Hello friends. I'm sure we're all familiar with the AoTD, as pictured below: However, I've noticed 2 distinct flaws in it's use: #1: Cost. While magic item prices vary, the cost of this is generally somewhere around 22k GP given the price of the Portable Hole. #2: Weight. A Bag of Holding weighs 15 entire pounds. This would obviously necessitate a larger implement other than just a bow to be used effectively.
With this in mind, is there any way to create a more cost-efficient AoTD that could be delivered with proper force? I think our best bet would be to use a Handy Haversack as a more cost-efficient payload and a Ballista or Artificer Turret as a delivery mechanism.
You might be able to use a large crossbow as a firing mechanism. It depends on how large of a bag you're using. If you use the tiny elven version it might make it easier.
Also, I know at some point somebody will say it, so yes you could use a wish to get as many of these as you wanted. That's not a good enough way to cut costs. Wish is a ninth level spell, and when you cast it you could potentially lose your ability to cast it ever again.
You could cast rope trick or get someone else to cast it then put/shot/throw ur portable hole/bag of holding/Handy Haversack into the extradimensional part of rope trick
You could cast rope trick or get someone else to cast it then put/shot/throw ur portable hole/bag of holding/Handy Haversack into the extradimensional part of rope trick
The effect only happens when it enters an extradimensional space created by an item.
The Efficient Quiver only weighs 2 pounds, but it could be difficult to stuff a bag of holding into one.
If you could convince a DM to give you one sized for a Large+ creature, then that could be an option.
Well, you can offset the cost of a Bag of Holding by playing an Artificer. If you could find a way to make a 30 lb arrow composed of two bags of holding work, then you can reduce that cost to 0 simply by having two artificers with the right infusions prepared in the party
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I read the title of the thread, and I was curious enough to look, so I did, and the first thing I saw reminded me of pictures I have seen of the atomic bomb, and sure enough, that's pretty much what the poster had in mind. I think that's pretty much out of the general tech level of D&D, because in the current game, it usually tops out in the late Renaissance. And atom bombs are a bit later than that.
I read the title of the thread, and I was curious enough to look, so I did, and the first thing I saw reminded me of pictures I have seen of the atomic bomb, and sure enough, that's pretty much what the poster had in mind. I think that's pretty much out of the general tech level of D&D, because in the current game, it usually tops out in the late Renaissance. And atom bombs are a bit later than that.
If world's can be sundered or burned with blue flame because magic is on the fritz, or an inspirational text can proclaim a particular ring can dominate a whole world ... a magic arrow I suppose this weapon could exist, or maybe at least in the Forgotten Realms the Harpers and Lords Alliance have a task force specifically charged with counter-proliferation of this technology,. I mean Harpers, Lords Alliance, Emerald Enclave, Zhentarim and a few other factions are the de facto U.N. Security Council for Faerun anyway if you think about it, they're just not transparent, so more like the UN Security Council run by the Illuminati. .
I mean the antecedent civilization to "modern" FR had the magical capacity to decapitate mountain tops, flip over said mountain top, fly said mountain top and construct an magically advance metropolis upon said mountain top. Who knows what they might have had in their arsenals which may be sitting around in some vault in Anauroch or where have you?
Well, ok. I have no problem with that. As an Artifact, and not something that can made by a player character, I mean the kind only found in the DMG. Then the UN Security Council in their game can decide who uses it.
But there's another artifact, an ichor of Security Council Dissolution ... then all heck breaks loose until a New World Order is imposed by the Arrow, announcing the arrival of 6e.
Calling it. Betting my prophecy credentials on it.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Well, you can offset the cost of a Bag of Holding by playing an Artificer. If you could find a way to make a 30 lb arrow composed of two bags of holding work, then you can reduce that cost to 0 simply by having two artificers with the right infusions prepared in the party
Only takes 1 artificer, because you can take the infusion for it multiple times. Why 30 pounds? A bag of holding has no listed weight, and most magic items resize for the wearer. Have your familiar try it on, shrinking it, then use tongs (so it doesn't resize to you) to load it into the bolt. Then repeat.
Should work in any standard ballista bolt, but it would probably work in a javelin, too.
Well, you can offset the cost of a Bag of Holding by playing an Artificer. If you could find a way to make a 30 lb arrow composed of two bags of holding work, then you can reduce that cost to 0 simply by having two artificers with the right infusions prepared in the party
Only takes 1 artificer, because you can take the infusion for it multiple times. Why 30 pounds? A bag of holding has no listed weight, and most magic items resize for the wearer. Have your familiar try it on, shrinking it, then use tongs (so it doesn't resize to you) to load it into the bolt. Then repeat.
