Archer looking for Arrow options

[Nosta1300]

looking to have a few non standard arrow options

I have regular steel Arrow
Mithril arrows
Cold Iron Arrows

but any that do anything besides damage ?

[I grok do u]

You can find more options under Alchemical weapons for tangleshot and trip arrows. Under Ammunition smoke arrows, whistling arrows, and barbed arrows have some utility, along with blunt arrows that change damage type to bludgeoning.

[Java Man]

Pheromone arrows are fun if anyone has an animal companion or summons animals.

[Taja the Barbarian]

For damage, try using Cold Iron Arrows with Weapon Blanch (Silver) for your basic DR x/Silver and DR x/Cold Iron needs.

For DR x/Adamantine, you'll also want some Weapon Blanch (Adamantine) as well.

[Azothath]

really a perennial topic

→ Ammo on AoN

→ Alchemical Weapons on AoN with various tricks. Check the DCs as they tend to be rather low.

→ Alchemical Tools on AoN with Weapon Blanches.

→ Poisons on AoN can get expensive for the effect and DCs vary.

(20) cold iron(cFe) arrows with Silver(Ag) blanch applied [10], $7.
(6) thistle arrows, $6.
(2-4) blunt durable adamantine arrows, $(number of arrows)*62.
You could get Ghost Salt Weapon Blanch but the spellcasters are generally more effective.

see, Items that can save you thread.

[Firebug]

Azothath wrote:

really a perennial topic

...
(2-4) blunt durable adamantine arrows, $(number of arrows)*62.

Durable(or any of the Kyonin Alchemical Archery items) can only be applied to piercing ammunition per the Alchemy Manual. Its in the paragraph above the item entries, but everyone uses online resources and misses that restiction.

Also, Blunt Arrows have a wooden head, so no metal to be replaced with Adamantine.

[Azothath]

Azothath wrote:

really a perennial topic...

(20) cold iron(cFe) arrows with Silver(Ag) blanch applied [10], $7.
(6) thistle arrows, $6.
(2-4) durable adamantine arrows, $(number of arrows)*61.
You could get Ghost Salt Weapon Blanch but the spellcasters are generally more effective.

see, Items that can save you thread.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

There's really no reason you couldn't make blunt arrows with metal heads. It would cost more and be harder to make but there really isn't a good reason it wouldn't work.

Are you strictly limited to stuff in official books? If not you could ask your GM if you could buy/make trick arrows like Green Arrow.

[Azothath]

the RAW details

Kyonin Alchemy Manual text:

Other Types of Ammunition: While Kyonin archers prefer alchemical arrows to other missile weapons, characters can infuse other ammunition and thrown weapons that deal piercing damage (such as crossbow bolts, darts, and shuriken) with alchemical effects.
Aside from differing base statistics, these alternative types of alchemical ammunition have effects identical to the alchemical arrows listed here. However, firearm ammunition can’t be imbued with alchemical ingredients, nor can ammunition types that don’t deal piercing damage.

Bleed Arrow $160 (plant thorn tip)
Durable Arrow $1
Dye Arrow $1 (no damage, crystal tip)
Loadstone Arrow $10 (iron tip)
Pheromone Arrow %15
Raining Arrow $30
Slow Burn Arrow $100
Splintercloud Arrow $25 (bone tip)
Tangleshot Arrow $20 (no damage, vial tip)
Trip Arrow $40 (no damage)
===end===

3 items deal no damage, so BPS is moot.
Several arrow heads are not metal which is more than just an alchemical change.

blunt arrows. These arrows have rounded wooden tips that deal bludgeoning damage rather than piercing. An archer can use a blunt arrow to deal nonlethal damage (at the normal –4 attack penalty for using a lethal weapon to deal nonlethal damage).

[Azothath]

Durable should apply to any arrow as it is more about the arrow and structural issues than any specific arrowhead. The description supports this rationale. Practically it replaces broken arrows (see mending:T0 also) while destroyed is 0.05gp down the drain. I think alot of people view this practical impact as the primary functional reason.

It would be sensible for GMs to use blunt (metal, wood, crystal, etc) tips for blunt arrows.

One of the problems with the Game is practical repair via Craft skill. The GM has to determine the cost to fit an adamantine arrowhead onto an arrow (if that's all there IS to an adamantine arrow). There's also the repair of the mundane vs magical items and how masterwork falls into this.
Once the game transitions into 5-7th level then details like this fade into a background cost.