You can find a version of this item on DNDBeyond here, though without the appropriate spells.
So let’s get the obvious out of the way first, this item is extraordinarily broken. It will be inappropriate for many campaigns. It is likely only appropriate in high-magic, heroic, and upper-level campaigns. I recommend thinking very deeply before you give this out, and consider it as the endpoint of a difficult trial, or as one of the final boons before a great challenge.
However, I want to give out several items of this or similar power level to my players because I want them to feel heroic (alternated with moments where they are reminded of how small they are compared to some powers), so it will hopefully work for mine.
Bow of Hunting
- Rarity: Artifact
- Attunement: Requires Attunement
- Type: Longbow
- Description:
- This bow is made by elves of wood from the Tree of Ancients.
- You have a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.
- While attuned to the bow, you are blinded when you are more than 10 feet away from it.
- You can use a bonus action to speak the bows command word and mark an enemy within sight as your ‘Desired Prey’. You can do this once per short rest. It remains your ‘Desired Prey’ until you designate another prey or take a rest.
- Once per long rest you can cast Faerie Fire and Summon Fey.
- Desired Prey:
- You have advantage on all attacks against this enemy.
- You do an extra 3d6 piercing damage when you hit this enemy with an attack from this bow.
- Your desired prey has disadvantage on attacks against you.
- If the creature is within 1,000 feet of you, then you know exactly where it is and it cannot benefit from being hidden from you.
- If the creature is further than 1,000 feet away from you, but is on the same plane then you know which direction it is in.
- When attuned by a ranger or other character deeply connected to nature you gain the following benefits:
- Your dexterity increases by 2 to a maximum of 24.
- If you do not already have it then you gain proficiency in survival or nature.
- If you already have proficiency in survival and nature then you gain expertise.
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Transcript:
00:00:00:04 - 00:00:30:03
Bennett Tomlin
I love homebrewing items even when it's not necessary, and I especially love homebrewing. The really powerful artifact level items. In my campaign, there are a collection of items referred to as the planar shards, which were made with magic of another plane. The item we're going to discuss today is a bow, which was formed of the bough of a tree connected to the feywild, while the bow, which I just call the bow of hunting, is a plus three bow.
00:00:30:05 - 00:00:53:17
Bennett Tomlin
It requires attunement, and if the bow is more than ten feet from you, while you are attuned to it. Then you are blinded because artifacts should have trade offs. Once per long rest, you can cast faerie fire and summon fey. Well attuned to this item. You can use a bonus action to speak a command word and mark an enemy within sight as your desired prey.
00:00:53:19 - 00:01:23:16
Bennett Tomlin
This is the powerful ability for this item. You can do this once per short rest, and the creature remains your desired prey until you designate another prey. Take a rest or kill the prey. When a creature is your desired prey, you have advantage on all attacks against this enemy. You do an extra 3d6 piercing damage. When you hit this enemy with an attack, your desired prey has disadvantage on attacks against you.
00:01:23:18 - 00:01:49:02
Bennett Tomlin
If the creature is within 1000ft of you, then you know exactly where it is and it cannot benefit from being hidden from you. And if the creature is further than 1000ft away from you but is on the same plane, then you know which direction it is besides the desired prey feature. If the bow is attuned by a ranger or someone else deeply connected to nature or the field, then they gain the following benefits.
00:01:49:04 - 00:02:06:19
Bennett Tomlin
Their dexterity increases by two to a maximum of 24, and if you do not already have proficiency in survival in nature, you gain it. If you do already have proficiency in survival in nature, then you gain expertise. Let's talk a little about this item
00:02:11:20 - 00:02:17:16
Bennett Tomlin
first. This is a very powerful item and you should not give it out to a low level party.
00:02:17:18 - 00:02:43:20
Bennett Tomlin
This is a high level item for high level play against powerful world, or at least continent threatening bosses. In part, some features of this exists because I wanted to make a ranger in my world more effective. That, in part, is what the creature, deeply connected to nature or the fey wild was meant to accomplish. And also, there was only one character in the party who regularly used a bow.
00:02:43:22 - 00:03:09:01
Bennett Tomlin
A fighter that got their hands on this with the desired prey feature is going to do tons of damage with action. Surge and the extra attacks, a gloom stalker with their extra attacks is going to do a lot of damage. Be sure you are ready for that. Three d6 damage on every attack is a lot, but also remember the flame tongue weapons get two d6 in every attack and Holy Avenger gets two d10 on every attack.
