Flaming Arrows

Health - 1

Hardness - 7

Craft DC: 20 (fletching) AND 25 (alchemy)

Flaming arrows are considered by many to be mostly useless, but there are times they come in handy.

Flaming arrows come with a slew of penalties. They travel 4 range increments fewer than a normal arrow, they deal 2 damage die less (minimum 1), and they take a -4 to attack as they fly rather poorly. For any benefits to apply they must be lit immediately before firing - this requires 2 AP to ensure that it is properly lit. This usually requires appropriate tools and a survival check as well (costing further AP), though canny archers will light a torch or brazer before firing and use this to light their arrows.

If a lit flaming arrow successfully strikes a character, that character takes 1d6 points of fire damage and must make a reflex save (DC 20) or catch On Fire. While a shield check will, as normal, protect against the arrow, it does not protect against the possibility of catching on fire, though characters which block an arrow with a metal shield gain a +2 on the reflex save vs catching on fire. Flammable materials or structures hit by a flaming arrow automatically catch on fire.

Flaming arrows, if lit, are automatically destroyed after their flight. Unlit, they are treated as normal.

Carrying flaming arrows can be dangerous. If a character catches On Fire, each flaming arrow has a 25% chance per round to ignite, destroying itself and dealing 1d6 fire damage to the carrier. Dropping a quiver readied for firing costs 4 AP, or 2 AP otherwise.

Unsurprisingly, these are a favorite naval weapon.