Looking at the Player Handbook, I've seen that masterwork items have prices that are 300 MO higher than their regular price, instead the smith in Homelet sell some for much less. Is it a problem if I fix them? More, I've ended to realize some masterwork composite longbows (very easy indeed) that are not magical items and part of regular PCs/NPCs equipment: I think that that smith could sell them together with the other masterwork items. They are.... masterwork comp. longbow for STR +1, +3, +4 (I wonder wich archer may use the last one) masterwork comp. shortbow for STR +1 (for small size creatures, bards and few others). Do you think that a comp. shortbow STR +2 would be useful too? It would be a good deal to give some good ranged weapons to enemies too: usually ranged armed opponents in the game sucks, since they use weak weapons that deals few damages and they don't target already injuried melee fighters or spellcasters. (I never had the need to use the spell protection from arrows or windwall).
Protection for Arrows can be useful sometimes If you get into the Tower behind the Temple you will get into a large melee involving a number of people shooting at your party once the combat gets started. I have noticed that for me whenever I have a wizard or sorceror in my party and he/she attempts to cast a spell, all the enemy NPCs able to fire at the spell caster seem to do so, as much as they can, every round they are able. I therefore find Protection from Arrows to be quite useful, if only in this situation. It is also useful however in other big fights, especially where there are NPC bugbears armed with ranged weapons. This is my experience. Maybe yours is different.
Maybe, I don't know... yes, I admit that the fight in the tower is one of the best of the game: it is hard, challengening, but very well balanced. Still, when spellcasters have some good ranks in concentration, simple bows just don't do enough damage to worry them too much. More, with a cleric near, and all those healing potions..... That's why they should be assigned to NPC too!
Protection from Arrows (not just for spellcasters) and scribed scrolls are essential in the ruined tower now. It would be good though if the archers noticed that their arrows were being deflected and either switched to a different target, or moved into melee. Instead, over half the combatants in the combat are effectively disabled.
