No not to my knowledge. Metal isn't bendy enough to make a bow out of.
*Yes, this is a gross simplification but really, there is no benefit to making a bow out of metal and most metal would be completely unsuitable. Also most metal is going to be too stiff to flex the arms and make it unusable.
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No not to my knowledge. Metal isn't bendy enough to make a bow out of.
*Yes, this is a gross simplification but really, there is no benefit to making a bow out of metal and most metal would be completely unsuitable. Also most metal is going to be too stiff to flex the arms and make it unusable.
Why Crossbows are not made of Metal correct?
This is one of those things you discuss with your DM/GM.
But the Answer is No rule that I know of, but then again We only use Core
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Is there a particular reason to make a bow out of metal? The arrows are the ones getting through DR.
At most, metal will make it sunder resistant, and maybe less likely to have problems with fire and such.
Why Crossbows are not made of Metal correct?
And crossbows usually have mechanical devices to help hold the string back, and many of them are designed to be pulled back using the foot.
Metal can bend... but it is rather had to balance three important needs:
1. When it bends, enough potential force is there to send the arrow flying properly.
2. The metal wants to return to an unbent position, and doesn't easily stay bent
3. bend using the force of human arms alone.
That last one is the big problem, I would imagine. It is why you only really see metal bows when you have recursive stuff that uses pullies to make the pulling easier.
I have seen several crossbows with metal bows and horn was a very common material to make early recurve bows out of so it should be do able. The thing would be ungodly heavy and have a pretty heavy draw but it should technically work.
And crossbows mostly got by since they used metal that was stiff and hard enough to bend that you would probably pull a muscle if you tried to load it using only your arms.
Again- they used your legs and entire body weight and length to help pull the string back.
I see no reason not to allow it as a flavour thing for a masterwork bow. I would take more convincing if you tried to alter the stats, such as it's encumbrance or hardness etc. My counter argument to any of that would be the thinner material balances the greater unit mass and the fine tolerances required make it more susceptible to damage and so it is treated as wood.
If you wanted something like Arrow's bow that can block swords and be used as a melee weapon and most likely be magical; I would build a side adventure out of it that went something along the lines of:
Find a craftsman with suitable expertise (travel to several locations,gather information, ingreatiate yourself with the relevant guilds, potentially fall foul of the Thieves Guild or similar as you've peaked their attention with your investigation)
Convince the craftsman to take your commission (do good deeds, gain fame, do something for the craftsman, pay handsomely)
Whilst waiting for the bow to be made deal with the aftermath of jumping the queue for the craftsman's services (local noble makes trouble for the individual and requires appeasing, the reputation of the guild needs restoring etc)
Once delivered you may have subsequent encounters with collectors who want to obtain the unique weapon through fair means or foul.
Personally, I would just finagle with your GM to allow you to get a permanent casting of Ironwood on a wooden bow if your goal is to have a bow that is a strong as steel.
I'm now thinking of an ifrit with a shape-metal bow fired by way of their internal heat. That would be amazing!
oooo, that would be pretty cool. and non ifrits wouldnt be able to fire it!
Is there any rules for using metal to make a bow instead of a wooden one? I was thinking it'd be cool to have something like a metal recursive bow.
Pretty much for the same reason that metal bows aren't a thing in real life.
Metal bows are a real thing, though uncommon. The only ones I have personally seen have been foot-bows. (Worth lookin up BTW.)
As to an Ifrit using heat to enhance a tension driven metal bow, just no.
The springiness of correct alloys is perfect for a bow, but heat harms metals resilience. You bend a heated metal bow and it just stays bent.
Now an Ifrit powered steam gun/cannon could be a thing, and the dwarves would be so jealous.
Special material availability is entirely dependant upon the special effect the armor/weapon (AKA: it's description).
Isofar as the RAW is concerned, you cannot make longbows or shortbows from metal special materials; because their descriptions specify they are made of wood.
