Where to carry longbow [Archive] - Wizards Community

Where to carry longbow [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
WightPower
05-12-07, 11:08 PM Hello

Wasn't sure where to stick this but here goes.....

I have a fighter-based Archer character that I play and I'm particularly **** about minute details.

What advice do you guys have for this:

He carries a Spear when he walks, so his longbow is carried on his person.... I assume in most cases that means the bow-line over the chest and to "draw" the bow he just slides it off his shoulder.... but is there another way? a little clip or something that looks the bow in place on his back, ie attached to the quiver in some way?

how do you guys play that?

- Confused from Cormyr
WightPower
05-12-07, 11:09 PM classic! the board censored a word above that means "to be excessively particular about details", but can also be used to refer to a part of the body used principly for waste management, and only occasionally for fun
Lady_Mhaor
05-13-07, 12:04 PM heh yeah

you can un-string our bow and put in a holster thats connect your quiver

Its good if you dont plan to get ambushed anytime soon
Khaelieth
05-13-07, 01:11 PM Or... Jam it into your trousers, Spinal Tap style!:D

Am I happy to see you, or do I have a canoe in my pocket? WOOF!
- Lord Flasheart.

I guess you could walk with the bow in your other hand?
Thanael
05-14-07, 04:47 AM I think normally you wouldn't carry a strung bow.
WightPower
05-14-07, 06:24 AM I carry a spear in my good hand, to ready for charge and i throw it if there's an enemy nearby not expecting to cop a spear-ing....

and, I would think it a bit annoying to walk around with both your hands full... what if I had an itch?

i don't want to unstring my bow..... I'm thinking the hang-over my shoulder with the twine over my chest must be the way to go.....
Khaelieth
05-14-07, 09:30 AM The string'll chafe tbh.

And if you've got an itch... Well, you've got the spear?;)
Empirate
05-15-07, 01:36 PM As long as you're just walking around, there's nothing to stop you from filling both hands with weapons. I also don't see a problem with a clasp or something that fastens the bow to your back. BUT: nobody who values his bow keeps it strung at all times. It's not like a crossbow in that you can carry it around primed for combat. You'd normally need to prepare the bow well in advance, as stringing it is heavy business (I have tried...). I'd reckon that a trained archer would probably need three full-round actions to string his bow, and would provoke attacks of opportunity. Not that there's much reason to be able to fire a bow when the enemy is so close they can use those...
Tarus
05-15-07, 04:04 PM Ideally speaking, if you don't plan to be using your bow its best to unstring it and just clip it to your quiver or backpack. (Im sure one or both have special loops to hold it).

If you plan to be in a fight, then strung and over your shoulder can't hurt though it would get int he way during a fight...again, maybe a clip on your backpack?
Critalondel
05-16-07, 02:13 AM I don't think three full round actions is very reasonable for stringing a bow -- it rarely takes me more than a few seconds, and I'm not even really hurrying through the motions because someone's trying to stab me to death or eat my face. For purposes of game balance, I'd say it's already covered under the "ready a weapon" rules.

Since it's just a game, there's no real drawback to carrying your weapon already strung (or even carrying it in your hand). Similarly, D&D hasn't got rules for what happens to a bow you drop (IE, use a Free Action to get rid of, instead of carefully using a regular action to gently put away), any more than it has rules for swords or spears or daggers that you casually toss around. There's no rules for sharpening stones, oiling armor against rust, the incidental nicks and scratches other weapons have to worry about, or anything else like that; in truth, archers already kind of get screwed because we're automatically losing a good chunk of the arrows that get fired around (whereas sword wielders never have a single thing to worry about, unless someone gets frisky with a Sunder attempt).

