Archery Items

[Eric Saxon]

What are the best PFS legal items for archers and what do they cost vs. what do they do?

Anyone have a list of good items? (non-weapons)

[CRobledo]

bracers of archery, lesser - If you are of a class/race that doesn't get longbow proficiency (like my bard).

efficient quiver - If you keep up with your encumbrance (and you should) arrows CAN add up to a lot of weight. Get one or more of these to compensate. Also makes a neat storage space for your extra spare bow (you have an extra spare bow, right?). Some players carry more than one of these, but I usually keep one full and the rest of my arrows in a handy haversack, and refill between fights.

weapon blanches (silver, adamantine, ghost salt) - Much better for archers than for melee weapons. One of these coats 10 ammo pieces. I always have at least 20 arrows of each type. At higher levels (manyshot, rapid shot, haste) I will try to have 40 of each on me at all times. Ghost Salt by itself basically makes archers the best weapon against incorporeals. Silver blanch is good so you can make arrows deal silver damage without the -1 damage penalty (no, you cannot have silvered blunt arrows, they do not have a metal tip).

gravity bow scrolls/wands if you can cast or UMD it - Always good if you know a fight is coming up. Using it in combat is usually not as good.

oil of align weapon good/law/chaos/evil - at least until you have a holy bow, these will be crucial for fighting outsiders.

a buckler - free armor class, no ACP (after mwk) and no detriment to using one when doing archery. No minus to hit, no loosing the AC bonus. Enchant it later along with armor for cheap AC.

adaptive weapon enchantment - lets you opt for belts of STR over DEX (or the mixed type) to increase damage over hit.

[Sarta]

Carpet of Flying eventually. Nothing beats a highly mobile sniper platform.

A good melee weapon. Sometimes it gets windy.

[N N 959]

CRobledo wrote:

(no, you cannot have silvered blunt arrows, they do not have a metal tip).

PRD wrote:

Weapon Blanch: These alchemical powders have a gritty consistency. When poured on a weapon and placed over a hot flame for a full round, they melt and form a temporary coating on the weapon. The blanching gives the weapon the ability to bypass one kind of material-based damage reduction, such as adamantine, cold iron, or silver. The blanching remains effective until the weapon makes a successful attack. Each dose of blanching can coat one weapon or up to 10 pieces of ammunition. Only one kind of weapon blanch can be on a weapon at one time, though a weapon made of one special material (such as adamantine) can have a different material blanch (such as silver), and counts as both materials for the first successful hit.

I'm not seeing anything that says blanch can only be used on metal weapons. Is there a FAQ somewhere?

Quote:

a buckler - free armor class, no ACP (after mwk) and no detriment to using one when doing archery. No minus to hit, no loosing the AC bonus. Enchant it later along with armor for cheap AC.

PRD wrote:

Buckler: This small metal shield is worn strapped to your forearm. You can use a bow or crossbow without penalty while carrying it. You can also use your shield arm to wield a weapon (whether you are using an off-hand weapon or using your off hand to help wield a two-handed weapon), but you take a –1 penalty on attack rolls while doing so. This penalty stacks with those that may apply for fighting with your off hand and for fighting with two weapons. In any case, if you use a weapon in your off hand, you lose the buckler's AC bonus until your next turn. You can cast a spell with somatic components using your shield arm, but you lose the buckler's AC bonus until your next turn. You can't make a shield bash with a buckler.

Emphasis mine.

The way I read this, you don't get the AC bonus of the buckler in any round that you fire your bow/crossbow since your bow counts as a two-handed weapon while it's being used. Is there a FAQ that says otherwise?

[Tim Vincent]

Eric Saxon wrote:

What are the best PFS legal items for archers and what do they cost vs. what do they do?

Anyone have a list of good items? (non-weapons)

Best is a superlative.

[CRobledo]

N N 959 wrote:

I'm not seeing anything that says blanch can only be used on metal weapons. Is there a FAQ somewhere?

You misunderstand me. I meant that you need the silver blanch if you want to have silver arrows without the -1 to damage. You just can't get silver-tipped blunt arrows from a store (because they have no metal tip). But you can absolutely blanch them.

