Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Kessalin Talira 01-26-06, 10:25 PM	I was working on an NPC for my campaign yesterday, and as I was looking through Champions of Ruin I made a rather powerful discovery: the Splitting enchantment. Splitting says that any arrow or bolt fired from a splitting weapon magically splits into two missiles mid-flight. The missiles are exact copies of one another, with each missile having all the non-splitting properties of the original. Most of you see where this is going already, don’t you? :D For those that don’t; keep in mind that any weapon enhancements put onto a bow are transferred to whatever arrow is loaded into it, assuming the enhancement could apply to the ammunition. Now, because the splitting property works “mid-flight”, it’s a safe assumption that the split takes place after the bow imbues the abilities on the arrow. There are a couple things I’m not sure on regarding this enhancement. One, what happens if you fire a spell-storing arrow with inflict serious wounds stored in it? Does the splitting create another copy of the stored spell? Also, what happens if you fire an arrow that has a spell cast on it, or one that’s been imbued with a fireball by an Arcane Archer? Would there be two fireball arrows? Because I’m not sure on those, I didn’t go into that aspect of the mechanics, nor did I worry about spell storing. The only part that’s relevant is the part about an arrow with a spell cast on it. Also, for those that don’t have the Spell Compendium, Hunter’s Mercy has been reprinted, and has become weaker in one respect and more powerful in another. It now requires you to make an attack roll, but as long as you hit, it’s an auto-crit. Finally, in the case of the Maiming enhancement from the Minis Handbook, I’ve never seen a rule that applies, so I’ve house ruled that burst weapons continue to scale: x5 crit would be 4d10, x6 crit would be 5d10, etc. Now that all that’s been said, here’s what I’ve come up with: LE Wood Elf Ranger 6/Justice of Weald and Woe 10/Dread Commando 4 Str 16, Dex 29, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 26, Cha 12 Base Saves: Fort +13 (+20 with items), Ref + 16 (+30 total), Will +6 (+19 total). Yes, the base will save is low; that and the bonus spells are the reason the Wisdom is so high. Ranger 1: Track, Weapon Focus (Longbow), (Favored Enemy: Human +4, Wild Empathy) Ranger 2: Rapid Shot Ranger 3: Endurance, Point Blank Shot Ranger 4: (Spellcasting, Animal Companion) Ranger 5: (2nd Favored Enemy: Half-Elf +2) Ranger 6: Manyshot, Dodge Justice 1: (Spellcasting) Justice 2: (Woodland Stride), Improved Critical (Longbow) Justice 3: (Sneak Attack), Mobility Justice 4: (Lucky Shot, Trackless Step) Justice 5: (Poison Use) Justice 6: (Steady Hand), Craven Justice 7: (Sneak Attack) Justice 8: Shot on the Run Justice 9: (Hide in Plain Sight), Precise Shot Justice 10: (Death Attack, poison immunity) Dread 1: (Sudden Strike, Team Initiative Bonus) Dread 2: (Armored Ease 2), Darkstalker Dread 3: (Sudden Strike) Dread 4: (Armored Ease 4, Stealthy Movement) Spells/day: Ranger 1: 3 Justice: 5/day of each spell level. BAB +17 Full Attack: +32/+27/+22/+17 (All attack bonuses assume +5 arrows) Full Attack, with Rapid Shot: +30/+25/+20/+15/+30 Manyshot, with 4 Arrows: +25 Ring of Invisibility +1 Splitting, Icy Burst, Corrosive Burst, Seeking, Maiming Composite Longbow (+3) Quiver of Anariel producing +5 adamantine arrows +4 Collision Greater Wounding arrows: 4,000 gp each. Greater Wounding was updated in the 3.5 revision booklet for Monster Manual 2, and deals 2 points of Con damage when it hits. Damage per arrow with +5 arrows: 1d8 + 1d6 acid + 1d6 cold + 8, 19-20/ x 1d6 Critical Hit with +5 Arrows, rolling a 6 for maiming: 6d8 + 1d6 acid + 5d10 acid + 1d6 cold + 5d10 cold + 48. 11-30 points per arrow normally. Keep in mind that each arrow splits when it leaves the bow, so you roll each attack twice. Maximum possible damage on a critical hit: 198 points. A full attack would be eight arrows, and with Rapid Shot it would be ten. Theoretical maximum damage for a full attack: 1980 points. On the average, an attack will deal 19 points, 66 on a crit… times ten. Now make that a sneak attack, which also gets sudden strike, thanks to the ring of invisibility: 1d8 + 1d6 cold + 1d6 acid + 2d6 sneak attack + 2d6 sudden strike + 29 (+20 from Craven, + 1 from point blank shot): 36-75, average 54 Maximum Crit: 6d8 + 2d6 energy + 2d6 sneak + 2d6 sudden + 10d10 burst + 174. Maximum damage: 358. 