Body Bow [Archive] - Wizards Community - Pages Merged by Solauren

Body Bow [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
YabaTheWhat
02-17-06, 02:18 PM I'm trying to design a bow that can be used with only one free hand (firing and loading). Please let me know if one already exists in an official source. If one does not, please critique the one described below.

BODY BOW

The body bow is a modified shortbow, attached to the torso via a harness of straps and buckles. When properly worn, the body bow sits across the front of the torso, facing sideways. A swivel joint allows the bow to drop to an angle when not in use, and draw level level against a chest-height peg for firing. Body bows are specifically either left-handed or right-handed.

It takes 3 rounds to don properly, two rounds to don hastily (-2 attack), or two rounds to remove. Donning or removing the body bow provokes attacks of opportunity as donning or removing armor. Once equipped, the body bow may be used with one hand. Only one body bow may be worn at one time. It does not occupy a hand when not in use.

Weapon Type: Exotic Ranged

Cost: 100 GP

All other stats as Shortbow.
Ged Coldplain
02-17-06, 02:22 PM Sorry to say this: this must be the silliest weapon ever... I am almost laughing my ass of trying to visualise it...
YabaTheWhat
02-17-06, 02:26 PM Sorry to say this: this must be the silliest weapon ever... No, a crotch-mounted blowgun would be the silliest weapon ever. :D
dvlsadvct
02-17-06, 02:40 PM I'm curious as to what purpose you want this to serve.

As a side note, does it imply any armor check penalty?
YabaTheWhat
02-17-06, 02:47 PM I'm curious as to what purpose you want this to serve. Two purposes. First, it's useful for people who need a free hand (fire from behind a shield, fire while holding a melee weapon, etc). Second, it's useful for races that don't have two hands, people who have lost an arm in combat, or anyone who can't hold a two-handed object for any reason. As a side note, does it imply any armor check penalty? Good idea. Probably a -1 penalty.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, it can be worn over normal armor.
dvlsadvct
02-17-06, 03:38 PM Well there is always this:

Crossbow, Hand: You can draw a hand crossbow back by hand. Loading a hand crossbow is a move action that provokes attacks of opportunity.

You can shoot, but not load, a hand crossbow with one hand at no penalty. You can shoot a hand crossbow with each hand, but you take a penalty on attack rolls as if attacking with two light weapons.

I came across another question if you dont mind. Can you get a full attack off with your Body Bow? Or are there restrictions as to how many arrows you can fire per round?
YabaTheWhat
02-17-06, 04:36 PM I came across another question if you dont mind. Can you get a full attack off with your Body Bow? Or are there restrictions as to how many arrows you can fire per round? As per the shortbow.

And I should boost the weight. It needs to account for the weight of a shortbow, plus the harness (1lb small or 2lb medium).You can shoot, but not load, a hand crossbow with one hand at no penalty.That's a problem.

The part about drawing it by hand just means you don't need a winch.
Subedei
02-17-06, 06:03 PM This is indeed an incredibly silly weapon that would never work. So silly, in fact, that I wouldn't even put it in a movie.

Now you could certainly modify a crossbow to allow you to load it with only one hand. Why not do that?
YabaTheWhat
02-18-06, 02:02 AM Now you could certainly modify a crossbow to allow you to load it with only one hand. Why not do that? Because you'd still need one hand to hold the crossbow and one to hold the ammo. Hand crossbows need to be reloaded with two hands, and repeating crossbows only get five rounds between two-handed reloads. Sooner or later, some part of the weapon has to be held by (and in the case of ammo, drawn from) a harness or clips directly mounted on the body. Either that or the wielder would have to drop the weapon, load it, and pick it up again for each shot.

Why not mount a bow? It's compatible with the ranger's archery combat style, can be fired at a full attack rate, and doesn't require small moving parts or prepared ammunition the way an easy-loading crossbow would. The catch is that a body bow would be wielded in an unusual way, thus it's an exotic weapon.

As for mechanics, I already figured out how it would work. The bow attaches to the harness at a swivel point below its center of gravity. Pull back, and the bow draws level, braced against a peg above its center. Release, and after a second the bow drops down to an angle, where it hits a second peg. The bow could also be held in either position with a small hitch. Aiming the bow would be similar to aiming a normal bow, only at a slightly different angle to the body. The hard part is aiming the bow upward, because that would require leaning or kneeling.

Other options include: A tripod crossbow, which would have to be deployed at each new location. A quick-loading crossbow, with ammunition cages that can be swept from a harness onto the weapon without direct hand contact. Each shot would need to be in a preloaded ammo cage, which could be ejected from the weapon. This requires both preparation before a battle, and collection of the spent cages afterwards. A ground-loading crossbow. You'd better have Quick Draw for this one. A bow with arrows you can load and fire with your teeth. A magic item.
Innomado
02-18-06, 02:50 AM You could simply have a plate harnessed your leg or hip that the the crossbow latches onto and which holds it in place while you rearm it with one hand. The crossbow could then be easily released so it can be shot. This would require relatively minor modifications to the bow (the piece that latches to the plate) and should not, by itself, require the exotic weapons feat.