PRD wrote:

Buckler: This small metal shield is worn strapped to your forearm. You can use a bow or crossbow without penalty while carrying it. You can also use your shield arm to wield a weapon (whether you are using an off-hand weapon or using your off hand to help wield a two-handed weapon), but you take a –1 penalty on attack rolls while doing so. This penalty stacks with those that may apply for fighting with your off hand and for fighting with two weapons. In any case, if you use a weapon in your off hand, you lose the buckler's AC bonus until your next turn. You can cast a spell with somatic components using your shield arm, but you lose the buckler's AC bonus until your next turn. You can't make a shield bash with a buckler.

And emphasis mine, on your same quote. The way I read this, it's no penalty.

To be fair, I did a search on the paizo forums for a clarification on this, and there is none. So expect table variation I guess. I can see where NN959's interpretation comes from.

[pathar]

Tim Vincent wrote:

Eric Saxon wrote:

What are the best PFS legal items for archers and what do they cost vs. what do they do?

Anyone have a list of good items? (non-weapons)

Best is a superlative.

Could you elaborate on how that's relevant here, Tim?

[Tim Vincent]

pathar wrote:

Tim Vincent wrote:

Eric Saxon wrote:

What are the best PFS legal items for archers and what do they cost vs. what do they do?

Anyone have a list of good items? (non-weapons)

Best is a superlative.

Could you elaborate on how that's relevant here, Tim?

Nope. I chose the words I typed carefully to mean exactly what I meant to say before I hit the Submit Post button.

[Eric Saxon]

Tim Vincent wrote:

pathar wrote:

Tim Vincent wrote:

Eric Saxon wrote:

What are the best PFS legal items for archers and what do they cost vs. what do they do?

Anyone have a list of good items? (non-weapons)

Best is a superlative.

Could you elaborate on how that's relevant here, Tim?

Nope. I chose the words I typed carefully to mean exactly what I meant to say before I hit the Submit Post button.

So, you are giving us a lesson in grammar, why?

Like pathar, I fail to see the relevance of your statement? Roughly speaking it would be like someone asking "May I have a green apple?" and someone responding with "Green is an adjective." Its totally random, hence the confusion.

[N N 959]

CRobledo wrote:

You misunderstand me

Yes, I did. Thanks for clearing that up.

Quote:

PRD wrote:

Buckler: This small metal shield is worn strapped to your forearm. You can use a bow or crossbow without penalty while carrying it. You can also use your shield arm to wield a weapon (whether you are using an off-hand weapon or using your off hand to help wield a two-handed weapon), but you take a –1 penalty on attack rolls while doing so. This penalty stacks with those that may apply for fighting with your off hand and for fighting with two weapons. In any case, if you use a weapon in your off hand, you lose the buckler's AC bonus until your next turn. You can cast a spell with somatic components using your shield arm, but you lose the buckler's AC bonus until your next turn. You can't make a shield bash with a buckler.

And emphasis mine, on your same quote. The way I read this, it's no penalty.

I read that as there is no penalty on the Attack modifier.

I focus on the phrase:

"In any case..."

Which I interpret to mean that whether you have a bow, fighting with a two-handed weapon, or fighting with a second melee weapon, you lose the AC bonus. Kind of makes sense doesn't it? If you are holding the bow with your buckler arm...kind of hard to use the buckler to defend against attacks.

I can also see how you come by your interpretation. If the "without penalty" is suppose to be comprehensive, I would appreciate a FAQ so my ranger can get another AC point.

[kinevon]

As mentioned:

Weapon blanches for silver, adamantine and ghost salt
Cold iron arrows (and they can be blanched to count as two materials, too)
Blunt arrows (works against some undead DR, and can still be blanched, even if they can't be made of any of the special metals, and offers an option a lot cheaper than Merciful for non-lethal damage)

Efficient quiver(s)
Bag of Holding I (holds a lot more replacement arrows than a Handy Haversack, you want the haversack to hold stuff you might need during combat, anyhow, like tanglefoot bags, alchemist's fire, etc.)

Ioun torch (hands-free light)

Ioun stone (vibrant purple prism, cracked) - holds a first level spell at CL 1 which any caster can put in, and the person with the Ioun stone can cast.
Options for the stone:
True Strike
Gravity Bow
Shield
Cure Light Wounds/Infernal Healing
Aspect of the Falcon
Reduce Person

I am sure there are more, many more, first level spells which can be of use.

