Post/Author/DateTime	Post
CrystalBlue 11-14-05, 11:12 AM	I played a Shield Land mod not too long ago that gave me access to a griffon egg. "Yay!" I said as I looked at my next few levels. I was about to take a war horse for my Rng/Fgt/OotBI with mounted combat and mounted archery, but this is MUCH better. So...here are my questions... Does anyone else have this or know what I'm talking about? Basically, I have the egg for 4 ARs. After that time, it hatches and, after paying the cost of 2000 gp, I get a young griffon. Does this mean I can start riding it right away? If that's the case, then I have to question yet another thing. I am now 6th level and have Mounted Archery. This halves the penalty I take while my mount takes a double move. And a griffon has a fly of 80'. When flying with my griffon, I have to maintain a speed of 80', or the griffon stalls, correct? Also, commanding him to fly a certain way is a free action, so I still can make a full attack at targets on the ground, correct? Last question is this. I got access to a Mighty(+6) composit longbow. With this access, am I able to make it masterwork in preperation for enchantments?
TimRat 11-14-05, 04:43 PM	if you have access to the mighty bow it can be bought for masterwork or even +1 since htose are core and you got access to the basic weapon. now upgrading it for any higher you would need access for. as for the griffon its not my meta-region but just follow the rules on the AR or ask the triad if you wish for further info but it does sound cool
Iswald 11-14-05, 11:18 PM	The AR in question says that you need to contact the Shield Lands triad to get the griffin. You could inquire about how long it takes before you could use it as a mount. The MM says that it takes six weeks to train. I know of one person who was treating his griffin as a tiny creature (having it land on his shoulder). I don't know if this would be appropriate since the egg itself was the size of a human head. Flying creatures with average manueverability, such as griffins, need to move at least half speed to prevent a stall. You also can turn up to 45 degrees for each 5 feet of movement. The DMG explains this in more detail on page 20. I believe that you can make a full attack while using a bow when your mount is moving. In melee, that would be more difficult, requiring a special ability. For instance, wild plains outrider has a wild plains offense that allows a full attack if the mount only makes a single move. Regarding the bow. There are two schools of thought. In the mod, the NPC is using a non-masterwork composite longbow, if it's from the mod I think it is, even at APL 12. The bow is composite +6. Normally, you can only purchase bows up to +4, so it is not a core item. Since you are buying the item that was in the mod, you should not be able to buy a masterwork version that could be enchanted. However, some people believe that authors intend to give players access to items that they could improve over time. When asking the Shield Lands triad about your griffin, you could include your question about the bow.
King Kashue 11-15-05, 01:49 PM	I got access to a Mighty(+6) composit longbow. Just to pick a nit, in 3.5 there are no "mighty" bows...All composite longbows have a strength rating, the default is just +0...
redgamer 11-15-05, 10:54 PM	Tim your statement appears to be to be in direct contridiction to the rules. You have core access to masterwork mighty bows 0-4. If the AR provided access to a mighty +6 bow you can't add masterwork later. You seem to be combining access from two different places (core and the AR). If you can prove me wrong please do as I think you interpretation is much better for the campaign in this specific case.
Iswald 11-22-05, 09:10 AM	Does anyone else have this or know what I'm talking about? Basically, I have the egg for 4 ARs. After that time, it hatches and, after paying the cost of 2000 gp, I get a young griffon. Does this mean I can start riding it right away? If that's the case, then I have to question yet another thing. There was some more information available from the Triad last weekend. Your giffin has to accompany you on adventures for a number of TUs to increase in age. You have to make checks to see if your griffin is ready or not. If your skill check fails, you need to spend some more TUs. You also have to spend gold to keep your griffin fed, this is regardless of whether or not you bring your griffin along. If you don't bring your griffin along, you lose it after a while. The cost might seem steep at low levels, but at high levels it becomes insignificant (of course, your griffin is somewhat vulnerable at higher APLs too). You need to contact the triad and have them send you a signed cert (by a triad member) for your griffin.
TimRat 11-27-05, 12:43 PM	it is my understanding that since you can always buy a masterwork item of weapons or armor (from the PHB and other core books) then once you get access to a 'new' item that it is assumed that you can get that to masterwork quality. all you need is the access to the item as thats the key. then upgrading it to masterwork or +1 is fine b/c you've got your access. like i said tho you can't add abilities to it or getting it to +2 or higher without more access. like you said my interpretation and i'm sticking with it is better for the campaign and quite honestly makes sense.