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Old 10-16-2021, 05:57 AM   #31
Ulzgoroth
 
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Default Re: About the crossbow, a recap

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Originally Posted by warellis View Post
How do modern quarrels/bolts & arrows (and arrowheads) compare to older versions?

Would be kind of interesting to see how a modern compound bow & modern hunting heads compare to something like older hunting bows such as elm shortbows or whatever and whatever type of hunting broadhead they may have used back then.
By the wisdom of The Deadly Spring? Significantly advantageous if you want a lightweight arrow - you can make lighter shafts and arrowheads without compromising other aspects of performance.

However, for combat purposes that's often undesirable. A heavier arrow doesn't fly as far but it gets more energy out of the bow and retains it better in flight, resulting in superior damage characteristics. And if you're making the arrow heavy anyway, the fancy materials don't help much.
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Old 10-16-2021, 06:45 AM   #32
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Default Re: About the crossbow, a recap

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Originally Posted by warellis View Post
How do modern quarrels/bolts & arrows (and arrowheads) compare to older versions?

Would be kind of interesting to see how a modern compound bow & modern hunting heads compare to something like older hunting bows such as elm shortbows or whatever and whatever type of hunting broadhead they may have used back then.
Well, according to the RAW, at TL7+ all arrows are automatically 'fine', which gives +1 damage.
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Old 10-16-2021, 03:00 PM   #33
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Default Re: About the crossbow, a recap

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Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth View Post
By the wisdom of The Deadly Spring? Significantly advantageous if you want a lightweight arrow - you can make lighter shafts and arrowheads without compromising other aspects of performance.

However, for combat purposes that's often undesirable. A heavier arrow doesn't fly as far but it gets more energy out of the bow and retains it better in flight, resulting in superior damage characteristics. And if you're making the arrow heavy anyway, the fancy materials don't help much.
What material advances at TL8 could result in a potentially superior combat arrow to those from the past?

Like what would be useful for the shaft and head?
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Old 10-16-2021, 03:22 PM   #34
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Default Re: About the crossbow, a recap

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What material advances at TL8 could result in a potentially superior combat arrow to those from the past?

Like what would be useful for the shaft and head?
As Rupert alluded to above, it's gotten much easier to make quality steel, so the head can be more easily made to hold a better edge.
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Old 10-16-2021, 03:25 PM   #35
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Default Re: About the crossbow, a recap

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What material advances at TL8 could result in a potentially superior combat arrow to those from the past?

Like what would be useful for the shaft and head?
Probably not much, really.

Making the head very sharp and very hard certainly doesn't hurt, but best case it's going to earn you imp (2) damage and maybe +2 damage for being Very Fine quality.

You can probably have less drag on the shaft and fletching than low tech materials but the effect is quite possibly negligible, especially for a heavy arrow.
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Old 10-16-2021, 03:27 PM   #36
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Default Re: About the crossbow, a recap

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What material advances at TL8 could result in a potentially superior combat arrow to those from the past?

Like what would be useful for the shaft and head?
Once you drop below a particular arrow weight (for a given bow) most of the work being done is accelerating the limbs of the bow and you get little further benefit from a lighter arrow. Superior materials, as far as arrow design goes, mostly just allow you to make a more durable arrow.
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Old 10-16-2021, 04:18 PM   #37
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Default Re: About the crossbow, a recap

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Like what would be useful for the shaft and head?
The head can be better metal but that may not matter much. The shaft... can probably be made straighter, and out of materials that won't bend as a result of bad weather, which would help accuracy but often not in a relevant way.
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Old 10-16-2021, 04:23 PM   #38
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Default Re: About the crossbow, a recap

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The head can be better metal but that may not matter much. The shaft... can probably be made straighter, and out of materials that won't bend as a result of bad weather, which would help accuracy but often not in a relevant way.
If the GM applies some kind of penalty to traditional bows or arrows for dampness, modern synthetic material bows and arrows should be exempt. But that may be a big if.
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Old 10-16-2021, 09:47 PM   #39
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Default Re: About the crossbow, a recap

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Originally Posted by warellis View Post
What material advances at TL8 could result in a potentially superior combat arrow to those from the past?

Like what would be useful for the shaft and head?
The same as for arrows I expect - aluminium, and carbon fibre for the shafts. For the fletching, various plastics.
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Old 10-16-2021, 09:53 PM   #40
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Default Re: About the crossbow, a recap

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The head can be better metal but that may not matter much. The shaft... can probably be made straighter, and out of materials that won't bend as a result of bad weather, which would help accuracy but often not in a relevant way.
For a bow you should be able to choose a material for the shaft that has a better match of flexibility for the bow's characteristics and not have to possibly accept having either the wrong flex or the wrong weight or length. This will give better accuracy and energy transfer to the arrow, but the improvement would be well below GURPS' resolution.

Also, crossbow bolts are much shorter and stiffer than arrows, so they probably won't benefit as much from this.

Given that modern crossbows have lighter weight prods than historical ones, you want the lighter weight of modern materials because you don't need a heavy projectile to get good energy transfer.
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