Warbow

Warbows are not graceful tournament archers or disciplined soldiers standing safely behind a shield wall. They are monster hunters, battlefield scavengers, siege workers, and hardened mercenaries who have transformed archery into an act of overwhelming force.

A Warbow’s weapon is an immense, heavily reinforced bow built from layered timber, horn, metal, sinew, and whatever else can survive its punishing draw. In ordinary hands, such a weapon would be nearly unusable. A Warbow develops the strength to bend it, the precision to control it, and the instincts to turn every shot into a solution.

Their ammunition is rarely conventional. Warbows combine alchemical powders, battlefield salvage, and useful materials taken from dangerous creatures. Venom glands become payloads, resilient tendons become lines, hardened scales become arrowheads, and volatile organs become explosives. Nothing useful is discarded, and no two Warbows maintain quite the same arsenal.

On the battlefield, a Warbow watches everything. They break advancing enemies, interrupt decisive attacks, drag companions out of danger, and strike targets that believed distance would protect them. Outside combat, the same brutal ingenuity allows them to cross obstacles, retrieve distant objects, establish lines, signal allies, and improvise solutions from whatever materials remain available.

There is no supernatural mystery behind a Warbow’s lethality. Their power comes from strength, preparation, experience, and the absolute certainty that if something can be reached, it can be hit.

To a Warbow, a bow is not merely a weapon.

It is artillery carried by one person.

Heavy Draw

At 3rd level your immense bow demands strength, mobility, and a fighting posture incompatible with cumbersome armor. While you aren’t wearing Heavy armor, you add your Strength modifier to the damage of your longbow attacks.

Your Warbow save DC equals 8 plus your Proficiency Bonus and Strength modifier.

Grisly Arsenal

Also at 3rd level, you construct specialized ammunition from alchemical compounds, battlefield salvage, and materials harvested from defeated monsters. You can attach poisons, alchemical substances, monster materials, and other suitable items to your ammunition when their rules or the DM allow it. Some examples include:

• Flare: The arrow sheds Bright Light for 20 feet and Dim Light for an additional 20 feet for 1 hour.
• Signal: The arrow produces a whistle, crack, or colored smoke visible or audible up to 1 mile away.
• Courier: The arrow safely carries and secures a Tiny object weighing no more than 1 pound to its destination.
• Marker: The arrow leaves a conspicuous stain, scent, or trail marker that lasts for 24 hours.
• Kindling: The arrow ignites or extinguishes an unattended, nonmagical flame or flammable object that fits within a 5-foot Cube.

Your primary combat arsenal includes:

Warline

Your Warline is a tethered arrow attached to an exceptionally strong length of monster sinew, filament, or similar material. You can fire or manipulate a Warline once per turn, choosing one of the following applications:

Anchor. You embed the Warline into an unattended surface or object within your longbow’s normal range. The line can support you and a number of additional Medium creatures equal to your Strength modifier. Creatures have Advantage on any ability check required to climb along it.

When you subsequently manipulate the Warline, you can pull yourself up to 30 feet toward its anchor. The line can also be used to swing across gaps, arrest a fall, haul objects, or establish a traversable route.

Tether. Make a longbow attack against a Large or smaller creature. On a hit, you decide whether the attack deals damage, and the target must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your Warbow save DC or have the Restrained condition while tethered. It can repeat the saving throw on its next turn.

You can attach the Warline to a willing creature without making an attack or dealing damage within the longbows range. You can pull a tethered creature toward you or pull yourself up to 30 feet toward it. You can use the Dash action to double the movement.

Snare an Object. You catch a loose small or smaller object within range or make a longbow attack against an object. This object can be worn or carried. On a hit, the creature wearing or carrying the object must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your Warbow save DC or have the object pulled up to 30 feet toward you. An object that can’t reasonably be removed is unaffected.

You can detach a Warline or release your end of it at any time without taking an action.

Concussion Arrow

Your Concussion Arrows contain volatile materials that release their force across a wide area or directly into a single target.

A Concussion Arrow deals 2d6 Bludgeoning damage. This damage increases to 3d6 at 10th level and 4d6 at 15th level.

You can expend a Concussion Arrow a number of times equal to your Dexterity modifier per Long Rest. You can expend one Concussion Arrow on your turn.

