The most damaging (medium) crossbow bolt


Advice


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Okay, bit of a mental exercise I've been kicking around, to see what is the most damage that can be placed on a single crossbow bolt (outside of factors like Vital Strike and ability mods). Focus should be on modifications that don't allow a save against them.

We have to start with the Gastraphetes, for a base damage die of 1d12. Gravity Bow will boost that to 3d6.

Explosive Missile will allow the attachment of an Alchemist's Bomb, for increased scaling damage (and as EM is a standard action, we have less incentive to worry about full-attacking, so we only need to get the Gastraphetes down to a move action. Has there been any clarification on it for Rapid Reload?).

The alchemical tool, Unstable Accelerant, will add another 1d6 to the bomb damage. Not sure how this interacts with...

The Conductive weapon property will allow two bombs in one piece of ammunition with Explosive Missile.

Slow Burn arrows/bolts deal 1d6 the following turn, after a successful hit.

Splintercloud arrows/bolts deal 1d3 on impact, but can be negated with a save. Can alchemical arrows be combined?

Anything else to add?


There are also the drow alchemical bolts from Second Darkness, which add 1d4 fire or acid. ^_^

Sovereign Court

Since you are going alchemist any way, add in grenadier, a hybridization funnel, alchemist fire + Artokus' fire for another 3d6.

For alchemical arrows, I like the tangle shot ones. No damage, but attacks touch which is important because normal arrows make explosive missile vs regular AC. Auto entangle, save DC 10 to be glued to the floor.

And no damage, but a ghast retch flask is a good add with grenadier... Auto sicken, save or nauseate. Sicken + entangle is a good debuff.


Add enchantment? Keen? Thundering? Shock/Icy/Fire Burst?


Why not use that 3D6 crossbow in your original post and use the Dead Shot ability of a Bolt Ace?

Just looking at level 7 with haste and you have a single bolt doing around 9D6+5 Dex+4 Deadly Aim+1 enhancement.


Buy Large Bolts for your medium Gastraphetes.
Cast Enlarge Person and Gravity Bow on yourself while the large bolts lies on the ground before you.
Pick up the large bolts which weren't affected by the Enlarge Person spell.
Fire large bolts from your enlarged Gastraphetes, which won't shrink the moment they leave your crossbow.
Huge Gastraphetes bolts deal 4d6 dmg.

+3.5 dmg for -1 Attack and a spell isn't really worth it, but it should be mentioned if we want to reach "the most damaging" bolt.

Scarab Sages

Wonderstell wrote:

Buy Large Bolts for your medium Gastraphetes.

Cast Enlarge Person and Gravity Bow on yourself while the large bolts lies on the ground before you.
Pick up the large bolts which weren't affected by the Enlarge Person spell.
Fire large bolts from your enlarged Gastraphetes, which won't shrink the moment they leave your crossbow.
Huge Gastraphetes bolts deal 4d6 dmg.

+3.5 dmg for -1 Attack and a spell isn't really worth it, but it should be mentioned if we want to reach "the most damaging" bolt.

A few problems with this solution. At what point do the bolts turn huge? Also, his question involved using medium bolts, not large or huge.


Deadspark wrote:
Wonderstell wrote:

Buy Large Bolts for your medium Gastraphetes.

Cast Enlarge Person and Gravity Bow on yourself while the large bolts lies on the ground before you.
Pick up the large bolts which weren't affected by the Enlarge Person spell.
Fire large bolts from your enlarged Gastraphetes, which won't shrink the moment they leave your crossbow.
Huge Gastraphetes bolts deal 4d6 dmg.

+3.5 dmg for -1 Attack and a spell isn't really worth it, but it should be mentioned if we want to reach "the most damaging" bolt.

A few problems with this solution. At what point do the bolts turn huge? Also, his question involved using medium bolts, not large or huge.

You are firing large bolts from an enlarged crossbow. Gravity Bow increases those large bolts to the next size category the moment before they hit their target.

Also, the question involved being a medium creature. Nowhere is it stated that it must be with a medium bolt.

===============

The enlarge would actually drop your Attack by 2, not 1, as I wrote earlier.


Torbyne wrote:

Why not use that 3D6 crossbow in your original post and use the Dead Shot ability of a Bolt Ace?

Just looking at level 7 with haste and you have a single bolt doing around 9D6+5 Dex+4 Deadly Aim+1 enhancement.

unfortunately dev silliness faq'd haste out of dead shot earlier this year

faq


plaidwandering wrote:
Torbyne wrote:

Why not use that 3D6 crossbow in your original post and use the Dead Shot ability of a Bolt Ace?

Just looking at level 7 with haste and you have a single bolt doing around 9D6+5 Dex+4 Deadly Aim+1 enhancement.

unfortunately dev silliness faq'd haste out of dead shot earlier this year

faq

Oh... that is a severe handicap to that ability. but i guess the FAQ acknowledges that by saying that it isnt really meant to be used outside of extremely specific situations. kind of a waste of a deed though. At least it gives something for archetypes to trade out.


Huh... interesting description in the FAQ. I always assumed Dead Shot was meant as a workaround to reload times.

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