MithrasRahl
First Post
If I have a bunch of ranks in the Craft: Bow skill, can I take a Composite Longbow (+1 str bonus), and upgrade it to +2 or beyond?
Crafting a Bow
- Thread starter MithrasRahl
- Start date
By the rules, I don't think so.
But that's not to say you can't convince your DM to let you do it, similar to the upgrading feature of WoW D20:
Use the Craft Table to find the cost of a +1 composite longbow (200gp). Then use it to find the cost of a +2 composite longbow (300gp). Then, subtract the price of the old from the new, leaving you with 100gp. Convert it to silver pieces, which is 1000sp. From there, find the DC of a +2 Composite Longbow (19).
Then, make craft checks as normal at DC 19, only you need to go to 333sp instead of 1000sp, since you're just 'upgrading' it instead of starting over with a new bow. If I allowed this rule as a DM, which I probably would, I'd rule that the +1 composite longbow to be upgraded must be crafted by the player first. No store-bought ones.
That help you out at all...?
But that's not to say you can't convince your DM to let you do it, similar to the upgrading feature of WoW D20:
Use the Craft Table to find the cost of a +1 composite longbow (200gp). Then use it to find the cost of a +2 composite longbow (300gp). Then, subtract the price of the old from the new, leaving you with 100gp. Convert it to silver pieces, which is 1000sp. From there, find the DC of a +2 Composite Longbow (19).
Then, make craft checks as normal at DC 19, only you need to go to 333sp instead of 1000sp, since you're just 'upgrading' it instead of starting over with a new bow. If I allowed this rule as a DM, which I probably would, I'd rule that the +1 composite longbow to be upgraded must be crafted by the player first. No store-bought ones.
That help you out at all...?
Kerrick
First Post
I'd say no, simply because a +2 Str bow is made slightly differently than a +1 - it's got stronger materials, a tighter string, or whatever. If you use pulleys like a modern composite bow, then it'd be easy, but the old ones didn't. It's basically the same for upgrading any item of superior craftsmanship - armor or weapons would have to be melted down and reforged, and wooden ones couldn't be done at all.
MithrasRahl
First Post
Gotcha, thanks!
Stormrunner
Explorer
The bows with pulleys are comPOUND bows (though technically, they are often "composite" as well, with limbs made from layers of fiberglass instead of wood, horn, and sinew).
Realism-wise, "upgrading" a composite bow would be extremely difficult and probably not worth the effort unless it was an heirloom or something. It's not just a matter of "slap another layer of sinew on", which is what Kularian's method would emulate - you essentially have to take apart and rebuild the entire bow from the core outward with stronger/stiffer materials. So it takes almost as much time as building a new bow from scratch (slightly less because the core is already shaped), PLUS the time to de-laminate the old layers (which is a royal pain and quite likely to damage the core). It ends up being significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to just build a new bow to spec. It's like trying to turn a longsword into a greatsword - you can't just weld another two feet of blade onto the tip, the whole thing has to be re-forged.
Realism-wise, "upgrading" a composite bow would be extremely difficult and probably not worth the effort unless it was an heirloom or something. It's not just a matter of "slap another layer of sinew on", which is what Kularian's method would emulate - you essentially have to take apart and rebuild the entire bow from the core outward with stronger/stiffer materials. So it takes almost as much time as building a new bow from scratch (slightly less because the core is already shaped), PLUS the time to de-laminate the old layers (which is a royal pain and quite likely to damage the core). It ends up being significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to just build a new bow to spec. It's like trying to turn a longsword into a greatsword - you can't just weld another two feet of blade onto the tip, the whole thing has to be re-forged.
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