Whenever you expend a use, choose one of the following applications:

Burst Shot. Choose a point within your longbow’s normal range. Each creature within 15 feet of that point must make a Strength saving throw against your Warbow save DC. On a failed save, a creature takes the Concussion Arrow’s damage, is pushed up to 10 feet away from the point, and has the Prone condition. On a successful save, it only takes half damage.

Stunning Impact. When you hit a creature with a longbow attack, it takes the Concussion Arrow’s damage and must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your Warbow save DC or have the Stunned condition until the start of your next turn.

Interruption Shot. When a creature you can see within your longbow’s normal range makes an attack or begins casting a spell, you can take a Reaction and expend a Concussion Arrow to make a longbow attack against it before the triggering attack or spell is resolved. On a hit, the arrow produces a Stunning Impact. If the creature fails its saving throw, the triggering attack misses or the spell fails and has no effect. Any spell slot expended to cast the interrupted spell remains expended.

Overwatch

Hard Extraction

Whenever your Warline successfully attaches to a creature, object, or surface, you can immediately choose one of the following effects as part of the same use:

• Pull yourself up to 15 feet toward the Warline’s destination.
• Pull a willing creature or an unsecured object up to 15 feet toward you.
• Pull an unwilling creature that failed its Tether saving throw up to 15 feet toward you.
• Leave both you and the Warline’s target in their current positions.

This movement doesn’t require an additional attack or a second use of Warline.

Dead to Rights

Your attention never leaves the battlefield. Whenever a creature exposes itself through movement or action, you can answer immediately.

When a creature you can see within your longbow’s normal range does any of the following, you can take a Reaction to fire one arrow at a creature, object, or space within that range:

• Makes an attack.
• Begins casting a spell.
• Moves at least 10 feet.
• Takes an action to manipulate or use an object.

The reaction occurs before the triggering attack, spell, or object interaction is resolved, or immediately after the triggering movement. Resolve the arrow normally, including any Warline or Concussion Arrow application you choose, subject to its normal usage limitations.

If the triggering creature is casting a spell and takes damage from the arrow, it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your Warbow save DC. On a failed save, the casting is interrupted: the spell fails and has no effect, but any spell slot expended to cast it remains expended.

This saving throw is separate from any saving throw the creature makes to maintain Concentration on another spell or effect.

If the arrow already requires the caster to make a Constitution saving throw against your Warbow save DC, such as a Stunning Impact Concussion Arrow, one saving throw determines the outcome of both effects.

 

Danger Close

At 10th level, you can construct a single devastating payload from volatile powders, alchemical compounds, and materials harvested from defeated monsters.

When you take the Attack action while wielding a longbow, you can replace all of your attacks with one arrow fired at a point you can see within your longbow’s normal range. The arrow detonates in a 20-foot-radius Sphere centered on that point. 

Each creature in the Sphere must make a Dexterity saving throw against your Warbow save DC. A creature takes 8d6 damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one. When you fire the arrow, choose whether it deals Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Necrotic, Radiant,  Poison, or Thunder damage. This damage increases to 10d6 when you reach 15th level in this class and 12d6 when you reach 18th level in this class.

You can choose a number of creatures in the Sphere equal to your Dexterity modifier. The chosen creatures are unaffected by the explosion.

Once you fire this arrow, you can’t do so again until you finish a Long Rest.

In addition, whenever you make a longbow attack roll with Advantage, you roll three d20s instead of two and use the highest result. 

Full Loadout

At 15th level, your experience allows you to manufacture and carry a far greater supply of specialized ammunition.

The number of Concussion Arrows you can use equals your Dexterity modifier plus your Strength modifier. You regain all expended uses when you finish a Short or Long Rest.

Unused Concussion Arrows don’t accumulate beyond this maximum.

 

Marked for Burial

At 18th level, when you take the Attack action while wielding a longbow, you can replace all of your attacks with one devastating shot against a creature within the weapon’s normal range.

Make the attack roll by rolling three d20s and using the highest result. On a hit, the attack deals an additional 10d10 Piercing damage, and all Piercing damage dealt by the attack ignores Resistance. If the creature has 100 Hit Points or fewer after taking this damage, it is reduced to 0 Hit Points.

You can use specialized ammunition with this attack, subject to its normal limitations.

Once you hit a creature using this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a Long Rest.