Dragon Rocket
A dragon rocket[1] is a two-foot long, hollowed tube filled with a gunpowder mixture. This tube is inserted in a slightly larger barrel that helps to aim the rocket, like a bullet in a musket. The rocket’s fuse dangles out the back. When the rocket is lit, its rear bursts into flame, propelling the rocket through the air on a fiery trail. After flying about one hundred feet, the rocket explodes in a shower of colorful sparks. It is far from an ideal missile weapon to use against foes. A rocket is woefully inaccurate when compared to a musket or bow, and a dragon rocket’s destructive force is but a fraction of a true bombard. On the other hand, a dragon rocket can be reliably fired high into the air, and with its conspicuous explosion, it can be invaluable when a hunter needs to raise a signal over a great distance.
Statistics
- Weapon: Dragon Rocket
- Item CL: 8+
- Cost: 60 gp
- Craft (DC): Alchemy
- Weight: 3 lb.
- Damage 1d6²
- Blast Radius¹ 5 ft.
- Range Increment 10 ft.²
1. A miss requires a roll for deviation as for regular grenadelike weapons, but rather than dealing splash damage to all creatures within 5 feet, the weapon deals the same damage to all creatures within the blast radius of where it actually lands.
2. A dragon rocket always flies a full 100 feet before exploding; its short range increment merely reflects the rocket’s tendency to veer off course. If a rocket connects with a solid target (requiring a successful ranged touch attack) before it has flown its full 100 feet, it ricochets in a new direction. If your attack roll successfully strikes the target against its full Armor Class, then the target takes 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage. Roll twice on the “Grenadelike Weapons” diagram in Chapter Eight of the Player’s Handbook to determine the rocket’s new trajectory. The first roll represents its horizontal direction (like other grenadelike weapons); the second roll represents its vertical direction. On a result of 4–6, the rocket skids and bounces along the ground; on a result of 1, 2, or 8 it soars skyward. If the rocket passes through another occupied space, you can make another ranged attack roll to see if the rocket strikes that target as well, but each ricochet imposes a cumulative –5 penalty to the attack roll. The Deflect Arrows feat is effective against dragon rockets. A dragon rocket explodes at the end of its 100-foot flight, inflicting 1d6 points of fire damage to everything within a 5-foot blast radius. Creatures caught in the blast radius can make a Reflex save (DC 20) to take half damage.
