Short range archery

From: richardc_at_sypte.co.uk
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 10:22:19 +0100


Christoph Luehr asks about short range archery. I too am not sure what SC= =20
is but I'm assuming it's the German abbreviation for player character. If=20 I'm wrong the sense of this answer may be lost but here we go....
_

I think Christoph is refering to the "archer's paradox". When you shoot an= =20
arrow from a bow the physics is quite peculiar. The string is pushing=20 straight towards the back of the bow but the arrow has to pass to one side=20 of it. The result is that the arrow flexes back and forth in the early par= t=20
of its flight. This means in turn that, until the aerodynamic properties o= f=20
the arrow have had a chance to get it back on course, the arrow is _less_=20 accurate at short ranges.
_

This is the theory anyway. However, having done some combat archery in=20 medieval battle re-enactments (for those familiar with the SCA it's similar= =20
but with metal weapons and authentic armour) I have found that the effect i= s=20
not significant (at least with the over-flighted arrows we use).
_

What _is_ significant, in the press of battle, is the moral effect of an=20 armed and armoured man rushing at you, screaming for blood. I would sugges= t=20
that, if Christoph is worried about this, he impose a "morale" roll on the=20 archer (say POWx5% or something more complex) which needs to be passed if=20 she/he/it is to shoot without a big penalty.
_

What the hell, let's go rules crazy - my suggestion for a character morale=20 attribute would be to average all the characteristics (STR, CON, SIZ etc.)=20 multiply the result by 5 and average that number with the characters highes= t=20
weapons skill percentage. This on the Duke of Wellington's ground that, "N= o=20
man fears to do that which he knows he does well."
_

Richard Crawley
_

richardc_at_sypte.co.uk (work)
richstella_at_aol.com (home)
...another spinner of strange and gauzy threads...

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