> Aargh, the horror!
Still continuing. My computer has strange episodes of heat death...
>>Archery can cover from the sides if there are
>> platforms or towers sticking out of the wall line.
> I'm sure we can manage platforms and towers.
And that gives nice targets for Lunar field engines...
>> There's nothing to ruin your shot (or bow) like having one of the bows
>> arms hit an obstacle. Such as a crenellation you are careful not to lean
>> across (in order to avoid enemy arrows).
> Good point.
For massed volleys, you don't have to... A semi-trained military archer (like myself) can shoot from behind the wall if he has a rough idea how to aim. All the enemy has to do is occupy the targeted area...
>>Given the elevation of
>> the wall, the defenders may have an almost unholy range if they get
>> sufficiently powerful bows.
> "Mile throw javelin" with a bow, and no magic.... well, maybe not quite.
No, but given a normal range of some 200 yards with a decent self bow and none too adverse winds on flat territory, you can add a bit less than another 100 yards for letting the parabolic curve continue downwards. The poor buggers returning bow fire will have to close to about 100 yards to get at you at the top of the curve.
>> I'd hate to shoot an Impala bow, personally...
> Yes, but you're seven feet tall :)
Not quite (not even Alex is), but few non-pygmies will be able to use such short-draw bows for aimed shots.
>> If they start working on additional bows as soon as
>> Fazzur sets off, they might have some ready a year later.
> That sort of timeframe? OK. For the Penny Love novels we're looking at
> pre-1619 anyway.
That's an optimistic guess. You have to dry the material, laminate it, dry the glue again, etc.
>> There might be a side scenario bringing a huge stock of horns into the
>> dead place for rapid drying, though...
> Sounds like a good idea!
Sounds like a bad idea sounding somewhat reasonable, which means it is likely to cause hardship to adventurer types.
So, a good idea for narrators...
> Getting a huge supply of Sable horns would be fun, too.
One could always trade. And the average Praxian male has a herd of captured enemy lifestock rather than tribal beasts (those are in the female owned herds). I guess the Impala tribe would have no shortage of sable beasts.
>> Given my extreme draw length, I prefer the 6 foot self bow (I don't own
>> a
>> longbow reaching up to the top of my head) to the 4 foot horse bow for
>> lateral stability.
> I only draw 26", so less of a problem. What's your draw length? 32" plus?
32" I can manage by bending the elbow a bit. 33 to 34" is better. (Mind you, after 30 shots in rapid sequence, pulling that length from a 70 lbs (effective weight at that draw length) self bow gets really hard. There is that reason for limited ammo in military archery, too...
>> Bison hide is quite tough, too, if you leave the fur on (and make it
>> into
>> felt padding). It would make good ballistic hangings to top the
>> crenellations.
> And you shoot out from between the hangings? I can't quite visualise how
> this works.
imagine semi-tents sloping down outward. You can leave gaps for your missile forces, but unaimed fire from below is unlikely to penetrate loosely hanging cloth and still do meaningful damage to whoever hides behind such a hanging.
Direct, aimed fire as displayed by Orlando Bloom's Legolas at Helms Deep is the heroic exception. Volleys into advancing masses are the standard.
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