Throwing Weapons

[Danny McG]

A frying pan

 

[paranoid marvin]

If 5 have to gang together to take on one, the likelihood is that they - or their employer - is not confident that less will do the trick, so likely they are less adept. I would avoid him throwing weapons to kill his opponents, but in a fight 5 would expect 1 to run; if instead he charges his opponents this would likely throw them off guard, and if he kills one quickly and moves onto the second, it is more likely that 1 or 2 will decide to run away.

 

[Lafayette]

If 5 have to gang together to take on one, the likelihood is that they - or their employer - is not confident that less will do the trick, so likely they are less adept. I would avoid him throwing weapons to kill his opponents, but in a fight 5 would expect 1 to run; if instead he charges his opponents this would likely throw them off guard, and if he kills one quickly and moves onto the second, it is more likely that 1 or 2 will decide to run away.

They aren't employed by anyone. They are bullies and bandits living in the forest. In this scene, I wanted to demonstrate that my hero is a master of the sword. Even though they are mere thieves they are experienced killers, but are no match for him.

In this encounter, he kills one with his sword, two of them with sais, and the other two run away after seeing their buddies demise. I know now that in reality this is improbable. So why shouldn't the hero throw weapons?

After an insult, my protagonist makes the first move.

I will think about your scenario.

Thanks for commenting.

 

[Lafayette]

A frying pan

Not heroic enough.

 

[Lafayette]

A Shuriken must be what you're looking for!

Not deadly enough.

 

[Lafayette]

Some people throw axes.
Many vs one has been done enough that most readers wouldn't bat a lash. Whether it's possible depends on who the five are and who the one is. My personal feeling is that as long as the five are afraid for their own lives the one has a chance. But should all five decide to run him through at once, he's toast even if he manages to take out one or two.

If my one protagonist was smarter he would run.

I think I was trying too hard to make it believable and forgot that most fantasy readers don't care about reality.

In fact, this is one of the reasons I want to be fantasy writer. I'm not very good with facts.

 

[.matthew.]

I think I was trying too hard to make it believable and forgot that most fantasy readers don't care about reality.

Suspension of disbelief is a thing but if you push it too far I think most readers are thrown out by it. So you could have a wizard throwing bolts of lightning, but a regular human doing a lethal knife toss mid cartwheel would be like 'ehhhhhh?'

That was an extreme example, but the action should be consistent within the book and the world. This plays into other situations the hero faces. For example, if in this scene he throws weapons that kill two people in a couple of seconds, the readers would be asking why he doesn't use them in every single fight - and not just because it would get boring.

 

[paranoid marvin]

They aren't employed by anyone. They are bullies and bandits living in the forest. In this scene, I wanted to demonstrate that my hero is a master of the sword. Even though they are mere thieves they are experienced killers, but are no match for him.

In this encounter, he kills one with his sword, two of them with sais, and the other two run away after seeing their buddies demise. I know now that in reality this is improbable. So why shouldn't the hero throw weapons?

After an insult, my protagonist makes the first move.

I will think about your scenario.

Thanks for commenting.

If they are bandits living in a forest, would some not be using bows, especially if they are lying in wait for him.

If he was to surprise them in camp for example , then bows would be much less effective from a shorter range. I would say though that if you are using this scenario to demonstrate his swordsmanship - rather than his overall combat abilities - then he should defeat his opponents with a sword rather than a throwing weapons.

A good example of one swordsman taking on many is shown in Game of Thrones. Ok, it's fantasy, but it's a quite believable scenario where Arya's master swordsman teacher is able to take on several heavily armoured soldiers with a wooden blade. He (presumably) eventually meets his match, but then again your protagonist likely has a steel blade!

Also, although we often see in films smaller weapons killing opponents, (and unless the opponent got one through the neck/throat) I'm not sure how immediately lethal they would be, especially if the opponent is wearing any kind of protective material.

Yes it's a fantasy setting which gives you a deal of latitude, but what happens has to be consistently believable in the world in which it is set.

 

[Lafayette]

If they are bandits living in a forest, would some not be using bows, especially if they are lying in wait for him.

I hadn't thought of that. Now I have to give a reason why they're employing bows and arrows.

If he was to surprise them in camp for example , then bows would be much less effective from a shorter range. I would say though that if you are using this scenario to demonstrate his swordsmanship - rather than his overall combat abilities - then he should defeat his opponents with a sword rather than a throwing weapons.

Understandable, but I'm not good dueling scenes. Well, it appears that I'm going to have to learn.

A good example of one swordsman taking on many is shown in Game of Thrones. Ok, it's fantasy, but it's a quite believable scenario where Arya's master swordsman teacher is able to take on several heavily armoured soldiers with a wooden blade. He (presumably) eventually meets his match, but then again your protagonist likely has a steel blade!

I will go to youtube and watch and study it,

Also, although we often see in films smaller weapons killing opponents, (and unless the opponent got one through the neck/throat) I'm not sure how immediately lethal they would be, especially if the opponent is wearing any kind of protective material.

but what happens has to be consistently believable in the world in which it is set.

That is one thing I'm trying to do.

 

[ckatt]

If my one protagonist was smarter he would run.

I think I was trying too hard to make it believable and forgot that most fantasy readers don't care about reality.

In fact, this is one of the reasons I want to be fantasy writer. I'm not very good with facts.

Careful not to conflate reality with believability. You want your readers to believe your character can defeat the attackers even if it's not realistic.