crafted to be weapons nonetheless see use in combat. Because such objects are not designed for this use, any creature that uses an improvised weapon in combat is considered to be nonproficient with it and takes a –4 penalty on attack rolls made with that object. To determine the size category and appropriate damage for an improvised weapon, compare its relative size and damage potential to the weapon list to find a reasonable match. An improvised weapon scores a threat on a natural roll of 20 and deals double damage on a critical hit. An improvised thrown weapon has a range increment of 10 feet.

Thus an object too big to be a valid improvised weapon for your character cannot be thrown. Flavor text and the feats' names are sometimes misleading, what matters is what the rules clearly say and what is in the Benefit part of feats. Throw Anything uses "ranged improvised weapons" as key words, it's not valid for absolutely anything your character can lift.

Moreover, the Hurling rage power of barbarians would rapidly become useless if anyone strong enough could throw massive objects.

Answer 2

TALK TO THE GM

I would like to start off by saying it is mostly up to the gm as the improvised weapon rules leave a lot room for different viewpoints.

With that said keep it to reasonable limits. Its unlikely that you will be able to pick up a 10 foot marble column and throw it. Any improvised weapons would normally be using a small creatures damage on the table, but you may be able to convince your gm that you would be able to use the medium creature's damage dice (and take the appropriate size penalty) depending on how large the object is.

I would worry less about the weight of an object and more about the general build. A broken chair leg could use the small shortspear's damage and still be lighter or heavier then 3 pounds, whereas a glass bottle could be used as a small club. Since you are interested in the weights of the improvised weapons, however, I would like to point out that the heaviest throwing weapon is 9 lbs.

Answer 3

IT CHANGES BETWEEN HOW LARGE YOU ARE AND THE BULK OF THE ITEM

While Flash Rebel is correct in the deduction that there are things too big for the character to effectively wield as an improvised weapon, he is incorrect in the sense of why there is a limit. Under the Core Rulebook sections about Weapon Size, Inappropriately Sized Weapons and Weapon Weight it states the following four points. "light weapons are two size categories smaller than the intended user, one-handed weapons are one size category smaller than the intended user and two-handed weapons are of equal size category to the intended user", "Halve [the weapons' weight] for Small weapons and double it for Large Weapons", "When a creature uses a weapon that is not designed for them, they receive a -2 to hit for each size category difference between the user and the intended user [and the weapon is] altered by one step for each size category in difference" (medium one-handed used by small creature is considered two-handed) and "If a weapon's designation would be changed to something other than light, one-handed or two handed by this alteration, the creature cannot wield the weapon at all".

Comparing these points to the weapon list, the thing you are trying to throw must adhere to the following:

1: Small Creatures cannot use items more than 7.5 lbs, Medium Creatures cannot use items more than 15 lbs, Large Creatures cannot use items more than 30 lbs, etc.

2: The item has anywhere from a 0 to -4 penalty to use depending on bulkiness(after all, a coat rack that a human used as a Greatclub can be used by a giant as a regular club, and a chair is easier to throw than a barrel)

TL,DR: Your Ratfolk Character can throw items up to 7.5 lbs that is anywhere from its size to diminutive at a penalty between 0 and -4.

PS: If you can make your character larger through the use of a spell, you expand your weight limit for improvised weapons