TL;DR VERSION: Most throwing items are too short, and there is no reason why they are so slow in melee. Make spears throwable
I've brought this up for discussion before about a year ago and was met with pretty staunch opposition. Nevertheless, I thought it would be worth at least mentioning having not even looked to see if y'all have been talking about it lately.
My award winning argument:
C-rpg has forsaken me in the form of no available spartan-esque helm beside the barbutte, I cannot wear a bad ass cape and still have my rippling pixel pecs shine in the sun and even more recently I cannot wield a huscarl, warspear, and 1h weapon to re-enact my highly dramatized personal re-enactment of 300. Slots are a knavery, but I digress.
The Throwing "Lance" is shorter than the typical spear which COULD be and WAS thrown.
Now I know what you're thinking. "H3ADSH0T you 1337 speak spelling scrub, no respectable spear user would want to part with his spear". Well to you NAYSAYERS I say this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/rosieboo/Zidane_leonidas.gif
Even if we dismiss the idea of throwing a typical spear like the Warspear, consider something for throwing like the Pilum. From, granted, wikipedia: "The pilum (plural pila) was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about two metres long overall,". NOW FOR COMPARISON!
Reference item:
Longsword
weapon length: 106 (4 feet from what I can tell)
weight: 1.8
difficulty: 10
speed rating: 98
weapon length: 106
thrust damage: 23 pierce
swing damage: 36 cut
slots: 2
Secondary Mode
Reference Item:
War Spear
weapon length: 150 (about six feet)
weight: 1.5
difficulty: 11
speed rating: 95
weapon length: 150
thrust damage: 28 pierce
swing damage: 18 blunt
Reference Item:
Throwing "Lance"
missile speed: 17
weapon length: 120 (just under 5 feet?)
weight: 1.5
accuracy: 154
difficulty: 7
speed rating: 80
missile speed: 17
weapon length: 120
max ammo: 1
thrust damage: 60 pierce
slots: 1
Bonus against Shield
Secondary Mod
slots: 2
So the Warspear, a more or less accurate depiction of a spear which could be thrown is duel-able, longer than this throwing "lance" (not to mention throwing SPEARS) and actually viable. So after this wall of text my actual goal shall be announced. Why not consider looking at items for their potential throwability? I have often found that as a melee combatant I am at a loss if I need to finish off a foe or engage before getting into melee. I would like the option with my hoplites to use the warspear or any spear for that matter -and- throw it if I so chose. Literally nothing stands in the way of this bar the fact that none of the throwing items are particularly realistic as it is. All that I am suggesting is a slight buff to versatility in items like these. I was surprised to find after returning to C-RPG that you can turn items with a pick component around to use them as piercing, I think we can make the same progress here. Anyone with me?
Also to squeeze in one more idea that is mostly unrelated. Reading about the Pilum encumbering shield users and making their shield unwieldy (when one is sticking in it), or forcing them to waste time pulling it out, could have real promise in C-RPG. What if thrown weapons started to slow a shield?