The Guild Companion: WYRD BOW

WYRD BOW
(Optional Ranger Base List)

Edited by Lowell R. Matthews for The Guild Companion

Copyright Š2000

Editor's note: Mr. Canavan created and play-tested this supplemental list for the Rangers of his Rolemaster campaign world. It is patterned after the Druidstaff Druid Base List from the first Rolemaster Companion. Special variants of this list might also be created for the archers of mystical orders containing suitable professions other than Rangers (such as Arms Masters, Beastmasters, Monks, Moon Mages, Nightblades, Noble Warriors, Paladins, Sleuths, Warrior Mages, Witch Hunters, or Yamabushi).

Wyrd Bow (Ranger Base List)

	Class	Area of Effect	Duration	Range
1—Minor Bow	F	1 bow	P	touch
2—Fletching I	F	self	1 hr	self
3—Following Wind I	F	self	1 rnd/lvl	self
4—Lesser Bow	F	Minor Bow	P	touch
5—Trick Shot	F	self	1 shot	self
6—Quickload *	U*	self	1 rnd/lvl	self
7—Rune w	UF	Wyrd Bow	varies	touch
8—Force Arrows w	F	Wyrd Bow	1 rnd/lvl	touch
9—Greater Bow	F	Lesser Bow	P	touch
10—Fletching II	F	self	1 hr	self
11—Following Wind II	F	self	1 rnd/lvl	self
12—Flame Arrows w	FE	Wyrd Bow	1 rnd/lvl	touch
13—Defending Bow	D	self/1 bow	1 min/lvl	touch
14—Grapple Arrow	F	1 arrow	1 shot	touch
15—Silver Bow	F	Greater Bow	P	touch
16—Recall Bow w	F	Wyrd Bow	—	1000'/lvl
17—Fletching III	F	self	1 hr	self
18—Bow-Staff w	F	Wyrd Bow	1 rnd/lvl	touch
19—Hammerblast w	F	Wyrd Bow	1 rnd/lvl	touch
20—Golden Bow	F	Silver Bow	P	touch
25—Fletching IV	F	self	1 hr	self
30—Lord Bow	F	Golden Bow	P	touch
35—Following Wind True	F	self	1 rnd/lvl	self
40—Thunderblast w	FE	Wyrd Bow	1 shot	touch
50—True Bow	F	Lord Bow	P	touch

1—MINOR BOW (F): Allows caster to attune himself to a special bow to be called a Wyrd Bow. The caster must either make the bow or somehow be involved in its creation, which may be accomplished through one of the Fletching spells on this list (q.v.). The Minor Bow is a +10 magic bow and may be used with the other spells on this list marked w. If the Minor Bow is ever destroyed, the attuned wielder immediately loses 50% of his concussion hits and functions at –35 for 1–4 weeks.

2—FLETCHING I (F): Allows the caster to create arrows or a bow from the proper raw materials. With one application of this spell, the caster may create up to three arrows, a whole shortbow, half a longbow, or one third of a crossbow or composite bow. All weapons created by means of this spell are considered +0 magic items. (Editor's note: A +0 magic item adds nothing to offensive bonus but is considered magic for such purposes as Large and Super-Large criticals.)

3—FOLLOWING WIND I (F): Increases all of the caster's bow ranges by 50%. (Range penalties/bonuses do not change.)

4—LESSER BOW (F): As Minor Bow, except it turns the caster's Minor Bow into a +10 magic bow that is also a +1 spell adder and reduces its fumble range by 1.

5—TRICK SHOT (F): Allows the caster to add +1 per level to his attack roll when attempting a difficult shot. It also reduces the difficulty of the trick shot by one level (Very Hard becomes Hard, Hard becomes Medium, etc.).

6—QUICKLOAD (U*): Causes the caster's movements while reloading a bow to become more fluid and efficient, allowing him to complete the action in half the usual time.

7—RUNE (UF): Allows the caster to store one spell on his Wyrd Bow, which may then be cast later with no preparation rounds. Only one Rune spell may be in effect at a time. The PP cost of casting is equal to this spell's cost (7) plus that of the spell to be stored in the Rune. The spell to be stored must come from this list or another of the caster's Base Lists.

8—FORCE ARROWS (F): Allows the caster to fire arrows created from magical force from his Wyrd Bow. The Force Arrows are considered +0 magic. The main purpose of this spell is to replace the caster's need to expend real arrows for its duration. The time required to create each Force Arrow is equal to that required to reload normally, though that can be shortened with Quickload (level 6).

9—GREATER BOW (F): As Lesser Bow, except it turns the caster's Lesser Bow into a +15 magic bow that is also a +1 spell adder and reduces its fumble range by 2.

