Bows that adapt to user strength?

[tuesdayscoming]

I'm looking for a Composite Longbow type weapon that will adapt to my strength (that is, if I cast Bull's Strength on myself, a bow that will, without modification, get the shiny new +2 damage.

Aside from the Energy Bow, does such a thing exist?

[Eldariel]

Bow of Winterymoon [MiC] is one such. It's a relic but you don't need to unlock its relic power for that functionality. It's a good base Bow.

[Knaight]

One could always use a sling, which does exactly this.

[Cog]

One could always use a sling, which does exactly this.
For about half the range and lost access to bow-specific feats and abilities,and with no way that I'm aware of to decrease the reload time from a move action.

[Eldariel]

For about half the range and lost access to bow-specific feats and abilities,and with no way that I'm aware of to decrease the reload time from a move action.

Bows go up to 150' range with just the base chassis (Dragonbone Composite Greatbow) with a 10 increment maximum; Sling doesn't ever come anywhere close to half of that.

[Cog]

Bows go up to 150' range with just the base chassis (Dragonbone Composite Greatbow) with a 10 increment maximum; Sling doesn't ever come anywhere close to half of that.
Bows also go as low as 60', and that's disregarding crossbows. Slings are projectile weapons, and I see nothing limiting them to five increments instead of ten.

[Eldariel]

Bows also go as low as 60', and that's disregarding crossbows. Slings are projectile weapons, and I see nothing limiting them to five increments instead of ten.

Yeah, Slings should be 10 increments too; my point was that at 10 increments, the difference in actual range is multiplied. And ya, bows can go shorter but if using a bow not intended for stealth and subterfuge, chances are it'll have a range of 110' or higher.

[Keld Denar]

Bone Bow in Frostburn has this property as a non-magical effect. Costs you a feat in EWP though...

[Tetsubo 57]

Bows also go as low as 60', and that's disregarding crossbows. Slings are projectile weapons, and I see nothing limiting them to five increments instead of ten.

A sling bullet is considerably less aerodynamic than an arrow. Much less stable. Much harder to realistically aim. D&D seems to assume that because a sling is simple in *construction* it is also simple to *use*. I don't think this is true at all. Aiming a rotating object like a sling is not 'simple'.

[Tetsubo 57]

I had a magic thumb ring in an old 3E campaign that granted thos ability. It would allow any bow picked up to use the wielder's full Str bonus.

[tuesdayscoming]

Bow of Winterymoon [MiC] is one such. It's a relic but you don't need to unlock its relic power for that functionality. It's a good base Bow.

This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you. Slings are a no go, Im afraid. The tricksies Im trying to work with very specifically require the use of either arrows or bolts.

Anyways, phase one (find bow that I get the most out of, even when polymorphed into an arrow demon) complete!

Phase two (enjoy the underutilized cheesiness that is the PGtF Runecaster) begins now.

[Knaight]

A sling bullet is considerably less aerodynamic than an arrow. Much less stable. Much harder to realistically aim. D&D seems to assume that because a sling is simple in *construction* it is also simple to *use*. I don't think this is true at all. Aiming a rotating object like a sling is not 'simple'.

Aiming a sling isn't simple, but as regards aerodynamics a round or bi-conical sling bullet* works fine. Bi-conical sling bullets are typical, and most slinging styles will, if well done, cast them into a revolving spiral similar to what Americans call a football, moreover the mechanics of sling bullets mean that one casts them in an arc, and any part of the bullet can hit. Given the power of a sling, and the fact that one doesn't have to account for bullet rotation (where one does for most thrown weapons) the 10 increment rule makes sense, just as with bows. Moreover, sling bullets are much less affected by wind than arrows, giving them an advantage as well as a disadvantage for long shots, which means that only allowing 5 increments is absurd. Moreover, a composite long bow in D&D can shoot something 1100 feet away, without so much as a feat, with non flight arrows. This is about as far as one would expect an arrow to be possibly propelled, and is way outside effective range. A sling however has propelled a sling bullet 505 meters, and even Guinness World Records records a simple stone as getting 437.1 meters. However, in D&D the max range of a sling according to 10 range increments is 400 feet, which is less than 1/3 of the maximum distance which seems to have been used for bows, if you only allow 5 increments it is 200 feet, which is less than 1/6 of the distance of the record, and also sad and pathetic for any given slinger.