The descriptions of crossbows do not possess any clause stipulating the material they are constructed from that I've found, so the RAW on them is unclear. However, the iconic ranger is pictured with a crossbow with a metal bow, so I assume that an adamantine crossbow should be legal.
However in CRB chapter 7 (additional rules) all projectile weapons are listed as having hardness 5 (the hardness of wood), I assume this implies the developers think all projectile weapons are made of wood.
Never mind that according to the RAW, which states that a weapon's hardness is based upon the weakest material included in it's construction, the hardness of almost all projectile weapons should be 0 as a result of the hardness of their bow strings (regardless of the other materials used in their construction).
That being said, as a GM, I have no problem with players purchasing metal bows, or bows that can be used as melee weapons as well as ranged weapons. Character illustrations for pathfinder are rife with bows and crossbows you can't actually have in-game by the RAW, such as crossbows with undermounted bayonettes, or longbows with blades or spikes attached. As far as game balance goes it wouldn't be much different than wielding a Halfling sling staff.
As to an Ifrit using heat to enhance a tension driven metal bow, just no.
The springiness of correct alloys is perfect for a bow, but heat harms metals resilience. You bend a heated metal bow and it just stays bent.
Oh, duh lol. It would be cool for a psychic or something that could apply generic force effects to draw it though.
You can make bows and crossbows out of metal, but the tech for that is somewhat past medieval times. You need to layer metallic sheets which work like springs to get the thing to bend. When you look at a modern metallic bow it is a central piece of hard metal with two spring-like parts attacked. Such models cannot be built with medieval tech, and I have a feeling that real archers smirk at these bows.
There is also the problem that many archers are simply not strong enough to use a metallic bow. I mean the older model of layered steel, which still did incorporate wood to an extent.
The other problems with metallic bows are of little interest to RPGs: rust, weight to carry, hard to maintain and repair, higher production cost and requiring a facility with appropriate tools (while wooden bows can be made by peasants in wooden huts).
The crossbow on the other hand always used a metallic bow and hence the instrument to load it. What we do every round in a RPG was impossible in real life: getting the thing ready to fire without a tool. On the upside they could punch through a knights armor. The stock was of wood, since that works fine and is much lighter and cheaper than a metal one.
If you are looking into the "I need metal X to beat DR Y" thing, maybe get your DM to think about magical wood equivalents to silver, mithril or adamant instead.
If he needs to beat DR he should remember it doesn't matter what his bow is made of and that he can buy silver/cold iron/adamantine arrows (or bolts) and that those items are what matter.
Or get clustered shots and largely ignore DR.
The only real purpose of a metal bow is to "be cool" or to try and have better hardness for your weapon.
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If he needs to beat DR he should remember it doesn't matter what his bow is made of and that he can buy silver/cold iron/adamantine arrows (or bolts) and that those items are what matter.
Or get clustered shots and largely ignore DR.
The only real purpose of a metal bow is to "be cool" or to try and have better hardness for your weapon.
And to make yourself as afraid of rust monsters as the melee fighters.
You need to add leather and spikes to it if you want to make it metal. *begins headbanging*
Sure. Though unless it's made of super bendy magic metal like mithril or the trees that create metal as part of their growth cycle, it's not going to shoot well. But given that fantasy games have access to materials equal or even better then what we use now for bows, why not?
Metal bows are a real thing, though uncommon. The only ones I have personally seen have been foot-bows. (Worth lookin up BTW.)
Ah, so the same general principle I've been going on about with crossbows, only without the cross bit. You use your whole body length and the force of both arms and legs to get that bow drawn back- powerful, although it comes with the obvious problem that it makes the whole 'archers surprised by infantrymen' an even bigger weakness, since the archers also have to stand up and then perhaps pick up their other weapons.
You need to add leather and spikes to it if you want to make it metal. *begins headbanging*
Oh, so like those harp bows you see, only this one is electric and plugs into a speaker.
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People are seriously complaining about the draw-weight being too big when a mid level barbarian can have more strength then a grizzly bear? How do you think they make +8 strength bows?
And they are obviously made by dwarves. So manufacturing is not a problem.