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Old 12-04-2012, 03:44 AM   #33
Pursuivant
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Default Re: Do the Archery rules cover this?

Quote:
Originally Posted by DanHoward View Post
There is little that would be useful in a fight. The bow was underpowered, he never used a full draw, and the arrows were too light - his shots would barely deliver a single point of damage with the GURPS system. Those arrows might annoy someone who was naked and standing right in front of the shooter, but they'd bounce off a jacket or denim jeans (DR 0 clothing).
I sort of disagree. As suppression fire or against lightly armed foes it could be a devastating tactic. Sure, he's trading accuracy and power for speed, so his shots, in GURPS terms, probably had a -2 penalty to damage (meaning many bounced off even cheap mail), but in his flight of 6 shots he managed to get a decent damage roll.

The point wasn't that he could drive an arrow all the way through mail, it's that he could get the odd shot through mail using speed shooting.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DanHoward View Post
Look at the mail shot again. He seems to have chosen links that were very large and an arrowhead that was very small.
The arrowhead is perfectly within specs as a historical style bodkin head arrow. Not all arrows were huge things designed to be shot from artillery bows. They're sized to the draw weight of the bow. So, while I agree that he's using a pretty wimpy bow, there's no reason to say that the arrow was too narrow.

And, if you can get away with it, you want narrow arrows - less mass (therefore, better acceleration), less drag and less friction as you penetrate the target. That's why modern aluminum hunting arrows have a relatively thin cross section. The trade-off is that skinny arrows will shatter or flex excessively if shot from a powerful bow.

As for the mail, we both know that historical mail could have different diameter rings. He chose cheap mail with relatively large links. In GURPS terms, let's call it "Light Mail."

I maintain that the video shows a legitimate combat technique - albeit one mostly designed for hunting. But, since I assume that GURPS Bow skill is basically "instinctive archery" - which is used for hunting - that means that speed shooting defaults directly from GURPS Bow skill.
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