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Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Handsome's points and gear haul

Handsome has some stuff, now.

- $9,942.80 in cash, largely in gold (so just under 2 lbs. of coins.)

- a one-shot Resist Fire amulet from the hobgoblin spellcaster.

- a plate helmet from a draugr, giving him skull DR 6 for 5 lbs.

- a fine, balanced, dwarven axe from a draugr, for 4 lbs., replacing his hatchet. He could have had a Butcher Blade from Magic Items 2, but he went with Axe/Mace as an off-template replacement for Shortsword. Oh well, axe suited him better, and we sold the falchion instead.

- a ST 15 Elven Composite bow. Can you get a bow's rated strength modified? I have no idea. I've never allowed it, but I don't know if it's a thing or not. Either way, he can shoot a ST 17 Elven bow so that's on his "wish list" - a Fine, Elven, Balanced Composite bow for $21,600, with Puissance 1 for $5,000 on top of that. Anyway, his new bow is thr+3 impale with a 1d+1 ST rating so 1d+4, +2 for WM, for a 1d+6 base. He can reach 1d+9 with impaling or cutting arrows and 1d+8 with piercing. Good stuff.

- This puts Handsome to Light encumbrance, instead of None. All he needs to do is quick-release his backpack, or simply leave his bedroll behind, to get to None.

I don't think Handsome got anything else . . . not any of the magic swords, armor, potions, etc. we found. But the fact is he doesn't need them. I'd have argued for them if I thought he could use them . . . but it's probably better the folks who continue in Felltower get to use them. He won't, because I won't play him as a GMPC or an NPC, and I'm probably not going to hand him over to someone else to play, either.

Oh, and his points? He ended with 35 saved, so I went Combat Reflexes and Weapon Master (Bow). Why not. He needs more Per and skill, but those are easy purchases as he gets played while those two bigger purchases are out of the way.

6 comments:

  1. I suspect there are ways to take a bow and make it stronger in the real world. If you have (say) a self-bow, or a bamboo laminate bow, or something else, and then use a sinew backing on the "front towards enemy" face, you will increase the draw weight.

    Whether you allow it on a DFRPG character is an adjacent question. :-)

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    1. I'm curious if you can. I'll probably allow it in game, I'd just need to establish a cost that didn't make people blanch.

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  2. https://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=2172790&postcount=6

    Caverntown has rules

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    1. Ah, thanks. I own it, but I didn't think to check there.

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    2. Caverntown, p. 46, for those checking along at home!

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  3. You absolutely can change a bow's //effective// draw weight in the real world, and depending on the bow, it can be as simple as changing the string length (or should say, it can be the only, limited way to change such a bow).

    Keep in mind, a bow isn't just some "one size fits all" thing (okay, they very much are treated as so) but to get the best effectiveness, it needs to be somewhat "tailored" to the archer. By which I do not mean it needs to be adjusted to the archer (it kinda can be), but more that the archer needs to pick out a bow that "fits" them, and then it can be adjusted somewhat (string length can be adjusted a bit, in some cases materials can be laminated on, the grip and risers can be reshaped a bit, etc). Changing the string length will adjust the draw length, which affects the effective draw weight, etc.

    And as Doug mentioned above, especially with laminated bows, material can be added, or even removed, to change the resistance of the limbs, stiffen or loosen the risers, etc. With a mongolian composite bow the whole thing can be taken apart and remade (though very often expensively and not a "quick refit" by any means), though with a magical bow... I wouldn't allow that unless it was an Enchanter and they were giving the PC the "enchantment binding cost" of say, %50 extra?

    Also, I'd limit a bow's adjustability to say, 30% rounddown of the original ST. Unless it's being completely taken apart and remade in the case of the composite bow, in which case it's being custom ordered with a cost saving by supplying some of the materials needed.

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