10—FLETCHING II (F): As Fletching I, except the weapons created by means of this spell are +5 magic and have superior resistance to breakage. Arrow breakage factors are reduced by 10 and bows gain RR's (using the caster's level as their own) to resist breaking.

11—FOLLOWING WIND II (F): As Following Wind I, except all ranges are increased 100% (doubled).

12—FLAME ARROWS (FE): As Force Arrows, except the arrows are created from elemental Fire. When they strike, they do Heat criticals instead of Puncture criticals and can ignite flammable materials (hay, oil, thatch, wood, etc.).

13—DEFENDING BOW (D): For the duration of this spell, the caster can add the bonus of his Wyrd Bow to his DB. This does not reduce OB bonus.

14—GRAPPLE ARROW (F): When this spell is cast on an arrow with a cord or rope attached to it, the arrow will automatically overshoot its target, instead looping around that target many times. If used as an attack, the shot is resolved as a Large Grapple Attack. Otherwise, it may be used to set a rope securely in place of a grappling hook. If the spell is recast on the line, the arrow unwinds itself and may be pulled back.

15—SILVER BOW (F): As Greater Bow, except it turns the caster's Greater Bow into a +20 magic bow that is also a +2 spell adder and reduces its fumble range by 2. Furthermore, the Silver Bow may be used in melee combat as a cudgel (with no penalties or increased breakage factors due to being used against its design).

16—RECALL BOW (F): Returns the caster's Wyrd Bow to his outstretched hand at a rate of 1000' per round.

17—FLETCHING III (F): As Fletching II, except the weapons created by means of this spell are +10 magic and arrow breakage factors are reduced by 20.

18—BOW-STAFF (F): Allows the caster to use his Wyrd Bow in melee combat as a quarterstaff, using his normal bow OB as the melee OB.

19—HAMMERBLAST (F): Empowers all arrows fired from the Wyrd Bow for the duration to deliver double concussion damage and additional Impact criticals (one level lesser severity, same roll).

20—GOLDEN BOW (F): As Silver Bow, except it turns the caster's Silver Bow into a +20 magic bow with its fumble range reduced to 1. The Golden Bow is also either a +3 spell adder or a x2 spell multiplier (chosen when the spell is cast). Furthermore, the Golden Bow may be used in melee combat as a mace (with no penalties or increased breakage factors due to being used against its design).

25—FLETCHING IV (F): As Fletching III, except the weapons created by means of this spell are +15 magic. Arrow breakage factors are reduced by 25. Bows make RR's against damage at the caster's level with a +15 bonus.

30—LORD BOW (F): As Golden Bow, except it turns the caster's Golden Bow into a +25 magic bow. The Lord Bow is also either a +4 spell adder or a x3 spell multiplier. Furthermore, the Lord Bow may be used in melee combat as a quarterstaff (with no penalties or increased breakage factors due to being used against its design). If used with Bow-Staff (level 18), the Lord Bow strikes as a war mattock.

35—FOLLOWING WIND TRUE (F): As Following Wind I, except the caster's Point Blank range becomes 1000', and Short range becomes his line of sight.

40—THUNDERBLAST (FE): Empowers the caster's next shot to strike its target as a Lightning Bolt doing x2 damage. Additionally, the arrow explodes as a Lightning Ball affecting the primary target and all others within a 10' radius.

50—TRUE BOW (F): As Lord Bow, except it turns the caster's Lord Bow into a +30 magic bow that never fumbles. The True Bow is also either a +6 spell adder or a x4 spell multiplier.

Notes:

Only one of the spells marked w may be active on the Wyrd Bow at any time.

The caster may have only one Wyrd Bow in existence at a time. Wyrd Bows are highly personalized and only function for the caster/creator. If a Wyrd Bow is ever destroyed, the attuned wielder immediately loses 50% of his concussion hits and functions at –35 for 1–4 weeks.

Casting any of the bow-creation spells on this list requires a long but simple ritual that must take place uninterrupted. The ritual lasts eight hours and is +10 to perform. The caster gains an additional +5 to the chance of success for every additional four-hour increment spent in attempting the ritual. The bow-creation spells can be cast on any normal bow (usually a longbow), but special materials and prior magics may enhance the weapon's new magics. Should the caster ever desire to transfer the creation spells to a different bow, then he must strip the spells off the original bow, one at a time, in reverse order. Each spell also requires an eight-hour ritual with the same options and chance for success as the original creation ritual.

If a Fletching spell is used to create the bow to be made into the Wyrd Bow, the bonuses are not cumulative. The spells are very similar, and, as such, only the higher bonus is used. Any special bonuses from the Fletching spell regarding breakage still affect the Wyrd Bow. In addition, the Fletching spells may be used to repair a broken or damaged bow (magical or non-magical).

Editor's Note

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