Jan and Bows

Splunge · Sun, 6th Jul '03, 4:57pm

Am I the only one who does this?

Whenever I take Jan, I am never happy with his Xbow skills. I don’t like Xbows in general, and I’m not crazy about his flashers (they’re heavy and they never seem to work).

So what I usually end up doing is spending the first prof point I get on short bows and go with tungian, tansheron and gesen (I wouldn’t do this if I have other party members who also need these bows, but that hasn't happened yet); these are IMO the 3 best bows in the game, and arrows are much more plentiful than bolts, plus there’s more variety (fire, acid, piercing, etc.). I know this is a waste of his Xbow point, but I never really know what to do with his extra points anyway, so it’s not that big a deal; after all, he starts out with points in staffs (blunt) and s.swords/daggers (piercing), so he already has the melee damage types covered (for those rare cases when I have him go melee).

So am I crazy or what? (Well, OK, generally speaking I am crazy, but I’m talking about this specific situation.)

Duke Eltan · Sun, 6th Jul '03, 10:10pm

Yes, you seem to be crazy.
Not about spending the prof point on bows, cuz I think bows are better than xbows to. But having Jan in a party seems to be totally wack

Mystra's Chosen · Sun, 6th Jul '03, 10:55pm

Jan's a good member... his theiving skills are unparalelled and he can cast backup spells. With Edwin in the party you can use him to just cast spells that are non-offensive or small offensive spells like Death Spell (which is very useful for Umber Hulks and fighting Mindflayers because if you get rid of the Umber Hulks then you can concentrate on the Flayers with worrying about getting hit). He can throw invisibility spells around like nothin'.

Deathmage · Mon, 7th Jul '03, 1:42am

Hmm, now that's a good idea. However I usually have some other characters that uses short bows...Mazzy, Nalia or Imoen. Plus, his "Flasher Master Bruiser Mates" paralyzes people, which is rather handy.

Blog · Mon, 7th Jul '03, 2:16am

Same as Deathmage - there's always someone else that needs a short bow in the party.

Who else can I count on to use up those unsellable Kuo Toa bolts?

Mystra's Chosen · Mon, 7th Jul '03, 8:38am

Yeah! for people who don't know pick up any bolts that look like +1 Bolts in the Underdark from Kuo-Tao enemies. They stun enemies with a -1 save vs poison (IIRC).

Splunge · Tue, 8th Jul '03, 12:34am

@Mystra:
I didn't know about those bolts! Maybe I need to re-consider Xbows. Any other good bolts that I might be missing? (I know about +1, +2, lightning + biting). Anything that kills trolls?

Also, I know what Jan's flashers are supposed to do; it just seems to me that they never actually work. Anybody else feel this way?

[ July 08, 2003, 00:50: Message edited by: Splunge ]

Rotku · Tue, 8th Jul '03, 12:49am

I usually give him a bow. I've just always hated anything at all like crossbows. But Jans XBow thingy is good.

Aldeth the Foppish Idiot · Tue, 8th Jul '03, 5:30pm

I always give Jan a bow. Most of the good crossbows in the game are heavy crossbows, which means Jan can't use them (thieves aren't allowed to use heavy crossbows). There are rarely two other people who need bows in my party, so I always give him his first prof in short bows, and than give him a short bow.

Death Rabbit · Tue, 8th Jul '03, 5:58pm

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure you can take the Drow crossbow bolts out of the underdark. As far as crossbows, the light crossbow of speed gives you an extra attack, which isn't bad. There are a few decent ones. Necardann's Crossbow is +3 to hit/damage, and the Crossbow of Affliction is good if you don't mind the -2 to strength (which is no biggy for Jan). Plus the bolts of Lightening are cool with their 4d4 lightening damage. I found a ton of these throughout the game.

Rastor · Wed, 9th Jul '03, 2:41am

Death Rabbit
You can't take the drow crossbows out of the Underdark without cheating. The two you mention are not drow weapons, despite the fact that you get them in the Underdark.

Deathmage · Wed, 9th Jul '03, 3:24am

Jan's Flasher is just a vanilla +1 weapon, it's his BOLTS (the skull things) that paralyzes people.

