Archery in this game kind of sucks.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by brianfb

I th ink you missed the part about it also reduces range penalties, it essentially gives you a +3 to your bow if you aim for a mere 5 points.

It reduces range penalties to Vision rolls, not to attack rolls. Granted, the text says "each level lets you ignore -1 in range penalties to Vision rolls at all times, or -2 to range penalties if you take an Aim maneuver to zoom in on a particular target," which I suppose one could attempt to twist into "the -2 doesn't specify it's to Vision rolls, so it must apply to everything," but I think the intent is fairly clear that both are meant to be for Vision rolls only.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by brianfb

I th ink you missed the part about it also reduces range penalties, it essentially gives you a +3 to your bow if you aim for a mere 5 points.

Just Aiming with your bow gives you a +2 even if you don't have Telescopic Vision.

Also, Telescopic Vision is plainly marked with the symbol for "Exotic". Normal humans can't buy it by default.

[brianfb]

Correct, assuming you are at least a -2 in range penalties distant from your target and you are using an Acc 2 bow, if you aim for three rounds you get

+2 from ACC
+1 from Telescopic vision
+2 (technically a -2 to range penalties) from telescopic vision
+2 for aiming an additional 2 seconds
+1 for all out attack

taht is a total of +8, now with a skill of 14 you are in "shoot em in the eye" territory, even in a relatively low point game

[Glimmerman]

One option to balance or make more fun a slow attack rate with bows (or magic missile spells) is to use 2-second turns, allowing you to shoot each round with Fast-Draw skill.

You could move ½ Move instead of one step without taking harsh penalties and tactical combat is more fluid.

Otherwise, melee attackers still operate like in one-second turns. Add bodkin arrows with -1 to basic damage but with an armor divisor of (2) (CF +3).

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by brianfb

+2 (technically a -2 to range penalties) from telescopic vision

I just re-read the entry in Characters and Varyon is right. That -2 to range penalties is to Vision rolls. The +1 to ACC (as if you were sing a scope) is the only bonus to attack rolls.

[brianfb]

I dont think so, it says -2 if you aim, that implies attack rolls. You dont Aim when just looking around.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by brianfb

I dont think so, it says -2 if you aim, that implies attack rolls. You dont Aim when just looking around.

Again, the text is "each level lets you ignore -1 in range penalties to Vision rolls at all times, or -2 to range penalties if you take an Aim maneuver to zoom in on a particular target." The intent seems clear that the effective +2 is also for Vision rolls. The idea is that the initial bonus helps you notice things, then you can zoom in for double the bonus to identify distinguishing features. That is, perhaps you roll well enough to notice there's a person trying to sneak up on you, and upon zooming in you discover it's actually one of your allies planning a prank, rather than an enemy intending to gut you.

[brianfb]

Not meaning to be argumentative, but I want to be sure I have this correct. This from the basic book

AIM
This is a full-turn maneuver used
to aim a ranged weapon (or a device
such as a camera or telescope).

It doesnt say anything about taking an aim maneuver when just making a vision roll. After reading the text of this and the telescopic vision rule, I am even more convinced this applies to attacks.

Got love when they word things so clearly that two people can read the same sentence and reach two very different conclusions.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by brianfb

Not meaning to be argumentative, but I want to be sure I have this correct. This from the basic book

AIM
This is a full-turn maneuver used
to aim a ranged weapon (or a device
such as a camera or telescope).

It doesnt say anything about taking an aim maneuver when just making a vision roll. After reading the text of this and the telescopic vision rule, I am even more convinced this applies to attacks.

Got love when they word things so clearly that two people can read the same sentence and reach two very different conclusions.

... are you suggesting that one Aims a camera or telescope in order to make an attack? The latter is pretty clearly a case of an item one uses to spot things, and while the former can certainly cause some (social) damage in certain situations, I wouldn't treat it as a GURPS Attack.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by brianfb

Not meaning to be argumentative, but I want to be sure I have this correct. This from the basic book

AIM
This is a full-turn maneuver used
to aim a ranged weapon (or a device
such as a camera or telescope).

It doesnt say anything about taking an aim maneuver when just making a vision roll. After reading the text of this and the telescopic vision rule, I am even more convinced this applies to attacks.

Got love when they word things so clearly that two people can read the same sentence and reach two very different conclusions.

You see the parenthetical where it says "(or a device such as a camera or telescope)"? Telescopic Vision isn't kidding about the Telescopic. It literally behaves like an optical device. That's what the "Aim maneuver to zoom in on a particular target" ties in to.