I’m a level 9 drake warden ranger, with lightning drake. I was thinking of using a short bow and staying ranged. But I’m open to any other suggestions, high damage or shock and awe would be great.
the problem with Lightning Arrow is the DM's interpretation of " Concentration, up to 1 minute" and " The next time you make a ranged weapon attack" that seems to suggest that you can hold the spell for up to 1 minute but then you only get 1 lightning arrow and after the first the spell is dead and youso if you use the spell and arrow in the first round there is no point on concentrating on it any more. That versus if they had said "each time you make a ranged weapon attack" which would have allowed you to make upto 20 lightning arrow attacks before the concentration had ended. If you can convince yoru DM that the latter is the RAI Lightning Arrow is a very powerful spell and well worth a ranger's few spell slots, if you can't and he goes with the first version then I wouldn't bother with the spell.
The problem with a short bow is the lack of range and damage for no clear reason since very few DMs are going to mess with a player with having the long bow get tangled in brush etc while moving silently through a forest or bramble. RAW the only reason to use a short bow is if yoru going to be firing mounted as you can't use a heavy weapon (long bow) mounted.DND doesnt take this into account. Happily, if your DM approves their is a homebrew item - the +2 Composite Short bow that does.
My character has used his drake's high mobility for battlefield control and support. In one instance, the drake guarded the door at the back of the room while the party concentrated on the enemies to the front. This prevented our party from having to deal with a second front. Since the drake can move around the battle area quickly, he can provide an ally for rogue sneak attacks against major foes.
My favorite use so far of my Drake Companion. Our party encountered a Gelatinous Cube in a sewer, so I resummoned him immune to Acid and put him right in the Cube's path. He was biting the Cube from the inside, and since Gelatinous Cubes have no resistance to acid damage, he could still infuse my parties attacks against it. The way the DM described the infused acid damage corroding the Cube was a hoot :)
In general, since my Drakewarden is an archer, one of my early priorities is getting the Drake around the back of the main enemy so that our melee fighters can flank with it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I’m a level 9 drake warden ranger, with lightning drake. I was thinking of using a short bow and staying ranged. But I’m open to any other suggestions, high damage or shock and awe would be great.
The Lightning Arrow spell should be available to you now. Also, why a short bow and not a longbow?
the problem with Lightning Arrow is the DM's interpretation of " Concentration, up to 1 minute" and " The next time you make a ranged weapon attack" that seems to suggest that you can hold the spell for up to 1 minute but then you only get 1 lightning arrow and after the first the spell is dead and youso if you use the spell and arrow in the first round there is no point on concentrating on it any more. That versus if they had said "each time you make a ranged weapon attack" which would have allowed you to make upto 20 lightning arrow attacks before the concentration had ended. If you can convince yoru DM that the latter is the RAI Lightning Arrow is a very powerful spell and well worth a ranger's few spell slots, if you can't and he goes with the first version then I wouldn't bother with the spell.
The problem with a short bow is the lack of range and damage for no clear reason since very few DMs are going to mess with a player with having the long bow get tangled in brush etc while moving silently through a forest or bramble. RAW the only reason to use a short bow is if yoru going to be firing mounted as you can't use a heavy weapon (long bow) mounted.DND doesnt take this into account. Happily, if your DM approves their is a homebrew item - the +2 Composite Short bow that does.
good luck.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
My character has used his drake's high mobility for battlefield control and support. In one instance, the drake guarded the door at the back of the room while the party concentrated on the enemies to the front. This prevented our party from having to deal with a second front. Since the drake can move around the battle area quickly, he can provide an ally for rogue sneak attacks against major foes.
My favorite use so far of my Drake Companion. Our party encountered a Gelatinous Cube in a sewer, so I resummoned him immune to Acid and put him right in the Cube's path. He was biting the Cube from the inside, and since Gelatinous Cubes have no resistance to acid damage, he could still infuse my parties attacks against it. The way the DM described the infused acid damage corroding the Cube was a hoot :)
In general, since my Drakewarden is an archer, one of my early priorities is getting the Drake around the back of the main enemy so that our melee fighters can flank with it.