This exotic weapon resembles a composite long bow but is designed to be used in flight, with the archer holding the bow in her feet and drawing it with one or both hands. Like a composite longbow, all footbows are made with a particular strength rating. If a character’s Strength bonus is less than the strength rating of the footbow, she can’t effectively use it, so she takes a -2 penalty on attacks with it. The default footbow requires a Strength bonus of +0 or higher to use with proficiency. A footbow can be made with a high strength rating just as a composite longbow can; each point of Strength bonus granted by the bow adds 100 gp to its cost.
The wielder of a footbow can choose to use both hands to draw it back; in this case she may add 1½ her Strength bonus to damage (up to a maximum of 1½ the strength rating of the bow), as long as she is strong enough to use it without penalty.
A footbow can be used on the ground, but the archer must be prone to do so and takes a -4 penalty on the attack roll.
For raptorans, the footbow is a martial weapon rather than an exotic weapon.
| Range | Damage | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | Cost | Damage | Critical | Increment | Type | Special | |
| Footbow | 3 lb. | 150 gp | 1d8 | ×3 | 110 ft. | Piercing |
Source: Dragon Magazine #349 (Page 24), Races of the Wild (Page 164)