That time I gibbed a dude with a DART? (IWD)

[Fandraxx]

Was going back through some old footage and found this moment when I managed to gib an enemy with a dart.

Has anyone else ever seen this with a thrown weapon? I don't think I have nor have I ever managed to recreate it.

 

[O_Bruce]

I have never seen it in my whole memory in Infinity Engine games, but if you managed to do it in IWD, that's cool!

The only possible alternative explanation I can came up with at the moment, is that the other character who was next to the one that got "darted" has a weapon with speed factor of 0 and the game registered hit in the same frame as the animation began.

 

[Fandraxx]

I wonder if there's some sort of difference between thrown weapons and ammunition? I've never seen this with bows/crossbows/slings. Maybe Darts/Throwing Axes can do it but fired weapons can't?

 

[WarChiefZeke]

When I was creating an npc mod for BG1 I ended up modding in a usable throwing spear, I saw a few gibs before.

I'm sure it's not possible via missile weapon.

In the video it really looks like they got gibbed with a sling.

 

[Xzarloxara]

Missile damage cannot gib anything. Maybe this dart had some other damage type as a bonus?

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

Item mod inspiration: ‘The Dart of Bludgeoning.’

 

[Fandraxx]

Item mod inspiration: ‘The Dart of Bludgeoning.’

I'm in!!!

The mental image of this is hysterical to me.

"I don't know, man. I hit him with a darT and he SPONTENOUSLY COMBUSTED"

 

[WarChiefZeke]

I'm now tempted to make a sling in Neverwinter Nights with the "Great Thunderclap" effect. A localized explosion every time you land a hit. Silly but probably fun for a few minutes.

 

[Xzarloxara]

Item mod inspiration: ‘The Dart of Bludgeoning.’

I could probably whip up something like that easily enough...

 

[Chronicler]

It sounds like missile damage generally can't gib, but since you were using darts in melee range it worked, meaning that the game checks your distance from the target for the gib, rather than the kind of weapon you're using.

 

[Chronicler]

Maybe they did it that way to accomodate weapons like throwing axes that can be used as both ranged and melee weapons.

 

[jmerry]

Indeed, it shouldn't be possible to gib an enemy with a dart. There's a specific mechanical reason: when damage brings a creature's hit points to sufficiently low levels (-10 for non-party creatures), a specific death type is applied based on the type of damage used. Exploded gibs for piercing, bludgeoning, and slashing damage. Elemental types for each element, with the ice statue death for cold damage most notable. And just a normal death for missile, poison, and magic damage.

Distance is irrelevant. It's all about the damage type. So ... was that dart somehow using a different damage type?