Full Item Description
An arrow bag crafted of doeskin of excellent quality, bearing the coat of arms of the King of Mulavia. It is large enough to contain a sheaf of twenty four longbow arrows.
History
The Mulavian Arrow Bags were commissioned for the Kings archer regiment and are given to officers and to rank and file archers who have distinguished themselves in some manner. Perhaps 200 were created over the lifetime of the regiment. Being a prized trophy, many of these have been lost in battle or stolen.
Magic/Cursed Properties
Arrows contained within are completely protected against the elements and breakage. The bag can be folded or bent without affecting the contents. The leather is of amazing toughness, more comparable to fine chainmail in durability. In addition, minor charms make drawing arrows by the archer near-effortless, with no chance of tangling or dropping.
Campaign Use
These are fairly utilitarian, but would serve well as a treasure item desired by archers. The effects are subtle, but the first time they save the archer's arrows from destruction, they will earn their keep.
These could easily be an heirloom or prized possession that has been stolen or otherwise lost - providing a simple quest for PCs.
Historical Note:
During the Middle Ages, English archers used what is referred to as an Arrow Bag as opposed to what is generally referred to as a quiver. It is a leather bag equipped with a drawstring at both ends (to facilitate both loading and drawing arrows) to retain the arrows and protect them from the elements, important since wet arrows do not fly as true.
Suggested reading:
THE ARCHER'S TALE
Bernard Cornwall
HarperCollins
Historical Fiction
ISBN: 0066210844
Not Registered Yet? No problem.
Do you want Strolenati super powers? Registering. That's how you get super powers! These are just a couple powers you receive with more to come as you participate.
- Upvote and give XP to encourage useful comments.
- Work on submissions in private or flag them for assistance.
- Earn XP and gain levels that give you more site abilities (super powers).
- You should register. All your friends are doing it!
? Responses (14)
I really like this idea and can see it being used for much more than just arrows. Would anything large and solid placed in this bag become as bendable as the bag? Maybe it could be used to carry fragile objects, since the contents are completely portected against the elements and breakage. It seems like a practical variation of the Bag of Holding or Portable Hole, but without the extradimensional space. Possibly cheaper or it might have come before and inpired them in any world. Thumbs up!
Simple and neat. I might like to see extra details, but that's just me. A solid item overall.
I thought about adding more, but it seemed overmuch for the simple idea. I'm open for suggestions on what could be added that would make it better.
What Dozus said.
Hey, that's a sweet item, and pretty useful, too!
Added to the Generic Magic Items codex.
The details are scant, but it does cover all the bases. We have an origin and such.
My question, if this is not that hard to make (all it is, is a limited bag of holding), why haven't other armies, regiments, or enterprising mages made more?
Well, it is more durable then the common bag of holding, but you are right - it is not much different. It also does nothing to reduce the weight of its contents.
Heh, you were the one I was listening to when I made this sub much leaner then my usual sub - we should not be afraid to create more trivial subs.
Nothing would stop other armies from making these, apart from the normal costs associated with the manufacture of any magic item.
Simple and handy, a must have for any skilled ranged combatant, especially on the high seas where sea spray and pitching decks would make this item doubly useful.
Not much left to add. I like backstory and history and while it was short it was there. Interesting idea al lthe same. Simple, effective, and highly sought after by those who know of it.
I like it, as for the limited availablity, even the most mundane of magic items are going to be a bit on the expensive side. Only the best and elite archers are going to have these, not something that the royalty is going to cough up coin for every rank and file soldier.
The pulling of the 1 of 20 to 200 (depending on the campaign) arrows from a 30 sp quiver smoothly and without error has always bothered me. PCs would have to spend hours carefully loading their arrows. I like anything that makes the game easier for everyone without sacrificing depth or detail.
A handy item that works well for a starting pc's family heirloom, or a useful gift from a grateful noble. A nice treasure that's not over powered and will remain useful even at higher levels.