However, yes, realistically, a longbow would generally be carried unstrung and often even wrapped in a quiver-like sheath (oiled against rain, etc) for protection. I'd say having a sort of side pocket alongside your regular quiver would work, having the bow up and over your shoulder (protruding from the top of the quiver, but no one pays attention to exposure to the elements) would be just fine.
Maquissar
05-16-07, 02:37 PM If you want to nitpick the details of carrying a bow, then you should do it the proper way. The ideal way to carry a bow unless you are activly expecting danger or hunting is unstrung. The reason for this is because a bow that is left strung for long periods of time will gradually warp and be usless in combat. Personal RL experience, I can string a bow and notch an arrow in about 8-10 seconds (using a bow stringer). Technicaly, you will be out of the action that first round to string your bow (using a stringer tool of course), but you should be able to get off a shot on round two. My Elven Bard carries around an Elven Longbow (Dragon Mag #349) which can be used as both a ranged and melee weapon.
Dark_beebles
05-18-07, 04:35 AM Beebles to the rescue again.....

Use the mod's for longbows in the Races of the Wild. As a freeaction you can "push a button" and the bow will contract into a small cylinder like a wand. And as a freeaction you can convert it back into a bow. There is even a magic mod in the book as well that will allow you to change your weapon (even during a full atk) to a bow/spear or bow/longsword ect...

Example. You have 3 atks...you can kill the goblin in front of you, then use your 2nd and 3rd atks of the round and have the "spear" turn into a longbow and shoot 2 arrows.

And a cheap yet effective way to use it w/o that is buy the Cloak of Weapons from the Magic Item conpendium...free actin to store or draw any 1 weapon from the item...and its cheap 4,330gp...for a no slot version of it.

Hope that helps. :D
Suin Bahhar
05-18-07, 07:52 AM Would there be a difference in storing properties for compostite bows? I read somewhere a composite long bow is smaller than a regular one, and it wont be as effected by carrying it strung for a long time. Overstrung composites can simply be tightened to provide the pulling power again (fullround action, provoking AoO).
Khaelieth
05-18-07, 08:46 AM I usually just let my adventurers pull the bow out and fire it without having to string it, it's nitpicking. I sometimes make 'em buy new strings though, what would you charge for it?
selunatic2397
05-18-07, 01:52 PM I usually charge them a silver a bowstring...but with our houserule of a natural 1 means you snapped the bowstring...they can go through lots of them on a bad day. :devil:

One player wanted an unbreakable bowstring made of spidersilk...

I charged him my usual fee for minor, but useful, stuff...1000 gold...and said that now on a critical miss/natural 1 you take 1hp of damage due to the arrow shattering next to your face...:evillaugh

The players agreed that was fair and bought so many of them I did not have an excessive amount of player cash for months :D

I hope this helps you out!
Lady_Mhaor
05-18-07, 07:17 PM [QUOTE=Khaelieth;12429157]I usually just let my adventurers pull the bow out and fire it without having to string it, it's nitpicking. I sometimes make 'em buy new strings though, what would you charge for it?[/QUOTEt

thats like 10 copper pieces if you ask me
GothicDan
05-18-07, 08:10 PM 10 coppers = 1 silver!
Wenin
05-18-07, 08:31 PM http://www.krackow.com/images/bisok_quiver.gif

http://www.atarn.org/letters/ltr_jun04.htm

http://www.atarn.org/letters/letr_jun04/ratnik3%20sv%20prokopije.jpg

If you're wearing it, I'd imagine you'd want to be able to use it.
Lord_Steve
05-19-07, 02:04 PM http://www.krackow.com/images/bisok_quiver.gif

http://www.atarn.org/letters/ltr_jun04.htm

http://www.atarn.org/letters/letr_jun04/ratnik3%20sv%20prokopije.jpg

If you're wearing it, I'd imagine you'd want to be able to use it.

Awwwwwww......You stole the words from my mouth.....
WightPower
05-19-07, 07:52 PM all good stuff here.....

Hmm..... I'll talk to DM about stringing my bow etc... my guess is he doesn't even know about it!

As for the carriage... hmm...... well its a composite longbow, which is about 5-6 feet long.... so I doubt I could fit it in a sheath (as per the links above)

I suppose the unstringing + quiver clip + carry on back option is a goer

thankyou all!
dragonheart
05-27-07, 02:52 PM Probably the best bet for carrying your bow is a quiver of Ehlonna - a magic quiver that has 3 pockets: 1. holds up to 6 objects of longbow/staff/spear size; 2. holds upto 12 objects of Javelin size; 3. holds upto 24 objects of wand to arrow size. Reach into a pocket asking for a particular object and its the first thing you touch so drawing an object is a free action.