Death Rabbit · Wed, 9th Jul '03, 5:30am

@ Rastor

I never said they were drow weapons. I was talking about the bolts. I'm almost certain you can take the drow bolts of stunning with you. I'd have to play through again to be sure, but I do know that unlike all other drow equipment, the bolts' descriptions don't say anything about them turning to dust on the surface.

dmc · Wed, 9th Jul '03, 6:01am

@ DR - I don't believe that the bolts of stunning are drow weapons - I think they are Kua Toa weapons. Thus, no disintegration.

Rastor · Wed, 9th Jul '03, 3:15pm

Bolts of stunning are not drow weapons. Drow don't even drop them.

Anything that says Drow Bolt in its name cannot be taken from the Underdark.

Death Rabbit · Wed, 9th Jul '03, 4:21pm

From the item description:

Quote:

BWBOLT02 : Drow Bolt of Stunning

Drow Bolt of Stunning

This item, like most drow equipment, is created using Adamantine, an alloy of adamantite that quickly turns to dust if removed from the Underdark. A target hit by this bolt must making a saving throw vs. death or be stunned for four rounds.

STATISTICS:
Combat Ability: target must save vs. death or be stunned for four rounds
Damage: 1D8 +1
THACO: +1
Damage type: missile (piercing)
Weight: 0
Launcher: Crossbow
Lore Required : , Value : 2

So yes, I wasn't thinking of Koa Toa bolts, they do exist, and the drow do drop them. But I was wrong about them disintegrating apparantly. I'd thought there was something other than the Gorgon Plate that was safe from the sun, but I guess I'm mistaken.

[ July 09, 2003, 20:38: Message edited by: Death Rabbit ]

Taluntain · Wed, 9th Jul '03, 8:33pm

You do realize you can download more than one full list of SoA & ToB items with their item codes and descriptions off SP?

Death Rabbit · Wed, 9th Jul '03, 8:37pm

Yes. I just knew exactly where that info was there, and just wanted to cut and paste rather than hunt and download files. I'll remove the reference to the competition though. Sorry!

Taluntain · Thu, 10th Jul '03, 10:56am

Oh, it's no problem, I just hoped you didn't have to go there to find the description of every item.

Stu · Thu, 10th Jul '03, 1:30pm

My sister has Jan alternate between bows and xbows depending on which type of amunition she has available.
this seems to work pretty well as she only has to use the very best types of amunition and does not have to compromise with +1 bolts when she has +2 arrows and visa versa.

I never play with Jan as I play a thief!

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Sun, 6th Jul '03, 4:57pm	#1
Splunge SPS Account Holder Bhaal’s financial advisor Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: In hiding after Bhaal became Lord of Murder when I had him put everything into subprime mortgages. Posts: 6,545 Like: 13 Liked 57 Times in 38 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 15,912 Level: 36 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 23.04% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 80.13% Achievements Awards	Am I the only one who does this? Whenever I take Jan, I am never happy with his Xbow skills. I don’t like Xbows in general, and I’m not crazy about his flashers (they’re heavy and they never seem to work). So what I usually end up doing is spending the first prof point I get on short bows and go with tungian, tansheron and gesen (I wouldn’t do this if I have other party members who also need these bows, but that hasn't happened yet); these are IMO the 3 best bows in the game, and arrows are much more plentiful than bolts, plus there’s more variety (fire, acid, piercing, etc.). I know this is a waste of his Xbow point, but I never really know what to do with his extra points anyway, so it’s not that big a deal; after all, he starts out with points in staffs (blunt) and s.swords/daggers (piercing), so he already has the melee damage types covered (for those rare cases when I have him go melee). So am I crazy or what? (Well, OK, generally speaking I am crazy, but I’m talking about this specific situation.)

Sun, 6th Jul '03, 10:10pm	#2
Duke Eltan Gems: 14/31 Latest gem: Chrysoberyl Join Date: May 2003 Location: sweden Posts: 670 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 1,762 Level: 14 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 5.22% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	Yes, you seem to be crazy. Not about spending the prof point on bows, cuz I think bows are better than xbows to. But having Jan in a party seems to be totally wack

Sun, 6th Jul '03, 10:55pm	#3
Mystra's Chosen Gems: 22/31 Latest gem: Sphene Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Texas, Canada (oh, I mean Alberta) Posts: 1,451 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 3,721 Level: 19 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 48.61% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	Jan's a good member... his theiving skills are unparalelled and he can cast backup spells. With Edwin in the party you can use him to just cast spells that are non-offensive or small offensive spells like Death Spell (which is very useful for Umber Hulks and fighting Mindflayers because if you get rid of the Umber Hulks then you can concentrate on the Flayers with worrying about getting hit). He can throw invisibility spells around like nothin'.

