Jan and Bows

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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.)

 

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

 

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'.

 

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.

 

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?

 

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).

 

@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 ]

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

@ 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.

 

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.

 

From the item description:

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 ]

 

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!

 

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! !