I would say that this would work best with a hand or repeating crossbow but could also be done with a light crossbow. I really don't think that this would work with a heavy crossbow. I would also say that this increases loading time so a repeating bow would take a move action instead of a free action and a light crossbow would take a full action instead of a move action, I would also say the same for the hand crossbow but that could probably be argued.

I would have to agree with the others that you swivel harness sounds like a Rube Goldberg device (i.e. overly complex and impractical). But if you like it go ahead and use it.
Watchman
02-18-06, 03:41 AM No offense, but I find the idea... bad. Very bad. If nothing else the whole excessively complicated bow-thingy sits right smack in the way of all incoming blows that are coming at the torso, and there's many of them as that's the single most commonly targeted body part. This isn't exactly where I'd want a bow or such a complicated mechanism to sit.

I may also not know terribly much about archery, but I have extreme difficulties comprehending how you're supposed to shoot this thing or hit anything with it. Indeed, the mechanisms that are supposed to allow you to draw the bow are not only somewhat dubious but also rather beyond what medieval manufacturing methods ought to be able to produce...

Moreover, its "ecological niche" is a bit of mystery for me. For anything with two or more manipulators it is utterly pointless. Shields don't take *that* long to ready, and at least IRL it's perfectly possible to use a bow with a small shield strapped to your forearm (feel free to tell all those Arabs and Turks and Mongols and Byzantines and God knows who else different). For anything with fewer, well, how're they supposed to don the thing in the first place ? Not that such creatures were likely to have physiques at all suitable for emplying this kind of device to begin with, and then there's always thrown weapons. Those take only one hand to use and "reload", and many can be carried quite easily.
Tetsubo
02-18-06, 05:46 AM No, a crotch-mounted blowgun would be the silliest weapon ever. :D

Now THAT is funny...
kuhTHOOloo
02-18-06, 09:20 AM A bow with arrows you can load and fire with your teeth.

So either dental floss to the extreme, or a mouth-harp gone horribly wrong?
steamboat28
03-09-06, 05:48 PM Sorry to say this: this must be the silliest weapon ever... I am almost laughing my ass of trying to visualise it...

