lukelightning
First Post
Are you going to give the other stikers special weapons too? What about lighting your dagger on fire? How about flaming magic missiles? Why give archers, already at the top of the striker game, even more options and power?
Setting Arrows on Fire
- Thread starter filthgrinder
- Start date
Are you going to give the other stikers special weapons too? What about lighting your dagger on fire? How about flaming magic missiles? Why give archers, already at the top of the striker game, even more options and power?
Eric Finley
First Post
Huh, Surprised I'm the first one to mention this. Alchemist's Vault, p.42. "Alchemist's Fire - Ranged Ammo Variant". 25gp each. Burst 1, range as per weapon, targets Reflex, 1d6 fire damage for the 2nd level version. Downside: the damage is bad, the fixed attack roll makes players feel irrelevant, and they cost real money.
Or, if your mental image is less of a bursting clay ball-head full of splattery grease, and more of a sticky pitch which sets their clothes on fire, talk to your group about a fire retyping of Alchemist's Acid instead - single-target damage plus ongoing save-ends damage. (Balance note, Alchemist's Acid is arguably too powerful for its level; compare and contrast with Dragonfire Tar.)
However, if you're wanting to actual fire damage, as compared with a percentage chance of setting a flammable structure on fire, IMO you need something on this scale. If you're in (say) mail, which would you prefer: get hit by an arrow blunted by a wrapper of pitch-soaked rags and set on fire, or get hit by an arrow with a finely honed bodkin point? I know where my preference lies. Thanks for putting that flaming pentration-limiter on your arrow, otherwise I might have actually gotten injured there!
The only thing I'd do (and I may yet, in my game, if it comes up) is to work out a better set of rules for the to-hit rolls on alchemical items like this. I really don't like the flat attack scores simply because it makes the archer's carefully nurtured accuracy and skill completely irrelevant - Bob the Cleric with his secondhand nonmagical crossbow can do exactly as good a job with these, per RAW, as Ereviel Thrice-fletched with his +5 Legendary Crossbow. In fact if Bob blows 360gp on a Distance Crossbow +1, he'll be strictly better. But that's a much easier fix, and more needed anyway...
Alternately, if you have a DDI subscription, the most recent Ampersand column previewed magical ammunition (to appear in AV2), including the Firestorm Arrow. The lowest-level version of which costs just 30gp per shot. Some interesting limitations being voiced there... let me just say that the hit and damage bonuses aren't the old "bow enhancement plus arrow enhancement" that obviously was trouble back in 2e, nor is it even the reasonably-intuitive "they're both enhancement bonuses, use the higher of the two." Instead there's actually a tradeoff. I like it.
Or, if your mental image is less of a bursting clay ball-head full of splattery grease, and more of a sticky pitch which sets their clothes on fire, talk to your group about a fire retyping of Alchemist's Acid instead - single-target damage plus ongoing save-ends damage. (Balance note, Alchemist's Acid is arguably too powerful for its level; compare and contrast with Dragonfire Tar.)
However, if you're wanting to actual fire damage, as compared with a percentage chance of setting a flammable structure on fire, IMO you need something on this scale. If you're in (say) mail, which would you prefer: get hit by an arrow blunted by a wrapper of pitch-soaked rags and set on fire, or get hit by an arrow with a finely honed bodkin point? I know where my preference lies. Thanks for putting that flaming pentration-limiter on your arrow, otherwise I might have actually gotten injured there!
The only thing I'd do (and I may yet, in my game, if it comes up) is to work out a better set of rules for the to-hit rolls on alchemical items like this. I really don't like the flat attack scores simply because it makes the archer's carefully nurtured accuracy and skill completely irrelevant - Bob the Cleric with his secondhand nonmagical crossbow can do exactly as good a job with these, per RAW, as Ereviel Thrice-fletched with his +5 Legendary Crossbow. In fact if Bob blows 360gp on a Distance Crossbow +1, he'll be strictly better. But that's a much easier fix, and more needed anyway...
Alternately, if you have a DDI subscription, the most recent Ampersand column previewed magical ammunition (to appear in AV2), including the Firestorm Arrow. The lowest-level version of which costs just 30gp per shot. Some interesting limitations being voiced there... let me just say that the hit and damage bonuses aren't the old "bow enhancement plus arrow enhancement" that obviously was trouble back in 2e, nor is it even the reasonably-intuitive "they're both enhancement bonuses, use the higher of the two." Instead there's actually a tradeoff. I like it.
Mort_Q
First Post
I came here to say this.
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