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Bows


Fireg0lem

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Re: Bows

 

I know I've seen an illustration of a gigantic bow that the archer would basically brace with his feet, lie on his back, and draw back to his chest an arrow that must have been almost as long as he was tall. In was in the Guiness Book, in fact, supposedly depicting breaking the record for a distance shot.

 

As far as I know that's a strictly modern thing, but I suspect if some earlier culture had stumbled on the idea it could have had military applications. I've no idea of its accuracy but it did look like it would have a lot of range and power and I wonder if a whole formation of archers like that would be very effective against an army still outside normal bowshot.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

And a hypothetical palindromedary

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Re: Bows

 

Lucias, that bow is a style developed by the ottoman Turks for range shooting a sport they took part in.

 

Firegolem,

 

I found that bows in general overpowered my Fantasy Hero games. Then you add in rapid fire and other skills and talents they can dominate a game. I use the suggestions from page 173 side column in Fantasy Hero 5th editions to slow down the rate of fire.

 

Lord Ghee

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Re: Bows

 

A friend of mine on the Renfaire circuit, goes by James the Cabinetmaker, used to be primary bowyer for Saint Sebastian's, the archery guild. He built a footbow according to some specs he dug up somewhere. It was a godawful terrifying thing with arrows the size of javelins, and it hit like a freight train. I'd be seriously surprised if they were never employed in combat, although lying on your butt with a giant stick strapped to your feet does put you at a slight disadvantage.

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Re: Bows

 

Sounds good to me. It's even in accord with Alexander's First Law of Weapons Tables: "If a weapon exists in a game, there should be some viable reason why someone, somewhere, at some time, would actually use it."

 

Historically, bows were used for warfare and hunting. Adventuring is something different from either warfare or hunting. Taking 12 seconds to string a bow is probably more acceptable to a hunter or soldier than to an adventurer, who will often want his weapon ready RIGHT NOW.

 

The one thing I would say is, I think some players are going to want to know what constitutes a "long period of time." They're going to want to keep their bows ready as often and for as long as possible.

 

Thank you, by the way, for reminding me of another reason to use a sling instead.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Palindromedary Cavalry

 

Presumably the Second Law of Weapons Tables is there has to be a reason someone would use anything else. Or is that just an implication of the first law?

Also consider that the PCs might have access to magic, which could turn bow-stringing from a 12 second to a 2 second act.

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Re: Bows

 

A friend of mine on the Renfaire circuit' date=' goes by James the Cabinetmaker, used to be primary bowyer for Saint Sebastian's, the archery guild. He built a footbow according to some specs he dug up somewhere. It was a godawful terrifying thing with arrows the size of javelins, and it hit like a freight train. I'd be seriously surprised if they were never employed in combat, although lying on your butt with a giant stick strapped to your feet does put you at a slight disadvantage.[/quote']

 

Well the accuracy wouldn't be great and people would have time to dodge if they suspected they were the target, but that's not needed for attacks against masses of troops. Just get a few dozen of these, point in the direction of the enemy army and let fly. You can use them for indirect fire too, it won't be as accurate but who cares? Basically it's a cheaper, less powerful, less technically demanding ballista. Good for softening up troops before a battle.

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Re: Bows

 

Presumably the Second Law of Weapons Tables is there has to be a reason someone would use anything else. Or is that just an implication of the first law?

 

I think it's pretty much implied, unless the weapons table consists of only one weapon.

 

Well the accuracy wouldn't be great and people would have time to dodge if they suspected they were the target' date=' but that's not needed for attacks against masses of troops. Just get a few dozen of these, point in the direction of the enemy army and let fly. You can use them for indirect fire too, it won't be as accurate but who cares? Basically it's a cheaper, less powerful, less technically demanding ballista. Good for softening up troops before a battle.[/quote']

 

This is what I was thinking. Useful militarily, but not something an adventurer would ever be likely to want.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Air Force Surplus Palindromedary

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Re: Bows

 

I used to do a bit of archery and have had a "play" with traditional English Longbow. This was a scary piece of kit, both highly accurate and deadly. On the other hand, it was large and a bit cumbersome. The one I used had a draw strength of a little under 50 pounds. That's less than would have been the norm, for example most of the longbows found on the Marie Rose were estimated to be between 65 & 70 pounds pull. Even at 50 pounds the arrows have massive penetration power because, unlike bullets, they are not soft projectiles. Its said the typical Marie Rose longbow could pierce armour at 250 yards or more. I was never a great archer (sorry to say) but could reliably hit animal targets at 40 yards. I am sure a Tudor Englishman that practised every Sunday could easily do the same at 100 yards with a dozen arrows a minute.

 

As others have said above the arrow heads used in war are nasty hard things that increase the penetration of the hit. Apparently they used different types of arrows for different types of target, long ones for chainmail, short for plate!

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Re: Bows

 

Hi guys,

 

I know this is the Fantasy Hero forum but this thread indirectly inspired me to work on updating my version of Green Arrow to 6e rules.

Here is a link to the relevant post.

 

I would welcome any comments on the Bow & Quiver of Arrows VPP build on that thread from the archery experts assembled here.

:D

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