Darkwood composite longbow (Str +3) (730 gp, or 2 PP)
Darkwood buckler, if it ever gets settled, otherwise a mithril buckler

***Cloak of Resistance***
Even more than AC, the archer PC is likely to be the target of spells, and need to save or suck
Ring of Evasion (or two levels of Rogue or some such)

Wayfinder with a clear spindle Ioun stone in it.
Again, a Dominated archer is a baaaad thing.

Gloves of Dueling (needs Weapon Training for it)
Sash of the War Champion (again, bonuses to Armor Training and Bravery)

Boots of Speed (depends on how common in your locale are casters who use Haste/Blessing of Fervor)

Ring of Free Action/Freedom of Movement (my high level archer bypassed the need for this with a level of Cleric of Desna with Travel and Liberation domains)

Hand of Glory (extra ring slot, cast Daylight & See Invisibility once/day)

Mistmail (makes your AC drop, but that 20% miss chance can be nice, but then you'll want to add Mage Armor as a possibility for the Ioun stone above)

[Howie23]

Best archery item: a bow. ;)

Adaptive seems like a no brainer.

Potion of remove blindness is a must have for an archer when you get to the levels where it isn't a big cost.

With respect to buckler and archery: my understanding is that there is no penalty when used with a bow. There is a difference between a penalty and not getting a bonus. Penalty is a game term. You don't take the penalty to hit, nor do you get the bonus to AC when using a buckler with a bow.

Regarding blanches on blunt arrows: you have to hold the weapon over a hot flame for a full round. If the arrow isn't rendered charcoal in the process, you should be good to go. :)

[DesolateHarmony]

Eric Saxon wrote:

Tim Vincent wrote:

pathar wrote:

Tim Vincent wrote:

Eric Saxon wrote:

What are the best PFS legal items for archers and what do they cost vs. what do they do?

Anyone have a list of good items? (non-weapons)

Best is a superlative.

Could you elaborate on how that's relevant here, Tim?

Nope. I chose the words I typed carefully to mean exactly what I meant to say before I hit the Submit Post button.

So, you are giving us a lesson in grammar, why?

Like pathar, I fail to see the relevance of your statement? Roughly speaking it would be like someone asking "May I have a green apple?" and someone responding with "Green is an adjective." Its totally random, hence the confusion.

"Best is a superlative." He's saying that there can only be one 'best', but the op asked for multiple items.

[pathar]

Tim Vincent wrote:

Nope. I chose the words I typed carefully to mean exactly what I meant to say before I hit the Submit Post button.

I didn't ask you to use different words, Tim, I asked you to use more words.

[pathar]

DesolateHarmony wrote:

"Best is a superlative." He's saying that there can only be one 'best', but the op asked for multiple items.

A superlative is not inherently singular. "The best archery items" is a list that is smaller than "all available archery items."

[CWheezy]

Having an ioun stone with abundant ammunition on it is pretty nice.

It allows you use your adamantine arrows or whatever with impunity when the need arises

[Avatar-1]

Will Johnson wrote:

Carpet of Flying eventually. Nothing beats a highly mobile sniper platform.

A good melee weapon. Sometimes it gets windy.

Are there stability issues with that kind of thing?

[Howie23]

The biggest problem with flying archers is that it puts an unexpected burden on the othe characters in the party. Basically, it takes the archer off the table as a target, along with his hit points. That means others get attacked more. It can be compensated for, but it needs to be recognized by the party to do so.

[Sarta]

Avatar-1 wrote:

Are there stability issues with that kind of thing?

The carpet is unique in that it doesn't require a check to hover. Otherwise, it adds +5 to the fly skill. If you are a bard archer, Versatile Performance can turn your character's Perform Dance skill into both Acrobatics and the Fly skill. This should significantly help with any Fly checks that may come up.

Howie, I get what you are saying. It's why I personally do not care to play a fighter archer. Typically, in play, I've only seen them bring damage to the table. Admittedly, it's a lot of damage, but they do very little to control the fight, aid their allies, or even to adapt to difficult situations . However, bard archers offer quite a bit more:

Round 1: Cast Haste as a standard and Inspire Courage as a move.
Round 2: Cast Good Hope and move into position to rain down hell.

