Bow of the Banshee

Bow of the Banshee is a rare +1 shortbow which can frighten targets on hit and grants bonuses to weapon damage and attack rolls against Frightened creatures.

The impression of an elven face screams silently from the finely curved bow - the image becomes even more disturbing when the bowstring snaps forward on release, emitting a blood-curdling wail.

Properties

Damage

1d6 + 1 (2~7) + Dexterity modifier ⁠Piercing

Details

 Shortbows

 Rarity: Rare

Enchantment: + 1

 Two-Handed

 Dippable

 Range: 18 m (60 ft)

 Weight: 0.9 kg (1.8 lb)

 Price: 190 gp

UID

MAG_BG_OfTheBanshee_Bow

UUID

c040d1fc-4804-4774-8367-6dfa397e27e2

Stats

MAG_BG_OfTheBanshee_Bow

Special

The holder of this item gains:

Blood-Curdling Emission

On a hit, possibly inflict  Frightened ( DC 12 Wisdom Saving Throw). Gain a +1d4 bonus to attack and damage against Frightened creatures.

Weapon actions

If you have proficiency, equip in main hand to gain:

 Hamstring Shot ()

Shoot an enemy in the thigh and possibly reduce their movement speed by 50%. ( Recharge: Short rest.)

Condition: Frightened

 Frightened

Duration: 2 turns

 WIS Save (DC 12)

• The affected creature cannot move. Frightened creatures also have  Disadvantage on  Ability Checks and  Attack Rolls.

 Frightened

Where to find

• Carried by  Corsair Greymon while the party first travel on  Gekh's raft across the lake to Grymforge
• Sold by Corsair Greymon at Grymforge at X: -120 Y: -95 after the party sail there for the first time

Notes

• If he is not shoved off the party's raft, Greymon sells this item at his trader spot in the Duergar encampment. If he drowns after turning hostile on the raft, his body washes up on the beach near the southern pier at the Decrepit Village, from which this weapon can be looted.
• The ⁠Bow of the Banshee is also found in ⁠Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear. The description of the items are similar; they can both inflict a fear effect and deal extra damage to targets under that effect.

Regarding Blood-Curdling Emission:

• Blood-Curdling Emission grants different effects depending on how the wielder attacks:
  • Attacks made with the shortbow have a chance to inflict  Frightened.
  • All weapon attacks (not just from the shortbow itself) against Frightened creatures gain +1d4 to damage rolls.
  • All attacks (including unarmed and spell attacks) against Frightened creatures gain +1d4 to attack rolls.
• The Frightened condition is not actually applied by the passive feature, but by the  Bow of the Banshee itself.

Bugs

• Pushing Greymon off the party's raft via the Athletics dialogue option during the initial cutscene results in his loot being permanently lost, as his body will not wash ashore. To guarantee this item and the rest of his gear is recoverable, it is recommended to initiate combat and shove him into the water manually during the ship-to-ship battle.

Regarding Blood-Curdling Emission:

• The combat log erroneously references the spell save DC of the wielder; it still uses the fixed DC of 12.
• This ability is not affected by effects providing advantage or disadvantage on saving throws against being  Frightened, such as  Countercharm or  Shield of the Undevout.