Weapon Group: Bows
Pictured here: 1) longbow, 2) composite longbow, 3) shortbow, 4) composite shortbow, 5) barbed arrowhead, 6) bleeding arrowhead, 7) blunt arrowhead, 8) durable arrowhead, 9) dye arrowhead, 10) flight arrowhead, 11) incendiary arrowhead (empty), 12) incendiary arrowhead (full), 13) pronged arrowhead, 14) whistling arrowhead, 15) arrow, 16) slow burn arrow, and 17) splintercloud arrow.
A staple of hunters and woodsmen, bows have a rustic reputation in the Empire. Though there are certain monastic sects who train heavily in archery, if pressed, most citizens would equate bows and arrows with iconoclast adventurers on the frontier fringes of the Empire or with the wild elven savages of the woods beyond. For its part, the Legion keeps a few trained bowmen as sharpshooters and scouts, but overwhelmingly prefer to use crossbows for the bulk of the military.
LONGBOW
Damage: 1d8, x3
Range: 100 ft
Type: Ranged martial piercing
Special: —
Description: At almost 5 feet in height, a longbow is made up of one solid piece of carefully curved wood. You need two hands to use a bow, regardless of its size. A longbow can’t be used while mounted. If you have a penalty for low Strength, apply it to damage rolls when you use a longbow. You can apply your Strength modifier to damage rolls when you use a composite longbow, but not a regular longbow. A longbow fires arrows.
Cost: 75 gp
Weight: 3 lbs
LONGBOW, COMPOSITE
Damage: 1d8, x3
Range: 110 ft
Type: Ranged martial piercing
Special: —
Description: Similar in design to a traditional longbow, a composite longbow is often made with laminated layers of wood and horn that increase the bow's resilience, as well as its draw weight or "poundage." Unlike a traditional longbow, you can use a composite longbow while mounted.
All composite bows are made with a particular strength rating (that is, each requires a minimum Strength modifier to use it with proficiency). If your Strength modifier is less than the strength rating of the composite bow, you can’t effectively use it and take a -2 penalty on all attacks with it. The default composite longbow requires a Strength modifier of +0 or higher to use with proficiency. A composite longbow can be made with a higher strength rating to take advantage of an above-average Strength score; this feature allows you to add your Strength modifier on damage rolls, up to the maximum bonus indicated for the bow. Each point of Strength bonus granted by the bow adds 100 gp to its cost.
For the purposes of feats (such as Weapon Proficiency or Improved Critical) or class abilities (such as a fighter's Weapon Training), a composite longbow is treated as if it were a longbow.
Cost: 100 gp +100 gp per point of Str bonus
Weight: 3 lbs
SHORTBOW
Damage: 1d6, x3
Range: 60 ft
Type: Ranged martial piercing
Special: —
Description: A shortbow is made up of one piece of wood about 3 feet in length. You need two hands to use a bow, regardless of its size. You can use a shortbow while mounted. If you have a penalty for low Strength, apply it to damage rolls when you use a shortbow. If you have a bonus for high Strength, you can apply it to damage rolls when you use a composite shortbow, but not a regular shortbow. A shortbow fires arrows.
Cost: 30 gp
Weight: 2 lbs
SHORTBOW, COMPOSITE
Damage: 1d6, x3
Range: 70 ft
Type: Ranged martial piercing
Special: —
Description: Similar in design to a traditional shortbow, a composite shortbow is often made with laminated layers of wood and horn that increase the bow's resilience, as well as its draw weight or "poundage." Unlike a traditional shortbow, you can use a composite shortbow while mounted.
All composite bows are made with a particular strength rating (that is, each requires a minimum Strength modifier to use it with proficiency). If your Strength modifier is less than the strength rating of the composite bow, you can’t effectively use it and take a -2 penalty on all attacks with it. The default composite shortbow requires a Strength modifier of +0 or higher to use with proficiency. A composite shortbow can be made with a higher strength rating to take advantage of an above-average Strength score; this feature allows you to add your Strength modifier on damage rolls, up to the maximum bonus indicated for the bow. Each point of Strength bonus granted by the bow adds 100 gp to its cost.
For the purposes of feats (such as Weapon Proficiency or Improved Critical) or class abilities (such as a fighter's Weapon Training), a composite shortbow is treated as if it were a shortbow.
Cost: 75 gp +75 gp per point of Str bonus
Weight: 2 lbs
BOW AMMUNITION
Ammunition replaces the qualities of normal arrows for whatever bow it is used. Unless it specifically states otherwise, the details listed below are for a single arrow. Even arrows listed singly count as ammunition when enchanting them. You can mix-and-match ammunition types when enchanting them, so long as they do not exceed 50 units in total. Ammunition does not require a special proficiency; if you can use the weapon, you can use any ammunition for it.
BARBED ARROW, 20
Damage: As bow
Range: 30 ft
Type: Piercing ammunition
Special: Grapple
Description: The head of a barbed arrow resembles that of a harpoon. When a barbed arrow is attached to a length of silk rope and fired from a bow, the arrow’s range increment is reduced to 30 feet, but it gains the grapple special weapon quality. If successfully grappled, the target can spend a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity to automatically free themselves by ripping the arrow free, though doing so inflicts damage equal to the arrow's original damage.
