Acid Bite Longbow

The Acid Bite Longbow is a living-wood weapon fashioned from the gnarled branch of a treant. Though no longer rooted, the bow still carries a trace of the ancient tree’s defensive magic. Its surface is dark, twisted, and uneven, with knots and ridges that seem almost scarred rather than carved. Faint greenish veins run through the wood when drawn, pulsing briefly before the arrow is released.

The magic within the bow comes from the natural defenses once used by the treant to resist rot, disease, insects, and fungal infection. When shaped into a weapon, that protective force became something more aggressive. Arrows fired from the Acid Bite Longbow carry a caustic sting, eating into flesh, hide, and unnatural growths with the same harsh vitality that once protected the treant’s living wood.

Despite its unsettling nature, the bow is not inherently cursed or malicious. It is a weapon of survival, born from an old forest’s refusal to decay.

Appearance

The Acid Bite Longbow is made from dark, gnarled treant wood that resists sanding or smoothing. Its limbs curve unevenly, as if grown rather than crafted, and small thorn-like ridges mark the grip and outer edges. The bowstring is often described as feeling slightly damp, though it leaves no moisture on the hand.

When an arrow is nocked, the wood gives off a faint herbal-acid scent, similar to crushed leaves, bitter sap, and wet bark. On a successful hit, the arrowhead hisses softly as corrosive magic spreads through the wound.

History

Weapons such as this are rare and controversial. Some are made from branches willingly gifted by elder treants to trusted defenders of the wild, while others are carved from fallen or slain treants by less honorable hands. The difference matters. A gifted bow is often regarded by druids and rangers as a sacred charge. A stolen one may be seen as an act of desecration.

The Acid Bite Longbow is most often associated with forest guardians, monster hunters, and those who fight creatures of rot, blight, corruption, or unnatural infestation. In regions where blighted woods or fungal horrors threaten settlements, such weapons are considered grim but necessary tools.

Item type

Weapon, Ranged

Rarity

Uncommon.

Weight

2 lbs

Base Price

450 gp

5e Stats

Acid Bite Longbow
Weapon (longbow), uncommon

This longbow is fashioned from the gnarled branch of a treant and infused with acidic defensive magic once used to protect the living tree from infection and decay.

You gain no bonus to attack or damage rolls with this weapon, but attacks made with it count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

When you hit a creature with an attack made using this bow, the target must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes 2d4 acid damage. On a successful save, the target takes half as much acid damage.

This acid damage can be dealt only once per round.

Weapon Properties: Ammunition, heavy, two-handed
Damage: 1d8 piercing
Range: 150/600 ft.
[/quote].