[kinevon]

Howie23 wrote:

The biggest problem with flying archers is that it puts an unexpected burden on the othe characters in the party. Basically, it takes the archer off the table as a target, along with his hit points. That means others get attacked more. It can be compensated for, but it needs to be recognized by the party to do so.

I would think that depends on the enemy. If you have to go flying because your enemies are, then it doesn't remove the archer form the list of possible targets. Same if the enemies have any sort of ranged attacks of their own, and aren't locked into melee.

And, to be honest, given a "balanced" party, the odds are that the archer is off the table as a target for most rounds of most combats, as the enemies have to deal with the melee beasts in their face, rather than the ranged beast way th eheck over there.

@Avatar-1: Not so much stability issues, but that certain spells can completely shut down the archer, either until he repositions himself, or goes into melee.

Wall of Air, for instance, blocks archery completely when it is between the archer and his target. Same, of course, for most of the other Wall spells. Most of them just require repositioning, but that also depends on the size of the encounter area. IMO, Wall of Force is the hardest to deal with, since it is basically invisible, so much harder to determine where you can go to get line of effect on someone.

Also, especially at lower levels or with certain builds, having an enemy in your face, especially if they have Combat Reflexes, can make using your bow a Bad Idea (tm). Zen Archers, Rangers and Fighters all have ways to negate causing AoOs with bow shots, but most other classes don't have access to the required feat or ability.

[Avatar-1]

Hey, everyone's got a role to play. Sometimes I'm glad we have a damage dealer around, and I worry if he/she goes down.

Everyone shouldn't be expected to be able to do everything that's not in their primary role; only to be able to switch around if things go awry.

[Sior]

kinevon wrote:

And, to be honest, given a "balanced" party, the odds are that the archer is off the table as a target for most rounds of most combats, as the enemies have to deal with the melee beasts in their face, rather than the ranged beast way th eheck over there.

This. We archers tend to stay in the back anyway. Would you rather the party get flanked and the archer is knocked down so he's providing zero support? Or would you rather he be safe whatever the enemy's tactics are whilst raining arrows? Besides, if the party on the ground does fall, it's nice to have someone surviving to bring everyone back (assuming they don't get knocked off the carpet or the duration of their celestial armor's fly spell wears off...).

[Victor Zajic]

N N 959 wrote:

CRobledo wrote:

(no, you cannot have silvered blunt arrows, they do not have a metal tip).

PRD wrote:

Weapon Blanch: These alchemical powders have a gritty consistency. When poured on a weapon and placed over a hot flame for a full round, they melt and form a temporary coating on the weapon. The blanching gives the weapon the ability to bypass one kind of material-based damage reduction, such as adamantine, cold iron, or silver. The blanching remains effective until the weapon makes a successful attack. Each dose of blanching can coat one weapon or up to 10 pieces of ammunition. Only one kind of weapon blanch can be on a weapon at one time, though a weapon made of one special material (such as adamantine) can have a different material blanch (such as silver), and counts as both materials for the first successful hit.

I'm not seeing anything that says blanch can only be used on metal weapons. Is there a FAQ somewhere?

Quote:

a buckler - free armor class, no ACP (after mwk) and no detriment to using one when doing archery. No minus to hit, no loosing the AC bonus. Enchant it later along with armor for cheap AC.

PRD wrote:

Buckler: This small metal shield is worn strapped to your forearm. You can use a bow or crossbow without penalty while carrying it. You can also use your shield arm to wield a weapon (whether you are using an off-hand weapon or using your off hand to help wield a two-handed weapon), but you take a –1 penalty on attack rolls while doing so. This penalty stacks with those that may apply for fighting with your off hand and for fighting with two weapons. In any case, if you use a weapon in your off hand, you lose the buckler's AC bonus until your next turn. You can cast a spell with somatic components using your shield arm, but you lose the buckler's AC bonus until your next turn. You can't make a shield bash with a buckler.

Emphasis mine.

The way I read this, you don't get the AC bonus of the buckler in any round that you...

The only penalty mentioned in the rules you qouted is the -1 attack penalty. Losing the buckler's ac bonus does not equal an ac penalty.