Mon, 7th Jul '03, 1:42am	#4
Deathmage Arrr! Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Here Posts: 1,838 Blog Entries: 1 Like: 1 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post vBActivity - Stats XP: 4,803 Level: 21 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 77.35% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 59.23% Monthly Activity 22.1% Achievements	Hmm, now that's a good idea. However I usually have some other characters that uses short bows...Mazzy, Nalia or Imoen. Plus, his "Flasher Master Bruiser Mates" paralyzes people, which is rather handy.

Mon, 7th Jul '03, 2:16am	#5
Blog Gems: 23/31 Latest gem: Black Opal Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 1,634 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 4,053 Level: 20 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 22.56% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	Same as Deathmage - there's always someone else that needs a short bow in the party. Who else can I count on to use up those unsellable Kuo Toa bolts?

Mon, 7th Jul '03, 8:38am	#6
Mystra's Chosen Gems: 22/31 Latest gem: Sphene Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Texas, Canada (oh, I mean Alberta) Posts: 1,451 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 3,721 Level: 19 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 48.61% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	Yeah! for people who don't know pick up any bolts that look like +1 Bolts in the Underdark from Kuo-Tao enemies. They stun enemies with a -1 save vs poison (IIRC).

Tue, 8th Jul '03, 12:34am	#7
Splunge SPS Account Holder Bhaal’s financial advisor Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: In hiding after Bhaal became Lord of Murder when I had him put everything into subprime mortgages. Posts: 6,545 Like: 13 Liked 57 Times in 38 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 15,912 Level: 36 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 23.04% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 80.13% Achievements Awards	@Mystra: I didn't know about those bolts! Maybe I need to re-consider Xbows. Any other good bolts that I might be missing? (I know about +1, +2, lightning + biting). Anything that kills trolls? Also, I know what Jan's flashers are supposed to do; it just seems to me that they never actually work. Anybody else feel this way? [ July 08, 2003, 00:50: Message edited by: Splunge ]

Tue, 8th Jul '03, 12:49am	#8
Rotku SPS Account Holder I believe I can fly Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: New Zealand Posts: 3,102 Blog Entries: 19 Like: 9 Liked 4 Times in 4 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 7,571 Level: 26 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 48.79% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements Awards	I usually give him a bow. I've just always hated anything at all like crossbows. But Jans XBow thingy is good.

Tue, 8th Jul '03, 5:30pm	#9
Aldeth the Foppish Idiot SPS Account Holder Mod Reviewer Armed with My Mallet O' Thinking Froggster Champion! Gold Miner Champion! Straw Game Champion! Tubin Champion! Worm Catcher Champion! Join Date: May 2003 Location: MD Posts: 12,327 Like: 26 Liked 47 Times in 40 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 30,034 Level: 46 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 88.91% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 144.88% Monthly Activity 103.34% Achievements	I always give Jan a bow. Most of the good crossbows in the game are heavy crossbows, which means Jan can't use them (thieves aren't allowed to use heavy crossbows). There are rarely two other people who need bows in my party, so I always give him his first prof in short bows, and than give him a short bow.

Tue, 8th Jul '03, 5:58pm	#10
Death Rabbit SPS Account Holder Straight, no chaser Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Jahiera's cleavage Posts: 6,023 Like: 19 Liked 30 Times in 18 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 16,738 Level: 37 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 0.01% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 27.41% Monthly Activity 27.08% Achievements	I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure you can take the Drow crossbow bolts out of the underdark. As far as crossbows, the light crossbow of speed gives you an extra attack, which isn't bad. There are a few decent ones. Necardann's Crossbow is +3 to hit/damage, and the Crossbow of Affliction is good if you don't mind the -2 to strength (which is no biggy for Jan). Plus the bolts of Lightening are cool with their 4d4 lightening damage. I found a ton of these throughout the game.

