04-14-2012, 09:40 PM | #1 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Why short bow instead of long bow?
Less damage and range for a tiny reduction in Bulk when it would take a cinematic archer to actually hit the broad side of a barn with -6 penalty.
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04-14-2012, 09:43 PM | #2 |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
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Re: Why short bow instead of long bow?
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04-14-2012, 09:47 PM | #3 |
Doctor of GURPS Ballistics
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Lakeville, MN
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Re: Why short bow instead of long bow?
Usually they'd be used because you just don't need the power of a longer bow (hunting), or because the materials you have (horn, for example) might not be available super-long, or because you want to use it on horseback.
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04-14-2012, 09:51 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Feb 2009
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Re: Why short bow instead of long bow?
Isn't it also lighter?
You may want to add a reusable ranged attack, but minimize encumbrance hit |
04-14-2012, 10:07 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Binghamton, NY, USA. Near the river Styx in the 5th Circle.
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Re: Why short bow instead of long bow?
Realistically a shorter bow would be easier to use from horseback, in dense woodland, in a Dungeon, or any other place where a longer bow is likely to bump into the scenery.
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Eric B. Smith GURPS Data File Coordinator GURPSLand I shall pull the pin from this healing grenade and... Kaboom-baya. |
04-14-2012, 10:15 PM | #6 |
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Montreal, Canada
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Re: Why short bow instead of long bow?
This isn't a game reason so much as a historical one, but...
Because a human being can use a short bow and a long bow typically requires someone who has spent a freakish amount of time developing the upper body strength required to draw a longbow. Wikipedia mentions that skeletons of longbowmen are visibly deformed by there efforts and I heard a (possibly apocryphal) quote attributed to some English king that "If you want to train a longbowmen, you have to begin with his grandfather." So it's kind of like why be an infantryman when you could be special forces- it is better to be extra-awesome if you have the time, resources, and desire to put in, but the investment in training is prohibitive to many (which is probably why many nations favored the simple but not terribly effective crossbow when it came to warfare). |
04-14-2012, 10:18 PM | #7 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: Why short bow instead of long bow?
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04-14-2012, 10:22 PM | #8 | |
Untagged
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: Why short bow instead of long bow?
Quote:
But cost is always important, I agree. |
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04-14-2012, 10:23 PM | #9 |
Untagged
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: Why short bow instead of long bow?
In all, I just thought there might be an advantage to sneaking/running around with a less cumbersome bow.
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04-14-2012, 10:25 PM | #10 |
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
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Re: Why short bow instead of long bow?
By RAW, Bulk only applies when making a Move & Attack or trying to hide a weapon, but it would make logical sense to apply it (or some value derived from it) in other situations where a bulky weapon is a disadvantage.
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Tags |
bow, bows |
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