Post/Author/DateTime	Post
geowags 05-08-05, 11:21 PM	Hello all, this may be a trivial question to some but it bugs the hell out of me. I was making some NPCs from the DMG and while making a fighter from pg. 117 under Sample 15th Level NPC Fighter it has listed for composite longbow (1d8+7/19-20/x3, +1 composite longbow [+4 strength bonus]). The damage didn't seem right to me and so I looked up in the PHB under equipment pg. 119 under Longbow, Composite and it says ...this feature allows you to add your Strength bonus to damage, up to the maximum bonus indicated for the bow. It then gives an example to illustrate which I won't reprint here for the sake of brevity. It appears to me that they have not only given the FULL strength bonus from the STR modifier which is +3 (18 STR) but have added the +1 for being a composite longbow AND +3 more in addition, hence the 1d8+7. I have never heard of a composite longbow giving a +7 to dmg. Am I missing something here or do I just have too much time on my hands? I would just like to know so that when I run a game, anyone using a composite longbow is doing the proper dmg. Thanks in advance. GW
Aeromus 05-08-05, 11:28 PM	It's correctly listed. He gets damage bonus of: +4 strength +1 Magic Enhancement +2 Weapon Specialization. total +7 cheers.
Insane Pixie 05-08-05, 11:30 PM	Hello all, this may be a trivial question to some but it bugs the hell out of me. I was making some NPCs from the DMG and while making a fighter from pg. 117 under Sample 15th Level NPC Fighter it has listed for composite longbow (1d8+7/19-20/x3, +1 composite longbow [+4 strength bonus]). The damage didn't seem right to me and so I looked up in the PHB under equipment pg. 119 under Longbow, Composite and it says ...this feature allows you to add your Strength bonus to damage, up to the maximum bonus indicated for the bow. It then gives an example to illustrate which I won't reprint here for the sake of brevity. It appears to me that they have not only given the FULL strength bonus from the STR modifier which is +3 (18 STR) but have added the +1 for being a composite longbow AND +3 more in addition, hence the 1d8+7. I have never heard of a composite longbow giving a +7 to dmg. Am I missing something here or do I just have too much time on my hands? I would just like to know so that when I run a game, anyone using a composite longbow is doing the proper dmg. Thanks in advance. GW Does the sample have feats such as Weapon Focus, Specialization, Greater Specialization, etc.?
Insane Pixie 05-08-05, 11:32 PM	It's correctly listed. He gets damage bonus of: +4 strength +1 Magic Enhancement +2 Weapon Specialization. total +7 cheers. You beat me to it. :P
Aeromus 05-08-05, 11:33 PM	I'm a rules lawyer irl... And, a DM....scary stuff.
geowags 05-09-05, 06:58 PM	Thank you all for your fast input but I am still somewhat confused. I hadn't taken the feats weapon specialization composite longbow and point blank shot into account which gives him +3 to dmg. So the breakdown would be as follows: Magic weapon +1 Point Blank Shot +1 Weapon Specialization +2 Strength Bonus +4??? Total = +7??? If he did use his full Str bonus it would equal +8, not +7. I guess I could have narrowed my question down to "Why does he get a +4 strength bonus when the rules state that the strength bonus allows you to add your Strength bonus to damage, up to the maximum bonus indicated for the bow and the maximum for the bow is +1?" Here is the example from the book: Tordek (good old Tordek) has a +2 Strength bonus. With a regular composite LB, he gets no modifier on dmg. rolls. <snip> composite LB (+1 Str bonus), which lets him add +1 to his dmg. rolls. <snip> <paraphrase>he can buy a +2 composite LB that lets him add his entire +2 Strength bonus. Even if he had a composite LB (+3 Str bonus), he would still get only a +2 bonus on dmg. rolls and a -2 penalty on attacks. Is the PHB wrong or is it a mistake in the DMG? I have always played per the rules of the PHB. Thanks again for any replies. George
Insane Pixie 05-09-05, 07:04 PM	Does it say 1d8+7*? It making not be taking Point Blank Shot into account. The asterisk might symbolize, "If within 30 feet, add +1 to the...".
geowags 05-09-05, 07:09 PM	No, there is no asterisk, it's listed exactly as my first post. I'm thinking it has to be an error in the DMG but it seems that some people say he does get the full +4 str bonus even though the rules say otherwise. Not being argumentative, just playing devil's advocate. ;)
Gurv 05-09-05, 07:33 PM	"Why does he get a +4 strength bonus when the rules state that the strength bonus allows you to add your Strength bonus to damage, up to the maximum bonus indicated for the bow and the maximum for the bow is +1?" The sample 15th level fighter on page 117 of the DMG has an 18 Strength, which has a +4 modifier. That means that he gets a +4 from his strength because he is weilding a composite longbow (+4 Str bonus). So he gets +4 (Str), +1 (from the bow's enhancement), +2 for Weapon Specialization. It does not include the bonus for Point Blank Shot. If he fires one of his +2 arrows, the damage becomes 1d8+8 (because the enchantment on the arrows supercedes those of the bow).
geowags 05-09-05, 10:08 PM	Thank you all very much. I see where I was confused now. I was confusing the strength bonus which is built into a composite longbow with the magical enhancement bonuses ie. +1, +2 etc. All is well. :)