Theros

Bow of Nylea's Hunter

3 min read

Bow of Nylea’s Hunter

Weapon (shortbow), artifact (requires attunement by a creature that enjoys hunting and respects nature) Price: 500,000-750,000 gp | high sentimentality

This shortbow and quiver set is blessed by Nylea, god of the hunt. It hums with a sound that resembles distant birdsong. When held, it changes the sound of your footsteps into rustling wind and a light breeze, a perfect mix of sound that deceives the ear into thinking no one is approaching. With the bow in hand, you have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks and can speak with animals as if using the speak with animals spell. You gain a +3 bonus to attack rolls made with this magic weapon.

You gain the following attributes when using the weapon:

Studied Attack. You can use an action to study a creature by making a DC 20 Intelligence (Nature)

or Wisdom (Survival) check. You have advantage if performing the check on a favored enemy or a creature on which you have the hunter’s mark spell active. On a successful check, for the next 24 hours, any attack made with the bow that hits the targeted creature is automatically a critical hit.

Replenishing Quiver. The quiver can hold up to 20 arrows. When you score a critical hit against a creature using the bow, the spent arrow teleports back into the quiver and is ready to use again.

Coordinated Hunt. While you are attuned to the bow, any creature you control has advantage on attack rolls against creatures you attacked on your last turn.

Nylea’s Guidance. During a long rest,

Nylea whispers guidance to you. You gain a +2 to your choice of Dexterity, Intelligence, or Wisdom until your next long rest.

Fickle Patron. Nylea is a fickle god whom you can easily offend. The following activities cause the bow to lose all magical properties and function as a regular shortbow until you regain her blessing by making an appropriate sacrifice to her and succeeding a DC 20 Intelligence (Religion) check:

  • Hunt for sport
  • Fail to use an action to request her blessing before attacking a beast that isn’t attacking you or an ally. You may request her blessing as part of the Studied Attack action, but you must explicitly declare the request.
  • Participate in a ceremony worshiping or glorifying Karametra, god of the hearth
  • Participate in agricultural activities, including clearing land for planting

Overpaid

Once a day for the first 10 days after you attune to the bow, you can cast the commune spell without requiring material components to contact Nylea.

Destroying the Bow of Nylea’s Hunter

You can’t easily unmake a weapon blessed by the gods. There are only two ways to destroy such a weapon: melt it down in Purphoros’ forge, which resides within Mount Velus, or slay the god who blessed the weapon—in this case, Nylea—to transform the weapon into a nonmagical item that is susceptible to all methods of destruction.

Source: The Gray Merchant of Asphodel

Backlinks