Compound Bow Parts

[aragwen]

Not sure if I have suggested this before but have been thinking quite a while about it.

Currently to make bow parts you require the following for the different types:
- Gear (four ingots of a particular kind)
- Wire (two ingots of a particular kind)

- Bow parts I (+ 1 mighty to a ranged weapon) (18 nuggets needed)
    * 3 iron gear
    * 3 iron wire
    * 1 essence of power

-  Bow parts II (+ 2 mighty to a ranged weapon) (36 nuggets needed)
    * 3 platinum gear
    * 3 platinum wire
    * 2 essence of power

-  Bow parts III (+ 3 mighty to a ranged weapon) (48 nuggets needed)
    * 4 platinum gear
    * 4 platinum wire
    * 3 essence of power

Now this is a lot of nuggets to collect for something very small that gets attached to a bow from an IC perspective. I can understand that this might be so from a balancing perspective but still think it is to much.

So here is what I suggest with some extra bow parts options added (I know they might be over the top at this time, but just completing the thought process) to the list:
- Gear (two ingots of a particular kind)
- Wire (one ingot of a particular kind)

- Bow parts I (+ 1 mighty to a ranged weapon) (6 nuggets needed)
    * 2 copper gear
    * 2 copper wire
    * 2 essence of power
    * 1 enchanted alexandrite (bull strength)
    * Tinkerer lvl 4 for a 50% chance

- Bow parts II (+ 2 mighty to a ranged weapon) (6 nuggets needed)
    * 2 iron gear
    * 2 iron wire
    * 2 essence of power
    * 1 enchanted alexandrite (bull strength)
    * Tinkerer lvl 9 for a 50% chance

-  Bow parts III (+ 3 mighty to a ranged weapon) (12 nuggets needed)
    * 2 platinum gear
    * 2 platinum wire
    * 3 essence of power
    * 1 enchanted diamond (bull strength)
    * Tinkerer lvl 12 for a 50% chance

-  Bow parts IV (+ 4 mighty to a ranged weapon) (18 nuggets needed)
    * 2 adamantium gear
    * 2 adamantium wire
    * 3 essence of power
    * 1 enchanted diamond (bull strength)
    * Tinkerer lvl 15 for a 50% chance

-  Bow parts V (+ 5 mighty to a ranged weapon) (18 nuggets needed)
    * 2 cobalt gear
    * 2 cobalt wire
    * 4 essence of power
    * 1 enchanted emerald (bull strength)
    * Tinkerer lvl 18 for a 50% chance

-  Bow parts VI (+ 6 mighty to a ranged weapon) (24 nuggets needed)
    * 2 mithril gear
    * 4 mithril wire
    * 4 essence of power
    * 1 enchanted emerald (bull strength)
    * Tinkerer lvl 21 for a 50% chance

Any thoughts or comments?

[Guardian 452]

I had a long winded reply going on how these changes would only make it harder yet to get bow parts made but I deleted it cause it was turning into a rant about how I couldnt even harvest Mahogany alone anymore.

Take out Mithril and add Titanium IMO.

Not that it matters that is an INSANE amount of metal going into something that has little effect in a fight. Most people who have Mighty +6 wont even have a +6 STR modafier so its wasted.

[twidget658]

I use a yew compound bow with a mighty III on it and the person right next to me using the bow from the craft store is doing the same damage.
 
 The real damage comes from the using the right arrow with the right creature and all the feats that you can get for the bow.
 
 But yeah, like G said, I have to use an ancient dire wolf to fight the bad guys while I fight to stay alive.

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

Mighty +1 makes a big difference, actually... Two attacks hitting every round means an extra 2 damage every round... Which adds up. Increase that to Mighty +2 or +3... Well, there you go.

I would say that we should add a STR requirement to the Mighty bows... Perhaps STR 10 for +1, 12 for +2, etc. After all, they're harder to pull, which is why they do more damage.

In terms of altering the bow parts, I'd have to disagree with having anything over +4, and raise the metal by one class.

+1 would take iron, +2 would take plat, +3 would take addy, +4 titanium. Keep the numbers the same, though.

Why not have mighty +5? Well... What primary archer is going to have a STR of 20+, even buffed? Assuming you get the full effects of a Bull's, you'd still need STR 15 to start out with, and you'd usually end up with a +3 modifier anyway.

And... Well... The Toolset's already crammed with items. Way crammed. They're cheating to get the modules to load, y'know.

[aragwen]

 I would say that we should add a STR requirement to the Mighty bows... Perhaps STR 10 for +1, 12 for +2, etc. After all, they're harder to pull, which is why they do more damage.
 

 
 You only get the benefit from a mighty bow if you have the equivalent strength modifier. So for a +3 mighty bow you need 16 strength to get the added damage.
 
 

 Why not have mighty +5? Well... What primary archer is going to have a STR of 20+, even buffed?
 

 
 Well getting to 20 is not really that hard for any high level character with a bull strength spell. Jacchri can get 20 easily and even higher. But that is not the point. I agree that the +5 and +6 mighty's would be very rare and seldom used and could even be totally excluded. But then again who is going to use an emerald and mithril to make it

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

Composite Longbow :: d20srd.org

I understand that you don't get the bonus, but really... Where's that bonus coming from? The pull strength. Let's call a +3 bow one with a 200lbs pull... Can YOU pull that back? *Chuckles.* I sure can't.

In NWN with Mighty bows, I'm not sure how it works with bonuses above one. For example, a character with 14 STR using a Mighty +3 bow... Would (s)he get +2 damage, or nothing?

Also... I would think that even Mighty +1 would use Iron rather than Copper. Just my opinion - it's a tougher material to get, and, after all, it's a +1 material.

[Lord of the Forest]

In NWN with Mighty bows, I'm not sure how it works with bonuses above one. For example, a character with 14 STR using a Mighty +3 bow... Would (s)he get +2 damage, or nothing?

She'd get a +2 str damage bonus.

[Faldred]

Also... I would think that even Mighty +1 would use Iron rather than Copper. Just my opinion - it's a tougher material to get, and, after all, it's a +1 material.

How about Bronze?  It'd be nice to make something useful other than jewelry out of that metal...

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

Bronze weapons and armor are handy, but aye. That sounds alright. Though I'm not sure about the elasticity of Bronze...