A Visitor's Guide to Nokt: Artifacts: The Heartbow

Reputedly carved from the living heart of the oldest tree on Ereland, The Heartbow is a mighty longbow of incredible craftsmanship. Serving those of the wilderness, especially Rangers and Barbarians, The Heartbow is a weapon that many have, literally, killed for. It is a legendary weapon that provides many benefits to its wielder, but most of the benefits apply only if the wielder has levels in the Battle Scion prestige class.

For details on the Battle Scion prestige class, see the SRD (clicky).

Requirements

Any character can wield The Heartbow as a +2 mighty longbow, and also gain the benefit of the Thundering special ability described below. A Battle Scion who wields The Heartbow gains additional special abilities if the character fulfills the following criteria.

Base Attack Bonus: +7

Skills:
Survival: 6 ranks.

Feats:
Track or Wild Empathy
Endurance

Attributes
The Heartbow has the following attributes.

Hardness/Hit Points: 20/55.
Caster Level: 15th.

Value
To any character other than a battle scion who meets the above requirements, The Heartbow appears to be worth as much as a mighty +2 longbow that grants the Thundering special ability (market price 14,335 gp).

Special Abilities
The Heartbow provides a number of special abilities to its wielder, depending on the character’s class level in the battle scion prestige class.

Level - Ability Gained:

— - Thundering
1st - True Strike 2x/day
2nd - Crippling Strike 1x/day
3rd - Enhancement bonus +3
4th - True Strike 4x/day
5th - Penetrating Strike 2x/day
6th - Enhancement bonus +4
7th - Crippling Strike 3x/day
8th - True Strike 6x/day
9th - Penetrating Strike 4x/day
10th - Enhancement bonus +5

Initial Abilities
When first acquired, The Heartbow functions as a +2 mighty longbow. Anyone who wields it, whether a battle scion or not, also benefits from the Thundering ability (see below).

Thundering
A thundering weapon creates a cacophonous roar like thunder upon striking a successful critical hit. The sonic energy does not harm the wielder. A thundering weapon deals an extra 2d8 points of sonic damage on a successful critical hit. Subjects dealt a critical hit by a thundering weapon must make a DC 14 Fortitude save or be deafened permanently.

True Strike
You gain temporary, intuitive insight into the immediate future during your next attack. Your next single attack roll (if it is made before the end of the next round) gains a +20 insight bonus. Additionally, you are not affected by the miss chance that applies to attackers trying to strike a concealed target.

Crippling Strike
Upon a successful critical hit, the opponent finds his movement rate reduced by 50%. Crippling Strikes are cumulative, so a second Crippling Strike would reduce movement to 25% of normal. Crippling Strike does not replace "Thundering," though Crippling Strike and Penetrating Strike may never be used on the same critical hit.

Penetrating Strike
Upon a successful critical hit, the opponent finds his spell resistance reduced by 50%. Penetrating Strikes are cumulative, so a second Penetrating Strike would reduce movement to 25% of normal. Penetrating Strike does not replace "Thundering," though Crippling Strike and Penetrating Strike may never be used on the same critical hit.