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[WillJoeChuck]

     First of all, hello.  I am new to the game and just registered on the forum, mostly just for this one post.  I really like the direction on this game so far and the depth that has been implemented (and planned to be implemented).  Getting to the point though, i was initially surprised that slings were not in the game so i did a brief search on the forum to see if there was much discussion on the matter.  From what i can tell, it is planned for the future?  Based on what i read, there was a lot of disagreement on the functionality of slings as well as whether they should be something that a dwarf would use.  Personally i thing launching rocks at high velocities is much more dwarf-like than using a crossbow, which is very similar to something an elf would use.  Since this is the suggestion section of the forum, my suggestion is to implement slings as a viable alternative to crossbows (each having their own strengths and weaknesses).
     Anyway, I figured that threetoe and perhaps toady one would enjoy this masters thesis recently published on the topic and hope that it will add to the true-to-life feeling of this game.  Not everything included is relevant (it is 144 pages long), but there is a lot of information that i think would be helpful.  This is not my work by the way.

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1032&context=anthrotheses

[CrzyMonkeyNinja]

Personally, I think slings are far more elfy than dwarfy due to their natural and relatively silent nature, and crossbows are more dwarfy than elfy due to their mechanical and noisy nature (yes, crossbows are noisy. Very noisy, in fact. Just another case where Hollywood and video game have lied to us).

Other than that somewhat off-topic note, I very much like the idea of slings. They could be a nice, cheap-o, militia weapon if implemented for the dwarves, or they could be a very nice addition for the animal people or kobolds.

[Funk]

i have made some raws for slings.

Spoiler: raws (click to show/hide)

weapon
[ITEM_WEAPON:ITEM_WEAPON_SLING]
[NAME:sling:slings]
[SIZE:100]
[SKILL:WHIP]
[RANGED:CROSSBOW:ROCK]
[SHOOT_FORCE:1200]
[SHOOT_MAXVEL:1200]
[TWO_HANDED:0]
[MINIMUM_SIZE:5000]
[MATERIAL_SIZE:1]
[ATTACK:BLUNT:10:10:lash:lashes:NO_SUB:5000]

ammo
[ITEM_AMMO:ITEM_AMMO_ROCK]
[NAME:rock:rocks]
[CLASS:ROCK]
[SIZE:400]
[ATTACK:BLUNT:20:200:hit:hits:NO_SUB:2000]

entity
   [WEAPON:ITEM_WEAPON_SLING]
      [AMMO:ITEM_AMMO_STONE]

[Neonivek]

Personally, I think slings are far more elfy than dwarfy due to their natural and relatively silent nature

Slings are generally made from leather to my knowledge... Even then Slings are much cheaper then their crossbow counterpart.

[CrzyMonkeyNinja]

Slings are generally made from leather to my knowledge... Even then Slings are much cheaper then their crossbow counterpart.

Ahh, good point. I suppose the leather rules out elves, but that still leaves animal people and Kobolds.

[Larix]

Personally, I think slings are far more elfy than dwarfy due to their natural and relatively silent nature

Slings are generally made from leather to my knowledge... Even then Slings are much cheaper then their crossbow counterpart.

I respectfully disagree with the leather part:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sling_%28weapon%29#Construction
Flax, hemp and rush are non-tree plant fibres.
As to who should use slings - being very cheap weapons, they were a typical poor man's item; kobolds should be fitting users, along with animalpeople; there might also be some human slingers. Elves are traditionally associated with the bow, but there's nothing strictly excluding them from use of slings.

[Vattic]

I am one of those you likely saw arguing slings are more powerful a weapon than commonly believed.

Personally I see crossbows as a more dwarven weapon as their height shouldn't massively limit usage. Ignoring composite ones their height would limit the size and possible power of more straightforward bows. Slings, from what I understand, effectively increase the length of the throwers arm and so would be less useful for a dwarf than a man. Still I could see dwarves using them and more so their mechanical cousin the trebuchet.

Edit: I will be reading more of the thesis after I get some sleep, but it looks like they are agreeing with what I was arguing previously.

[DG]

Thanks for the link to the thesis, Chuck. It was an interesting read even if most of the math was over my head.

Here are some excerpts to give people a feel for it if they can't be bothered reading:

Vegetius (1.16) says that “Soldiers, notwithstanding their defensive armor, are often more
annoyed by the round stones from the sling than by all the arrows of the enemy. Stones
kill without mangling the body, and the contusion is mortal without loss of blood”

"The sling was always considered a very formidable weapon, and old warriors
have repeatedly assured me that a wound from a stone hurled from a sling and
thrown with force was often much worse than one received from a musket ball. If
a stone struck the arm or leg, it was difficult to heal, since the bone was usually
smashed to pieces, and caused much suffering." (York and York 2011:44)

The model was also adapted to predict liver fracture probability. As previously
mentioned, the liver is particularly susceptible to blunt injury, making this organ of some
interest to designers of less than lethal projectiles or of body armor.

The model goes on to show that slings are probably in the mid fracture rate for liver damage (not necessarily lethal damage, just any type of "fracture" of the liver) for a roughly 72kg creature. I only highlight that for fun because DF dwarves have enlarged livers. Benefit or bane when being hit by a sling stone?

And lastly:

Conclusions.
The review of biomechanical modeling has shown that sling projectile lethality is
dependant on projectile material and design. Impacts from effectively designed sling
projectiles can be expected to fracture a wide range of human bone, including at long
range. Dense lead projectiles can be expected to penetrate exposed human skin at all
ranges, and biconical clay projectiles could penetrate skin at close range. The potential
for sling projectiles to cause soft tissue blunt trauma is in conclusive, but appears likely
based on ethnographic and historical accounts as well as the levels of lethality indicated
by the penetration and direct fracture modeling. These lines of evidence show that slings
would be effective weapons in warfare and that use in warfare would likely lead to an
evolution of projectile design.

[Gargomaxthalus]

Personally, I think slings are far more elfy than dwarfy due to their natural and relatively silent nature, and crossbows are more dwarfy than elfy due to their mechanical and noisy nature (yes, crossbows are noisy. Very noisy, in fact. Just another case where Hollywood and video game have lied to us).

Other than that somewhat off-topic note, I very much like the idea of slings. They could be a nice, cheap-o, militia weapon if implemented for the dwarves, or they could be a very nice addition for the animal people or kobolds.

Well if you want to talk in terms of dwarfy/elfy/kolboldy/goblinoidy, The fact of the matter is that the most dwarfy ranged weapon is the throwing ax, often called the "Dwarven Bow". Thanks to R.A. Salvatore, I can easily picture a Patriot type of scenario where a Dwarf gets his battleaxe stuck in a Goblin's head, slits the next one's throat with a throwing axe, precedes to throw it at a charging Goblin who then staggers within easy reach. The throwing ax is then retrieved and used to cut off the head of the Goblin that trapped the battleaxe, and this head is then applied to another Goblins head removing it from said battleaxe.

Oh and yes, slings can be awesome. Just ask one of the most terrifying kings the Jewish people ever knew. His sling set him on the fast track to paranoid despot-hood.