Cursed weapons in Pathfinder 2e refer to powerful magical weapons that come with a curse. These weapons often have special abilities or properties that can be beneficial to the wielder, but with a downside or curse that makes them dangerous or undesirable. The curse can affect the user's abilities, alignment, or even their soul. Cursed weapons are a popular element in fantasy role-playing games as they add an element of risk and challenge to the game. It also provides an opportunity for character development and storytelling. Players need to carefully consider whether the benefits of using a cursed weapon outweigh the risks.
Shortbow 5e – How It Works, Best Classes, Comparisons
Welcome to another Black Citadel gear guide where we break down how different weapons and pieces of adventuring equipment work, how to get the most utility out of them, and how they stack up against some of the other options available to an adventurer starting out on the road to greatness (or possibly the much shorter path to becoming an owlbear’s lunch).
This time, we’re going to be tackling one of the most widely available and accessible ranged weapons in Dungeons & Dragons 5e: the shortbow.
As well as breaking down how this weapon works and how it stacks up (or more accurately doesn’t stack up) against its counterparts like the longbow and the light crossbow, we’re going to suggest some house rules to make shortbows stand out a little more from the crowd. Additionally, we’re going to talk a bit about ammunition (magical and mundane) and some different ways you can track your arrows at the table.
Let’s get started.
Shortbow
Simple Ranged Weapon
Proficiency with a shortbow allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.
Table of Contents
Players need to carefully consider whether the benefits of using a cursed weapon outweigh the risks. The curse can be lifted through certain quests, rituals, or actions within the game, adding an additional layer of complexity. Cursed weapons in Pathfinder 2e can be found as loot or rewards during quests, and players need to make choices regarding their usage, which can have long-term consequences for their characters.
How Does a Shortbow Work in DnD 5e?
A shortbow is a ranged weapon that fires arrows at targets up to 320 feet away. As a ranged weapon, the shortbow requires you to make an attack roll by adding your Dexterity modifier and proficiency bonus (if you’re proficient with the shortbow) to the result of a d20 roll. If the total figure (which can be messed with by stuff like the Bless and Bane spells) is equal to or greater than the target’s armor class (which can be affected by things like cover and the Shield spell), you hit the target and deal 1d6 + your Dexterity modifier points of piercing damage to the target.
Unlike the more powerful longbow and heavy crossbow, the shortbow is classed as a simple weapon, meaning a greater variety of character classes are able to add their proficiency bonus to their d20 roll when rolling to hit with it (the only exception being wizards and sorcerers, who have cantrips anyway).
Shortbows are relatively cheap too. With a price tag of just 25 gp, they’re half the price of a longbow or a heavy crossbow. Given the price of a quiver (1 gp, holds 20 arrows) full of arrows (which cost 1 gp each), you can comfortably set yourself up to use a shortbow for the low price of just 46 gp. Unfortunately for the shortbow, this puts it on price parity with its main competition for the best simple ranged weapon available to non-martial characters: the light crossbow.
We’ll get into why that’s just one more reason to ditch your shortbow in favor of the light crossbow (which is basically a cool fantasy gun that’s always T-posing to assert its dominance) in a minute. For now, let’s look at the shortbow’s properties one by one and break them down.
Two-Handed
Weapons with the two-handed property require you to have both hands free in order to use them. That could mean taking both hands to lift a weighty greataxe or to slam a fresh bolt into your baddass light crossbow (aka The Goblin Annihilator). It also means reloading, drawing, and releasing an arrow from your shortbow.
The two-handed property means you’ll need to stow any shields, torches, or other weapons you’re carrying if you want to use your shortbow, and you’ll need to account for the time it takes to switch weapons if you want to change to or from your shortbow in the heat of battle. If you’re a spellcasting character, you’ll need at least one hand free if you want to cast a spell with the Somatic (fancy magic finger wiggling, basically) component, which means you can’t use a two-handed weapon like a shortbow on the same turn.
Range
All ranged weapons in D&D 5e have a distance up to which they stand a chance of hitting their targets, which is broken up into two ranges denoting the weapon’s short and long ranges. Beyond long range, a weapon can’t attack a target. These effective ranges are expressed with two numbers in a weapon’s description. Outside of melee range (5 feet), which typically imposes disadvantage on ranged attacks, weapons can be fired normally up to their short range and with disadvantage up to their long range.
The shortbow has a range of (80/320), meaning you can use it to roll attacks normally against a target up to 80 feet away and with disadvantage against targets up to 320 feet away. If you’re using a battlemat or map broken up into 5-foot squares, this means you can shoot normally at a target up to 16 squares away and with disadvantage at targets between 17 and 64 squares away.
It’s very rare that a combat encounter will take place over a distance great enough to impose long-range disadvantage on you or beyond long range for that matter, so the shortbow will probably always ensure that you can get shots off against your enemies.
Ammunition
Weapons with the ammunition property are designed to fire pieces of ammunition (crossbow bolts, stones, bullets, or in the case of the shortbow, arrows) that are consumed in the process, although some types of ammunition can be partially recovered after firing.
Arrows are probably the most common type of ammunition (other than the small stones you put in a sling) in the world of D&D and are readily available in most towns with the average price of 1 gold piece per arrow.
Arrow
Arrows are used with a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a ranged attack. Each time you attack with the weapon, you expend one piece of ammunition. Drawing the ammunition from a quiver, case, or other container is part of the attack (you need a free hand to load a one-handed weapon). At the end of the battle, you can recover half your expended ammunition by taking a minute to search the battlefield.
Arrows are usually stored in a quiver, which can hold up to 20 arrows at a time and costs 1 gp.
These weapons can also be used as plot devices, allowing the game master to create interesting and challenging scenarios for the players. Overall, cursed weapons in Pathfinder 2e add depth and complexity to the game, providing players with additional choices and challenges to navigate..
Reviews for "Cursed Weapons: A Macabre Legacy in Pathfinder 2e"
1. Peter - 2 stars - I was really excited to try out this new supplement for Pathfinder 2e, but I was sorely disappointed. The cursed weapons in this book felt unbalanced and overpowered, and it completely ruined the balance of our game. It also didn't help that the curse mechanics were poorly explained and confusing. Overall, I found this product to be more of a hindrance than a benefit to our gameplay experience.
2. Michelle - 1 star - I regretted purchasing this cursed weapons supplement for Pathfinder 2e. The weapons included in this book were not only uninteresting, but also seemed to lack any real thought or creativity behind them. The cursed effects felt repetitive and unimaginative. It was a wasted opportunity to add depth and excitement to my campaign. I would not recommend this product to anyone looking for compelling and engaging cursed weapons for their game.
3. Alex - 2 stars - While I appreciate the effort put into expanding the cursed weapons options in Pathfinder 2e, this supplement fell flat for me. The new cursed weapons felt like rehashes of existing items, lacking any unique or interesting mechanics. Additionally, the curse effects were underwhelming and failed to provide any real challenge or excitement. Overall, I found this expansion to be lackluster and not worth the investment.
4. Sarah - 2 stars - As a fan of cursed weapons in Pathfinder 2e, I was excited to see this supplement. However, I found the cursed weapons included in this book to be nothing more than gimmicks. The curse effects were often lackluster and didn't have any meaningful impact on gameplay. It felt like a missed opportunity to add depth and intrigue to the cursed weapons mechanic. I would recommend looking for other sources if you're interested in incorporating cursed weapons into your game.