Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Draygonne 09-15-05, 12:37 PM	Is there a limit to the +Bonus for composite Bows? Do you use the cost progression listed in the (PHB/DMG) of 200g per str point? Thanks
Karalyn the Sellsword 09-15-05, 12:39 PM	There's no listed limit, and yes you would use the guide in the books. It's just unlikely that you'd find a Composite Bow with more than a +4 pull.
M.E. Charm 09-15-05, 01:10 PM	Wouldn't the bow and string eventually get too heavy and thick for conventional use?
colyn kell 09-15-05, 01:12 PM	The bow string doesnt have to be thicker to be stronger. You can just start using stronger materials, and if thats not enough, just remember that magic exsists in the world. Logic never applies in d&d. Well, somtimes it does.
Rulebook 09-15-05, 01:18 PM	its all about materials, not how much more the bow weighs. the turkish steel bow is probably considered to be the most powerful non-compound bow in existance. with well over the range of a welsh longbow, its a mighty weapon. the fact its not much bigger than a shortbow only adds to the title. recurves, double-recurves, and materials... thats what a composite bow is about!
tarkin 09-15-05, 01:47 PM	There are two ways to increase the required strength to use a bow. 1) Change the material used in the bow. 2) Increase the size of the bow (longer bows need more strength. ----------------- If you were talking about a bow for a tiny person with a str strength over 30, I might see a material limit come into play. But I see no reason to put in a special rule limiting mighty bows just to deal with odd cases like that. Just ignore it and go with no limit.
M.E. Charm 09-15-05, 01:59 PM	Oh, ofcourse. Okay.
Tony Vargas 09-15-05, 03:57 PM	I'd see nothing wrong with sticking to the available STR bows in the PH (14 for a short comp bow, 18 for a long), at least for games that don't offer exceptionally hight stats. If you're running a 36-point-buy game, then those limitations might noticeably penalize archers compared to melee builds, while, in a 25-pt-build/low-magic game, you might rarely find a serious archer in need of an 18-STR bow...
strenoth 09-15-05, 04:24 PM	in 3.5, there is definatly no limit to how high you can go, BUT, also remember.. if you have a bow made for your specific strength WITH magic, you are going to start taking hideous to hit penatlies trying to shoot if your magic is disabled, you get hit with ray of enfeeblement, or a str damaging poison, or shadows, or... yeah, the list goes on. and IIRC, the penalty increases with ever Str bonus you are shy of the bow's capacity, as well as loosing out on the damage of course.
Loren Pechtel 09-16-05, 12:47 AM	in 3.5, there is definatly no limit to how high you can go, BUT, also remember.. if you have a bow made for your specific strength WITH magic, you are going to start taking hideous to hit penatlies trying to shoot if your magic is disabled, you get hit with ray of enfeeblement, or a str damaging poison, or shadows, or... yeah, the list goes on. and IIRC, the penalty increases with ever Str bonus you are shy of the bow's capacity, as well as loosing out on the damage of course. Yeah. My take on this is that if you're using a bow with a rating beyond yours that you take a -1 damage for every point the bow exceeds your strength. You don't have the strength to fully draw the bow and so the arrow has less time to accelerate. On the other hand, I figure magic on the bow gives a strength rating up to the magic of the bow--this in addition to any strength rating it possesses. (Thus if you have a +2 Mighty +2 bow you can use your full strength bonus if you're +2, +3 or +4.) A bit of nastiness, though--I think that you need the assistance of someone with the strength of the bow in order to make a high strength bow. They don't have to be there all the time but the bowyer needs to test what he's doing.
Xabat 09-16-05, 12:54 AM	I have strength 146. This gives me a +68 str. My bow is now made of solid Adamantine, and it's string is crafted of tripple-woven Unicorn Hairs, Adamantine slivers and Godly Sparks. My strength is +68, however. I can still draw the bloody thing :) (Now all I have to do is save up the 13700gp to buy said bow... *pout*)
Crash01234567890 09-16-05, 01:20 AM	Where does it say you get the penalty to hit per bonus short you are. I thought it was just a -2 penalty to hit if you didn't have the required strength.
Xabat 09-16-05, 02:11 AM	Sorry... I can still draw it Efficiently :) I think that's a little ridiculous though... How does someone with only a +2 str bonus draw a +15 strength bonus Composite Longbow at all? I think there -should- be some restriction on how much heavier a bow can be in relation to your own strength before you can't use it anymore... Has anyone ever tried drawing a composite bow before? They're pretty difficult as-is... +Edit+ Not that anyone with only a +2 str bonus should be anywhere -NEAR- a bow that strong, however. *Grin*
Cobbobles 09-16-05, 03:08 AM	I have strength 146. This gives me a +68 str. My bow is now made of solid Adamantine, and it's string is crafted of tripple-woven Unicorn Hairs, Adamantine slivers and Godly Sparks. My strength is +68, however. I can still draw the bloody thing (Now all I have to do is save up the 13700gp to buy said bow... *pout*) Is this just a general made up calculation, or is there a guide in the books somewhere for creating such a bow? Trying to make a better bow for my cleric archer myself, and i'm having a bit of trouble.
Xabat 09-16-05, 03:17 AM	Nah it's not the corect price... a +68 str Comp. Longbow is 6900gp. I didn't read the desc. properly. I thought it was 200 per bonus, it's only 100. Composite Longbow: 100gp +1 str enhancements, 100gp per. +68 strength Composite Longbow = 100+(68*100) = 100+6800 = 6900gp Although, by this point you're almost certainly paying for special materials (ie Adamantine or Mithral at least) aswell... DMG has those costs on page 283 under "Special Materials"
Tyler Do'Urden 09-16-05, 09:32 AM	Check the stats for the storm giant. "composite longbow (+14 Str bonus) +14 ranged (3d6+14/x3)" There's no limit. If you want to houserule a limit based on size category (the giant is Huge) then that's your prerogative. A composite shortbow is 75gp +75gp per point of Strength bonus (so a +0 is 75 gp). A composite longbow is 100gp +100gp per point of Strength bonus. That storm giant's bow is worth 1500 gp. Making either of these weapons masterwork adds 300gp to the price as always.
Tony Vargas 09-16-05, 01:36 PM	Check the stats for the storm giant. "composite longbow (+14 Str bonus) +14 ranged (3d6+14/x3)" That's not a normal size longbow. As Tarkin pointed out, a larger bow will have a greater pull. Sure, you can reverse-engineer the costs of the STR bows in the PH, and get +200 gp per +1 STR bonus, but you can also reverse engineer the weapon tables and conclude that a 18-20/x3 threat range would be OK for a d4 light exotic weapon....
ShinAkuma2 09-16-05, 01:47 PM	That's not a normal size longbow. As Tarkin pointed out, a larger bow will have a greater pull. This is reflected by a larger attack die.