The Best Bow...

[Limper]

Recently one of our party got a Major Magical Weapon from ye olde Deck of Many Things (usually painful)... the DM rolled and he got +9! to work with... he's an Archer thus he wants it in the form of a bow... but other than that the DM hath been so kind as to allow the player to design his own.

Restrictions: Powers come from WotC Products (DMG, Splat Land, etc...)

What can you come up with? A hint: The mani plot is killing giants... but they are FAR from the only foes faced.

We who are about to die salute you for your assistance!

 

[HellHound]

If you have a cleric in the party (Greater Magic Weapon), then stick to a +1 bow.

So then we have:

Mighty (+4) Composite Longbow

+1 enhancement bonus [+1 value]
flaming (+1d6 fire damage) [+1 value]
shock (+1d6 lightning damage) [+1 value]
frost (+1d6 cold damage) [+1 value]
acidic (+1d6 acid damage) [+1 value]
speed (+1 attack at full bonus) [+4 value]

The acidic ability comes from Magic of Faerun, the rest are from the DMG.

End result: +1 attack, +1 on attack rolls, 1d8+4d6+5 damage (more with greater magic weapon)

 

[Limper]

Interesting... but I find it hard to believe only one thought on the subject.


By the way HellHound... what would you do if you were going to rely on being Hasted? In such a case what would you recommend be done with the Speeds +4?

I was thinking Bane (giant) and Holy... what do you think?

 

[Destil]

I generaly won't put bane on a missle weapon, it's much better to get groups of arrows made (a quiver of giant bane, a quiver od dragon bane, you can even throw in a slaying arrow or two!) for specific bane weapons, IMHO. Holy and (lawful / chaotic) would work, though.

 

[BMF]

flaming (+1d6 fire damage) [+1 value]
shock (+1d6 lightning damage) [+1 value]
frost (+1d6 cold damage) [+1 value]
acidic (+1d6 acid damage) [+1 value]
speed (+1 attack at full bonus) [+4 value]

I'd switch out the frost for sonic damage -- screeming or thundering or whatever it is called. I know I've seen it somewhere. some DMs don't like to mix frost and fire effects on the same weapon like that.

Personally, my favorite bow is a ghost touch weapon, combined with the blink ability, or some sort of etherealness. Nothing is more fun than taking cover in another dimension while you snipe creatures from a couple of hundred feet away. Throw in a few illusions and you've got a classic killer combo.

I'd spend the +9 on:
+1 magical enhancement
sonic enhancement
Ghost touch
distence
.... and whatever else goes well with that.....

 

[Seule]

Ghost Touch is not bad, but I don't believe it allows you to attack Prime targets from the Ethereal, it just can become incorporeal at will, basically.
Screaming from Magic of Faerun is fun.
Seeking negates miss chances from concealment, also from MoF.
Keen is always good.
Speed is only good if you aren't usually Hasted in combat.

I also recommend looking in the Psionics Handbook if it is permitted. I can't find mine (used it two days ago), but there are cool enhancements there.

I'd probably go with +5 (That way you are self-sufficient and always ready, and the GMW can go on the ammo), as well as Keen and a bunch of Elementals.

--Penn

 

[Skullfyre]

The thoughts and possibilities.....
will get back to this(after examining all options)

 

[Tolen Mar]

Interesting that this should come up...

Im playing with a +8 bow at the moment with enhancements from the DMg and the Psionics book. I have a mighty +2 (Im low on Strength and dont need the extra), Keen (which improved crit range), Distance (which doubles range), and impact (which increased the damage a bit), and its +5...If you were to take a lower bonus with it, then seeking is good, plus anything that ramps the damage some more...

It works well for me, Im a Psychic Warrior/Order of the Bow Initiate, and I have a lot of feats and abilities that enhance that bow.

(Of course, it'll be my luck that someone will point a major flaw with this Bow...When it gets late, I tend to make a lot of mistakes in my adding )

 

[Drakmar]

see.. where as I would go for a fairly simple bow.. There are certain things that to me make more sense to go on Arrows.. like Lightning Burst etc.

I would go with.

Ghost Touch (+1)
Keen (+1)
Wounding (+1)
Speed (+4)
and top it off by making the bow +2

now.. that assumes that the DM lets you have more than +5 worth of enhancements.

if they didn't.. well.. um..
I would go with
Ghost Touch, Keen, Wounding, and then Distance (+1) and top it off by making the bow +5.

The trick to this bow.. is to hit all of you enemies once.. then hit them again.. you are not trying to kill straight away.. I love wounding.

Then later.. you just get some special arrows.. ones with returning.. that is what you put the Lightning Burst, or Bane on.

See.. brilliant strategy..

Btw.. I know that this strat works.

 

[Numion]

Speed isn't actually very good enhancement since it doesn't stack with haste. Rather go with Boots of Speed and additional 4 types of elemental damage.