A review copy of “Enchanted Ammunition” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.
Support my work by using affiliate links for shopping and pledging via Patreon.
Designed by: Thieves’ Cant Games (Evan Jackson)
I never cared much about playing archers in RPGs, not when there are tons of cool melee weapons and spells to use. But I appreciate Divinity: Original Sin‘s archery gameplay the most due to its elemental arrows and other spell-like arrows, turning archers into fun and versatile ranged spellcasters.
Enchanted Ammunition takes the fun concept of arrows with special effects and applies it to D&D 5e, featuring over 100 special new ammo types for all your ranged needs.
Though the entire supplement is only about 20 pages long, Thieves Cant Games manages to squeeze a huge quantity, and rich variety, of magical and alchemical ammunition, all within a well-organized, well-written layout that looks like it was pulled out of the pages of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
A few pages at the beginning make note of balancing the magical ammunition, as well as explaining how rarity translates to item cost and the time it takes to craft them, as per the Player’s Handbook and Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. I’m less enthused about the added properties for certain ammo types, such as Heavy (20% reduction in range) and Unwieldy (-2 to attack rolls) as they feel a bit fiddly, but thankfully they’re few and rarely used.
The magic items are organized alphabetically, and with 101 types of arrows you’ll find everything you could imagine, and then some. Common occurrences are arrows that add additional elemental damage, like Icicle Ammunition dealing additional cold damage, as well as ammo that explodes into AOE spell-like effects, such as Fog Cloud, Fireball, Cloudkill, and Fear.
Not all arrows deal damage, however. I was particularly impressed with some of the more outside-the-quiver designs, such as the Chaostide ammo that results in a Wild Magic Surge (from the Player’s Handbook), the Ammunition of Lifting that acts like a magical snare trap, the Ammunition of Aid, which turns the arrow into a ranged healing potion, and the Firecrackers, which result in pretty fireworks. Everybody likes fireworks!
You’ll also find some special arrows that allow an archer to do more on their turn. Twinshot splits in mid-air, targeting two different enemies within 60 feet of each other, while the Ammunition of Piercing recreates a classic RPG archer skill, lining up an arrow that deals damage to everyone (w/ a DEX save) in a 30-ft line.
A few arrows even recreate monster attacks, like Medusa’s Fang, which can restrain and petrify targets, and the Ammunition of Rusting, which can permanently degrade an opponent’s armor, a la those pesky Rust Monsters.
I was delighted with the amount of options to choose from, and glad to have the Ammunition Acquisition table at the end, which lists everything by purchase price, rarity, and availability. Using the table I can determine which arrows can be given out more freely than others, whether at a vendor or as a loot cache in a dungeon.
The few complaints I have are purely nitpicking, like the lack of a Table of Contents, or a table that organizes the items by rarity. It also would have been nice to see a few magic bows and crossbows that could utilize these special ammo types more regularly. But that’s going above and beyond what this product provides, which is an excellent, impressive assortment of new ammunition.
Pros:
- Over 100 special ammo types, ranging from spells to items and other spell-like effects.
- Table of acquisition includes cost, rarity, and general availability.
Cons:
- None!
The Verdict: Featuring over 100 special new ammo types, Enchanted Ammunition will delight any archer (or archer-adjacent) player characters with plenty of fun new loot options.
A review copy of “Enchanted Ammunition” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.
Support my work by using affiliate links for shopping and pledging via Patreon.
RogueWatson 