Ok, more noob questions from me =P
So with composite longbows, I know that, if your Strength bonus is lower than that stated for the bow, you take a -2 to all attack rolls with it, and you can also add your Strength bonus to damage rolls if your Strength is high enough.
The part that confuses me, however, is this:
"this feature allows you to add your Strength bonus to damage, up to the maximum bonus indicated for the bow."
So say for example I have a comp. longbow with a +0 Strength bonus - if I have a +3 bonus to Strength, do I not get to add my Strength bonus to the damage? Or do I have this wrong?
You only add the strength bonus of the bow. For a bow with a +0 strength bonus you get no extra damage.
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For a composite longbow with strength +0 you would add no bonus damage from strength.
For a composite longbow with strength +3 you could add up to 3 damage from strength, but this would require you to have a 16 strength score. If you had a 14 strength score you would add +2 damage, but take a -2 attack penalty for for having a lower strength score than what it is rated for.
You add the lower of your Str bonus or that of the bow.
Longbow, Composite: You need at least two hands to use a bow, regardless of its size. You can use a composite longbow while mounted. All composite bows are made with a particular strength rating (that is, each requires a minimum Strength modifier to use with proficiency). If your Strength bonus is less than the strength rating of the composite bow, you can't effectively use it, so you take a –2 penalty on attacks with it. The default composite longbow requires a Strength modifier of +0 or higher to use with proficiency. A composite longbow can be made with a high strength rating to take advantage of an above-average Strength score; this feature allows you to add your Strength bonus to damage, up to the maximum bonus indicated for the bow. Each point of Strength bonus granted by the bow adds 100 gp to its cost. If you have a penalty for low Strength, apply it to damage rolls when you use a composite longbow.
Breaking that down:
1) All composite longbows have a Strength rating, starting at +0. No-one uses +0, because a Str +0 composite longbow is inferior to a regular longbow except for use while mounted and a slightly longer range. Let us call the bow's Strength rating +X. This is usually written in a character's gear as "composite longbow (Str +X)". If the gear says, "+1 composite longbow (Str +2)," the +1 is an enchantment and the +2 is the Strength rating.2) Though the text above says, "to use with proficiency," that is a misnomer because "proficiency" has a different definition in the rules. Weapon proficiency with regular longbow gives weapon proficiency with composite longbow. Instead, it should have said, "to use without penalty."
3) If a character with Strength modifier less than +X shoots with the composite longbow, he or she takes a -2 penalty to the attack roll and the character adds his or her actual Strength modifier to the damage instead of the bow's Strength rating.
4) If a character with Strength modifier greater than or equal to +X shoots with the composite longbow, then +X is added to the arrow's damage. This counts as a Strength bonus to damage, so critical hits will multiply it.
5) A composite longbow (Str +1) costs 200 gp, a composite longbow (Str +2) costs 300 gp, a composite longbow (Str +3) costs 400 gp, etc. Masterwork and enchantments cost extra.
Right, thanks for the answers folks, I have one more question though...
When you initially buy a composite longbow, is it possible to upgrade the Strength bonus at a later date? Or does it work like masterwork items, where you can't add the bonus to it once it's been made?
I don't know of a rule that says you can't upgrade your bow. It would be up to your GM in my opinion.
I don't know of a rule that says you can't upgrade your bow. It would be up to your GM in my opinion.Strength rating is set at time of crafting.
The magic bonus for a magic item is also set at the time of crafting. There are rules for upgrading magic items I don't see why you couldn't upgrade the strength rating of a bow. Just my opinion.
The absence of rules saying you can't is not a sufficiently valid reason to say you can.
If your GM allows you to, that is completely within their right. But RAW, the only way to get around it is to make the Comp Longbow +1 (which you will probably do anyways if it's a weapon you're using for the long haul), then pay 1,000 gp to make it Adaptive (which has absolutely no conflict with anything else, and works out rather nicely both when your strength increases from effects like Bull's Strength, or when it decreases from effects like ability drain)
This is one of the only pieces of equipment I can think of that benefits significantly from an upgrade. It hardly needs to have a specific rule created for it. I doubt most characters would even bother with upgrading mundane equipment. Just sell the old item and purchase something new. The only time it probably comes into play would be in the case of a weapon has some sentimental value. Mechanically, an adaptive bow would definitely be the way to go.
Upgrading a low-Str composite bow to a high-Str composite bow is a lot like upgrading a non-composite bow to a composite bow, or for that matter upgrading a short sword to a long sword. The rules don't explicitly prohibit any of these and they sound fine if you don't think about them too hard, but I don't believe any of them make sense when you consider how the items are supposed to be made. You can't just add steel to a short sword to make it a long sword, and you can't just slap some horn and sinew on a non-composite bow to make it a composite bow, and you can't change the distribution of wood/horn/sinew in a composite bow to increase its pull/damage.
EDIT: Wrong, me! Apparently you can change the distribution to increase the pull, according to various results of a Google search. So I hereby flip my position; you should be able to upgrade the Str on a composite bow just fine.
Just sell the old item and purchase something new. The only time it probably comes into play would be in the case of a weapon has some sentimental value.
Hypothetical situation: I'm a character who's got hold of a +5 composite longbow with the wrong strength modifier. I'm a long way from the nearest city and don't have any allies with Craft Magic Weapons or Teleport. Is it possible to fix up my bow with mundane crafting?
Just sell the old item and purchase something new. The only time it probably comes into play would be in the case of a weapon has some sentimental value.Hypothetical situation: I'm a character who's got hold of a +5 composite longbow with the wrong strength modifier. I'm a long way from the nearest city and don't have any allies with Craft Magic Weapons or Teleport. Is it possible to fix up my bow with mundane crafting?
If it's a +5 magic composite longbow? I'd say no. You need the feat in order to modify it.
If it's a mundane composite longbow with a +5 strength rating? It would depend on how good you are at craft Boyer and if you had access to the proper tools.
Either way, if I were that hypothetical character I'd just accept the -2 penalty and plink away.
Well, there's no rules support for it either way, so it's a GM call.
True dat