Revised Bow Rules
by HåvardI've been trying to reconcile the various source material that deal with bows and arrows for BECMI. Gaz5 and Gaz12 introduce new bows and special arrow. The problem is that some of these new weapons are not really compatible with the Weapon Mastery System. If the range and/or damage increases due to the type of arrow used, how does this affect Weapon Mastery?
I think the easiest way to reconcile these things is to use the range and damage of the bow/ Weapon Mastery as the basis and then have arrows be modifiers to these.
Bows
| NAME | RANGE | DAMAGE | NOTES | SOURCES |
| Bow, Short | 50/100/150 | 1d6 | May be used while mounted | RC |
| Bow, Long | 70/140/210 | 1d6 | May not be used while mounted. | RC |
| Bow, Composite | 70 (+1)/140 (-)/210 (-1) | 1d6 | May be used while mounted. Weapon Mastery is similar to Long Bow, but needs to be learned separately. | Gaz 12 |
| Bow, Elven Longbow | 70/140/210 | 1d6+1* | +1 to hit. Magical Bow. 10.000 GP | Gaz5 |
| Bow, Nithian Staff (w.o. Skill) | 40/80/120 | 1d4 | May also be used as a melee weapon. | HWA2, Dragon #182 |
| Bow, Nithian Staff (w. Skill) | 60/120/180 | 1d6 | May also be used as a melee weapon. These effects require the Nithian Staff Skill from HWA2. | HWA2, Dragon #182 |
*Optional rule: Rather than give the +1 bonus to damage, Elven Longbows using this rule allow the wielder to add his Dex Bonus to damage.
Arrows
| TYPE | DMG MODIFIER | NOTES | SOURCES |
| Normal Arrow | Standard | This is the standard arrow, also called Flight Arrow. | RC |
| Silver Tipped Arrow | Standard | Can hurt Lycanthropes and some other monsters. | RC |
| Elven Arrow | Standard | Arrow does not provide magical bonuses, but is considered magical for purposes of damaging monsters. This magic is not lost when arrow is fired. Breaks at 10% | Gaz5 |
| Light Arrow (Moraki) | Reduced by one die type* | +2 to hit at all ranges. | Gaz 12 |
| Heavy Arrow (Takadi) | Increased by one die type* | May only be fired at short range | Gaz 12 |
| Murkit Heavy Arrow | Standard | +1 to damage against Chain or Plate Mail. +2 to hit against chain or plate. -1 to hit all other armors. Reduce range by -10/20/30 | Gaz 12 |
| Uighurs Light Arrow | Standard | +2 to hit against Unarmored humanoids**. Otherwise -2. Increase range by +10/20/30 | Gaz 12 |
| Tajit Whistling Arrow | Standard | Makes signals during battle. No damage. | Gaz 12 |
| Kaerut Flame Arrow | Standard +1d6 per round until fire is extinguished. | 50% chance of setting straw on fire. 25% chance of setting wood on fire. -5 to hit moving targets. Reduce range by -10/20/30 | Gaz 12 |
*=Increasing damage type means 1d6 becomes 1d8, 1d8 becomes 1d10, 1d10 becomes 1d12.
**=by Gaz12 this bonus is against any non-armored creature, but I changed it to humanoids only.
Ammunition Materials
| QUALITY | MATERIAL EXAMPLES |
| Stone Age | Stone, Obsidian |
| Bronze Age | Bronze |
| Standard | Iron, Steel |
| Superior | Mithril, Blackmoorian Steel |
| Superior +1 | Dragon Bones, Adamantium |
| Superior +2 | Elemental Metal |
| Superior +3 | Infernal Steel, Celestial Steel, Titan forged |
The way I handle weapons of superior /inferior quality materials is that if the weapons used are superior to the armor/shields used by the defender, the attacker gets a +2 to hit. If the attacker wields weapons of inferior materials he will suffer a -2 penalty. Important: It does not matter how many levels below/above quality the weapons are. The bonus/penalty will never be higher than +2 or lower than -2.
Also, see this post about more of my ideas on armors of different materials.