Ephixis, Bow of Nylea

Weapon (shortbow), artifact (requires attunement)
Simple weapon, ranged weapon
1d6 piercing - ammunition (80/320 ft.), two-handed
Nylea wields the shortbow Ephixis, the bow whose arrows herald the turning of the seasons. Nylea is quick to let her favored followers borrow her bow, particularly when they intend to use it to perform great deeds, put an end to foul creatures, or cast down the arrogant. This divine weapon includes a shortbow and a quiver with four arrows, each tied to one of the four seasons.

Sentience

Ephixis is a sentient true neutral weapon with an Intelligence of 14, a Wisdom of 24, and a Charisma of 21. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 120 feet. The weapon communicates telepathically with its wielder and can speak, read, and understand Sylvan and Common.

Personality

Ephixis yearns for the hunt, and for change. If its owner has been the same for too long, Ephixis will urge them to try something new. It especially likes a challenge, and yearns to hunt great beasts and tyrants alike.

Dormant

The bow grants the following benefits in its dormant state:

• You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.
• You score a critical hit on a 19 or 20 with this weapon.
• If you are not a champion of Nylea, all beasts are automatically hostile to you.

Arrows of the Seasons

The four arrows—each associated with a season—that accompany this bow can be fired only from it. Each arrow disappears immediately after it's used, and it reappears in the quiver at the next dusk. The save DC against spells cast with the arrows is 13. Each arrow has a unique property:

• Spring: As an action, you can fire this arrow, targeting a beast or a plant creature you can see within 80 feet of you. On a hit, the arrow deals no damage, and the target gains the benefits of the awaken spell for 1 minute.
• Summer: As an action, you can fire this arrow at an unoccupied space on the ground that you can see within 80 feet of you, no attack roll required. A Nyxborn lynx is summoned in that space (use the stat block for a tiger with the Nyxborn traits from chapter 6). The lynx understands your verbal commands and obeys them as best it can, and it takes its turns immediately after yours. The emissary remains for 1 minute before fading away.
• Autumn: As an action, you can fire this arrow at a space on the ground that you can see within 80 feet of you, no attack roll required, casting the wall of thorns spell there. The wall of thorns can do no damage, and lasts for 1 minute.
• Winter: As an action, you can fire this arrow at a space that you can see within 80 feet of you, no attack roll required, casting the frost fingers spell there.

Awakened

When the bow reaches an awakened state, it gains the following properties:

• The weapon's bonus to attack and damage rolls increases to +2.
• You suffer no disadvantage hen attacking at the weapon's long range.
• If you are a champion of Nylea, you are proficient in Survival.

Your Arrows of the Seasons each improve:

• The range of all your arrows is now 320 feet.
• Your spring arrow now lasts for 1 hour.
• Your summer arrow lasts for 30 minutes.
• Your Autumn arrow now lasts forever, and does half damage.
• Your Winter arrow now casts Rime's Binding Ice.

Exalted

When the bow reaches an exalted state, it gains the following properties:

• The weapon's bonus to attack and damage rolls increases to +3.
• If you are a champion of Nylea you deal an additional 1d6 piercing damage with this weapon.

Your Arrows of the Seasons each improve:

• Your spring arrow now lasts for 8 hours.
• Your summer arrow lasts for 1 hour.
• Your Autumn arrow now does full damage.
• Your Winter arrow now casts Ice Storm.

Destroying the Bow

The bow can't be destroyed without first destroying all its arrows. The winter arrow must be fed to a cerberus on the winter solstice. The spring arrow must be planted at the base of a Black Oak of Asphodel on the spring equinox. The summer arrow must be broken by a sea giant on the summer solstice. Then the autumn arrow must be shot into the carcass of a hydra on the autumnal equinox. When all four arrows are destroyed, the bow and quiver dissolve into dust.

Range

A weapon that can be used to make a ranged attack has a range shown in parentheses after the ammunition or thrown property. The range lists two numbers. The first is the weapon's normal range in feet, and the second indicates the weapon's maximum range. When attacking a target beyond normal range, you have disadvantage on the attack roll. You can't attack a target beyond the weapon's long range.

Ammunition

You can use a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a ranged attack only if you have ammunition to fire from the weapon. Each time you attack with the weapon, you expend one piece of ammunition. Drawing the ammunition from a quiver, case, or other container is part of the attack. Loading a one-handed weapon requires a free hand. At the end of the battle, you can recover half your expended ammunition by taking a minute to search the battlefield. If you use a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a melee attack, you treat the weapon as an improvised weapon. A sling must be loaded to deal any damage when used in this way.

Two-Handed

This weapon requires two hands to use. This property is relevant only when you attack with the weapon, not when you simply hold it.

Item type

Unique Artifact

Creator

Nylea

Weight

2 lbs.