[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by PK

If I did this right, this should now be the only open thread about this cyclically popular video. This way everyone can talk about it here . . . and I'll do my best to close any new discussions and point them here as well so we all don't have to keep repeating ourselves. :)

This was in fact frequent enough to warrant a special uFAQ entry:

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Q: Hey, why is the RoF of Bows so low? I've seen videos of people launching 1+ arrows per second?

A: Sure. With low-ST bow, not drawing it the whole way, against predictably moving (or even immobile) targets at a precisely known range and location, with the opportunity to make many videos and only submit the most impressive one. It's a case of impressive tricks covered by use of Bow Art under conditions that provide very nice Task Difficulty Modifiers.

Oh, and demonstrations against poor-quality mail that is placed against a hard surface with no padding makes penetration much easier, even with abysmally weak shots.

Now, for cinematic games, GURPS rules do already cover shooting Bows at ROF 1 (Martial Arts p. 120) and even ROF 2 for cinematic archers (Martial Arts p. 83). These rules can also be used under noncombat conditions for Bow Art demonstrations.