More Magic Questions, ...or why I can't get the magic system. Options

[Edward]

If you wished you could allow a bow with a unique enchantment based on a free spirits wealth power (making the bow requires the spirit to be bound using its true name) to create arrows, it could only create normal arrows. The section on unique enchantments is entirely at GM discretions but theoretically they can do anything.

I advise against allowing the arrows to be magical once they leave the bow as that would be bypassing one of the limits magical researchers have been working on for decades

There are a few spells that could be useful to a bow using mage. Improve aim has issue with resistance but can be a useful spell, unless you going to be working at very close range I recommend the extended range version (for +1 drain level but you wont be casting it often) for the sake of having magical bow you could make that the sustaining focus for that spell). Increase strength would not be all that useful as the str min on the bow is used to determine damage not your current strength and you want to meet the STR min when your spells are down. Combat sense could also be useful.

Making arrows that are expendable anchoring foci and setting them up to cast powerbolt looks good on the surface but remember you still need to make a casting test (dice allocated at time of setting up focus) and you still need to make a drain resistance test at time of firing. Not the most practical in my opinion, especially as it requires a metameric

I don’t know if they got it right but the description of the healing potions would suggest that an anchoring focus can work while not in contact with the caster

If you take enchanting as a skill then you would be able to make your own expendable anchoring foci at vastly reduced cost and accept there loss, but buying them is far to expensive.

Edward

[Czar Eggbert]

Personally I would go with a variation of the distance strike/killing hands option, maybe up the costs by .25 or .50 on each power to represent the extended area of effect, and geas it to only work with a bow. It not to far outside the realm of believability when you look at what the killing hands or distance strike powers do. It's a style thing. I'd use the same rules for distance strike, no +power as it is not an arrow, and you are there.



-The Eggman

[Cain]

Actually, distance strike/killing hands with a Talisman (bow) limitation on the distance strike would work just fine. You don't even need to geas the killing hands bit.

[hyzmarca]

Ally spirit with a bow form. It is really be best posibility. It doesn't even requie an archery skill. Just give it the right spells and the skills it needs to shoot an arow with itself.

Also, you can dikote it and have sex with it. Perfect for long and boring runs.

[Clyde]

Nobody's mentioned this, so I thought I'd throw it in: have him follow a unique magical path. Kind of like the psionicist, only stranger. Make him a sixth world oddity - current theory can't quite explain how he does it. "Are those arrows really anchoring foci? But he's not initiated and so can't know anchoring." Leave the theory of it open. This way you can have every magical threat in the book out looking for him.

I think it could be good for your story - the player gets what he wants while you have endless hooks to throw at every plot. Everyone from corps, to initiate groups to great dragons may want in on this. At the same time, you might have a mysterious NPC arcane archer get involved from time to time. Maybe he learned in some remote mountain village that has since disappeared. Make sure he pays priority "A" for the privilege and doesn't get access to full adept or spellcasting abilities. If at any time his powers get too out of control for you to handle - take the character out of play. Have him extracted or wasted or have a free spirit make off with his special bow.

Just don't bend over backwards trying to shoehorn the SR mechanics into this - there's no really good way to do it. Instead, just accept that magic in the sixth world isn't a stable, predictable force. That'll give you a butt ton of leeway to do your own weird magical effects without player complaint - after all if there are arcane archers who aren't described in the book yet can be played as PCs then who knows what else is out there. Keep magic mysterious, it's worth the extra effort.