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Old 12-23-2015, 08:52 AM   #11
Ulzgoroth
 
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Default Re: Bow Prices

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Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
The Basic Set rules more or less treat all shortbows as interchangeable, and assume that the ST 14 archer can use the very same shortbow as the ST 7 archer, the same way that the Basic Set rules let the same suit of armor fit the ST 7 guy and the ST 14 guy. But realistically, the way you get that double range is to fire a shortbow with proportionately higher draw weight; the ST 14 archer can't get any better range out of the ST 7 bow, and the ST 7 archer can't even draw the ST 14 bow. Bows have intrinsic ST ratings, just as crossbows do; the difference is that the crossbow can be drawn and then latched into the drawn position for a while, without relying on the crossbowman's ST to hold them. So crossbows can be built with greater draw weight than bows.
As quoted above, this is a rule that is in the Basic Set already.
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Old 12-23-2015, 09:03 AM   #12
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Default Re: Bow Prices

Also depends on how cinematic or realistic you're running.

In a cinematic game, with Heroic Archer and all that, you can safely ignore the bow's ST and assume it was made for the strongest possible pull its maker was expecting it to be used at. There is nothing wrong with letting a would-be Robin Hood's bow growing in ST with him.

In a more realistic game, then you're dealing with making sure the bow's rated ST score is at least equal if not greater to the user's.

In the latter case, the damage done will be at the lower of the bow's rated ST and the wielder's ST + Striking ST (+ Arm ST? Someone check that for me?). In the former case, go nuts!

In a DF or an Errol Flynn-inspired Robin Hood game, I'd probably use a cinematic guideline. In a 30 Years War game, I'd go with the more realistic option.

Clear as mud?
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Old 12-23-2015, 10:01 AM   #13
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Default Re: Bow Prices

Thanks guys, it makes a lot more sense now.
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Old 12-23-2015, 11:14 AM   #14
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Default Re: Bow Prices

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Originally Posted by tbrock1031 View Post
Also depends on how cinematic or realistic you're running.

In a cinematic game, with Heroic Archer and all that, you can safely ignore the bow's ST and assume it was made for the strongest possible pull its maker was expecting it to be used at. There is nothing wrong with letting a would-be Robin Hood's bow growing in ST with him.
Depending on your style of cinematic. An enormously powerful awesome bow that only the very best can draw, that also fits into cinematic pretty well. (A powerful archer being stuck with an underpowered bow seems more likely in a comedic context than a heroic one though.)
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Old 12-23-2015, 11:32 AM   #15
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Default Re: Bow Prices

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Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth View Post
Depending on your style of cinematic. An enormously powerful awesome bow that only the very best can draw, that also fits into cinematic pretty well. (A powerful archer being stuck with an underpowered bow seems more likely in a comedic context than a heroic one though.)
Reminds me of Odysseus Bow, from the Illiad and Odyssea.
It's quite a nice part of the story. (They're some of the most Epic and Cinematic stories ever written/told, at over 3 millennia old)

Last edited by RogerWilco; 12-23-2015 at 11:38 AM.
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Old 12-23-2015, 11:36 AM   #16
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Default Re: Bow Prices

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Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth View Post
Depending on your style of cinematic. An enormously powerful awesome bow that only the very best can draw, that also fits into cinematic pretty well. (A powerful archer being stuck with an underpowered bow seems more likely in a comedic context than a heroic one though.)
Ah yes, Odysseus's bow. I see that point, but there the bow itself was beyond the "strongest its maker was expecting". The implication there would be most bows would be made for ST 13-ish, while bows for Odysseus and Herakles would be custom jobs.
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Old 12-23-2015, 01:55 PM   #17
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Default Re: Bow Prices

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Originally Posted by tbrock1031 View Post
Ah yes, Odysseus's bow. I see that point, but there the bow itself was beyond the "strongest its maker was expecting". The implication there would be most bows would be made for ST 13-ish, while bows for Odysseus and Herakles would be custom jobs.
I have also seen a theory that Odysseus is so was a full reflex bow, which requires a very different technique to string and then a recurve or self bow.
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Old 12-23-2015, 03:37 PM   #18
Fred Brackin
 
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Default Re: Bow Prices

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I have also seen a theory that Odysseus is so was a full reflex bow, which requires a very different technique to string and then a recurve or self bow.
Odysseus's great strength s pretty well established. See the pull quote in Martial Arts (p.139) about Odysseus wondering whether to hit a guy full strength with his fist and kill him with single blow or only spar with him a while.

IIRC he went for the one-punch and a pull quote about that is somewhere else. He was a famous wrestler too. Of course the author of technical grappling already knew that. :)
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Old 12-29-2015, 09:45 PM   #19
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Default Re: Bow Price

If you want different prices, I use ST^2 (or ST^2% as a multiplier for stuff that doesn't cost $100).

How realistic is it to have such fixed ST on bows, BTW? I'd expect a bow to be useable at less than a full draw, as well as maybe changing or adjusting the string to change draw weight a bit. Considering that ST 11 and ST 12 do the same damage anyway, the steps feel rather artificial.
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Old 12-30-2015, 02:45 AM   #20
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Default Re: Bow Prices

The way I see this is much like different size shoes.

You don't charge extra or cheaper for different sized shoes if they're on the "normal" spectrum of sizes. Only a outrageously big or small size would need to be specifically crafted and thus extra charged for.
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