New Item, Bracers of Archer's Strength

[domino]

Bracers of Archer's Strength

These gloves do not actually increase the strength of the wearer. Instead, what they do is bend the bow, through the use of Warp Wood spell, to bend the bow. The wearer must still use both hands, to hold the arrow, keep tension on the bow, and to aim more accurately.

What it does, essentially, is to allow the wearer to count as having the strength needed to pull a mighty bow, no matter what their normal strength score may be.

Moderate transmutation; CL 8th; Craft Wondrous Item, Warp Wood; Price 5,000 gp;Weight 1 lb

 

[Pyrex]

You may want to list the effetive STR provided by the Bracers. I'd probably cost them at about half the cost of the Belt of Giant Strength since they do the same thing but less well.

If any of my PC's had those Bracers they'd immediately commission a Mighty (+20) Composite Longbow because the Bracers let him use it...

 

[domino]

You may want to list the effetive STR provided by the Bracers. I'd probably cost them at about half the cost of the Belt of Giant Strength since they do the same thing but less well.

If any of my PC's had those Bracers they'd immediately commission a Mighty (+20) Composite Longbow because the Bracers let him use it...

You think that's awkward, what would it do with an elven greatbow, which matches its strength level to that of the shooter.

But I wouldn't price it as an exponential figure like a belt of strength. Keep in mind, it's good for only one thing, just the bow. No carrying capacity, no bonus to hit, no strength checks. Just bending wood.

You could always just say that a str 20 bow is impossible to engineer.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Definitely exponential like a belt of strength. Otherwise, it will tilt the balance between archers and melee characters dramatically in archers' favor. In fact, I'd probably take a belt of strength and maybe give a 15-20% discount because it doesn't give all of the benefits of a belt of strength. However, it does give nine out of ten of the benefits that an archer cares about so it shouldn't be much cheaper than the belt.

 

[genshou]

This would never work for me, but that's because I use alternate bow rules which allow for a Str of up to 30 to affect the use of a properly-built weapon (though wielders are still limited by how their height compares with the bow's span).

For a normal game? Looks good. I'd drop the price to 4,000 gp, myself, though that's with the assumption of comparing 3E item prices. I'm not sure how certain items I'm comparing it to might have changed in 3.5.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Eeek! How much for a mighty [+20] composite longbow again? So, 7400 gp for a bow that deals 1d8+20 damage. As written, this item breaks archers like a egg in head on auto wreck. Even if you just stick with a fairly standard +4 or +6 bow, it's still by far the best deal out there in terms of damage. It should either be exponentially priced based on the maximum bonus (or increase) or it shouldn't exist at all.

For a normal game? Looks good. I'd drop the price to 4,000 gp, myself, though that's with the assumption of comparing 3E item prices. I'm not sure how certain items I'm comparing it to might have changed in 3.5.

 

[domino]

Exponentially doesn't work though, because the point is that it doesn't matter how strong you have to be. It's bending the wood magically, not just pulling back. There's only one set, not several sets with different values.

Maybe if I were to put a cap of +5 on it, would that make it more reasonable?

 

[genshou]

Eeek! How much for a mighty [+20] composite longbow again? So, 7400 gp for a bow that deals 1d8+20 damage. As written, this item breaks archers like a egg in head on auto wreck. Even if you just stick with a fairly standard +4 or +6 bow, it's still by far the best deal out there in terms of damage. It should either be exponentially priced based on the maximum bonus (or increase) or it shouldn't exist at all.

I believe that post indicated a Str score of 20, not a Str modifier of +20, which would be a score of 50.

 

[evolved]

nope the bow price is based on the mod not the score

 

[Cecil Solomon]

Hm, I'd still price it exponentially, depending on how much power is used. I like the concept, but the argument that using warp wood to pull the bow back doesn't work 100% since the warp removes the elastic spring that propels the arrow forward.

Since the warp wood spell is not a temporary effect, it requires a second application to return the bow to it's original shape. The exponential cost covers the timing necessary to match the release spell. Or something along those lines.

I'd have to really look at this in depth for a reasonable answer. For balance purposes, I'd stick with the exponential increase.