3580 damage on a full attack with rapid shot. The fun part comes when you use the greater wounding arrows in a manyshot… you’re more likely to hit with all of them. Assuming you set up a sneak attack/sudden strike: 1d8 + 6d6 (energy, sudden, sneak) + 34 (add collision) + 2 points of con damage, or target’s level/HD in hit points. Against a 20 HD creature, that’s 8d8 + 20d6 + 40d10 + 139 + 16 points of Constitution damage, or 160 hit points. Minimum hit point loss on a 20 HD creature: 307; Average 625; Maximum 883. Using the Wounding Arrows in a full attack with rapid shot rather than a manyshot gives another possible 4 points of Con Damage. If the bow itself were +1 splitting, greater wounding, it would happen all the time, every time… how many creatures do you know that can stand losing 20 points of Con, and therefore ten times their HD in hit points every round before you even roll damage? I haven’t even taken the favored enemy bonuses into consideration; another four points per shot, up to a possible +24 damage on a top-end critical. Nor have I worked out the intricacies of splitting yet. I’d welcome any opinions on the build, how to make it better, etc. In closing, I’m sure there’s more that can be done with this build, it’s mostly showing off the mechanics of a splitting bow. Any enchantment that effectively doubles the benefit of almost every weapon enhancement on both the weapon AND the ammunition is just begging to be abus…umm, optimized.
Lusden Veharo 01-26-06, 10:34 PM	Splitting is well-known to the point of being standard for archer builds. Just search the forums for other archer builds and you'll find more ideas.
Chathsolen 01-27-06, 07:57 AM	splitting is awesome.. my old DM house ruled that i couldn't use the enchantment with manyshot/greater but i could with rapid shot which he found ot later was a mistake also after i get the speed and fierce added to my bow also.
Aufenshauft 01-27-06, 08:27 AM	Double-check, though. I thought you could only have the splitting property on ammunition, not the bow. You may have to reset your ammo in that case.
Zedraikis 01-27-06, 09:15 AM	Double-check, though. I thought you could only have the splitting property on ammunition, not the bow. You may have to reset your ammo in that case. It's not just limited to ammunition. It specifically states the Splitting enchantment must be on a bow, crossbow, bolt, or arrow.
Chathsolen 01-27-06, 10:02 AM	so it's better to have it on a bow/crossbow unless you have a way to make alot of arrows/bolts with the enchantment on it.
Illithid13 01-27-06, 10:30 AM	What often bothered me is that the splitting enchantment is much better than the epic tripple shot/throw one. Only the orignal arrow/bolt/thrown item keeeps all the magical bonuses, the others just act like the base of the orignal ie: +5 arrow.
lostone 01-29-06, 02:12 PM	If you want to get stupid broken buy a Quiver of Anariel (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=books/fr/lonedrowstats). Quivers of Anariel appear to be typical arrow containers capable of holding a score of arrows. However, the quivers automatically replenish themselves with standard or magical arrows, such that they are always full. Some quivers also create arrows made of special materials, such as adamantine, cold iron, or alchemical silver. Once an arrow it taken from the quiver, it must be used within 1 round or it vanishes. Moderate conjuration; CL 7th; Craft Wondrous Item, magic weapon, minor creation; Price 28,000 gp (standard arrows), 29,000 gp (masterwork arrows), 32,000 gp (+1 arrows), 44,000 gp (+2 arrows), 64,000 gp (+3 arrows), 92,000 gp (+4 arrows), 128,000 gp (+5 arrows); Add an additional +6,000 gp for adamantine arrows, +4,005 gp for cold iron arrows, or +200 gp for alchemical silver arrows; Weight 1 lb.Talk your DM into letting you use ammo ehancements instead of straight +X enhancements. Make sure Lucky (Psionic, below) is one of them. Since the enhancement is on the arrow you can reroll your attack roll on each arrow, at least that is how I read it. :evillaugh Lucky: A lucky weapon offers a second chance at success. Once per day, the wielder can reroll a failed attack roll (whether a single attack or one in a series of multiple attacks) as a free action. The rerolled attack uses the same bonuses or penalties as the missed roll. Moderate clairsentience; ML 8th; Craft Psionic Arms and Armor, fate of one; Price +1 bonus.
