Darkwood Composite Shortbow (+1 STR)
How much would that cost if I merely bought it with gold? Would that be a worthwhile purchase with prestige or would I be better off spending gold and saving the prestige?
My Dawnflower Dervish just hit 2nd level and I've been saving both gold and prestige. Blew all my gold on a masterwork scimitar (315) and a mithril chain shirt +1 (2100), but I haven't spent any prestige yet. I figure the obligatory Wand of Cure Light Wounds and then a better bow that I can use would be next on the list. I don't expect to get a ton of long-term use out of the bow, but against flying foes and whatnot I'd like to remain effective and Battle Dance, Arcane Strike and a masterwork composite bow seems like it would allow me to.
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Personally, I'd just wait another scenario and buy it with gold.
If you were focused on archery, and looking to get a Darkwood Composite Longbow with a Strength rating of +3 (730gp), I'd say go for it, but for your purposes it's probably not the most imperative choice.
I'd probably spend that Prestige on another 1st level wand, if you're anxious to spend it on something.
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Since it is a backup weapon for when you can't get into melee, just get a mundane composite shortbow (+1 Str) for 150 gp. You could even buy it for 1 Prestige if that's what you want to do, but I'd probably wait until you could spend the gold on it. Get a scroll of magic weapon in case you are fighting something with DR /magic.
Well, I bought a Darkwood Master work Composite Longbow with a +3 Modifier with 2 prestige, so this Shortbow wouldn't be a problem. The Keywording is that you can buy an item UPTO 750 Gold with 2 prestige. So it don't need to be exactly worth 750 Gold pieces. But I agree that buying a +1 boiw via prestige would be a waste. Better ivest in a Wand of magic weapon or other LV1 wand, you (and maybe your group) will need more.
A wand of endure elements for example.
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My druid/hunter's first two prestige purchases were dragonhide armour followed by a DW composite longbow. By the end of the next scenario, she had enough to add adaptive to it. That's just what I did, so it is possible. Should I have perhaps gone for a wand? Maybe. But she was GM'ed right up through 5th or 7th lvl, so it didn't matter much to me.
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I don't expect to get a ton of long-term use out of the bow, but against flying foes and whatnot I'd like to remain effective and Battle Dance, Arcane Strike and a masterwork composite bow seems like it would allow me to.
By Chakrams (assuming you have the book). They are very cheap (1 gp), so even cold iron ones are cheap (2 gp), they'll do 1d8+1 damage (slashing) and are not all that heavy (1 lb). Yes their increment is 30 feet, but likely until 5th level enemies will probably not be flying much more that 60 feet up.
Might make sense as a backup range weapon. Most of my characters who have enough strength carry two or three - even if they are no proficient - to hand off to the melee fighters who often never have a ranged weapon (I've seen it in as high as 6th level characters)
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Since it is a backup weapon for when you can't get into melee, just get a mundane composite shortbow (+1 Str) for 150 gp. You could even buy it for 1 Prestige if that's what you want to do, but I'd probably wait until you could spend the gold on it. Get a scroll of magic weapon in case you are fighting something with DR /magic.
That's what Arcane Strike is for. ;)
Thanks for the responses. Sounds like I'm best off just paying for it in gold and saving the prestige.
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My druid/hunter's first two prestige purchases were dragonhide armour followed by a DW composite longbow. By the end of the next scenario, she had enough to add adaptive to it. That's just what I did, so it is possible. Should I have perhaps gone for a wand? Maybe. But she was GM'ed right up through 5th or 7th lvl, so it didn't matter much to me.
Pretty sure that the bow needs to be +1 before you can add the Adaptive quality to it [though I suppose that you could've acquired the gold needed to do both by that point]. You'll also need to keep the full value of the weapon in mind & have the requisite Fame to allow the purchase.
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Personally, I'd just wait another scenario and buy it with gold.
If you were focused on archery, and looking to get a Darkwood Composite Longbow with a Strength rating of +3 (730gp), I'd say go for it, but for your purposes it's probably not the most imperative choice.
I'd probably spend that Prestige on another 1st level wand, if you're anxious to spend it on something.
Alternately, you can buy a greenwood composite longbow with a strength rating of +2 for exactly 750. If you don't plan on having a higher strength this one could potentially be more useful than a +3 composite darkwood bow.
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Buy Chakrams (assuming you have the book).The Dawnflower Dervish is a Bard Archetype with an added proficiency in Scimitars.
They aren't proficient in Chakrams.
javelins work too - if it is his just in case weapon for ranged attacks.
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I do recommend the greenwood bow for less than +3 strength folks, because with a create water spell you can repair it (as I recall - I am presently book-less)
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Buy Chakrams (assuming you have the book).The Dawnflower Dervish is a Bard Archetype with an added proficiency in Scimitars.
They aren't proficient in Chakrams.
javelins work too - if it is his just in case weapon for ranged attacks.
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I do recommend the greenwood bow for less than +3 strength folks, because with a create water spell you can repair it (as I recall - I am presently book-less)
You have to both plant and water it, but yeah, but I've never seen anything for PFS get broken. It's thematically more fitting for some as well. My paladin of erastil has one.
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My druid/hunter's first two prestige purchases were dragonhide armour followed by a DW composite longbow. By the end of the next scenario, she had enough to add adaptive to it. That's just what I did, so it is possible. Should I have perhaps gone for a wand? Maybe. But she was GM'ed right up through 5th or 7th lvl, so it didn't matter much to me.Pretty sure that the bow needs to be +1 before you can add the Adaptive quality to it [though I suppose that you could've acquired the gold needed to do both by that point]. You'll also need to keep the full value of the weapon in mind & have the requisite Fame to allow the purchase.
