I think Both Pickup and the Throw are STANDARD ACTIONS. Equip/Stow a Sheild is a Standard. Heaving a 60-200 lb person in the air and having the proper grasp on them doesn't seem Minor. Maybe the small Kobold at 40 lbs would be minor. I would say a brute grasp to toss overhand/overhead would be minor. But to prepare for an Athletic Toss, no. I differentiate between those two tosses below.
So here are my calculations of how far, accuracy, damage and the reasons/logic behind them. Hope they are useful. It was a fun exercise. I think I'm going to have to use these in a trap design. - RoyalEF
if we look to reality:
The Olympic hammer throw reaches 300 feet for 16 pounds.
Scottish Heavy Weight Throw for Distance ranges 36-46 ft for 56 lbs.
2002 British Champion Dwarf toss was only 11'4" for 98 lbs.
So there are some true examples. Smaller weights go dramatically further. All of these are Athletic throws, they wind up and toss. They don't care too much about accuracy side to side, just maximizing distance. Overhead throws are MUCH LESS efficient!
BTW, In 4e Halflings are 4' and 75-85 pounds.
Improvised Weapons under Melee limit it to 1 LB. And range is 5/10, Hit for 1d4.
I think you have to treat the Halfling the same as if the the player wanted to throw a Barrel or a Boulder. Players may want to do that... it should be no different, including the damage potential to the barrel. If the throwee was unwilling it would involve a Standard Action of a Grab, and a second Standard Action of the lift and throw. You would have to add a strong negative if they were struggling/fighting.
My calculations are reasonably simple, AND THEY SCALE TO THE MONSTER MANUAL FOR ROCK THROWING DISTANCE OF MONSTERS!!! Woo-Hoo, we're balanced!
STR 18 (Normal Load:180lbs, Heavy Load and Slowed:360) I don't think a Slowed state is viable for a toss.
So (for me) STR 18 is tossing with a total encumbered load of 180lbs. Trained Athletics, should increase this and compensates in the equations!! I'd have to say some sort of -1 per 10 lbs over that is in order. We'll assume all toss weight examples don't push us over Normal Load.
How far can it be thrown?
It is a factor of the HEIGHT of thrower and STR vs WEIGHT. However, if you shot put or pitch the weight, Athletics should STRONGLY come into play. And let's make sure our level adds to the epicness of our throw.
In "Long Jump" you add 1/3 of your height to your height to represent your arm reach height. For a Monster, I would add 1/3 to their SIZE (Medium=5',Large=10',Huge=15', etc) as a shortcut to researching heights. Alternately, you could add Monster SIZE & MELEE REACH, this would overextend reach on some, but it accounts for when Monster Stats account for TALL sizes.
OVERHEAD THROW check (clumsy, inefficient--only dumb trolls do this)
d20 + STR CHECK Mod
+ Reach Height(Rounded)
- (Weight of object/10,Rounded)
Lvl 1, STR: 10( 0), 8 ft reach, 10lb = d20 + 7 ft (throw a milk gallon, 8lbs)
Lvl 1, STR: 18(+4), 8 ft reach, 10lb = d20 + 11 ft (13-31')
Lvl 10, STR: 18(+9), 8 ft reach, 10lb = d20 + 16 ft (18-36')
Lvl 1, STR: 18(+4), 8 ft reach, 98lb Halfling = d20 + 7 ft (9-20')
Lvl 9, STR: 22(+10), 20 ft reach, 98lb Halfling = D20 + 20 feet. (Troll, 22-40')
Lvl 13, STR: 21(+11), 20 ft reach, 60 lb rock = d20 + 25' (Hill Giant, 27-45')
60 lbs of concrete mix is about a 11.5" sphere.
This Hill Giant has a HURL ROCK range of 8/16 (40'/80') in MM1.
This inefficient method is right in Short Range.
ATHLETIC THROW check (leveraging your STR in an Athletics move)
d20 + STR Ability Score + STR CHECK MOD
+ ATHLETICS Check MOD
+ Reach Height (Rounded)
- (Weight of object/10,Rounded)
Outside of Combat, the DM might consider letting players TAKE 10, if they know that will succeed at the distance they want. In combat, always roll even if only Natural 1 fails.
If you are targeting something and not going for pure long distance, Targeting below deals with the misses.
Lvl 13, STR: 21(+11), ATH: +16, 13 ft reach height, 60lb rock = d20 + 56' (58-76')
This Hill Giant has a HURL ROCK range of 8/16 (40'/80') in MM1. Near Long Range!
If I use SIZE + MELEE REACH I get d20 + 63'. Right on Target.
Lvl 16, STR: 23(+14), ATH: +19, 20 ft reach, 60lb rock = d20 + 86' (88-106')
This Earth Titan Giant has a HURL ROCK range of 20 (100') in MM1. DONE!!
Distances are scaling well against existing D&D 4E throws.
In Ranged Combat, you don't care how far the aerodynamic weapon travels when it misses. Only that it had the range to hit. The above Athletics Check determine the ultimate range for a heavy, awkward non-projectile being unceremoniously tossed.