[Paz]

Howie23 wrote:

With respect to buckler and archery: my understanding is that there is no penalty when used with a bow. There is a difference between a penalty and not getting a bonus. Penalty is a game term. You don't take the penalty to hit, nor do you get the bonus to AC when using a buckler with a bow.

That's my understanding too. Having a buckler on your arm doesn't give you a penalty to hit with your bow, but a bow is a two-handed weapon to use, so you don't get the shield bonus to AC for the next round. Looking back at old threads on this topic, while there is no official ruling, that does seem to be the consensus view.

[Chris Lambertz]

Removed a post. Let's try to keep this discussion on the topic of archery items, please.

[Eric Saxon]

Personally, I feel the archer is a great addition to any party unlike some who think DMG is over rated.

If I can do enough damage to take out an enemy cleric or caster before he gets off, one spell, then half of the fight is already in the bag and then its just clean up time for everyone else.

I mean really, how worried are you about a fight if the archer drops one of the people attacking your party in an encounter, with 3 well placed arrows? How often are your encounters against 10+ opponents? Not that many, unless they are all goblins, right? So, in a 5 v 5 encounter if the archer can take out one of them in a single flurry of (Multishot, Manyshot + 2 standard attack) you are now down to 5 v 4. And every round afterwards the archer just keeps doing more dmg.

[Sarta]

Eric Saxon wrote:

Personally, I feel the archer is a great addition to any party unlike some who think DMG is over rated.

I don't feel damage is over rated at all, but I do find a lack of utility frustrating. It's why I personally prefer ranger, inquisitor, or bard archers.

[Dhjika]

Tim Vincent wrote:

Eric Saxon wrote:

What are the best PFS legal items for archers and what do they cost vs. what do they do?

Anyone have a list of good items? (non-weapons)

Best is a superlative.

Boots of Escape are pretty good for when you are grappled - nothing quite hurts an archer's day when grappled.

Goz Mask - nothing like seeing through fog and smoke - very nice indeed for Rogue Archers. Combine it with a wand of obscuring mist.

Necklace of Adaptation - seeing through the cloudkill/stinking cloud doesn't help much if you are affected by it.

Ring of Feather Fall when you are knocked off your flying platform or flying mount.

A flying figurine - assuming you are your equipment is under 300 pounds.

[Dhjika]

kinevon wrote:

Howie23 wrote:

Wall of Air, for instance, blocks archery completely when it is between the archer and his target.

Wind Wall - Arrows and bolts are deflected upward and miss, while any other normal ranged weapon passing through the wall has a 30% miss chance.

I know its a weapon - and you didn't want weapons - but if you are martial proficient - get some Chakrums. If you have a prehensile tail you might be able to Rapid Shot with them (it varies by GM) - or Quick Draw.

The Wind Wall gives a 30% miss chance but I recall there are things you can do to lower your miss chance.

Chakrums have a 30 foot increment - 1d8 slashing damage - another reason to pick some up - and at 1 gp each and 1 lb weight, most people should be able to have a few.

[Eric Saxon]

Will Johnson wrote:

Eric Saxon wrote:

Personally, I feel the archer is a great addition to any party unlike some who think DMG is over rated.

I don't feel damage is over rated at all, but I do find a lack of utility frustrating. It's why I personally prefer ranger, inquisitor, or bard archers.

I play a Face fighter(archer) and when it comes to talking nice to a person, my PC does it. So utility is not a class specific thing IMO, its a player specific ability. If your Ranger min/maxes combat stats and dumps INT, WIS and CHA he'll be just as useless. Its all about the player, not the class, IMO.

[neferphras]

Eric Saxon wrote:

Will Johnson wrote:

Eric Saxon wrote:

Personally, I feel the archer is a great addition to any party unlike some who think DMG is over rated.

I don't feel damage is over rated at all, but I do find a lack of utility frustrating. It's why I personally prefer ranger, inquisitor, or bard archers.

I play a Face fighter(archer) and when it comes to talking nice to a person, my PC does it. So utility is not a class specific thing IMO, its a player specific ability. If your Ranger min/maxes combat stats and dumps INT, WIS and CHA he'll be just as useless. Its all about the player, not the class, IMO.