Should work in any standard ballista bolt, but it would probably work in a javelin, too.
It says in the first paragraph "the bag weighs 15 pounds"
Also, I could be wrong but IIRC you can only take a particular infusion once and can only apply that infusion to one item at a time
Well, you can offset the cost of a Bag of Holding by playing an Artificer. If you could find a way to make a 30 lb arrow composed of two bags of holding work, then you can reduce that cost to 0 simply by having two artificers with the right infusions prepared in the party
Only takes 1 artificer, because you can take the infusion for it multiple times. Why 30 pounds? A bag of holding has no listed weight, and most magic items resize for the wearer. Have your familiar try it on, shrinking it, then use tongs (so it doesn't resize to you) to load it into the bolt. Then repeat.
Should work in any standard ballista bolt, but it would probably work in a javelin, too.
It says in the first paragraph "the bag weighs 15 pounds"
Also, I could be wrong but IIRC you can only take a particular infusion once and can only apply that infusion to one item at a time
all u need is for the artifer to make a bag of holding and a caster to cast rope trick
You could cast rope trick or get someone else to cast it then put/shot/throw ur portable hole/bag of holding/Handy Haversack into the extradimensional part of rope trick
The effect only happens when it enters an extradimensional space created by an item.
From Bag of Holding page: "Placing a bag of holding inside an extradimensional space created by a handy haversack, portable hole, or similar item instantly destroys both items and opens a gate to the Astral Plane."
But there's another artifact, an ichor of Security Council Dissolution ... then all heck breaks loose until a New World Order is imposed by the Arrow, announcing the arrival of 6e.
Calling it. Betting my prophecy credentials on it.
The Arrow will set off an arms race that leads to the development of the Intercontinental Ballistic Magic Missile.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
But there's another artifact, an ichor of Security Council Dissolution ... then all heck breaks loose until a New World Order is imposed by the Arrow, announcing the arrival of 6e.
Calling it. Betting my prophecy credentials on it.
The Arrow will set off an arms race that leads to the development of the Intercontinental Ballistic Magic Missile.
Crap, All the BBEG's got IBMMs!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I thought it was "place the bag inside the hole" not the other way around. But I guess it would explode with the same effect. Nothing nuclear though.
And if the effect is the same for any extra-dimensional space inside any other extra-dimensional space just use two small bags of holding. Two small cheap coin purses of holding could work very well for a heavy crossbow.
I think the biggest issue is that if the wooden "impact fuse" would work at all, it will always break when the projectile is launched by sudden acceleration such as you would get from a ballista or turret. Maybe a trebuchet would work, but you'd need to redesign the whole thing and lose some precision. A custom launcher that accelerated it to high speed gradually before launching might work, but would be slow, enormous, and unlikely to work well in the field.
Another is that you probably don't have machine tools or even the concept of manufactured, replaceable parts, so you need highly skilled artisans working together - or a wizard with fabricate, the appropriate proficiencies, and high-quality materials. Either a decent amount of money and a lot of time, or a lot of money and a decent amount of time.
Your best bet is probably to start over and design it to be dropped from above. Lots of ways to get it up there, from fly+invisiblle to a trained pterodactyl.
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Hello friends. I'm sure we're all familiar with the AoTD, as pictured below:

However, I've noticed 2 distinct flaws in it's use:
#1: Cost. While magic item prices vary, the cost of this is generally somewhere around 22k GP given the price of the Portable Hole.
#2: Weight. A Bag of Holding weighs 15 entire pounds. This would obviously necessitate a larger implement other than just a bow to be used effectively.
With this in mind, is there any way to create a more cost-efficient AoTD that could be delivered with proper force? I think our best bet would be to use a Handy Haversack as a more cost-efficient payload and a Ballista or Artificer Turret as a delivery mechanism.
You might be able to use a large crossbow as a firing mechanism. It depends on how large of a bag you're using. If you use the tiny elven version it might make it easier.
Also, I know at some point somebody will say it, so yes you could use a wish to get as many of these as you wanted. That's not a good enough way to cut costs. Wish is a ninth level spell, and when you cast it you could potentially lose your ability to cast it ever again.
