Are there any non-drow crossbows with >1 APR in BG2?

Oxford_Guy

Hi - I'm thinking about a (good-aligned, for a change) Skald character to take with a full party through BGEE and am thinking about proficiencies, I think on the melee front I'm likely to go Staff > Two-handed fighting > Halberd (or maybe halberd first), but am not sure about the ranged choice.

The light cross bow of speed would be ideal, as it gets 2 APR and is faster than even the +2 shortbow (useful if I want to "song twist" and get in some ranged shorts before my song ends, then resume singing), but I was wondering if there are any non-drow (i.e. not disintegrating) crossbows with >1 APR in BG2? This is especially important for a Skald, as they get +1 damage with *all* attacks, so it's useful to have a high APR (though I don't want to take darts, until maybe the Cloak of Stars in BG2). I'm likely to take Imoen at the start of BGEE (who has shortbows) and Kivan and/or Coran on longbows.

IkMarc

Well you can have a ferret familiar (lawful neutral) pickpocket the drow items from you and they won't disintegrate when you go out. Just keep the items in the ferret's slot until you are out.

Oxford_Guy

IkMarc said:

Well you can have a ferret familiar (lawful neutral) pickpocket the drow items from you and they won't disintegrate when you go out. Just keep the items in the ferret's slot until you are out.

LOL! I guess you could, but it's an exploit, and I want to play good-aligned for this run.

Oxford_Guy

I suppose Firetooth is decent, even with only 1 APR, and has a low speed (1), which would make song-twisting easier, and bolts of lightning in BG2 are better than most of the arrows

JuliusBorisov

Yes, there is!

Light Crossbow of Speed: 'The Army Scythe'
It's sold by Bernard in the Copper Coronet at the Slums District

THAC0: +1 bonus
Damage: +1 (missile)
Special: 1 extra attack per round


The crossbow is a good choice because usually NPCs specialize in bows leaving crossbows for the main character. Later, in the Watchers Keep you'll find one of the most powerful ranged weapons - Firetooth +4 (upgradable to become +5)

By the way, there're several ways to keep your drow items. I liked to use the following.

I gave all the items to Korgan, then as I left the Underdark, the chapter 6 intro started, I paused it the very second the game resumed. Reformed my party and kicked Korgan out. When I finally got the control of my party Korgan walked up and asked if I really wanted him to go. I said yes, asked him to meet me at the Copper Coronet. When I met up with him again all the drow items were intact.

Later in ToB, there are some places when the check for the drow items is made. You should load the game, pause it at once and just drop the drow items on the floor. Unpause and take them back.

IkMarc

Oxford_Guy said:

IkMarc said:

Well you can have a ferret familiar (lawful neutral) pickpocket the drow items from you and they won't disintegrate when you go out. Just keep the items in the ferret's slot until you are out.

LOL! I guess you could, but it's an exploit, and I want to play good-aligned for this run.

All means are justified by the cause ^^

Oxford_Guy

bengoshi said:

Yes, there is!

Light Crossbow of Speed: 'The Army Scythe'
It's sold by Bernard in the Copper Coronet at the Slums District

THAC0: +1 bonus
Damage: +1 (missile)
Special: 1 extra attack per round


The crossbow is a good choice because usually NPCs specialize in bows leaving crossbows for the main character. Later, in the Watchers Keep you'll find one of the most powerful ranged weapons - Firetooth +4 (upgradable to become +5)

By the way, there're several ways to keep your drow items. I liked to use the following.

I gave all the items to Korgan, then as I left the Underdark, the chapter 6 intro started, I paused it the very second the game resumed. Reformed my party and kicked Korgan out. When I finally got the control of my party Korgan walked up and asked if I really wanted him to go. I said yes, asked him to meet me at the Copper Coronet. When I met up with him again all the drow items were intact.

Later in ToB, there are some places when the check for the drow items is made. You should load the game, pause it at once and just drop the drow items on the floor. Unpause and take them back.

Thanks for the information, I'll probably just go for the Light Crossbow of Speed (which isn't mentioned here: http://mikesrpgcenter.com/bgate2/weapons/crossbows.html but then some other things are missing too, I think - is there a more complete list of items somewhere? I don't want to know how to get them, just what might be available!) until I can get Firetooth later.

Eudaemonium

As a random query, why on earth do drow items disintegrate in sunlight? As in, why do they craft them that way? You'd think it would kinda put a dampener on surface raids and the like.

'The drow raiders are attacking!'
*Sun comes up*
'The naked, unarmed drow raiders are attacking!'

Kamigoroshi

Eudaemonium said:

'The drow raiders are attacking!'
*Sun comes up*
'The naked, unarmed drow raiders are attacking!'

Aiii~! The naked, unarmed stealthy male drow raiders which are fond of backstabbing are attacking!
Cover your butts and run for the hills!!

swnmcmlxi

Oxford_Guy said:

[...]is there a more complete list of items somewhere? I don't want to know how to get them, just what might be available!) until I can get Firetooth later

You could always filter the list in SK's Item Browser (crossbows only) and take a screenshot of it.

Rhyme

http://gamebanshee.com/baldursgateii/equipment/crossbows.php

Great site for Baldur's Gate info.

Oxford_Guy

Rhyme said:

http://gamebanshee.com/baldursgateii/equipment/crossbows.php

Great site for Baldur's Gate info.

Indeed, though sometimes you can't see all the information about an item (e.g. class restrictions) in the screenshots

Fardragon

Eudaemonium said:

As a random query, why on earth do drow items disintegrate in sunlight? As in, why do they craft them that way? You'd think it would kinda put a dampener on surface raids and the like.

'The drow raiders are attacking!'
*Sun comes up*
'The naked, unarmed drow raiders are attacking!'

The Drow would only ever raid at night, being pretty much blind in sunlight (not to mention in pain). So the issue does not arise. Their is a protective oil they can use to coat their gear if they do need to make an extended sojurn on the surface.

In terms of lore, the metal they use easily takes high levels of enchantment. +3 gear is far more common for the drow than it is on the surface.

In gameplay terms, it began as a ploy to give NPC Drow leat gear but keep it out of the hands of players. Originally, it just lost it's enchentment, rather than disintergrate completly.

Schneidend

I'm pretty sure you can buy the Crossbow of Speed from the Copper Coronet.

Lord_Tansheron

If you're not too hooked on crossbows in particular, use the Tuigan Bow (from the Copper Coronet free-the-slaves quest). It has an in-built 3 APR and is perhaps one of the best bows in the game (if not the best).

If it has to be a crossbow, Army Scythe (sold at Copper Coronet) and Firetooth (sold at Watcher's Keep) are probably your best choices. All the others are fairly lackluster.

Oxford_Guy

Lord_Tansheron said:

If you're not too hooked on crossbows in particular, use the Tuigan Bow (from the Copper Coronet free-the-slaves quest). It has an in-built 3 APR and is perhaps one of the best bows in the game (if not the best).

If it has to be a crossbow, Army Scythe (sold at Copper Coronet) and Firetooth (sold at Watcher's Keep) are probably your best choices. All the others are fairly lackluster.

I think other NPCs will be using shortbow, so crossbow it is, given that both the Army Scythe and later Firetooth are available