Cost: 2 gp
Weight: 3 lbs
BLEEDING ARROW
Damage: As bow
Range: As bow
Type: Slashing ammunition
Special: —
Description: A bleeding arrow inflicts 1 point of bleed in addition to normal damage when it hits a creature. A critical hit does not multiply the bleed damage. Creatures immune to critical hits are immune to the bleed damage dealt by this weapon.
Cost: 360 gp
Weight: 1 lb
BLUNT ARROW, 20
Damage: As bow
Range: As bow
Type: Bludgeoning ammunition
Special: —
Description: These arrows have rounded wooden tips that deal bludgeoning damage rather than piercing. An archer can use a blunt arrow to deal nonlethal damage (at the normal -4 attack penalty for using a lethal weapon to deal nonlethal damage).
Cost: 2 gp
Weight: 3 lbs
DURABLE ARROW
Damage: As bow
Range: As bow
Type: Piercing ammunition
Special: —
Description: Durable arrows don’t break due to normal use, regardless of whether or not they hit their target; unless the arrow goes missing, an archer can retrieve and reuse a durable arrow again and again. Durable arrows can be broken in other ways (such as a deliberate Sunder attack). Unlike other forms of ammunition, durable arrows are enchanted in bundles of 8 instead of bundles of 50.
Cost: 1 gp
Weight: —
DYE ARROW
Damage: —
Range: As bow
Type: —
Special: —
Description: Firing a dye arrow is a ranged touch attack; a creature struck by a dye arrow takes no damage but is splashed with a colorful dye sufficient to coat about 1 square foot. This dye can be of any color, though black, blue, green, and red are the most common. It requires the spell prestidigitation or at least a minute of vigorous washing with water to clean the dye off most surfaces.
Cost: 1 gp
Weight: 4 lbs
FLIGHT ARROW, 20
Damage: As bow, one size category smaller
Range: +10 ft for shortbows, +20 ft for longbows
Type: Piercing ammunition
Special: —
Description: These arrows have aerodynamic heads, light shafts, and special fletching to give them greater range. A flight arrow’s range increment is 20 feet greater with longbows and 10 feet greater with shortbows. They deal damage as if one size category smaller.
Cost: 2 gp
Weight: 3 lbs
INCENDIARY ARROW, 20
Damage: As bow + 1 fire
Range: As bow
Type: Piercing and fire ammunition
Special: —
Description: A metal cage behind this arrow's point contains flammable material, such as pitch, oil-soaked cloth, or manure. Due to the odd design, you take a -1 penalty on attack rolls when firing incendiary arrows. You can light up to six incendiary arrows as a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity. Once lit, the arrow burns for 1 minute. On a successful hit, a lit incendiary arrow deals an additional 1 point of fire damage to the arrow's target. On a critical hit, the target must succeed at a DC 15 Reflex save or catch fire. If used against a flammable, unattended object (such as a tapestry or thatched roof), it automatically ignites it.
Cost: 10 gp
Weight: 3 lbs
PRONGED ARROW, 20
Damage: As bow, one size category smaller
Range: As bow
Type: Slashing ammunition
Special: —
Description: Rather than narrowing to a single point, a pronged arrow has a wide face with two points resembling a crescent or V-shape. Originally used for hunting small game like rabbit or grouse, a pronged arrow deals damage as if one size category smaller, but you gain a +1 bonus on attack rolls against creatures or objects one or more size categories smaller than you.
Cost: 2 gp
Weight: 3 lbs
SLOW BURN ARROW
Damage: As bow + 1d6 fire
Range: As bow
Type: Piercing and fire ammunition
Special: —
Description: Unlike the more prosaic incendiary arrow, a slow burn arrow has a bamboo tube attached to the arrow shaft, equipped with a wick. When lit, the wick burns down quickly, igniting a special alchemical explosive stored in the tube that inflicts 1d6 points of fire damage to the arrow's target. The arrow will detonate at the beginning of your next turn after lighting, giving the enemy a chance to remove the arrow before it detonates if they spend a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Because of the design of the arrow, there is little danger of fire damage to any target which the arrow is not actually stuck in. Skilled archers can elect to fire the arrow as a full-round action, timing the attack to precisely coincide with the explosion. The extra weight of this arrowhead gives you a -1 penalty on attack rolls with the arrow.
Cost: 150 gp
Weight: 1 lb
SMOKE ARROW
Damage: As bow
Range: As bow
Type: Piercing ammunition
Special: —
Description: This arrow is actually a specially-shaped smokestick that can be fired from a bow. It trails smoke as it flies, and creates a 5-foot cube of smoke where it strikes. It otherwise functions like a normal arrow.
Cost: 10 gp
Weight: —
SPLINTERCLOUD ARROW
Damage: —
Range: As bow
Type: Piercing ammunition
Special: —
Description: Also known as a "nest of bees," this arrow's oversized head is actually filled with a large number of tiny, needle-like arrows mounted over a small clump of alchemical explosive. It can be lit and fired as a standard action, the arrow detonating in mid-flight and showering a 5-foot burst area with the metal splinters. Creatures caught in the burst take 1d3 points of piercing damage, with a Reflex DC 18 negating. Masterwork versions of this arrow increase their Reflex DC by +2.
Cost: 25 gp
Weight: 3 lbs
WHISTLING ARROW, 20
Damage: As bow
Range: As bow
Type: Piercing ammunition
Special: —
Description: These arrows come with specially designed grooves and fletching, which cause them to emit a loud keening sound easily audible within 500 feet of their flight path.
Cost: 2 gp
Weight: 3 lbs