EJGRgunner/BowOfUnseenPassing
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Bow of Unseen Passing
Description & Narrative
Vess Zolo dove for cover. He was scared, terrified. Legionaires don't get scared, he told himself. Legionaires don't know fear. Zolo bit his own tongue and tried to control his rapid heartbeat and erratic and (more importantly) loud breathing. Somehwere else in the rocky foothills, probably no more than fifteen feet away, another of his comrades screamed.
Dragonss be Damned, the footsoldier though, got another one. His comrade's intial shriek of agony quickly grew faint, the decrescendo transforming the piercing clamor into a sustained howl of anguish. Zolo heard weeping over the moans of his ravaged talon.
"Vark?" he called. "Is that you?"
Somewhere to the north his friend moaned. It was Vark.
"Where'd he get you?" Called Vess as he unhooked his tower shield and dropped his short spear.
"In the chest."
"What's he shooting?" Zolo peeked around the erratic. He could see where Vark probably should be, based on the strength and direction of his failing voice. Getting to Vark meant running over open ground for at least five seconds. Bringing the shield would definitely make it ten, and with the way anathema was shooting, extra cover wasn't going to be much use. Vark was dying, and speed was the only thing that might save him.
"I... I don't know... I can't see the arrow."
Zolo blanched, then girded himself to run. He drew a deep breath and then regarded the hill above him. The demon could be anywhere in those rocky formations. Where the hell is the Colnel?
Then Vess Zolo started towards Vark, sprinting as fast he could. Zolo wondered if the Anathema might have already gotten the colonel too.
The bow of Unseen Passing appears to be a recurved, short black jade powerbow, roughly two feet tall, and intricately inlaid with delicate whirling pattterns. Unlike most bows, however, the arrow rest is located inside a small whole through the middle of the jade bow. Arrows are typically knocked by inserting the head of the arrow through this whole, which is large enough to accomodate most arrowheads, including frog-crotches.
System
The Bow of Unseen Passing is in fact, not a jade powerbow. It is in fact, underneath its jade skin, an orichalcum powerbow designed and built by a crafty Night caste who longed for a powerful weapon that wouldn't immediately reveal his Solar nature. Identifying the weapon as anything other than a jade bow requires close inspection of the weapon and a successful Per + Investigation roll at DC 3. A simple success will only reveal that perhaps the bow is not weighted as it ought to, and multiple success are required to be certain that the weapon is not what it seems. Short of splitting the weapon in two, or successfully cracking the jade covering, it is impossible to identify the material within as orichalcum.
The Bow of Unseen Passing is built for stealth and allows a properly attuned wielder to shoot arrows that are invisible to the naked eye. Before firing (making an archery roll), the wielder may commit two motes of essence to the arrow. As it passes through the arrow rest, the shaft, head and feathering of the arrow disappear completely. As long as the archer keeps the essence committed, the arrow will remain invisible. Solid arrows rendered invisible may still be felt but cannot be seen, save through the use of Charms such as All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight. Projectiles constructed from essence, such as those made using Phantom Arrow Technique, may also be rendered invisible, but essence spent to do so decommits when the arrow winks out of existence.
Again, invisible arrows fired by this bow require the commitment of essence before the shot. After the arrow strikes, the archer must continue to commit essence to keep the arrow invisible... unless the arrow manages to successfully penetrate and "stick" into a target where 1 < Target's Essence < Archer's Essence
Miscellania:
Using invisible arrows increases the difficulty for dodge rolls. If the target could see the archer fire, the DC increase is 1 for dodges and 2 for parries. If the defender did not see the shot fired, the DC increase is 3 for dodges and 4 for parries. Characters using Suprise Anticipation Method to anticipate the shot will most likely hear the sound of the arrow being drawn, or perhaps identify the general area the shot will come from based on environmental clues, but will not see the arrow itself after it is fired.
Statistics
Level Four Artifact
Acc + 4\\ Dmg + 5\\ Rate 3\\ Range 400\\ Min Archery 3\\ Min Str 3\\ 10 motes to commit
Comments
Ooooh....:rubs hands together gleefully:.\\ Very nice. I would probably make it 1 mote per arrow, but then when it comes to archery, i'm hardly an independent party.\\ ~ LorienFeanturi ~
- Bet you would, Panama Red. - EJGRgunner
heheheheh, I actually like this bow a lot, but I agree with him, it should be one mote per arrow. ~ MageDragon ~
