D&D 5E Nonmagical arrows and magic bows

[dd.stevenson]

I think it's just that at no point does the book say they don't stack, and thus far most things do.

Not arguing that interpretation, but it sure has heck ain't the same thing as an affirmative guideline in the DMG.

They don't even have examples of +1 arrows or bows in the DMG as far as I can tell. Does anyone recall these items listed elsewhere?

 

[PnPgamer]

Not arguing that interpretation, but it sure has heck ain't the same thing as an affirmative guideline in the DMG.

They don't even have examples of +1 arrows or bows in the DMG as far as I can tell. Does anyone recall these items listed elsewhere?

My character owned +1 longbow back in beta. Otherwise i have no idea.

 

[seebs]

Not arguing that interpretation, but it sure has heck ain't the same thing as an affirmative guideline in the DMG.

They don't even have examples of +1 arrows or bows in the DMG as far as I can tell. Does anyone recall these items listed elsewhere?

It's true that they don't say that they definitely stack, but they list both "ammunition" and "weapons" as things that can be +1, +2, or +3. The only specific magical bow (the Oathbow) isn't listed as having a plus value, but they don't say "Weapon (any melee)", but "Weapon (any)" in the +N weapon listing.

The existence of "ammunition, +1" as a thing does suggest that +1 arrows can exist.

I would assume that they stack, and also that you don't need +N arrows to be an effective archer.

 

[PnPgamer]

Not arguing that interpretation, but it sure has heck ain't the same thing as an affirmative guideline in the DMG.

They don't even have examples of +1 arrows or bows in the DMG as far as I can tell. Does anyone recall these items listed elsewhere?

My character owned +1 longbow back in beta. Otherwise i have no idea.

 

[PnPgamer]

.. and also that you don't need +N arrows to be an effective archer.

This. Dnd 5th edition is built in the way that armor class doesnt escape into stratosphere in high levels. Magical arrows are not necessary at all.

 

[Quartz]

This. Dnd 5th edition is built in the way that armor class doesnt escape into stratosphere in high levels. Magical arrows are not necessary at all.

Unless you come across a critter immune to non-magical weapons.

 

[Leatherhead]

There are a few things to consider here:

• Magical ammunition is made un-magical the moment it hits something.
  That means they are consumables, intended for tight scrapes such as a fight gone sour or a boss fight that would be beyond the normal means, and not for everyday sniping or prolonged wars against the devils or whatever.
• You can get +3 ammo around the time you can get a +1 weapon.
• The Arrow of Slaying is back, so that high level archers can still have "The Nuclear Option"
• Magical Bows give a bonus on damage as well as to hit.
  This would imply that the magic of the bow transfers over to a normal arrow for damage purposes.
  

From all that I would say:

• You would be perfectly within reason to only give out some +1 arrows (or whatever) to a low level party who are going to fight one or two things with a resistance or immunity to non-magic weapons.
• It would be quite unreasonable, and unnecessarily punitive, for a magic bow to not overcome this kind of resistance/immunity. Especially if you are making the group fight many monsters with them.
• Stacking bonuses should only be allowed if you don't allow the sharpshooter feat, to make up for cover. Otherwise I would just use the highest bonus because that is way to much math for bounded accuracy.

 

[dd.stevenson]

Stacking bonuses should only be allowed if you don't allow the sharpshooter feat, to make up for cover. Otherwise I would just use the highest bonus because that is way to much math for bounded accuracy.

Stacking ammo and bow on top of the sharpshooter feat is one of my key concerns.

The fact that there don't seem to be any official examples of +x ranged weapons also strikes me as a huge warning sign. (I'm still looking around for an example of such--if anyone knows of one, please point it out!)

I have a PC (w/ sharpshooter) who will certainly want to make a magical bow at the first opportunity, and I'm struggling to suss out some guidelines before we proceed.

 

[MonkeezOnFire]

According to Jeremy on twitter (sage advice link) the bonuses from magical ammo and magical bow do stack. He also explains that magic ammunition should be found/crafted one at a time (which would make hoarding lots of them quite hard).

 

[aramis erak]

The fact that there don't seem to be any official examples of +x ranged weapons also strikes me as a huge warning sign. (I'm still looking around for an example of such--if anyone knows of one, please point it out!)

HotDQ - magic longbow, +1. Chapter 4