Why are the alchemical archery items not allowed? I posted this question in rules, and evidently they are not allowed in PFS play, but why? At least in my area, gunslingers are the new archers, dont see many archers at all. Allowing these items might start a bow revival of sorts. But again why are these not allowed, i dont see any of them as game breaking. They may balance the gunslinger if allowed from what i am seeing out there.

[Jiggy]

What items are you talking about? Nothing you quoted talks about "alchemical archery items", and that's a long and old thread for folks to have to go back and read through to figure out what you mean.

[David_Bross]

Which alchemical archery items are disallowed specifically? I see none in additional resources....

[neferphras]

David_Bross wrote:

Which alchemical archery items are disallowed specifically? I see none in additional resources....

The the topic is Archery Items, which would include niffty ammo

Alchemical Archery is in the Elves of Golorian campaign thingy. Page 22 and 23. Since those pages are not called out in additional resources, i was told they are not allowed when i asked in the rules forum. So, ok fine, i found this as the most relevant thread on the society page, and i am asking why? I dont see these items as game changing, and sorta a fun thing to balance the dominance of gunslingers in range warfare. So why not?

[neferphras]

Pathfinder Player Companion: Elves of Golarion
Equipment: clustershot, healer's sorrow, and sparkfly crystal arrow weapon qualities; Gods: all gods on page 10; Traits: all traits on page 15 except Kyonin Gatekeeper and Lapsed Faith

that's what additional resources says on Elves of Golarion. Since pages 22 23 are not included i was told they are out.

I am all for that being not the case, but that is what i was told, they are not allowed because they were not included in additional resources.

[Jiggy]

And to clarify, you're just asking why they're not allowed?

No idea. Might be a canon conflict, might have mechanics not conducive to organized play, might be overpowered, might be something else. We're usually not told the reason for something not being allowed.

EDIT: And yes, anything not in Core has to be explicitly opened up in Additional Resources to be legal.

[neferphras]

you are correct i am asking why not allowed? It would make the archer character set more fun and not totally outclassed when compared to the always range touch gunslinger.

I play and alchemist,so i am range touch most of the time anyway, but everytime i see a ranger archer and gunslinger in a party, i feel for the archer (ranger or fighter) Gunslinger hits...pretty much always, because they are range touch. The ranger misses, a lot, because they are not, so why not give them some fun gimmick shots to compensate. Makes zero sense to me why these are not allowed.

[Jiggy]

If you were to post the text of the items, we could start speculating. :)

[neferphras]

well i am really trying to see if we can get that changed but... here you go.

Bleeding arrow, cost 360 gp per arrow
Benefit: A bleeding arrow deals normal damage when it hits a creature. Each round thereafter, the creature bleeds for 1 point of damage until the bleeding is stopped by a DC 10 Heal check or the application of a cure spell or some other healing magic. A critical hit does not multiply the bleed damage. Creatures immune to critical hits (such as plants and constructs) are immune to the bleed damage dealt by this weapon.

Durable Arrow 1gp per arrrow
Benefit: Durable arrows don’t break due to normal use, whether or not they hit their target; unless the arrow goes missing, an archer can retrieve and reuse a durable arrow again and again. Durable arrows can be broken in other ways (such as deliberate snapping, hitting a fire elemental, and so on).

Drawback: If crafted with magic (such as bane), the magic only lasts for one use of the arrow, but the nonmagical arrow can still be reused or imbued with magic again.

Dye arrow 1gp per arrow
Benefit: Firing a dye arrow is a ranged touch attack; a creature struck by a dye arrow takes no damage but is splashed with black, blue, green, or red marker dye (see Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting 213) sufficient to coat about 1 square foot.

Lodestone arrow 10gp per arrow
Action: Pulling the string to break the seal and activate the reaction in the arrowhead is a move action.

Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus on attack rolls when firing a lodestone arrow at a target wearing a significant amount of metal armor (at least chain mail or a metal shield) or made of metal. The increased magnetism fades 1 round after you activate it, after which time it is a normal arrow.

Special: In areas with a lot of magnetic metal, the attack bonus may drop to 0 or even become a penalty as competing sources steer the arrow away from your intended target.

Drawback: The magnetized arrow only deals half damage.

