>Frex, the figures I've seen are longobow, average 75 pound pull & 250
>range yard max, Mongol 100-160 lb. pull, 350 yard max.
Look accurate. My own longbow (a flatbow, I admit) pulls 70 lb. at 31 inch and has a range of roughly 250 yards with flight arrows. If you manage to draw a 100-150 lb. longbow, 350 yards are available.
I tend to regard the 75 lb. bow as the hunting or competition version, for short distances. In battle I might resort to a heavier bow, if I go for penetration. A trained archer can manage a quiver (24 arrows) with a heavier bow, though he will exhaust himself way more than with the lighter bow.
>This _suggests_ that the Mongol bow
>offers a bit more in war, although the technique was perhaps even more
>specialized.
Yes. As long as the weather keeps dry. As soon as any steppe rider bow gets wet, efficiency suffers. The record shots with Turkish bows (similar to Mongol ones) were done with bows baked dry for a couple of days.
El Cid is said to have lost a battle when his Moorish mounted archers became useless as their desert bows dissolved in the pouring rain.
Now you know what "Cloud Call" and "Rain" are good for in warfare...
If I live in Dragon Pass, or worse, near Skyfall Lake, I need a longbow to be able to shoot woth good penetration, or some crossbow.
>Based on that, the real revolution in Ralian warfare would come when you
>drag in a decent group of Pentian mercenaries -- they'll chop those
>iron-clad knights to chutney like Baidar went through Poland, as long as
>they have shamanic/sorcerous cover.
Hardly. The Galanini "Hsunchen" did exactly this, and look where they are now.
>Just out of curiousity, Joerg, what's your take on the longbow vs. nomad
>bow business? Seems to be a matter of favoritism, with the medieval
>English lovers taking the longbow, the Mongolophiles taking the nomad
>bow... Too bad the Mongols didn't make it to the channel to suit my
>comparative whims. <g>
To me it's a matter of climate. Bows, even self bows, are precision instruments which are designed for a climate, and do worse in different climate. Since there are no modern boat furnishes available on Glorantha, dryness or downpours will render certain kinds of bows uneffective. Hint to High Llama Riders: if you want revenge on Impala Riders, wait for the rainfalls...
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