It wasn’t long before the perpetual arms race between offense and defense swung the other way and armor got thicker/stronger. In fact, 660 feet was the minimum acceptable practice range for a longbowman.īut even then, the longbow had a short lifespan of effectiveness. (Take that Extra Attack! 😝) They had an unprecedented range, and they had enough power that the arrows could effectively puncture mail (nowadays known as “chainmail”) and light Plate for the vast majority of that range. When the enemy has 100 archers firing 1,000 arrows per minute with effective ranges in excess of 660 ft., then your pretty much in the same boat as Dienekes was 1,000 years earlier, fighting in the shade. Yes, with adequate training and practice and a competent officer the English longbowmen could fire 10 arrows per minute, or one every 6 seconds. That got its "cred” in the latter half of the 14th century and the very beginning of the 15th century, and mostly from the French.
What most people think of when they think “longbow” is an English longbow. (Unless you’re completely unskilled, and then there’s crossbows because archery takes lots of practice, especially when attempting to maintain a rate of fire.) Even something as simple as 3.5's inability to use a longbow while mounted would at least give it a niche.Monstrous Compendium Vol 3: Minecraft CreaturesĮuropean Longbows make sense in open terrain when you’re on foot, and in a formation. Do we need a shortbow to have some advantage? Not really. Obviously the weapon table isn't perfect and there are a few examples of strictly outclassed weapons, but most of those make more sense to me and are with weapon types that are not lacking alternatives (such as the trident, which, while mechanically pointless, has alternatives in the spear and the warpick for any niche you could really want it for). But with bows, the smaller one still needs two hands. Like obviously with melee weapons, the big ones need two hands, and that is the downside to their higher power. If you want to make the difference more marked, or more simulationist, add a strength requirement for its use.įor a variety of reasons, leaning too much toward the simulationist mind set gets in the way of the game.This is true. I mean, I don't need something huge, but I would just like to see something that gives people a reason to carry around a shortbow, which is the much more realistic weapon for someone to travel around with (longbows are massive and unwieldy). It is literally better in every way, except that it is heavy, but unless you are small, that means nothing, since both still need two hands. Its not broken or anything, obviously, but in reality, the longbow has some distinct disadvantages vs the shortbow that are not represented mechanically. I have a much bigger issue with the longbow, to be honest. Without Sharpshooter, an extra attack with a hand crossbow is not nearly as attractive, having only a small damage advantage over using a heavy crossbow by mid game, in exchange for using up your bonus action, and therefore eschewing a lot of versatility. Now, to be fair, that is mostly because my group finds a few feats to be broken and doesn't allow them, and one of those feats is Sharpshooter.
I'm not a fan of Hand Crossbows, but I don't have too much of a problem with them mechanically.
0 kommentar(er)
