Ghost Touch Bow = GT Ammo?

[Sadus]

I'm sure this may have been asked before... but I was unable to locate a thread or search function within the first 10 or so pages.


So pretty much stated in the title. Does a GT bow pass on it's attributes to ammo fired from it as a Flaming bow adds fire damage to ammo fired from it etc..

Thx

 

[lukelightning]

Yes. The properties of a bow apply to the ammo, e.g. arrows fired from a +1 bow count as magical.

 

[Deset Gled]

Maybe, maybe not. Depends on the DM.

Some magic properties explicitly state that a ranged weapon enhanced with said property will bestow the property on ammunition (flaming weapons, anarchic weapons, etc). Others, like Ghost Touch, lack this clause. The rest of the rules make no statement on the subject either way. Some interpret the lack of text to be evidence that enhancements like GT are not transferred to ammo, others say it is just an oversight.

Note that there are no explicit rules stating that some weapon properties are melee only, and others are ranged compatible. However, there is a separate table for randomly generated melee weapons and ranged weapons. The ranged weapon table lacks many of the enhancements on the melee table; Ghost Touch is one such enhancement. Many people interpret the differences in these tables to mean that some enhancements are not compatible with ranged weapons. Again, there is no explicit rules text to answer this question.

 

[justinsluder]

I would rule: YES.

 

[pawsplay]

Well, various properties individually state they can only be placed on certain kinds of weapons. Distance, for instance, can only be placed on a ranged weapon. Ghost touch has no such clause. However, it is not clear the ammunition would be affected by the ghost touch property. There is no question, however, that you can create a ghost touch bow, which could then be used by an incorporeal creature.

 

[green slime]

Yes.

 

[mvincent]

it is not clear the ammunition would be affected by the ghost touch property.

No. Weapon abilities that bestow their power onto their ammo specifically say so in their description with something like:
"Bows, crossbows, and slings so crafted bestow <the power> upon their ammunition."

Ghost touch does not have that text. However, one could still make ghost touch arrows.

 

[Hypersmurf]

There is no question, however, that you can create a ghost touch bow, which could then be used by an incorporeal creature.

Oh, there's a question

'Creating Magic Weapons' refers you to the table for Melee Weapon Special Abilities and Ranged Weapon Special Abilities.

They don't just provide for random generation; they also list the special abilities a weapon with a +1 or greater enhancement bonus may have.

And if reading that to mean that a ranged weapon may have special abilities from the Ranged Weapon Special Abilities table, and a melee weapon may have special abilities from the Melee Weapon Special Abilities table, means that Arrows of Spell Storing are illegal, then I'm all for reading it that way!

So as I read it, no Ghost Touch bows. Or arrows.

-Hyp.

 

[mvincent]

They don't just provide for random generation; they also list the special abilities a weapon with a +1 or greater enhancement bonus may have.

That does not appear to be a truism, and has been discussed at extreme lengths. I can provide links to these threads if desired.

This notion would seem to imply that potions, scrolls, wands, staves, etc. that are not listed on the random generation tables could not be made. It would also seem to prevent new weapon types from being made magical. If those tables were to represent restrictions in just some of the cases, it should be noted.

Also note that many of the weapons on the melee table can be used as ranged weapons, and vise-verse. The division between ranged and melee appears fairly arbitrary on the tables, and it would not always be clear which table a new weapon type might go in (if any).

 

[James McMurray]

I tok a multi-year break from here and people are still arguing about this?