Moreover, concerning usage of a sling one has to realize that the popular hollywood portrayal where one times the release of a whirling sling is fundamentally wrong. Even in the style that best resembles that, the actual throw involves taking the sling in a much wider arc, and releasing at the appropriate time. As such, the fundamentals of sling aim are basically the fundamentals of throwing things, not of careful timing, and once you have the proper form a stone from a sling is just as easy if not easier to aim as a stone from the hand. Its getting to that proper form which is difficult, but then that applies to every weapon.

*Gland is a better term, but this is trivial.

[Godskook]

Alternatively:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ask/20061227a

[Greenish]

Alternatively:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ask/20061227aDoesn't fulfill OP's request:
I'm looking for a Composite Longbow type weapon that will adapt to my strength (that is, if I cast Bull's Strength on myself, a bow that will, without modification, get the shiny new +2 damage.

Aside from the Energy Bow, does such a thing exist?:smalltongue:

[Tetsubo 57]

Aiming a sling isn't simple, but as regards aerodynamics a round or bi-conical sling bullet* works fine. Bi-conical sling bullets are typical, and most slinging styles will, if well done, cast them into a revolving spiral similar to what Americans call a football, moreover the mechanics of sling bullets mean that one casts them in an arc, and any part of the bullet can hit. Given the power of a sling, and the fact that one doesn't have to account for bullet rotation (where one does for most thrown weapons) the 10 increment rule makes sense, just as with bows. Moreover, sling bullets are much less affected by wind than arrows, giving them an advantage as well as a disadvantage for long shots, which means that only allowing 5 increments is absurd. Moreover, a composite long bow in D&D can shoot something 1100 feet away, without so much as a feat, with non flight arrows. This is about as far as one would expect an arrow to be possibly propelled, and is way outside effective range. A sling however has propelled a sling bullet 505 meters, and even Guinness World Records records a simple stone as getting 437.1 meters. However, in D&D the max range of a sling according to 10 range increments is 400 feet, which is less than 1/3 of the maximum distance which seems to have been used for bows, if you only allow 5 increments it is 200 feet, which is less than 1/6 of the distance of the record, and also sad and pathetic for any given slinger.

Moreover, concerning usage of a sling one has to realize that the popular hollywood portrayal where one times the release of a whirling sling is fundamentally wrong. Even in the style that best resembles that, the actual throw involves taking the sling in a much wider arc, and releasing at the appropriate time. As such, the fundamentals of sling aim are basically the fundamentals of throwing things, not of careful timing, and once you have the proper form a stone from a sling is just as easy if not easier to aim as a stone from the hand. Its getting to that proper form which is difficult, but then that applies to every weapon.

*Gland is a better term, but this is trivial.

Which is why I question it being listed as a Simple weapon. What you describe sounds a whole lot like a Martial weapon to me.

[KillianHawkeye]

Which is why I question it being listed as a Simple weapon. What you describe sounds a whole lot like a Martial weapon to me.

A sling was the weapon (or more typically, the hunting implement) of commoners. It makes no sense to be a martial weapon.

[Tytalus]

Bone Bow in Frostburn has this property as a non-magical effect. Costs you a feat in EWP though...

The way I read it, it doesn't.

It says: "A bone bow functions as a composite longbow with regard to applying the user’s Strength bonus to damage done with arrows shot from it."

Composite longbows allow you to apply only as much strength bonus as the specific bow's bonus, so this would apply here, too.