Correct on both points.
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You could also buy a non-masterwork composite shortbow (+9 STR) for 2PP.
I've found that to be the best power-for-prestige investment. Usefulness may vary.
Yeah, but at -2 to hit when Dex already isn't your best stat... How many low level characters do you know with a 28 Strength? I realize that may be a typo, but I still wanted to remind everyone that if you don't have at least the amount of strength the bow is rated for, you take a -2 to hit.
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Yeah, but at -2 to hit when Dex already isn't your best stat... How many low level characters do you know with a 28 Strength? I realize that may be a typo, but I still wanted to remind everyone that if you don't have at least the amount of strength the bow is rated for, you take a -2 to hit.You could also buy a non-masterwork composite shortbow (+9 STR) for 2PP.
I've found that to be the best power-for-prestige investment. Usefulness may vary.
Not being able to draw my bow makes me angry, and when I'm angry I seem to draw the bow just fine. Curious.
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Yeah, but at -2 to hit when Dex already isn't your best stat... How many low level characters do you know with a 28 Strength? I realize that may be a typo, but I still wanted to remind everyone that if you don't have at least the amount of strength the bow is rated for, you take a -2 to hit.You could also buy a non-masterwork composite shortbow (+9 STR) for 2PP.
I've found that to be the best power-for-prestige investment. Usefulness may vary.
Not being able to draw my bow makes me angry, and when I'm angry I seem to draw the bow just fine. Curious.
Only for the first few levels. Once you start to enhance them, it quickly would have become cheaper to add Adaptive to a single bow, at +1,000 gp, then it would be to even make two bows +1, which costs an additional +2,000 gp, with each bow then costing another 6,000 gp to either make +2 or start adding most special abilities.
Normal Bow: 2 PP
+1 to bow: +2,000 gp
+2 to bow: +6,000 gp
Total: 8,000 gp
Rage bow: 2 PP
+1 to bow (if it is even possible): +2,000 gp
+2 to bow (possible?): +6,000 gp
Total: 8,000 gp for second bow
Total total: 16,000 gp for two +2 bows
Adaptive bow: 2 PP
+1 to bow: +2,000 gp
Adaptive: +1,000 gp
+2 to bow: +6,000 gp
Total: 9,000 gp
Extra benefit: Start Rage, get full attack without switching bows
Downside: 18 Fame needed to make that +1 Adaptive longbow, a period of time when your bow won't work as well as possible for you in one mode of operation.
Upside: Less money on your side weapons, or better main weapon for your career.
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Yeah, but at -2 to hit when Dex already isn't your best stat... How many low level characters do you know with a 28 Strength? I realize that may be a typo, but I still wanted to remind everyone that if you don't have at least the amount of strength the bow is rated for, you take a -2 to hit.You could also buy a non-masterwork composite shortbow (+9 STR) for 2PP.
I've found that to be the best power-for-prestige investment. Usefulness may vary.
Not being able to draw my bow makes me angry, and when I'm angry I seem to draw the bow just fine. Curious.
Only for the first few levels. Once you start to enhance them, it quickly would have become cheaper to add Adaptive to a single bow, at +1,000 gp, then it would be to even make two bows +1, which costs an additional +2,000 gp, with each bow then costing another 6,000 gp to either make +2 or start adding most special abilities.
Normal Bow: 2 PP
+1 to bow: +2,000 gp
+2 to bow: +6,000 gp
Total: 8,000 gpRage bow: 2 PP
+1 to bow (if it is even possible): +2,000 gp
+2 to bow (possible?): +6,000 gp
Total: 8,000 gp for second bow
Total total: 16,000 gp for two +2 bowsAdaptive bow: 2 PP
+1 to bow: +2,000 gp
Adaptive: +1,000 gp
+2 to bow: +6,000 gp
Total: 9,000 gp
Extra benefit: Start Rage, get full attack without switching bowsDownside: 18 Fame needed to make that +1 Adaptive longbow, a period of time when your bow won't work as well as possible for you in one mode of operation.
Upside: Less money on your side weapons, or better main weapon for your career.
I believe you're considering a main weapon whereas I'm considering a back-up one. I'm not sinking any extra gold into either of these. (In all honesty, I only bought the big one and ate the -2 and shot for 1d8+7 the three or four rounds in my career that I spent outside of rage.)
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Yeah, but at -2 to hit when Dex already isn't your best stat... How many low level characters do you know with a 28 Strength? I realize that may be a typo, but I still wanted to remind everyone that if you don't have at least the amount of strength the bow is rated for, you take a -2 to hit.You could also buy a non-masterwork composite shortbow (+9 STR) for 2PP.
I've found that to be the best power-for-prestige investment. Usefulness may vary.
I've done it on occasion. Mutagen, enlarge person and bull's strength.
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My druid/hunter's first two prestige purchases were dragonhide armour followed by a DW composite longbow. By the end of the next scenario, she had enough to add adaptive to it. That's just what I did, so it is possible. Should I have perhaps gone for a wand? Maybe. But she was GM'ed right up through 5th or 7th lvl, so it didn't matter much to me.Pretty sure that the bow needs to be +1 before you can add the Adaptive quality to it [though I suppose that you could've acquired the gold needed to do both by that point]. You'll also need to keep the full value of the weapon in mind & have the requisite Fame to allow the purchase.
To this day I had missed that somehow! Seems so obvious now. Thank you for pointing that out.
Not worried about it for this character, however, since she's been GM credited up to legal levels anyway. Did I buy it before I shoulda? Yeah. Did it matter for any game? Nah. Will just have to be more mindful next time.