Is Altered Time Rate the only way to go for an archer?

[Edeldhur]

Ok, I know it is not the only way to go :P

Fact is, after going over as much information as I could, and without going into much detail because I did not memorize it all, even with an investment like Heroic Archer + Weaponmaster (Bow) + Signature Balanced Elven Longbow + Forest Guardian + Weapon Bond, I still need to roll a million times (exaggeration of course) to fire two arrows in a round, and half a million just to fire ONE arrow per round, right?

I do not know the details by heart, but you need to roll to fast draw the arrow, fast load the bow, and fire with a penalty (all x2?). And even still I think I read somewhere you still cannot fire 2 arrows in a round, period. Still it feels like too many rolls to fire just one arrow per round (at least three?) - the potential for failure is so real....

So I have two questions for those I know have more system mastery than me:

- Are my assumptions above about archer accurate (or almost so? :D);
- Would Altered Time Rate solve all this? (in spite of the VERY steep cost?);

Note: I am running a 250 point Fantasy Archer

[Anaraxes]

Will your GM agree to No Nuisance Rolls (Fast-Draw (Arrow))? (PU2, Perks, p16. Waives minor success rolls for skills at 16+. So you just skip all the Fast-Draw rolls for reloading the bow and assume that it just works.)

MA119 has the Quick-Shooting Bows option. That lets you shoot every other turn. In combination with Fast-Draw (Arrow), that's down to one shot per turn.

If you do want ATR, you might consider a Limitation "only for shooting bows". I'd think that easily puts it at the -80% floor, so 20 points. In combination with all the rules above, that's two shots per turn (if you're willing to skip Aim).

Base GURPS rules are relatively realistic when it comes to bows. Duplicating Legolas needs some of the more cinematic traits. There's a reason real archers all carried melee weapons in case the enemy got too close. They couldn't just start spewing arrows at the enemy soldiers from three feet away.

[Edeldhur]

Thank you for the feedback Anaraxes!

My GM is ok with the No Nuisance Rolls for the Fast-Draw (Arrow).

So with the Quick-Shooting Bow option plus my GM ruling I can shoot an arrow every round, correct? That is golden!

If I understand correctly, I still need two additional rolls (both at -1 if I have Weapon Master + Heroic Archer) to 'draw the bow', and to actually shoot. Is this also correct?

On top of this ATR would then contribute for extra arrow shots like you detailed.

And that seems to settle everything :D

Last question - what other options (apart from ATR) would there be for shooting more than one arrow per round? Would Extra Attack work?

[naloth]

Originally Posted by Edeldhur

If I understand correctly, I still need two additional rolls (both at -1 if I have Weapon Master + Heroic Archer) to 'draw the bow', and to actually shoot. Is this also correct?

No, it's 3 rolls to fire every round rather then once every three rounds. Normally the sequence is:

Draw arrow (1 sec)
Draw bow (1 sec)
Fire bow (1 sec)

If you can Fast Draw the arrow, you save one second, making it a 2 second operation (draw then fire).

If you can draw the bow with a roll instead of using a second you save one second. As a GM I prefer to avoid nuisance rolls for this as long as the final skill is 17+.

The final roll is the actual shot.

If you can both fast draw and draw without taking a second, then you can fire every turn.

Yes, use either ATR or the Imbue Multishot to do that sequence multiple times.

[Edeldhur]

@naloth: Hmmmm, GURPS Martial Arts writes that:

'The archer can precede this feat with a Fast-Draw
(Arrow) roll to ready an arrow instantly. Any failure means
he drops the arrow (or the quiver; see p. B195) and spends
his entire turn taking an unproductive Ready maneuver.
Success readies an arrow and allows an immediate QuickShooting attempt. If the bowman makes all his rolls, he can
shoot every turn. In effect, he has RoF 1 and Shots equal to
his quiver’s capacity . . . and can rival many firearms!'

So, I should be able to fire every round with two rolls at -1 (because I will not be rolling for Fast Draw (Arrow)), right?

[naloth]

Originally Posted by Edeldhur

@naloth:
So, I should be able to fire every round with two rolls at -1 (because I will not be rolling for Fast Draw (Arrow)), right?

Sort of. You'll skip FD which saves a turn. If you have Weapon Master (Bow) and Heroic Archer, you make a straight Bow-1 to draw the arrow to shave another second. The second roll is for firing the bow which is at -1 in addition to normal shooting penalties (so it's not just at a -1).

[Celjabba]

Staying with the bow skill, you can use extra-attack (require Quick-Shooting and fast-drawing ! - and multi-strike on the extra-attack)

Extra-attack(multi-strike +20%, single skill-20%) [25]

Add Enhanced Tracking (Multiple Lock-Ons, +20%) [6/additionnal target] to get the aiming bonus for each shot.

DF11 have a technique to get rid of the quickshot penalty (cost [3] )

Going outside common archery :

*Imbuements would allow you to (among other things) supernaturally split your projectile(s) in midair, increasing RoF. - Not exactly the same as multiple attacks however.

*Another option of creating a super archer is to use an innate attack that require a bow and the bow skill. That's the best way to emulate tricks arrows.

[naloth]

Originally Posted by Celjabba

Staying with the bow skill, you have (assuming Quick-Shooting)
Extra-attack(multi-strike +20%, single skill-20%)
Add Enhanced Tracking (Multiple Lock-Ons, +20%) to get the aim bonus for each shot.

It's an interesting idea, but I'm not sure that would work since FD and Quick Draw are per second rather than per attack.

[Edeldhur]

Originally Posted by naloth

Sort of. You'll skip FD which saves a turn. If you have Weapon Master (Bow) and Heroic Archer, you make a straight Bow-1 to draw the arrow to shave another second. The second roll is for firing the bow which is at -1 in addition to normal shooting penalties (so it's not just at a -1).

Ok got it! So that means 1 roll at -1 and what would be the normal shooting penalties to add on the actual shot?

[Celjabba]

Originally Posted by naloth

It's an interesting idea, but I'm not sure that would work since FD and Quick Draw are per second rather than per attack.

MA p 103 allow several fast drawn at a cumulative penalty (penalty reduced by WM and HA).

Also, with the akimbo perk, you could make one FD per turn per hand without penalty.