Say I have a wizard that wants to use arrows to focus his spells. (Uses whole action to do so)
Should I use spell or arrow range?
Do I add weapon damage to spell damage?
Can you cast touch spells through an arrow if it hits?
I really am inclined to let him do this, because it works well with his background, I just feel like even with low hp as a wizard Its a little unbalanced, and in early playtesting I've had some really high damage for low level, but for later encounters (lvl 5-11) it balances better.
Just looking for help with some balancing. I might have to make a special item to facilitate this, but that's not an issue.
There's an Arcane Archer in the UA as a Fighter subclass that might interest you.
Beyond that I'd treat this more along the lines of enchanting an item rather than a spur of the moment effect. A spell focus needs to be held when casting, if you shoot your spell focus across the battlefield then it creates some issues afterward. There may be some "rule of cool" moments that you could pull off here and there, but overall, I feel casting spells through an arrow in the same way you might a familiar is granting too much.
Even with that, the bow is simply the focus, it becomes the equivalent to a Paladin or Cleric putting their holy symbol on their shield. A Paladin/Cleric isn't imbuing the shield with magical properties each time they cast a spell so, having the Ruby wouldn't make it so the Wizard is imbuing each piece of ammunition with the power of a spell.
Also, thank you, Arcane Archer is in Xanthar's, I just couldn't remember.
Say I have a wizard that wants to use arrows to focus his spells. (Uses whole action to do so)
Should I use spell or arrow range?
Do I add weapon damage to spell damage?
Can you cast touch spells through an arrow if it hits?
I really am inclined to let him do this, because it works well with his background, I just feel like even with low hp as a wizard Its a little unbalanced, and in early playtesting I've had some really high damage for low level, but for later encounters (lvl 5-11) it balances better.
Just looking for help with some balancing. I might have to make a special item to facilitate this, but that's not an issue.
There's an Arcane Archer in the UA as a Fighter subclass that might interest you.
Beyond that I'd treat this more along the lines of enchanting an item rather than a spur of the moment effect. A spell focus needs to be held when casting, if you shoot your spell focus across the battlefield then it creates some issues afterward. There may be some "rule of cool" moments that you could pull off here and there, but overall, I feel casting spells through an arrow in the same way you might a familiar is granting too much.
Well, Originally the bow itself was the focus, and with the way magic is described in dnd I was struggling with why it couldn't work.
I believe Arcane Archer is published.
Maybe try a Ruby of the War Mage?
Extended Signature! Yay! https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/3153-extended-signature-thread?page=2#c21
Haven’t used this account in forever. Still a big fan of crawling claws.
Even with that, the bow is simply the focus, it becomes the equivalent to a Paladin or Cleric putting their holy symbol on their shield. A Paladin/Cleric isn't imbuing the shield with magical properties each time they cast a spell so, having the Ruby wouldn't make it so the Wizard is imbuing each piece of ammunition with the power of a spell.
Also, thank you, Arcane Archer is in Xanthar's, I just couldn't remember.