Berserk and Ranged/Thrown

[Alphaeus]

Maybe it's just me, but if I'm berserked and try to use ranged/thrown items I get told "You're too berserk!"

Personally, this makes no sense. Berserk is about being mighted, hasted, and having bonus HP in exchange for a loss later and an insane bloodlust that prevents you from doing anything non-combat except moving. Shooting/throwing things is combat, though.

Is it just me, or is this an actual issue/logical conclusion?

[Patashu]

If you can do ranged attacks while berserking, it makes it too trivial to extend your berserk when there's nothing in melee range to hit. Berserking and ranged attacks are already OP, and the downside of not being able to combine them is interesting.

[duvessa]

Shooting/throwing things is combat, though.

So is zapping wands and evoking phials of floods and using abilities and casting iron shot, but those aren't allowed while berserk because the point of berserk's restrictions is to make you only use melee. The other allowed actions during berserk have very good reasons for them:

Melee attacking: the entire point of the effect
Moving: melee attacking is terribly inconvenient without this
Eating: you should always be allowed to eat, because starving to death with food in your inventory would be stupid
Swapping weapons: a recent addition, I asked for it because it otherwise Xom characters are incentivized to avoid wielding launchers/etc while resting

Ranged attacks don't even get Might's damage bonus in the first place, so Might with a longbow is just approximately +1.875 effective base damage.

[ololoev]

Berserk is about being mighted, hasted, and having bonus HP

Berserk is not about numbers, it's a state of mind. It's like uncontrolled rage where you break into the battle holding your axe firmly and swinging it left and right. And furiously tear chunks of meat with your jaws.
Crawl is flavorful and have a lot of options for roleplay. Use it.

[tasonir]

Swapping weapons: a recent addition, I asked for it because it otherwise Xom characters are incentivized to avoid wielding launchers/etc while resting

First I heard of this. I still (painfully) remember losing a character in extended to a demonspawn's chaotic mirror making us both berserk while I was wearing a launcher. I think chaotic mirror was also changed/removed since then, but being able to switch back to melee would have probably saved that character's life.