Malle 01-29-06, 02:38 PM	just a question what book is the dread commando from?
Surreal 01-29-06, 02:45 PM	just a question what book is the dread commando from? I think it's from Heroes of Battle.
Kessalin Talira 01-29-06, 06:22 PM	Yes, Dread Commando is from Heroes of Battle. @lostone: Actually, this build has two. One of +5 adamantine, and one of masterwork for the Justice of Weald and Woe spells. Which brings me to another question. What happens with splitting and spells that enchant the arrow? For example, Arrowsplit, which causes a masterwork arrow to split into 1d4+1 arrows when fired.
Tytalus 01-29-06, 09:12 PM	Talk your DM into letting you use ammo ehancements instead of straight +X enhancements. Make sure Lucky (Psionic, below) is one of them. Since the enhancement is on the arrow you can reroll your attack roll on each arrow, at least that is how I read it. :evillaugh Lucky is a melee-only weapon enchantment, so this does not work.
Tiefling_Warlock 01-29-06, 10:25 PM	Sounds fun. I am going to try that. But how much is split shot? It must be like +5
Kuroi Kenshi 01-29-06, 10:45 PM	Yeah, comparing it with the speed enhancement, it should be +5 or more...but I think it's like +3. Could be wrong though. You can deduce the enhancement value from the given bow example though. +1 Splitting, Icy Burst, Corrosive Burst, Seeking, MaimingI'm feeling lazy though so I won't do it myself! :P
HotSake 01-29-06, 11:29 PM	It's +3. Mmm, Champions of Ruin...home of Splitting bows and Craven. Because you're just not doing enough damage yet.
X-Codes 01-30-06, 12:21 AM	Uhm... I cast Wind Wall. Break this, archer... Yeah... I'm not impressed.
Kessalin Talira 01-30-06, 03:01 AM	Uhm... I cast Wind Wall. Break this, archer... Yeah... I'm not impressed.Ready an action to counter? 3rd-level spell for Justice of Weald and Woe. Seriously, though... thanks for your contribution to the thread in pointing out the bane of every archer? Maybe not.
Otto the Bugbear 01-30-06, 07:00 AM	... Splitting says that any arrow or bolt fired from a splitting weapon magically splits into two missiles mid-flight. The missiles are exact copies of one another, with each missile having all the non-splitting properties of the original. Most of you see where this is going already, don’t you? :D ... There are a couple things I’m not sure on regarding this enhancement. One, what happens if you fire a spell-storing arrow with inflict serious wounds stored in it? Does the splitting create another copy of the stored spell? Without having the book myself, thus relying on your description, the arrow splits making a near exact copy. The spell being stored does not. The spell being stored isn't part of the arrow. The arrow is a recepticle, into which the spell is placed and the splitting part makes a copy of this recepticle. At least that's how I'd read it. Now, if only there was a way to retrieve fired arrows safely and reliably. Unlimited copies of magical arrows. Cheers Otto :)
kaiza 01-30-06, 07:15 AM	3rd-level spell for Justice of Weald and Woe Where is this from? Thank you, k.
Chathsolen 01-30-06, 08:14 AM	i think Champions of Valor
The_Rainbow_Ninja 01-30-06, 08:54 AM	its actually champions of ruin
Kessalin Talira 01-30-06, 09:05 AM	Right. Justice of Weald and Woe is in Champions of Ruin, as are the splitting enchantment and the Craven feat. Now, regarding the "spells cast on arrows" question. Would that hold true for Greater Magic Weapon? I would think it would be alright, but then again, to allow one is to allow the other, since they're the same concept. This would apply to imbued arrows from an arcane archer, as well... but would it be true of the magical enhancement an AA imparts? For all intents and purposes, they're simply casting GMW on every arrow they fire, without having to spend an action or spell slots, as the arrow may not have been magical when it was nocked, but it is when it's fired. Opinions?