some professional disabled archers use a system like that to hold the bow steady in one hand while drawing with their teeth.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
YabaTheWhat 02-17-06, 02:18 PM	I'm trying to design a bow that can be used with only one free hand (firing and loading). Please let me know if one already exists in an official source. If one does not, please critique the one described below. BODY BOW The body bow is a modified shortbow, attached to the torso via a harness of straps and buckles. When properly worn, the body bow sits across the front of the torso, facing sideways. A swivel joint allows the bow to drop to an angle when not in use, and draw level level against a chest-height peg for firing. Body bows are specifically either left-handed or right-handed. It takes 3 rounds to don properly, two rounds to don hastily (-2 attack), or two rounds to remove. Donning or removing the body bow provokes attacks of opportunity as donning or removing armor. Once equipped, the body bow may be used with one hand. Only one body bow may be worn at one time. It does not occupy a hand when not in use. Weapon Type: Exotic Ranged Cost: 100 GP All other stats as Shortbow.
Ged Coldplain 02-17-06, 02:22 PM	Sorry to say this: this must be the silliest weapon ever... I am almost laughing my ass of trying to visualise it...
YabaTheWhat 02-17-06, 02:26 PM	Sorry to say this: this must be the silliest weapon ever... No, a crotch-mounted blowgun would be the silliest weapon ever. :D
dvlsadvct 02-17-06, 02:40 PM	I'm curious as to what purpose you want this to serve. As a side note, does it imply any armor check penalty?
YabaTheWhat 02-17-06, 02:47 PM	I'm curious as to what purpose you want this to serve. Two purposes. First, it's useful for people who need a free hand (fire from behind a shield, fire while holding a melee weapon, etc). Second, it's useful for races that don't have two hands, people who have lost an arm in combat, or anyone who can't hold a two-handed object for any reason. As a side note, does it imply any armor check penalty? Good idea. Probably a -1 penalty. Oh, and I forgot to mention, it can be worn over normal armor.
dvlsadvct 02-17-06, 03:38 PM	Well there is always this: Crossbow, Hand: You can draw a hand crossbow back by hand. Loading a hand crossbow is a move action that provokes attacks of opportunity. You can shoot, but not load, a hand crossbow with one hand at no penalty. You can shoot a hand crossbow with each hand, but you take a penalty on attack rolls as if attacking with two light weapons. I came across another question if you dont mind. Can you get a full attack off with your Body Bow? Or are there restrictions as to how many arrows you can fire per round?
YabaTheWhat 02-17-06, 04:36 PM	I came across another question if you dont mind. Can you get a full attack off with your Body Bow? Or are there restrictions as to how many arrows you can fire per round? As per the shortbow. And I should boost the weight. It needs to account for the weight of a shortbow, plus the harness (1lb small or 2lb medium).You can shoot, but not load, a hand crossbow with one hand at no penalty.That's a problem. The part about drawing it by hand just means you don't need a winch.
Subedei 02-17-06, 06:03 PM	This is indeed an incredibly silly weapon that would never work. So silly, in fact, that I wouldn't even put it in a movie. Now you could certainly modify a crossbow to allow you to load it with only one hand. Why not do that?
YabaTheWhat 02-18-06, 02:02 AM	Now you could certainly modify a crossbow to allow you to load it with only one hand. Why not do that? Because you'd still need one hand to hold the crossbow and one to hold the ammo. Hand crossbows need to be reloaded with two hands, and repeating crossbows only get five rounds between two-handed reloads. Sooner or later, some part of the weapon has to be held by (and in the case of ammo, drawn from) a harness or clips directly mounted on the body. Either that or the wielder would have to drop the weapon, load it, and pick it up again for each shot. Why not mount a bow? It's compatible with the ranger's archery combat style, can be fired at a full attack rate, and doesn't require small moving parts or prepared ammunition the way an easy-loading crossbow would. The catch is that a body bow would be wielded in an unusual way, thus it's an exotic weapon. As for mechanics, I already figured out how it would work. The bow attaches to the harness at a swivel point below its center of gravity. Pull back, and the bow draws level, braced against a peg above its center. Release, and after a second the bow drops down to an angle, where it hits a second peg. The bow could also be held in either position with a small hitch. Aiming the bow would be similar to aiming a normal bow, only at a slightly different angle to the body. The hard part is aiming the bow upward, because that would require leaning or kneeling. Other options include: A tripod crossbow, which would have to be deployed at each new location. A quick-loading crossbow, with ammunition cages that can be swept from a harness onto the weapon without direct hand contact. Each shot would need to be in a preloaded ammo cage, which could be ejected from the weapon. This requires both preparation before a battle, and collection of the spent cages afterwards. A ground-loading crossbow. You'd better have Quick Draw for this one. A bow with arrows you can load and fire with your teeth. A magic item.
Innomado 02-18-06, 02:50 AM	You could simply have a plate harnessed your leg or hip that the the crossbow latches onto and which holds it in place while you rearm it with one hand. The crossbow could then be easily released so it can be shot. This would require relatively minor modifications to the bow (the piece that latches to the plate) and should not, by itself, require the exotic weapons feat. I would say that this would work best with a hand or repeating crossbow but could also be done with a light crossbow. I really don't think that this would work with a heavy crossbow. I would also say that this increases loading time so a repeating bow would take a move action instead of a free action and a light crossbow would take a full action instead of a move action, I would also say the same for the hand crossbow but that could probably be argued. I would have to agree with the others that you swivel harness sounds like a Rube Goldberg device (i.e. overly complex and impractical). But if you like it go ahead and use it.
Watchman 02-18-06, 03:41 AM	No offense, but I find the idea... bad. Very bad. If nothing else the whole excessively complicated bow-thingy sits right smack in the way of all incoming blows that are coming at the torso, and there's many of them as that's the single most commonly targeted body part. This isn't exactly where I'd want a bow or such a complicated mechanism to sit. I may also not know terribly much about archery, but I have extreme difficulties comprehending how you're supposed to shoot this thing or hit anything with it. Indeed, the mechanisms that are supposed to allow you to draw the bow are not only somewhat dubious but also rather beyond what medieval manufacturing methods ought to be able to produce... Moreover, its "ecological niche" is a bit of mystery for me. For anything with two or more manipulators it is utterly pointless. Shields don't take that long to ready, and at least IRL it's perfectly possible to use a bow with a small shield strapped to your forearm (feel free to tell all those Arabs and Turks and Mongols and Byzantines and God knows who else different). For anything with fewer, well, how're they supposed to don the thing in the first place ? Not that such creatures were likely to have physiques at all suitable for emplying this kind of device to begin with, and then there's always thrown weapons. Those take only one hand to use and "reload", and many can be carried quite easily.
Tetsubo 02-18-06, 05:46 AM	No, a crotch-mounted blowgun would be the silliest weapon ever. :D Now THAT is funny...
kuhTHOOloo 02-18-06, 09:20 AM	A bow with arrows you can load and fire with your teeth. So either dental floss to the extreme, or a mouth-harp gone horribly wrong?
steamboat28 03-09-06, 05:48 PM	Sorry to say this: this must be the silliest weapon ever... I am almost laughing my ass of trying to visualise it... some professional disabled archers use a system like that to hold the bow steady in one hand while drawing with their teeth.