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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celtavian" data-source="post: 863137" data-attributes="member: 5834">ReI hope they eliminate the stacking of arrow and bow enhancement bonuses. The bow and arrow should be considered one weapon.Archery is more powerful than melee in D&D by leaps and bounds when played by an even halfway intelligent player.Archery:Advantages:1. May attack opponents at range including flying, swimming, concealed behind an arrow slit (Not so hard a shot for skilled archers), etc, etc. 2. Full strength bonus for damage with extra attack from Rapid Shot. 3. Bows can be strengthened to 18 str or above depending on the leniency of the DM or what magic items you allow.4. Almost always get to make a full attack action because can attack from range.5. May kite creatures, especially effective with boots of striding and springing or expeditious retreat/Haste spell. This prevents a creature from attacking you while allowing you to slowly widdle it down with arrows.6. Rarely struck in combat. Enemy must make a concentrated effort of bypassing frontline melee fighters to attack archery. (Feats make it very easy for an archer to fire into melee combat effectively.)Disadvantages:1. May run out of arrows. I have rarely witnessed this happen. With items like Quiver of Elhonna or a bag of holding, most archers can carry a near limitles supply of arrows. The Greater Magic Weapon or Arcane Archer prc can easily make them all magical.They could make it so that GMW only affects a small number of arrows, but that would be less fun for the archer. Better to just eliminate the stacking bonus.2. May not have powerful enough magic arrows to strike a creature. Rarely have I seen this happen either. In the new edition of D&D, it will be easier for an archer to carry a specific type of arrow made for damaging specific creatures than for a melee to have the correct weapon.3.5 definitely favors the archer when damage reduction is concerned.3. Cannot fire in melee.Unless of course they have a Prc Or feat that allows them to do so. What archer in their right mind enters melee? None. The only time an archer will have to enter a prolonged melee is if they are trapped in a room with a creature who can attack the entire room. They can easily move back or maneuver for better shots.There are currently no advantages to being a melee except maybe gaining a 1.5 str bonus if you are a 2-handed weapon fighter or extra attacks for a 2 weapon fighter.These advantages are more than offset by the fact that you have to a take a severe beating to engage a creature. I still remember my Paladin fighting an Elder Earth Elemental in melee combat and getting smashed, while the archer did equal damage to the creature while not being touched.After the fight, the archer was unscathed and ready to fight while my Paladin was severely wounded and required alot of healing. Yet, my paladin did no more damage than the archer. Archers are powerful in D&D. Much more powerful than melee. There range even allows them to fight spellcasters far more effectively than a melee could ever manage. Spells like Protection from Arrows are a joke against an archery with enhancement bonuses that stack.Anyone arguing for enhancement bonuses to remain as they are with the bow and arrows is a pure power gamer. Stacking archery bonuses is almost as a bad as Harm in the broken department in my experience. I am glad they are fixing it. We already play a house rule where bow and arrow enhancement bonuses don't stack, and I will be glad if they make this type of house rule official.</blockquote>

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