Strength Adjustable Bow?

[Shin Okada]

IIRC there was some kind of magic weapon special ability or some type of special composite bow which can adjust required strength bonus. But I can't remember where I read about it.

Now I am running RHoD and PCs have almost no chance to buy magic items. But one PC is an archer. So I want to put a magic composite bow as a treasure at least once in a campaign. But it may look non-natural if a wonderful magic composite bow with appropriate strength "happen to be found".

 

[Bagpuss]

Strength bows are relatively cheap, and unless it is +3 enhancement you should be able to pick one up in Brindol. So a +2 Str bow should be easy to pick up.

If they are anything like our group they will pay at least one or two visits to Brindol.

The only problem we've had with items in Brindol is buying improved Full Plate, since you either leave your own to get it enhanced or have to get one fitted to you. Since fitting costs between 200gp and 800gp, even in a best case scenario using the crafting rules it means it takes a month to fit the armour.

Oh that and the wizard wanted a +4 Int item, 16,000gp which was beyond the GP limit of the city.

 

[UltimaGabe]

Well, it's probably not exactly what you're looking for (since it's a homebrewed magic item, and has never been priced out or anything), but there's a magic item that keeps popping up in pretty much every campaign I run- it's a magical bow called Tharalar's Fist. A friend of mine DMed a game that I was in, and someone in our group came across Tharalar's Fist- and I thought it was such a cool item, that in most of the other campaigns I run, someone ends up finding Tharalar's Fist, or some connection to it (in a one-shot I ran, a ranger in the party met a tailor who was talking about his son, Tharalar, who had just left to become a ranger). So, for me, at least, it's got value beyond just its stats.

Anywho, Tharalar's Fist is a magical Longbow that deals a d10 base damage rather than a d8 for a medium sized character, and can be used with any Strength bonus. So a Rogue with a 12 Strength could use it and deal 1d10+1 damage, whereas the Barbarian with a 19 strength could use it the next round and deal 1d10+4 damage. (He could even then rage, and deal an extra 2 damage per attack.) It's pretty simple, but if you add some flair in its description, it can be that much more interesting. (I gave it to an NPC in one campaign I ran, and this NPC had a ridiculous strength- like, a 28 or something- and when he pulled the string back to fire an arrow, I described the bow as looking like it was warping reality slightly as the arrow got pulled back with such an impossibly strong pull.) And, of course, you'll probably want to toss on some enchantments (at least +1), too.

However, I have no idea what sort of a cost it would have. It was given as a gift in the first campaign I was in, and it's been given as a gift in all of the campaigns I run. So I've never really needed to price it.

Oh well, just thought I'd mention that.

 

[Zurai]

There's the Bow of the Wintermoon in the Magic Item Compendium. It's a relic of Corellon Larethian, but even if you don't follow him it's a +1 composite longbow that always matches your strength bonus (as long as you're CG, CN, or NG). It adds the Frost and Drowbane properties if you meet the Relic requirements. The bow costs 3,400gp.

 

[Shin Okada]

The only problem we've had with items in Brindol is buying improved Full Plate, since you either leave your own to get it enhanced or have to get one fitted to you. Since fitting costs between 200gp and 800gp, even in a best case scenario using the crafting rules it means it takes a month to fit the armour.

Hmm. I didn't notice that rule. So any looted full-plates need that procedure before using. Maybe our PCs will just use Magic Vestment spells I guess.

It is rather funny that any new armors in the supplement like RoS, meant to be heavier and studier than full-plate, don't have that rule. Maybe even designers are not remembering that rule

 

[Zurai]

Bagpuss mis-states the rule. It only costs 2d4*100 gold to resize captured armor. There is no additional cost for armor made for the character. The sizing is figured into full plate's exorbitant price.

 

[Shin Okada]

There's the Bow of the Wintermoon in the Magic Item Compendium. It's a relic of Corellon Larethian, but even if you don't follow him it's a +1 composite longbow that always matches your strength bonus (as long as you're CG, CN, or NG). It adds the Frost and Drowbane properties if you meet the Relic requirements. The bow costs 3,400gp.

Thanks. I think that the one I read. Now, he will never worship Corellon. He is a dwarf.

 

[Zurai]

Well, look at the Wintermoon bow for a general price range. It's a +1 with variable strength at its core, for 3,400 gold. That clearly means that the variable strength isn't really enough to push it anywhere close to a +2 equivalent bow (which costs 8k base), so the variable strength is probably just a flat modifier. Considering that the Wintermoon bow is restricted to three alignments, I could see the price being pushed up maybe as far as +2000 for the variable strength property. So, ~4500 for such a bow with a +1 bonus and no alignment restrictions (500 for masterwork +0 strength composite longbow, 2000 for +1, 2000 for variable strength).

 

[Shin Okada]

OK. Now I read the resizing rule for caprured plate armor. It says about gp cost (2d4 x100gp) but does not say that we should follow the item creation rule for it, nor say anyghing about time or other costs. So I will just let PC pay that gp cost.

Or maybe I shall just ignore that rule as heavier armores in RoS does not have such rules for them.

 

[Bagpuss]

Bagpuss mis-states the rule. It only costs 2d4*100 gold to resize captured armor. There is no additional cost for armor made for the character. The sizing is figured into full plate's exorbitant price.

I'm not misstating the rule. I said you either bought a set off the peg (which would therefore need sizing to fit you) or you left your own to get the enhancement improved. I suppose you could get a suit of armour made from scratch to fit but that would take even longer than getting a set refitted.