[VariousRen]

For average folk, say around bow skill 12 (ST 10, DX 10), I would say that the bow is not your best choice of range weapon, especially if you are able to set up before hand. Take a crossbow instead, it is an easy skill (so effectively skill 13 compared to the bow mans skill 12), has ACC 4 instead of 3, and can be braced for a +1. Crossbows are fairly cheap, and for almost the same cost as a broadsword, you can buy yourself a Fine crossbow to increase max range as well. Fine crossbow bolts also increase damage by a respectable amount, while costing only $10 each.

*Breakdown of combat, skip to the end for conclusions*

If we assume a low skill level of 12 for our bowman, our crossbowman starts with skill 13. Because the crossbowman can dictate range (He simply runs until he is happy with the battle field), he will be able to decide where the fight starts happening, in this case I will assume something simple that gives him the something to brace his crossbow against. His skill is now 14, enough to hit 50/50 to the torso at 10 yards. Aiming for 3 seconds gives him ACC+2, or +6 to skill. His skill is now effectively 20, enough to hit the torso 50/50 at 100 yards (the start of the engagement distance). At that distance there is no need to worry about defending, so add in an AOA(determined) for another +1. At skill 21 he can hit the torso 65% of the time.

Even with a ST 10 character he is doing 1d6+3 Imp damage with a Fine bolt, or Pi with a bodkin if they are armoured. At 100 yards the swordsman is sprinting for 16 seconds before he reaches the position of the crossbowman. Each shot takes 1 to fire, 4 to reload, then 3 to aim, so he can fire off ~3 shots if he has to reload himself and starts with a loaded bow, 2 shots otherwise. The first shot would probobly be a 65% shot to the torso, with a ~30% of being dodged (move 5+3 = dodge 8). That is a solid hit 45% of the time for an average of 6.5*2=13 damage, enough to send any average man to the floor. 8 seconds pass while our crossbowman reloads, the swordsman (if he is still up) closes another 6*8= 48 yards, putting him at 52 yards, and we'll wait to fire until he gets to 50 yards for a -8 to hit. Now a torso shot at skill 13 hits 80% of the time, and still is dodged 30%, hitting solidly 56% of the time. Now the swordsman is going to close to 14 yards, we will not use the +2 seconds of aim to make sure we can stand and draw any sort of melee weapon to fend him off. This leaves us with skill 19 and a penalty of -5. A shot to the torso hits 90% of the time, is dodged 30%, and connects solidly 63% of the time.

The swordsman from above has a ~8% chance of making it to the crossbowman without being hit, assuming the crossbowman was ready for his charge (loaded crossbow, braced, and aimed) and still has to face off with him in melee. Drop two points in crossbow (back to skill 12) and pick up two points in knife to fend off people close and the fight at melee range isn't clear cut either.

Finally, the crossbowman can stack the odds more heavily in his favor. Bring a pile of crossbows, and you can send a bolt down range every 3 rounds (Pick up, aim, fire). If you don't need to load them, bring ST 19 crossbows for a massive 2d6+4 with a Fine bolt. Take more pot shots at extreme range, with an effective skill 21 you have a chance %26 to hit out to the max range of 300 yards with a Fine crossbow. Poison the bolts, poison on a piercing weapon takes one dose, vs 3 for a slashing weapon, so you get more bang for your buck.

TL;DR: A crossbow makes a better weapon for a low skill character, especially if they are able to pick the battlefield and come prepared, and even 1 point allows for fairly lethal shots at long range.