The Ebon Vault: Bows of War

Archery at its Finest

            While the bow and arrow is a staple of the fantasy genre—it seems that every elf, at least, is born with a bow already in his hands—it hasn’t received that much love throughout the years. In the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, there are only 3 magic weapon special abilities that are restricted to ranged weapons (and one of those is only for thrown weapons), while there are 12 that are reserved for melee weapons. This book aims to shake things up a bit, with 50 brand new weapon special abilities, covering the entire range of prices from a mere 600 gp all the way up to no less than five +5-equivalent abilities. The book is focused on abilities specifically for projectile weapons, but there are numerous abilities that can be used on other kinds of ranged weapons, and even a few that can be applied to any weapon.

            Take for example the animating shot property, which causes creature slain by the weapon to rise as zombie servants who obey the commands of the weapon’s wielder. Or deadly shot, which allows the wielder to apply sneak attack to ranged attacks made with it, provided that his target is being flanked. What about the powerful +5-equivalent opportune weapon ability, which causes you to threaten all squares within one range increment and make attacks of opportunity for the purposes of everything but movement?

            But the book isn’t all about weapon properties, nor is it all about the bow and arrow. There are also a number of new mundane weapons and mundane ammunition. Consider the tension crossbow, which allows its wielder to ratchet it up to higher tension levels in order to deal more damage, and serves as a crossbowman’s version of a composite bow (with its own unique twist). You’ll also find arrows with bladed fletching, or narrow heads for greater puncturing power, or the infamous orcish fear arrows.

            Finally, the book also contains 10 specific projectile weapons, each with an extensive background and history as well as a physical description, but also including a special ability unique to that weapon.

            If you’ve ever used a ranged weapon before, and think you ever might again, don’t miss out on this opportunity to take bows and crossbows to the next level with our creative, fun, and exciting enhancements to these beloved weapons.