You could cast rope trick or get someone else to cast it then put/shot/throw ur portable hole/bag of holding/Handy Haversack into the extradimensional part of rope trick
The effect only happens when it enters an extradimensional space created by an item.
The Efficient Quiver only weighs 2 pounds, but it could be difficult to stuff a bag of holding into one.
If you could convince a DM to give you one sized for a Large+ creature, then that could be an option.
Well, you can offset the cost of a Bag of Holding by playing an Artificer. If you could find a way to make a 30 lb arrow composed of two bags of holding work, then you can reduce that cost to 0 simply by having two artificers with the right infusions prepared in the party
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
I read the title of the thread, and I was curious enough to look, so I did, and the first thing I saw reminded me of pictures I have seen of the atomic bomb, and sure enough, that's pretty much what the poster had in mind. I think that's pretty much out of the general tech level of D&D, because in the current game, it usually tops out in the late Renaissance. And atom bombs are a bit later than that.
<Insert clever signature here>
If world's can be sundered or burned with blue flame because magic is on the fritz, or an inspirational text can proclaim a particular ring can dominate a whole world ... a magic arrow I suppose this weapon could exist, or maybe at least in the Forgotten Realms the Harpers and Lords Alliance have a task force specifically charged with counter-proliferation of this technology,. I mean Harpers, Lords Alliance, Emerald Enclave, Zhentarim and a few other factions are the de facto U.N. Security Council for Faerun anyway if you think about it, they're just not transparent, so more like the UN Security Council run by the Illuminati. .
I mean the antecedent civilization to "modern" FR had the magical capacity to decapitate mountain tops, flip over said mountain top, fly said mountain top and construct an magically advance metropolis upon said mountain top. Who knows what they might have had in their arsenals which may be sitting around in some vault in Anauroch or where have you?
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Well, ok. I have no problem with that. As an Artifact, and not something that can made by a player character, I mean the kind only found in the DMG. Then the UN Security Council in their game can decide who uses it.
<Insert clever signature here>
But there's another artifact, an ichor of Security Council Dissolution ... then all heck breaks loose until a New World Order is imposed by the Arrow, announcing the arrival of 6e.
Calling it. Betting my prophecy credentials on it.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Only takes 1 artificer, because you can take the infusion for it multiple times. Why 30 pounds? A bag of holding has no listed weight, and most magic items resize for the wearer. Have your familiar try it on, shrinking it, then use tongs (so it doesn't resize to you) to load it into the bolt. Then repeat.
Should work in any standard ballista bolt, but it would probably work in a javelin, too.
It says in the first paragraph "the bag weighs 15 pounds"
Also, I could be wrong but IIRC you can only take a particular infusion once and can only apply that infusion to one item at a time
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
all u need is for the artifer to make a bag of holding and a caster to cast rope trick
As mentioned previously, Rope Trick does NOT work.
From Bag of Holding page:
"Placing a bag of holding inside an extradimensional space created by a handy haversack, portable hole, or similar item instantly destroys both items and opens a gate to the Astral Plane."
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The Arrow will set off an arms race that leads to the development of the Intercontinental Ballistic Magic Missile.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Crap, All the BBEG's got IBMMs!
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
*Eberron artificer quietly loading BagOfHoldingBombs into elemental jet plane in the distance :P*
Ballista bolt solves the weight problem
Adds to cost tho
I thought it was "place the bag inside the hole" not the other way around.
But I guess it would explode with the same effect. Nothing nuclear though.
And if the effect is the same for any extra-dimensional space inside any other extra-dimensional space just use two small bags of holding. Two small cheap coin purses of holding could work very well for a heavy crossbow.
By the way the diagram looks like an RPG warhead.
Yeah, it's pretty obvious that it's deliberately trying to look like an RPG warhead.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I think the biggest issue is that if the wooden "impact fuse" would work at all, it will always break when the projectile is launched by sudden acceleration such as you would get from a ballista or turret. Maybe a trebuchet would work, but you'd need to redesign the whole thing and lose some precision. A custom launcher that accelerated it to high speed gradually before launching might work, but would be slow, enormous, and unlikely to work well in the field.
Another is that you probably don't have machine tools or even the concept of manufactured, replaceable parts, so you need highly skilled artisans working together - or a wizard with fabricate, the appropriate proficiencies, and high-quality materials. Either a decent amount of money and a lot of time, or a lot of money and a decent amount of time.
Your best bet is probably to start over and design it to be dropped from above. Lots of ways to get it up there, from fly+invisiblle to a trained pterodactyl.