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You pick the crossbow up and sight down it's target experimentally. You find that the haft feels quite comfortable in your hand. In fact, it is much lighter and takes less effort to aim than most crossbows. Aside from the crossbow's lightness, you find yourself admiring the simple yet elegant craftsmanship. Turning it slightly, you can see the faintest of etchings on the inside of both arms, like the knotwork you often see on the prairie clansmen's attire. It is quite a lovely piece. |
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"Ah, that is one of my favorite pieces. I hate to say that I've never learned how to use the crossbow, so I've never been able to fire it myself, but I have seen others use it. How delightful the last expression on the faces of the targets are just before . . Well, here. Let me explain . ." |
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The crossbow you hold was created by a mage named Jaxal. He was part of an adventuring group which specialized in clearing out ruins, old towers, villages which had been taken over by humanoids and like tasks. As such, they often found themselves swarmed by dozen upon dozen of weak to average monsters. Now, granted, one kobold is nothing more than a smudge under your boot. However, a few dozen of them can be deadly even to the most experienced party. This is why Jaxal enchanted this crossbow so that when the bolt hit it's target, the bolt and target are randomly teleported to location some few miles away. You don't have to kill your target, just hit it. |
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Jaxal, like myself, never learned to use the bow. It was given as a gift to a ranger in the party who made good use of it. Actually, it suited the ranger's gentle demeanor well. Using Jaxal's gift, he was able to remove surrounding danger without killing anyone. You wouldn't believe how often it is said he used the bow to defend his friends from drunken advesaries by simply nicking him with a bolt. Well, the crossbow was handed down through the generations in the ranger's family until it reached a young lass who took to the high seas. There, she and the crossbow went overboard during a pirate raid. That was almost a hundred years ago. I eventually tracked it down in a pawn shop in Tantras. How it made it's way there is anyone's guess. |
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Personally, I like to just decide where the target ends up after being hit, but if you wish to be truly random about it, here is my suggestion. Roll an 8 sided die to determine which direction the victim is teleported: |
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1 = North | 5 = South |
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2 = Northeast | 6 = Southwest |
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3 = East | 7 = West |
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4 = Southeast | 8 = Northwest |
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Once that is determined, roll a 10 sided die to determine the number of miles the victim is teleported in said direction. |