But what about accuracy, like a basic ball toss. If the mark is comfortably within your range, you have more control. But you can still miss. So here's my take on it.
The above Athletics check determines if you get the range you needed. If it falls short, it falls short. Maybe the DM decides that within 3 feet the hurled Halfling can a Grab for the ledge the same as a Fall During Climbing? House rules apply.
However, Strength doesn't determine Ranged accuracy. For more accuracy in the throw, I think you need a second roll for DEX CHECK. (-1 for every 10 lbs over Normal Load)
For a living target, you're doing DEX vs. AC. If you don't hit, you can randomize in which adjacency the tossed lands in. Perhaps let the target choose. DM rules.
As a guide for hitting inanimate objects (like floors), I use DMG Pg. 65.
AC 5 = Medium Size Target (5'x5'=1 square area)
AC 8 = Small Size Target
AC 10 = Tiny Sized Target (bottle, book)
For every 1 the DEX Check falls short, you missed the target by 5% of the thrown distance.
What direction? Simple d4 it.
4=overshot (or projectile/target decides)
4 gives the Dwarf a chance to pick his fate, as opposed to overshot for a barrel of flammable oil.
Strong but Clumsy Olaf Tosses a Dwarf onto a 5'x5' floating platform 30' away:
OLAF: Lvl 2, STR:20(+6), DEX:8(-1), Athletics:(1) Reach:8', Dwarf(180lbs)
Athletics d20 roll = 18 , distance=35' (good for range)
Dexterity d20 roll = 2 , DC:5 missed by 4 (20% of 30'), 6 feet
d4 roll = 3
Short by 6'
The DM can rule how to measure this. From the center of the square is decent. That would mean that 1-2' off would basically land you on the edge. 3-5' puts most people within reach of catching the edge.
LANDING OF THE HURLED
The tosser has succeeded with both rolls. For the sentient tossed, the landing should be determined. This is a basic ACROBATIC Check by the tossed. Succeed, they land standing. Fail, they are prone. Natural 1, they landed prone and bounced or slid past the target. One square seems fine as a punishment. Again, grabbing for an edge is always there.
DOES BEING TOSSED HURT? DAMAGE?
Of course it does. That's why Hill Giants throw rocks. Earth Elementals can hear the rocks yelling, "Ouch!"
Scaling to hurled rock damages is trickier. D&D doesn't scale falling damage by weight--physics disagrees. Falling damage is a flat 1d10 for every 10 feet of drop, the weight of the faller is ignored. With the angles we're using, I'm thinking a bit less is appropriate. I've come up with something that takes drops into consideration, too.
Roll 1d4 for every 15 feet thrown.
Add 1d10 for every 10 feet the landing is below the thrown from surface.
Hill Giant, 80 ft throws = 5d4, 5-20 hp. (MM1, 7-17 hp)
Earth Titan Giant, 100 ft throws = 6d4, 6-24 hp. (MM1, 8-26 hp)
Formula is scaling reasonably.
If you're throwing across a pit where the target floor is the same level then the 1d10 doesn't matter. But when you have to fall down to get to the target, you should get falling damage.
Olaf is throwing the Dwarf across a 30' Chasm to a Ledge 20' below.
Olaf, 160lb Dwarf, 30' across, 20' down = 2d4 + 2d10
Olaf is throwing the Dwarf across a 30' Chasm to a Ledge 60' below.
Olaf, 160lb Dwarf, 30' across, 60' down = 2d4 + 6d10
Damage would be to the Dwarf as well as the target.
What if you're tossing upward to a target above you. Keep it simple.
Height gain is the distance of ATHLETICS Check divided by 5 plus the reach height of the tosser. ATHLETICS Check was 35 = 7 feet higher than my 8 ft reach height or 15'
If landing on a higher structure the d4 damage should be halved and the d10 ignored. Tossing something on a high shelf requires timing the top of the arc of the throw to just clear the ledge. This should limit the horizontal distance to HALF the maximum determined by the ATHLETICS check.
SOFT LANDING STRIP
The DM will have to rule on soft landing areas. Stone has 2x more HP than Wood and Wood has 10x more HP than cloth. So softer materials could absorb some of the HP damage. You could say for every 1' of soft materials 1d10 is avoided. In the real world, 9" of wood mulch will protect a ten foot fall (Playground Standards). Perhaps every 1' of loose, soft, compressible materials will absorb 1d10. If the materials aren't so soft, maybe it should be 1d8, or 1d6. At least that gives a DM something to chew on.
NOTE: In HotFK pg 285. Someone TRAINED in Acrobatics can reduce falling damage.
"Reduce Falling Damage (Trained Only) If an adventurer who has training in Acrobatics falls, he or she can make an Acrobatics check to reduce the amount of falling damage he or she takes. Your character can make this check whether or not the fall is intentional. It is a free action in response to falling.
The amount of falling damage that you take is reduced by one-half the check result (rounded down). If the falling damage is reduced to 0, you land standing.