Resonating arrows (or how to make low level mooks a threat)

[supermonkeyjoe]

I was thinking on how to make a group of low level guards relevant at higher levels, seeing as I'm running an Eberron game a bunch of 5th level+ town guards didn't really seem appropriate. I came up with this idea, partially based on the mechanics behind the needler type weapons from Halo.

Resonating arrows; These arrows are tipped with Riedran crysteel, they seem to resonate with an inner power when drawn back in a bow.

The energy infused within the arrow heads causes them to do an additional 1d6 piercing damage on a successful hit, the arrowhead also sticks into the target although it does no additional damage.

if 5 or more arrows are embedded in a target the resonation between the arrows increases dramatically and the arrows explode and are destroyed dealing 5d6 piercing and slashing damage to the target. Unexploded arrows work themselves out of a target after 2 rounds, an arrow can also be removed with a standard action.


My thought on this design is that a group of mooks filling PCs with arrows are now more of a threat while still being cannon fodder in terms of HP, also if the PCs manage to get their hands on these early on it won't be particularly unbalancing as focused fire is needed to create the explosion effect, does 5 hits within 2 rounds about right? and does the additional damage seem about right? For reference I want these to allow a group of level 1-3 guards to make a group of level 6-10 PCs think twice about messing with them.

[Dead_Jester]

The thing is, those guards have to be able to hit the pcs...

Even your average robed caster (psion, wizard, sorc...) will have a pretty high ac by then (something in the 20s), plus a few buffs that make arrows useless.

Worse, a few cc spell could probably annihilate all or most of them, because they probably need 16 or over to make any saves.

The items themselves aren't bad; you'd just need to equip a few better mooks with them (guard captains, elite unit, etc) so they could actually be useful.

[Land Outcast]

I really like this item, lets see how the guards might fare:

10 Bow Guards (Ftr 2):

+2 Bab, +1 Dex, +1 Mwk Longbow, +1 Weapon Focus
(have point blank shot within 30 ft., dont have Rapid Shot because they have Alertness)

So it'd be +5 ranged (1d8+1d6) for each of them...

Against an AC 20 isolated target they would hit 30% of the time, which would give an average of 3 times per round (3d8+3d6).

Against an AC 20 target in melee or with cover they would hit 10% of the time, which would give an average of once per round (1d8+1d6).

----

I think that's good, for cannon fodder, that's it.
Of course (6d8+6d6 plus 5d6) in two rounds might look like much, but I doubt you still have 10 guards by the second round, and I seriously doubt the PCs haven't taken cover or engaged in melee.

[kyoten]

Love them! Is it okay if I use these in a game i'm running?

~Kyoten

[supermonkeyjoe]

Love them! Is it okay if I use these in a game i'm running?

~Kyoten

sure thing :smallsmile: I think these could also be used to explain how low level guards can effectively combat naturally nasty things like Minotaurs and trolls, pile on the supercombine explosions!

[Eldan]

If the PCs manage to gather a few of them up, they might also be useful to any archer in the group, especially if he can somehow manage 5+ attacks per round. And most archers can need a boost anyway.

[Benly]

Something that would go well with these in terms of giving groups of mooks a boost would be Targeting Ray from Spell Compendium. (Ranged touch attack, all allies get +1 per three levels to hit with ranged attacks against target of the ray.) Even a lower-level caster can significantly increase the effectiveness of massed fire with this spell. Plus, since it's a level 1 spell, it's actually relatively affordable to get a wand of it at higher caster levels and have a squad member with UMD use it as a "rangefinder" before his squadmates unleash their volley.

[Qwertystop]

What's Reidran Crysteel? Was Crysteel a mispelling of crystal, or is it a steel-like crystal?

Maybe make Reidran Crysteel/Crystal a new weapon material that has that effect? Not good on melee weapons, but it would be great on ammunition or on caltrops.



Resonating Crysteel:
This is a special alloy made by forging quartz dust with steel, while applying elecricity to melt the metal and stone together, and bathing it in a copper solution instead of water to cool it when finished. Objects made from this are a greenish-gold color with small white flecks, are slightly rough, like fine sandpaper, and seem to vibrate slightly.

Any creature attempting to hold Resonating Crysteel without some sort of protection (which can be as simple as a leather glove) or Natural Armor of at least 1 takes 1 piercing damage every 5 rounds from the vibrations and the rough surface. Most weapons made from this have protection on their handles though, such as leather bands wrapped around it.

If a Resonating Crysteel object that does piercing or slashing damage is left in a target it has wounded, its vibrations will make it fall out in 2 rounds. if 5 Resonating Crysteel objects are stuck in the same target at a time, they resonate together and shatter, dealing 5d6 piercing or slashing damage to the target. If the target dies, any leftover damage is split evenly between all the possible targets within 5 feet of the exploded creature, as the shrapnel scatters, unless they make a Reflex save DC 12 or have sufficient DR to reduce or negate it.


Do you mind if I post this material idea in a separate thread in the Homebrew section?

[Fizban]

I was expecting something more like: "these arrows magically resonate with their target, becoming more accurate against more powerful targets." Arrows you could give out to any mook that would let them hit the PCs decently. The way they are now, they remind me of the Needlers in Halo, with ammo that sticks in you and explodes. I think it's a pretty cool buff for archers. Since DnD will let you shoot a bajillion arrows per round but not increase their damage hardly at all, having extra damage when you hit with the whole barrage is good.

There's another spell similar to Targeting Ray also in the Spell Copmpendium that does it's thing for a group of people marked by a burst of light at range- no rolls needed and can hit multiple targets.

[supermonkeyjoe]

What's Reidran Crysteel? Was Crysteel a mispelling of crystal, or is it a steel-like crystal?

Maybe make Reidran Crysteel/Crystal a new weapon material that has that effect? Not good on melee weapons, but it would be great on ammunition or on caltrops.





Do you mind if I post this material idea in a separate thread in the Homebrew section?

Riedran crysteel is a crystal/iron alloy from the eberron campaign setting, I suppose you could refluff it as Deep Crystal (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/specialMaterials.htm) if you wanted, the base material was more for fluff than anything and please absolutely use it elsewhere if you want, I'd assumed everything posted here was free to reuse unless stated otherwise :smalltongue:

[Welknair]

Cool concept. Looks cool.

Oh and... this (http://www.tuckerskobolds.com/).