Thoughts about Archery from a Traditional Hunter

I love archery in video games but it tends to bug me a little when you are transitioning from warrior to hunter. The mechanical skills are basically the same but there are a few basic differences in the bow its self and the arrows one would use in the battle field and on the hunt. but so far I have never played a game that doesn't take the Skyrim approach to archery that just has a linear progression of higher level bows and arrows where steel is better than iron and elvin is better than steel etc etc etc...

First off if the poundage of a war bow is on average about 80 lbs (36 kg) in draw weight the heaviest of wish ran up into the 120 - 150 lb (54 - 68 kg) range, while a hunting bow generally ran from 35 - 55 lbs (15 - 24 kg). This is to say that most the time you don't normally run into up-armored deer in the woods, but in New Britannia you might want to have a 60 to 70 lb bow just in case. As an archer gets better at his/her skill they would get stronger and be able to pull a more power-full bow. So when a archer becomes a master of their craft no target is too small nor any hide too thick for their arrows to strike home.

Second is that the shape of the point of the arrow you shoot is directly correlated to what you are hunting/fighting.



Broadheads (Types 13 - 15 & 21) are for shooting unarmored and large game. they do not kill instantly but kill by blood loss. they cause massive internal and external beading. but they do not penetrate armor or even chainmaille very well or at all. this would glance off a dragons scales but bury deep into a wolfs soft hide.

Blunts (Types 5 - 6) are unsharpened arrow heads used for small game like rabbits and birds. the point is to transfer all the kinetic energy of the arrow into your furry little target basically to kill the little guy with blunt force trauma. this keeps the pelt unbroken and allows you to retrieve the hole arrow more often than not. the pic above is commonly misrepresented as a "rope cutting arrow head" but there is very little evidence for this.

As a hunter I keep a good 50/50 mix of Broadheads and Blunts in my quiver this allows me to have a more successful hunting trip, and a good blunt is essential gear for when you run into an angry raccoon that took up residence in your tree-stand.

A Bodkin (Types 1 - 3, 7 - 12 & 17 - 20) was the main war arrow head for a long time because of its ability to pierce chainmaille and plate armor at long range (100+ meters), and they are cheep to produce in large quantities. But it caused significantly less tissue damage and bleeding than a broadhead or type 16 point. so unless they where enchanted or poisoned I would not use them on dragons and the like.

the Type 16 (we don't know what its real name was) point was the big brother of the bodkin. It was as good at penetrating chainmaille and light armor at long range as a bodkin but not so good on heavy armor. But I caused lots of tissue damage and the barbs caused it to be heard to remove once it was inside you. This is the head that I would use against dragons.

There are also many different ways the fetching can be attached to the arrow or the number of fetching. I have had lots of success with two feathers instead of three. but the only big functional difference in how you fletch arrows is when making regular hunting/war arrows and flu-flu arrows.



Flu-Flu's are used for hunting birds and small game they have big uncut feathers cause a lot of drag causing the arrow to travel only a few dozen meters or so making finding your arrows again much easier.

 

Your pictures aren't showing up.

I would like to see strength play a roll in what we can equip, and not just for bows either.

 

I fixed it and I would love to see form issues comeback if your avatar has not shot in a few weeks.and it take a few hours to have your muscles re remember the skill.

 

here are some of the basic styles of old world bows.



with one exception and this is probably my favorite bow ever developed...



The Yumi longbow was developed for horseback archers in japan so they would not have to worry about the horse getting in the way of a shot, and yes she is shooting the bow properly.