Wed, 9th Jul '03, 2:41am	#11
Rastor FFG's Baatorian Mate Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Avernus Posts: 3,533 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 7,942 Level: 27 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 4.06% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	Death Rabbit You can't take the drow crossbows out of the Underdark without cheating. The two you mention are not drow weapons, despite the fact that you get them in the Underdark.

Wed, 9th Jul '03, 3:24am	#12
Deathmage Arrr! Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Here Posts: 1,838 Blog Entries: 1 Like: 1 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post vBActivity - Stats XP: 4,803 Level: 21 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 77.35% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 59.23% Monthly Activity 22.1% Achievements	Jan's Flasher is just a vanilla +1 weapon, it's his BOLTS (the skull things) that paralyzes people.

Wed, 9th Jul '03, 5:30am	#13
Death Rabbit SPS Account Holder Straight, no chaser Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Jahiera's cleavage Posts: 6,023 Like: 19 Liked 30 Times in 18 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 16,738 Level: 37 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 0.01% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 27.41% Monthly Activity 27.08% Achievements	@ Rastor I never said they were drow weapons. I was talking about the bolts. I'm almost certain you can take the drow bolts of stunning with you. I'd have to play through again to be sure, but I do know that unlike all other drow equipment, the bolts' descriptions don't say anything about them turning to dust on the surface.

Wed, 9th Jul '03, 6:01am	#14
dmc SPS Account Holder Distinguished Member Moderator Speak softly and carry a big briefcase 3 Card Poker Champion! Balloon Shoot Champion! Bumper Golf Champion! Falldown Champion! Plumber 2 Champion! Rotations Champion! Towerball Champion! Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Los Angeles, California, USA Posts: 6,505 Like: 19 Liked 55 Times in 44 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 15,921 Level: 36 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 23.82% Daily Activity 71.92% Weekly Activity 51.88% Monthly Activity 71.29% Achievements Awards	@ DR - I don't believe that the bolts of stunning are drow weapons - I think they are Kua Toa weapons. Thus, no disintegration.

Wed, 9th Jul '03, 3:15pm	#15
Rastor FFG's Baatorian Mate Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Avernus Posts: 3,533 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 7,942 Level: 27 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 4.06% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	Bolts of stunning are not drow weapons. Drow don't even drop them. Anything that says Drow Bolt in its name cannot be taken from the Underdark.

Wed, 9th Jul '03, 8:33pm	#17
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Resident Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Cori Celesti Posts: 20,808 Blog Entries: 13 Like: 159 Liked 123 Times in 80 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 53,170 Level: 58 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 50.18% Daily Activity 71.92% Weekly Activity 174.25% Monthly Activity 105% Achievements Awards	You do realize you can download more than one full list of SoA & ToB items with their item codes and descriptions off SP?

Wed, 9th Jul '03, 8:37pm	#18
Death Rabbit SPS Account Holder Straight, no chaser Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Jahiera's cleavage Posts: 6,023 Like: 19 Liked 30 Times in 18 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 16,738 Level: 37 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 0.01% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 27.41% Monthly Activity 27.08% Achievements	Yes. I just knew exactly where that info was there, and just wanted to cut and paste rather than hunt and download files. I'll remove the reference to the competition though. Sorry!

Thu, 10th Jul '03, 10:56am	#19
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Resident Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Cori Celesti Posts: 20,808 Blog Entries: 13 Like: 159 Liked 123 Times in 80 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 53,170 Level: 58 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 50.18% Daily Activity 71.92% Weekly Activity 174.25% Monthly Activity 105% Achievements Awards	Oh, it's no problem, I just hoped you didn't have to go there to find the description of every item.

Thu, 10th Jul '03, 1:30pm	#20
Stu Gems: 20/31 Latest gem: Garnet Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Adelaide, Australia Posts: 1,206 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 3,061 Level: 17 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 89.92% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	My sister has Jan alternate between bows and xbows depending on which type of amunition she has available. this seems to work pretty well as she only has to use the very best types of amunition and does not have to compromise with +1 bolts when she has +2 arrows and visa versa. I never play with Jan as I play a thief! !