D&D 3E/3.5 Help a curmudgeon replace a 3.5 feat!

[CRGreathouse]

I like most of the 3.5 changes, and the few that I don't like I have no problem house-ruling. There is a difficulty, though, with one of the new feats...

I don't like the idea of Manyshot, except as an epic feat. Three arrows on a string, fired with any sort of accuracy? I'm able to imagine a lot in D&D, but this just doesn't work for me.

Normally I'd just drop the feat... but it's now a staple benefit of rangers (archery style), and I don't want to leave them hanging. I don't want a ranged Power Attack-style feat, if that can be avoided, but I'd also prefer to do more than an extended version of Point Blank Shot.

I'd be greatful for any suggestions.

MANYSHOT [GENERAL]
Prerequisites: Dex 17, Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, base attack bonus +6
Benefit: As a standard action, you may fire two arrows at a single opponent within 30 feet. Both arrows use the same attack
roll (with a –4 penalty) to determine success and deal damage normally (but see Special).
For every five points of base attack bonus you have above +6, you may add one additional arrow to this attack, to a
maximum of four arrows at a base attack bonus of +16. However, each arrow after the second adds a cumulative –2 penalty
on the attack roll (for a total penalty of –6 for three arrows and –8 for four).
Damage reduction and other resistances apply separately against each arrow fired.
Special: Regardless of the number of arrows you fire, you apply precision-based damage only once. If you score a critical
hit, only the first arrow fired deals critical damage; all others deal regular damage.
A fighter may select Manyshot as one of his fighter bonus feats.
A 6th-level ranger who has chosen the archery combat style is treated as having Manyshot even if he does not have the
prerequisites for it, but only when he is wearing light or no armor.

 

[CRGreathouse]

I think the basic idea of Manyshot is to make tactical movement a realistic option for archers. Would a movement-style feat help here?

 

[hong]

If it helps, you could imagine Manyshot as the archer taking two shots in very rapid succession, instead of actually having two arrows strung at once. The mechanics wouldn't change, but it may be easier on the brane.

Say, any chance of updating your dragon generator for 3.5?

 

[CRGreathouse]

If it helps, you could imagine Manyshot as the archer taking two shots in very rapid succession, instead of actually having two arrows strung at once. The mechanics wouldn't change, but it may be easier on the brane.

That might be the best solution. It's certainly better than the ones I've thought of thus far.

Say, any chance of updating your dragon generator for 3.5?

I'm working on it. I don't know how much of the old I'll rip out to replace with the new; I may end up simply rewriting it (since from where I stand, it might be easier). I'll be sure to post here when I update it -- and I'll send a note to Russ for the main page.

 

[Volaran]

If arrows in excess of two are what get to you, perhaps reduce the associated penalties rather than allow further arrows to be added.

For instance, the initial penalty is -4. Perhaps at BAB +11, the penalty could be reduced to -2, and at BAB +16 there would be no penalty.

A little like the new Flurry of Blows.

 

[hong]

I'm working on it. I don't know how much of the old I'll rip out to replace with the new; I may end up simply rewriting it (since from where I stand, it might be easier). I'll be sure to post here when I update it -- and I'll send a note to Russ for the main page.

Well, if you could do it before this weekend, that would be really, really good.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Well, if you could do it before this weekend, that would be really, really good.

Email me, please.

crgreathouse@yahoo.com

 

[comrade raoul]

I just drop the scaling effect (that is, three or four arrows at higher base attack bonuses) and just call the feat Double Shot. No other feats in the game scale, and I recall that one of the original designers (I think Monte Cook, but it could've been Skip Williams) explicitly advised against designing feats that scaled -- they suggested that if you want more powerful characters to have stronger versions of feats, you should just design more advanced feats with the existing feats as a prerequisite. Two-weapon combat provides an excellent example of this principle: rather than having Two-Weapon Fighting scaling to allow additional attacks at higher BAB, characters just have to take Improved and Greater Two-Weapon Fighting instead.

Thus, my revised version looks like this:

Double Shot [General]
You can fire two arrows as a single attack against a nearby target.
Prerequisites: Dex 17, Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, base attack bonus +6.
Benefit: As a standard action, you may fire two arrows at a single opponent within 30 feet. Both arrows use the same attack roll (with a -4 penalty) to determine success and deal damage normally. Damage reduction and other resistances apply separately against each arrow fired.
Special: Regardless of the number of arrows you fire, you apply precision-based damage (such as sneak attack damage) only once. If you score a critical hit, only the first arrow fired deals critical damage; all others deal regular damage.
A fighter may select Double Shot as one of his fighter bonus feats.

 

[der_kluge]

The ManyShot thing does seem a bit ridiculous. I'm toying with the idea of not allowing a move-equivalent action when doing that. Seems to me like it would take a bit of time to load all those arrows first.

 

[Mike Sullivan]

The ManyShot thing does seem a bit ridiculous. I'm toying with the idea of not allowing a move-equivalent action when doing that. Seems to me like it would take a bit of time to load all those arrows first.

That would seem rather to defeat the point, wouldn't it?


CRGreathouse, what about a feat which simply allowed a character to take a 15' move in conjunction with a full attack with a bow? It lacks a certain something, I suppose, aesthetically, but it might serve the same purpose.