Crafting Magic Arrows


Advice


I have a ranger in my campaign who wants to make his own magic arrows -- or, failing that, to collaborate with the party's sorcerer to make them. But I'm having trouble finding information about enchanting arrows, and I need your help with the cost-benefit analysis.

How much does it cost to craft masterwork arrows?
How much does it cost to enchant arrows?
Is it worth spending skill ranks and feats on this plan? Or would the ranger be better off saving up for a magic bow?

The ranger is 5th level, so he wouldn't be able to take Craft Magic Arms and Armor until 8th. But he could max out his Craft ranks to make masterwork arrows, and convince his sorcerer buddy could take that feat at 5th.

Any advice would be helpful, thanks!


The following:

( http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-weapons )

"Ranged Weapons and Ammunition: The enhancement bonus from a ranged weapon does not stack with the enhancement bonus from ammunition. Only the higher of the two enhancement bonuses applies.

Ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an enhancement bonus of +1 or higher is treated as a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Similarly, ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an alignment gains the alignment of that projectile weapon."

... leads me to generally prefer magic bows/crossbows/guns to magic arrows. Especially since there is limited information on actually crafting magic arrows.

The way I generally handle magic arrows/bolts/stones/bullets/etc is to follow the magic item creation guidelines ( http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/magicItems/magicItemCreation.html ) and allow a 'single creation' to encompass a set of 20 pieces of ammunition.

Hope that helps a little at least.


There was some discussion of magic arrows in another magic item thread a little while back. Unfortunately, I don't remember which one. I think several people suggested making each arrow a one-use item.


The magic item creation rules only allow for creating bundles of magic ammunition. There's no provision for creating just a few. Some GMs house-rule lower costs and faster times for making a few arrows, but that's not RAW.

For that reason most players just craft bows or crossbows since the enhancement is permanent.

This is one of the main magic item problems with PF. Magical ammunition is a joke. It should be a rich source of game play and role playing fodder, instead it's a pain in the butt and most people decide magical ammo isn't even worth the trouble.


I don't know if there's anything helpful for this by RAW, but it's a very rich area for houserules and such. I might rule that any mage who can scribe a scroll could help a ranger 'scribe' an arrow, so long as they don't spam them. Have to do something to offset the effectively 'quickened' spell, though - perhaps it's time-release-cast on impact? Also, if either or both fumble their checks, you could have a spell blow up in their faces. I like the scene of these guys sitting around the campfire one night trying to craft sleep arrows and knocking themselves out.


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Might I suggest a formula I myself use? I know it isn't RAW or anything, but I use Caster Level * Effective Enhancement Level * 200 gp for a batch of 20. This puts 20 arrows, all with a +1 enhancement, at 600 gp, which, I think, is a good price for an item that is destroyed on contact and has only a 50% chance to be recovered if you miss.

With a price like that, you might see people carrying around or purchasing arrows with larger enhancements for 'special' occasions. 20 arrows with a +5 enhancement costs 15,000 gp, while a +5 weapons costs 50,000 gp. I will mention, 20 arrows can go really fast, especially if you're a full archer with lots of attacks.


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Gonturan wrote:
How much does it cost to craft masterwork arrows?

The same as any other masterwork weapon (+300gp), but the cost is per 50 arrows. Your DM may allow you to craft them singly, rather than by the batch, as that is how they are made in effect. In this case, each individual arrow is +6gp cost in sale price, +3gp cost to make.

Gonturan wrote:
How much does it cost to enchant arrows?

Again, the base cost is as any other magic weapon, for a batch of 50. You need to discuss with your DM whether he will allow you to create batches of less for proportionately less cost.

Gonturan wrote:
Is it worth spending skill ranks and feats on this plan? Or would the ranger be better off saving up for a magic bow?

You want the magic bow, because with the magic bow you have as many magic arrows (in effect) as you need.

However, if your bow is (for example) a +1 mighty composite longbow, investing in some specialist arrows is not a bad idea. Energy damage is useful, but bane effect is the absolute best you can get if you have any idea what you may be facing. Just a few bane arrows are just so worth the space in your quiver...

Gonturan wrote:
The ranger is 5th level, so he wouldn't be able to take Craft Magic Arms and Armor until 8th. But he could max out his Craft ranks to make masterwork arrows, and convince his sorcerer buddy could take that feat at 5th.

Or you could just take Master Craftsman with 5 ranks in craft (bows) right now, and make your own magic bow and your own magic arrows. Personally, I would let a character using this investment to make magic arrows individually for 1/50th cost of an equivelant magic weapon. Sure, you face a +5 bonus to the DC for each spell they may require that you do not have, but that's not particularly problematic - the sorcerer will have the same problem a lot of the time, and you are a spell-caster. Failing that, Use Magic Device allows you to use non-class scrolls...


To make arrows use the skill Craft (Bow). The DC is 12 for the arrows and 20 for the Masterwork. Price is 1/3 of the finished product. The only question remaining is if the masterwork is grouped into 20 arrows or 50. Considering that magic ammunition are in groups of 50 I lean to the latter. Pricing would therefore be: 6.05gp per masterwork arrow. However, if you follow the 20arrows group then the pricing would be 15.05per masterwork arrow.

To make magic arrows: Make a batch of 50 just like you would make any other magic weapon. This is stated in Table 15-8 superscript 1.

Personally, I would allow a player to make smaller batches than 50. If you do this divide the price for the magic by 50 and that is the price per arrow. Example: a +1 50arrow batch costs 2302.5gp. Divide by 50 and you get 46.05 per arrow. However, this is probably not RAW (the book does not explicitly state if you can craft ammunition by the arrow rather than in batches of 50 but it implies it).

- Gauss


Adamantine Dragon wrote:

The magic item creation rules only allow for creating bundles of magic ammunition. There's no provision for creating just a few. Some GMs house-rule lower costs and faster times for making a few arrows, but that's not RAW.

For that reason most players just craft bows or crossbows since the enhancement is permanent.

This is one of the main magic item problems with PF. Magical ammunition is a joke. It should be a rich source of game play and role playing fodder, instead it's a pain in the butt and most people decide magical ammo isn't even worth the trouble.

Bane Arrows >>> Bane Bow. And if you make too many, simply sell the extra at absolutely no loss.

Though, for the most part, Magic Ammo is too expensive to be worth it in the long run. Magic ammo should cost half as much.


Quantum Steve, good point about selling the extra at no loss (other than time).

- Gauss

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