Pheromone arrow 15gp per arrow
Benefit: Any creature with the scent ability gains a +2 bonus on attack and damage rolls made against a target marked with a pheromone arrow. This effect lasts for 1 hour or until the target spends 1 minute washing.

Raining arrow 30 gp per arrow
Benefit: The reservoir of holy water is designed to burst on impact, hitting the target and splashing nearby creatures as if you had thrown the vial.

Drawback: A raining arrow has a –2 penalty on attack rolls due to its weight.

Slowburn arrow 150 gp per arrow

Benefit: On your turn, 1 round after impact, the burst of flame deals 1d6 points of fire damage to the target.

Drawback: The extra weight of this arrowhead gives you a –1 penalty on attack rolls with the arrow.

Smoke arrow 10gp per arrow
Benefit: A smoke arrow trails smoke as it flies, and creates a 5-foot cube of smoke where it strikes. It otherwise functions like a normal arrow in terms of damage, range, and so on.

Splintercloud arrow 25 gp per arrow
Benefit: When fired, the numerous bone fragments tear themselves apart, forming a 5-foot burst of razor-sharp bones that deals 1d3 points of piercing damage (Reflex DC 18 negates).

Tanglefoot arrow 20 gp per arrow
Benefit: You fire a tangleshot arrow as a ranged touch attack; the arrow deals no damage when it hits, but the target is splashed with the alchemical adhesive. The reduced amount of the glue means this arrow is less effective than an actual tanglefoot bag (DC 10 Reflex save, DC 12 Strength check to break, 10 points of slashing damage to cut through, DC 10 Concentration check).

Drawback: The weight of a tangleshot arrow reduces its range increment to half normal.

Trip arrow, 25 gp per arrow
enefit: If the arrow hits, it makes a trip attack against the target with a CMB of +5; the target falls prone if it fails its check, but if it succeeds it cannot attempt to trip you in return.

[David_Bross]

Some of these arrows are in ultimate equipment, some are ridiculous and they're better not in the game...

[CRobledo]

neferphras wrote:

Bleeding arrow, cost 360 gp per arrow

Benefit: A bleeding arrow deals normal damage when it hits a creature. Each round thereafter, the creature bleeds for 1 point of damage until the bleeding is stopped by a DC 10 Heal check or the application of a cure spell or some other healing magic. A critical hit does not multiply the bleed damage. Creatures immune to critical hits (such as plants and constructs) are immune to the bleed damage dealt by this weapon.

For starters, some of these are just flat-out wrong...

Was Elves of Golarion released as a 3.5 and not PF product? Because that would explain it!

Edit: A quick search reveals that it is indeed a 3.5 and not a PF product. Not surprised so much of it is not legal.

[Sammy T]

Oil of Daylight: Supernatural darkness is a bad thing

Smoked Goggles: Gaze attacks are a bad thing

Weapon Cord: Being disarmed is a bad thing

Fortifying Stone: Having your bow sundered is a very bad thing

[neferphras]

elves of Golarion
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Publisher's Product Page
(Book)
Author(s) Hal Maclean & Jeff Quick
Publisher Paizo Publishing, LLC
Price Print: $9.99
PDF: $6.99
Released October 2008
Type Accessory
Binding Paperback
Pages 32 pages
ISBN ISBN 978-1-60125-143-5
Series Pathfinder Companion
Follows Second Darkness
Precedes Osirion: Land of Pharaohs
Artwork from Elves of Golarion

what points to it being 3.5? not saying its not, just references Osirion, so was thinking it was Pathfinder.

[Jiggy]

Keep in mind that Paizo was publishing the Pathfinder Campaign Setting long before the Pathfinder RPG existed. The Pathfinder RPG is actually named after the Pathfinder Campaign Setting, which was created for use with the 3.5 rules.

[Hobbun]

neferphras wrote:

elves of Golarion

Elves of Golarion
Publisher's Product Page
(Book)
Author(s) Hal Maclean & Jeff Quick
Publisher Paizo Publishing, LLC
Price Print: $9.99
PDF: $6.99
Released October 2008
Type Accessory
Binding Paperback
Pages 32 pages
ISBN ISBN 978-1-60125-143-5
Series Pathfinder Companion
Follows Second Darkness
Precedes Osirion: Land of Pharaohs
Artwork from Elves of Golarion

what points to it being 3.5? not saying its not, just references Osirion, so was thinking it was Pathfinder.