00:03:09:02 - 00:03:34:09
Bennett Tomlin
So is three d6 that crazy? Haste also makes this bow even more powerful because of course you're getting another attack. However, in my campaign, with the power output and abilities of the party, this item worked. If anything in the game deserves to be a plus three weapon, it's an artifact formed from the Tree of Ancient where the elves first crossed over from the Feywild.
00:03:34:09 - 00:04:00:01
Bennett Tomlin
If it's a bow of hunting, which it is, then it needs to make you really good at hunting. And I love the idea of a ranger finally coming in range of their legendary foe and marking them. However, they break a stick in, the creature bolts deep into the forest. The ranger, though, still knows where that creature is and keeps tracking it, potentially pushing on without rest to keep the track active.
00:04:00:02 - 00:04:26:07
Bennett Tomlin
That last part I want to emphasize again, potentially pushing on without rest to keep the track active. I love the idea in play of the Ranger marking their prey, let's say a high level lich who then teleports away, and now you have a chase across the plane with the ranger having to push on without rest as they try to keep the location of their prey on their mark, the Lich teleports away.
00:04:26:08 - 00:04:48:02
Bennett Tomlin
The Druid in the party cast. When work in, the Ranger leads in the direction of the Lich. Pulled on by their desire to make this prey pay. A couple hours later, the Lich has had a short rest, but the party arrives, surprising them again. The Lich throws out some high damaging area of effect spells, maybe cloud kill, maybe something else, and then teleports away again.
00:04:48:04 - 00:05:12:20
Bennett Tomlin
However, the party presses on, the ranger not being able to get a rest. Still inexorably drawn towards their prey, the party arrives again. The Lich has depleted most of their high level spells, and the party now has them truly cornered. I think playing with rest in this way makes for a really fun dynamic, especially if this chase ends up taking more than a day in levels of exhaustion.
00:05:12:20 - 00:05:27:05
Bennett Tomlin
Start stacking up. Last thing I want to mention in my world, items like this can be used as a tuning fork for plane shift, so the bow of hunting can take you to the feywild. I also want to talk just briefly about how my players got this item,
00:05:32:06 - 00:05:37:07
Bennett Tomlin
one of my favorite ways to give out items to my players is to use them against them.
00:05:37:09 - 00:05:46:01
Bennett Tomlin
My players betrayed their employers. The Zentrum and the Zentrum put the largest bounty in the world on the heads of my players
00:05:46:01 - 00:05:51:03
Bennett Tomlin
and the heads of my players characters. I should say my players are fine.
00:05:51:03 - 00:05:59:09
Bennett Tomlin
This bounty was enough to convince a legendary hunter, the one who currently wielded the bow, to decide it was worth trying to hunt the party.
00:05:59:11 - 00:06:17:22
Bennett Tomlin
Hiding deep in the forest, they marked their prey and quickly sent off a series of attacks which downed one of the characters in the very first round. This then led to a several round race through the woods, with the hunter repeatedly trying to hide in the players, trying to hunt them down until they finally ended up taking them out
00:06:17:22 - 00:06:19:01
Bennett Tomlin
after they surrendered.
00:06:19:01 - 00:06:23:06
Bennett Tomlin
But hey, I'm running an evil campaign. Characters got to do evil things.
00:06:23:06 - 00:06:34:18
Bennett Tomlin
This was the first of the planar shirts the party was able to obtain, and actually the first time they had seen one. After several missions where they had seen the impacts of other ones, but not the artifacts themselves,
00:06:34:18 - 00:06:57:15
Bennett Tomlin
I think it's way more exciting to get an item when you have felt used against you. So many of my adventure bosses have the items that the players are looking for. What's better fighting a mummy lord who defends a powerful sword of legend? Or to find a mummy Lord wielding the powerful sword of legend and turning its powers against your party.
00:06:57:17 - 00:07:17:07
Bennett Tomlin
This often requires updating a stat block a little, but really helps make the boss combat feel more powerful and more interesting. Anyways, what do you all think about this item balance wise? Additional abilities you would consider adding, how it might fit in your campaign? And thank you of course for tuning in.
