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I'm chasing my tail trying to figure out how to make a good bow.
I know I want a composite bow, but I cant find any reference to limits on what the + can be. My archer currently has 22 str.
Now, if I make a composite bow with a str rating does this count as masterwork or do I need to add masterwork costs on top of this?
What spells/enchantments should I get on a bow? How much does all this cost?
Let's say I have 16,000 set aside to spend on a bow, what are some options I have?
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Okay a +6 Str Masterwork Composite Longbow is an even 1,000 GP. So that leaves 15k. Unfortunately, a +3 Enhancement Bonus is 18k, and thus out of your price range (you're 3k GP low).
So, you could get a +2 Bow (9k GP total), and then either save up for buying it up to +3, or grant it other special features (such as making it intelligent, which might be worth it depending on what additional features you purchase).
As for what particular effects (like Flaming, Seeking, or whatever) you might want, well, that really depends on what you want this bow to do.
A composite longbow can have whatever strength bonus rating you want to make it (default is +0). It does not have to be masterwork.
Base composite longbow costs 100 gp.
Every point of Strength bonus adds 100 gp value to the bow.
Masterwork adds 300 gp value to the bow.
A masterwork composite longbow (Str +6) would cost 100 + 300 + 600 = 1,000 gp. Note this is the cost to buy, not to craft.
You have to make the bow at least +1 enhancement so that's another 2,000 gp.
If you want to make it +2 enhancement that would cost a total of 9,000 gp (1k for base bow + 8k for +2 enhancement) leaving you with 7k to play around with other enhancements. Note that a +3 weapon would cost you 18k to buy so you might want to stick to the +2 range or save up a bit more and get a +3 bow.
I hope that helps. Good luck!
Edit: Doh! Ninja'd by a dead man.
So if i make this bow it would be a +2 composite longbow with a 6 str modifier? Can i add enchants to it at this point or wait until I have more money? What are the benifits to giving it intelligence?
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So if i make this bow it would be a +2 composite longbow with a 6 str modifier? Can i add enchants to it at this point or wait until I have more money? What are the benifits to giving it intelligence?
Yes, that's correct. You'll need to wait till you have more money to enchant it with another point of Enhancement Bonus (or an equivalent property).
And intelligent items sometimes have all kinds of interesting abilities, like being able to cast a particular spell a few times a day, or having a few skills of their own. Of course, they canb also possess you and make you do things if you annoy them enough.
But you're definitely gonna need GM permission for an intelligent item. Honestly, I'd probably just save up and get the bow enhanced to +3 when you have another 3k.
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If you went the intelligent route, you could add something like true strike 3/day, that would be 200 gp for 11 INT (and I'm only assuming it needs 11 Int to qualify to cast a 1st level spell) and 1200 for the spell itself. The bow would only be empathetic, so it could sense your "need to strike truly" and juice itself. Intelligent items act on your initiative, but don't use your action, as I understand.
Instead of +2 magic, I'd suggest going +1 with some other magical enhancement (which will cost the same as the second +1). There are a few good choices there, so take a look and pick your favorite.
This is a good suggestion. +1 flaming/shocking/bane... bows are quite nice. If you plan to use this bow in the foreseeable future and want to get it up to a +5 it's probably better to go for +2 and upgrade it to +3 next time you have the money.
I wouldn't go for an intelligent item, it can easily cause confusion and headaches. You can still add special powers like true strike on it, though that would cost you some things.
If you went for that, I would look at some cool stuff like bows that magically create arrows or such. But that's not quite as easy as going with standard abilities :-)
Whether or not to upgrade it with regular +'s or special properties tends to boil down to, "do I have an ally to cast Greater Magic Weapon on it?" :)
Yeah, GMW's enhancement won't let you cut through cold iron or adamantine DR or anything. But that's what Clustered Shots feat is for.
In general the extra 3.5avg energy damage is balanced by the loss of +1attack and +1damage. Then add into that that energy damage is resisted by many creatures and you wind up losing out in the long run. I would make some energy damage arrows and keep your enhancement bonus as high as possible.
Example: At level 9 a strength 22 fighter specializing in bows could have a +1bow with flaming or a +2bow. With flaming he does 68.75avg DPR while with a +2bow he does 68.62avg DPR. While the 0.13DPR is higher with the flaming bow he will eventually lose outt if he fights with anyone that has energy resistance fire.
Part of this is because a higher strength will actually lend itself to the +2enhancement bow over the +1 flaming bow since the flaming doesnt factor into critical hits and the strength does.
I suggest getting the +2 enh over the +1 with ability, because you already have a high str right now. For you, hitting your target more often is more important then doing a little more damage.
Also, the first enhancements on your bow should always be seeking. Forget flame/shock/etc., get those casted on arrows. it'll be cheaper that way. However if you want those element damage types, corrosive is best (less things are resistant or immune to acid damage then electricity, thundering might not be bad either.
+5 mighty (str 22) composite longbow with seeking, distance, corrosive... +8 enh. Total.
If you consider Deadly Aim in this, an extra +1 counts as +3 damage to anything (and multiplied on crits, so effectively +3.3 or +3.6 with ImpCrit) compared to +3.5 on something for flaming/etc. Obviously that's not an entirely fair comparison but it gives the right idea.
Also, each + on the bow gives it +2 hardness and +10 hp, which might be nice when Sunder the Barbarian steams up to you.
Save the weird additions for the arrows. Then you can get a whole sackload of flaming, frost, shocking, x-bane or whatever arrows, as required for the task.
As a related question, is it possible to upgrade the Str of a bow? It would be a real pain to have to scrap the thing and make a new one just because you've found a better Str buffer. RAW isn't explicit, but it seems only fair.
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Best enchantment for a bow is Seeking, by far.
I agree that best enchant is seeking. We have an fighter archer archetype in our group who has a really high perception (feats and item bonuses and such) who has seeking on his bow. He routinely see's what square invisible creatures are in without even having a see invisibility spell. Because of his seeking enchant, the square is all you need, and he hits them most times. A normal character won't be able to do this at lower levels, but at higher levels, focusing on perception, seeking is all you need.
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No, best enchantment for a bow, is guided. It adds wisdom to damage, no matter what.
Guided isn't pfs legal, it's in a 3.5 book, and doesn't lets you use your wisdom in place of your strength. So it effectively does nothing on a longbow.
Best enchantment for a bow is Seeking, by far.
I agree with this. As long as you know what square they are in, you can just close your eyes and ignore any miss chances. This even nullifies Mirror Image and other illusory defenses.
Holy is also great on a bow if you usually fight evil baddies. Good for DR, good for boatloads of damage.