@Cam -
I agree that your current garden variety hand bows are next to useless as the game sits right now (the better ones would still have a role though), but it’s where people are talking about going with the game that they start to become useful.
The thing about hand bows (apart from their small size) is, they’re frighteningly accurate when in their range (a decent archer would have no excuse to not hit a stationary head sized target at 10 yards every single time) and create very negligible noise, blowing out a candle is almost louder.
If the stealth system ever gets revamped (has that been done already?) or the other bows are given noise, this would become a stealth character’s best bet.
The term ‘Great Bow’ is actually modern in origin, it refers to any bow longer than 7ft in length or a long bow (4 1/2 to 7 ft) above 115# draw weight. The actual bows themselves are still referred to by their original names.
I was exaggerating when I said that about the springy limb; yes, that’s true. I was mostly thinking of the game there when I wrote it that way.
…But it is a prime example of an improvised weapon, is it not? Lasts for all of 6 hours.
However, with a little time put into it (and a nearby fire and water source) you could press most common tree woods into service (although the quality and durability would vary widely based on wood type and grain… I don’t think the game’s code presently allows for that).
In response to the Martial Styles and bow compatibility -
This is all true, but I had waived mentioning it in favor of balance (technically speaking, Taekwondo is meant to be used with any weapon that you can get your hands on [which is why it prioritizes the feet], so…). However, there’s not much of that that a little improvisation couldn’t fix.
On Speed Techniques, I’ve known some Native Americans (they were Cherokee) that pulled ‘it’ (3 second shots) off with a 65# bow. Whether that’s ‘low poundage’ depends on one’s perception on the matter, I guess.
But yes, the much faster reloads are usually low poundage bows and, as I mentioned, suffer from accuracy issues. But at short range, they’re like taking a smg in the gut.
Basically, you’d be needing a commonly activating “RAPID”-like for the Apache-style and something that emulates burst fire on command but with an dispersion penalty for the Russian Dagger-style (I had actually thought about those videos, but I forgot the name and therefore skipped the style).
Yeah, I’d love to be able to mix it up like that (though that’d mean NPC’s would need to be fixed…). After all, it’s what’s been going on in my head this entire time; seeing as I, myself, use both Kyuudo and RTA (a variation of the Apache-style, but works with Yumi and other long bows).
