+1 Flaming Longbow -> activation? (3,5)

[drevil]

Flaming Longbow: deals an extra 1d6 points of fire damage
"Upon command, a flaming weapon is sheathed in fire. The fire does not harm the wielder. The effect remains until another command is given."

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicWeapons.htm#flaming

Does it require a Command word to activate the flaming property?
Does this mean that I cant make a full-round action every round?

An archer is supposed to do damage (full-round attack all the way).

Thanks!

[Eloel]

It requires a command word to activate. It can stay active indefinitely, which means you only need to use a standard action once/day...

[drevil]

Say its a +1 Flamin, Frost, Shock Longbow.
Do I need 3 rounds of activation before I can start firing the arrows?
Or could I just leave the Flaiming, Frost, Shock activated all the time?

Danke Schøn!

Edit:
Thanks a lot!
So what bow-properties would you recommend in order to increase the damage?

[Starbuck_II]

Say its a +1 Flamin, Frost, Shock Longbow.
Do I need 3 rounds of activation before I can start firing the arrows?
Or could I just leave the Flaiming, Frost, Shock activated all the time?

Danke Schøn!

Edit:
Thanks a lot!
So what bow-properties would you recommend in order to increase the damage?

1 as long as they can the same command word: which would be uncommon(unless all three effects-Flaming, Frost, and Shocking- were added at trhe same time).

[Eloel]

So what bow-properties would you recommend in order to increase the damage?

Try MiC, you could get upto 5d6 of various energy damages (although energy damages are considered suboptimal...)

[Keld Denar]

Elemental damage enhancements are typically considered underpowered, especially if you anticipate fighting outsiders which generally have at least resist 5 to most elements. If you anticipate that you are only going to be fighting humanoids or whatnot, then they aren't that bad.

Um, check out MIC, theres lots of good bow enchantments in there. The holy grail of archery is actually the Splitting Enhancment though, which is in one of the Faerun books, IIRC. It basically doubles all of your attacks each round. Thats pretty silly, considering it stacks with everything else that increases your number of attack in a round, like Rapid Shot and Haste. Many consider it to be obscenely OP though, and thus don't take it. Its a +3 equivalent

For a +2 equivalent, there is Exit Wounds, from MIC. It gives +1d6 damage only, but its not elemental damage, meaning its only subject to DR. The awesome thing about Exit Wounds is that if you line up your shots, you get to make an attack at something standing behind the first foe at a -4 penalty. Thats pretty situational, but good if you are a move + shoot kind of archer (Greater Manyshot Scout/Ranger type).

Otherwise, Force is always fun. Doesn't add any damage, but it makes your arrows deal [Force] damage, which is generally unresistable and even affects incorporials normally. It also means you never have to worry about DR again, since you aren't doing physical.

If you know you'll be fighting a lot of outsiders, a +1 Sacred Bane: Evil Outsiders bow is a pretty good buy. +4d6 damage that is pretty irresistable, plus your bow is aligned to good allowing you to bypass most demon/devil DR.

[drevil]

I forgot to mention!
Its all CORE and notin' but CORE.

I am playing an archer (neutral Cleric15).
I was thinking:
+1 Composite Longbow of Frost, Flaming, Shock, Holy, Bane (Undead/Demon/Dragon).

[Keld Denar]

Unless you are sure you'll be fighting a lot of x type of creatures, I wouldn't get bane on your bow at that price. Get a couple stacks of +1 X Bane arrows, and use them accordingly. 8000g and you get +2 to hit and 2d6+2 damage. Its cheaper to get 3 stacks of specialized arrows than it is to upgrade a bow from +6 to +7 and gives you a lot more versitility.

[Epic_Wizard]

Isn't it a free action to speak the command word though?

[Keld Denar]

Not unless it explicitly states. Most use activated magic items are standard actions. Boots of Speed are about the only example of a core magic item I can think of that is a free action to use.

[monty]

Isn't it a free action to speak the command word though?

Some words are harder to say than others, obviously.

[AslanCross]

Isn't it a free action to speak the command word though?

DMG, pg. 213
More often, the command word is some seemingly nonsensical
word, or a word or phrase from an ancient language no longer
in common use. Activating a command word magic item is a standard
action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

[Curmudgeon]

Isn't it a free action to speak the command word though? Sometimes.
A command word can be a real word, but when this is the case, the holder of the item runs the risk of activating the item accidentally by speaking the word in normal conversation. Normal conversation is:
In general, speaking is a free action that you can perform even when it isn’t your turn. When I DM I allow item crafters to choose the type of command word for the things they make, so they can include the "anytime free action" option. Everything you buy or find uses a "nonsense" word like "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" which takes a full 3 seconds (1 standard action) to say.

[tyckspoon]

I forgot to mention!
Its all CORE and notin' but CORE.

I am playing an archer (neutral Cleric15).
I was thinking:
+1 Composite Longbow of Frost, Flaming, Shock, Holy, Bane (Undead/Demon/Dragon).

I would just go Holy Seeking for the bow itself, maybe Speed if you don't expect to be getting Haste effects any other way. Add Collision if you can get your DM's definition of 'Core' to be expanded to 'Open Game Content', which is what's listed at d20srd.org. Wounding could be nice, since archery builds tend to put out a higher number of attacks at relatively lower damage; the Con damage might get more chance to stack up.