Emphasis mine, this is what tells you this was a 3.5 supplement. The Pathfinder RPG (Core Rulebook) was not released until August 2009. Due to Elves of Golarian is a 2008 release tells you this is 3.5.

But as someone had someone had said, Ultimate Equipment has at least one of these arrows, I believe the Smoke Arrow is the only one. And looking under Additional Resources for Ultimate Equipment, I don't see it being banned.

[neferphras]

CRobledo wrote:

neferphras wrote:

Bleeding arrow, cost 360 gp per arrow

Benefit: A bleeding arrow deals normal damage when it hits a creature. Each round thereafter, the creature bleeds for 1 point of damage until the bleeding is stopped by a DC 10 Heal check or the application of a cure spell or some other healing magic. A critical hit does not multiply the bleed damage. Creatures immune to critical hits (such as plants and constructs) are immune to the bleed damage dealt by this weapon.

For starters, some of these are just flat-out wrong...

Was Elves of Golarion released as a 3.5 and not PF product? Because that would explain it!

Edit: A quick search reveals that it is indeed a 3.5 and not a PF product. Not surprised so much of it is not legal.

I do not disagree with you on this one. I put the full list out there for discussion. Bleeding arrow, though expensive, i can see leaving banned.

Dye arrow is just funny.. love that one
Pheromone arrow, with a ranger animal companion... i mean how cool in game would that be to see in game.

[Gwen Smith]

For what it's worth, I have a Hawkeye-like archer in a home game with an efficient quiver and nearly every type of special arrow. So far, in three levels, I've used the following:

• Durable (these are the ones I use by default. I have all my special material arrow heads on these)
  
• Blunt (to do bludgeoning damage vs skeletons and do non-lethal at -4 penalty)
  
• Tanglefoot bolt (only twice, not very effective)
  
• Thistle (once, just to force a wizard to make concentration checks based on continuing damage)
  
• Whistling (once, to summon the guard in Magnimar--not specifically needed, but darn it, I really wanted to use one!)
  
• Raining (one fight against hordes of ghouls--I keep forgetting I have these, really)
  

I've never had occasion to use the pheromone arrow (but no animal companion), the smoke arrow, or the splintercloud arrow. The slow burn didn't seem worth the price, to me, but I have an alchemist in the party. I also didn't get the trip arrow because I have a low CMB (if I take the Agile Maneuvers feet, I'll probably pick some up). With a composite longbow, flight arrows or distance arrows are pretty pointless, but if you're using some other type of bow, you might find a use for them.

Durable and Blunt have been my bread-and-butter. Blunt and smoke arrows are available in PFS, and I think thistle are as well. The ones I really miss in PFS play are the durable ones, but I can get magic items/abundant ammunition more easily in PFS to make up for it.

Adaptive bow is definitely the must-have item. Until I can find one/have one made, my archer carries several different strength ratings of composite bows to adjust for buffs and debuffs. Remember, with composite bows, you also take a minus to hit if your strength isn't high enough. She also carries a shortbow to use while riding from place to place. (Yay, efficient quiver!)

Consider "Conserving" on the bow, also, if you don't have access to the Abundant Ammunition spell. For spells, you'll probably want Gravity Bow and Aspect of the Falcon. (These are both on the ranger spell list.)

I don't think Bracers of Archery are worth the price. If I'm primarily an archer, I would rather spend a level dip or a feat to get bow proficiency early on rather than wait until I can afford a magic item to use my primary weapon. There are also more generally useful items that take up the same slot.

[CRobledo]

Dorothy Lindman wrote:

Remember, with composite bows, you also take a minus to hit if your strength isn't high enough.

Note this is only if you natural STR is not high enough. If your strength is lowered due to penalties like ability damage then it does not affect your ability to use a composite bow (other than the actual effects of the ability damage, such as lower ranged attack rolls if your DEX is damaged). If you use a composite bow and you take 2 STR damage, all you loose is 1 damage.

This is of course not the case for ability drain, as drain is an actual decrease of a score.