Walking around with drawn bow

PseudoFenton · 03-05-2016, 01:29 AM

In real life I can hold a bow drawn for quite some time, and even take slow steps around whilst doing so and keeping the bow trained on a target/area. However, it gets tiring (unless its a very low draw weight compared to what you can normally draw - basically less ST in gurps, and therefore less damage) and it's seriously asking to shoot something by accident.

This would get you kicked out of most archery clubs, its unsafe and impractical. A drawn bow is like a gun with its safety off - it doesn't take much to cause it to fire and it will randomly hit whatever you're vaguely aiming at, which if you're walking about could be anything. Especially as the longer you hold the bow drawn for, the less precision you get as your arms tire.

For simplicity and on the fly ruling, I'd treat as concentrate like "you can step every turn" without hassle, and just say anything more than that is subject to move and attack rules (capped at 9) which is to be expected!
Additionally, holding a drawn bow count as "combat time" for the purposes of FP loss, even if you're not aiming at anything or have any enemies around to shoot. Finally, I'd probably apply penalties after a few second to the shot that is eventually made, perhaps using the speed/range chart, but I'd have to look it over to see what would be sensible - I'd not allow an unpenalised shot after more than 10 seconds though for sure!

03-05-2016, 01:29 AM	#4
PseudoFenton Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Land of the Britons	Re: Walking around with drawn bow In real life I can hold a bow drawn for quite some time, and even take slow steps around whilst doing so and keeping the bow trained on a target/area. However, it gets tiring (unless its a very low draw weight compared to what you can normally draw - basically less ST in gurps, and therefore less damage) and it's seriously asking to shoot something by accident. This would get you kicked out of most archery clubs, its unsafe and impractical. A drawn bow is like a gun with its safety off - it doesn't take much to cause it to fire and it will randomly hit whatever you're vaguely aiming at, which if you're walking about could be anything. Especially as the longer you hold the bow drawn for, the less precision you get as your arms tire. For simplicity and on the fly ruling, I'd treat as concentrate like "you can step every turn" without hassle, and just say anything more than that is subject to move and attack rules (capped at 9) which is to be expected! Additionally, holding a drawn bow count as "combat time" for the purposes of FP loss, even if you're not aiming at anything or have any enemies around to shoot. Finally, I'd probably apply penalties after a few second to the shot that is eventually made, perhaps using the speed/range chart, but I'd have to look it over to see what would be sensible - I'd not allow an unpenalised shot after more than 10 seconds though for sure! __________________ ...like a monkey with a wrench.