I've been following some of this debate for a while. I'm an old RQ-er but I've not played HW yet and have only read over the basic rules as are downloadable from Issaries. I want to raise a question on the subject of archery that bothered me in RQ and seems as relevant here too. The fact of the matter is that most arrows are not travelling that fast and above a certain range they are parry-able if you know they are coming. I did archery for two years at university and while target bows are slower than hunting bows neither are most shots in combat taken at the 20 yard range used indoors. The archer would be too vulnerable to being rushed by the swordsman and cut down effectively weaponless (massed archery is the exception and they were supposed to have infantry cover). Outdoors is traditionally shot at 100 yards and you can clearly see the arrow travel. I'm not claiming I'd like to be in the way of a skilled archer, especially if I was trying to keep a swordsman off of me too but it would be possible to use your shield. How would that effect the playing out of archery contests?
Regards,
Harry
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