Bows of any sort should be carryed unstrung to prevent damage and loss of power - basically they are springs - and like any spring if you keep it stretched it weakens over time. composite bows are even worse as they are all both recurves multilayered and will break apart completely and become adjusted to the recurved state as the natural one not the unstrung shape if stored in a strung condition. Composite bows are only strung when your going to use them and then unstrung immediately afterwards. the old english longbow was a "self" (ie not recurved) bow that could be kept in a strung state for short times but even it was normally kept unstrung unless needed.

Stringing a bow that you have the strength to handle shouldn't take more than a round normally. Now if yoru surprised your out of luck but then that was why you were carrying a spear as you walked - its your close combat weapon and is really more of a stabbing and slicing weapon that a thrown weapon (think of it s a dagger on a stick and you have a pretty good idea of how to use it with both thrusts and sweeps).
The Ranger
05-30-07, 11:02 PM Stick it in a bag of holding.
Eccerion
06-18-07, 03:10 PM Hire a henchman to carry it around for you, he can also carry all the stuff you'll need but dont want to carry yourself, that way you can bring an extra bow or two in case one breaks.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
WightPower 05-12-07, 11:08 PM	Hello Wasn't sure where to stick this but here goes..... I have a fighter-based Archer character that I play and I'm particularly **** about minute details. What advice do you guys have for this: He carries a Spear when he walks, so his longbow is carried on his person.... I assume in most cases that means the bow-line over the chest and to "draw" the bow he just slides it off his shoulder.... but is there another way? a little clip or something that looks the bow in place on his back, ie attached to the quiver in some way? how do you guys play that? - Confused from Cormyr
WightPower 05-12-07, 11:09 PM	classic! the board censored a word above that means "to be excessively particular about details", but can also be used to refer to a part of the body used principly for waste management, and only occasionally for fun
Lady_Mhaor 05-13-07, 12:04 PM	heh yeah you can un-string our bow and put in a holster thats connect your quiver Its good if you dont plan to get ambushed anytime soon
Khaelieth 05-13-07, 01:11 PM	Or... Jam it into your trousers, Spinal Tap style!:D Am I happy to see you, or do I have a canoe in my pocket? WOOF! - Lord Flasheart. I guess you could walk with the bow in your other hand?
Thanael 05-14-07, 04:47 AM	I think normally you wouldn't carry a strung bow.
WightPower 05-14-07, 06:24 AM	I carry a spear in my good hand, to ready for charge and i throw it if there's an enemy nearby not expecting to cop a spear-ing.... and, I would think it a bit annoying to walk around with both your hands full... what if I had an itch? i don't want to unstring my bow..... I'm thinking the hang-over my shoulder with the twine over my chest must be the way to go.....
Khaelieth 05-14-07, 09:30 AM	The string'll chafe tbh. And if you've got an itch... Well, you've got the spear?;)
Empirate 05-15-07, 01:36 PM	As long as you're just walking around, there's nothing to stop you from filling both hands with weapons. I also don't see a problem with a clasp or something that fastens the bow to your back. BUT: nobody who values his bow keeps it strung at all times. It's not like a crossbow in that you can carry it around primed for combat. You'd normally need to prepare the bow well in advance, as stringing it is heavy business (I have tried...). I'd reckon that a trained archer would probably need three full-round actions to string his bow, and would provoke attacks of opportunity. Not that there's much reason to be able to fire a bow when the enemy is so close they can use those...
Tarus 05-15-07, 04:04 PM	Ideally speaking, if you don't plan to be using your bow its best to unstring it and just clip it to your quiver or backpack. (Im sure one or both have special loops to hold it). If you plan to be in a fight, then strung and over your shoulder can't hurt though it would get int he way during a fight...again, maybe a clip on your backpack?
Critalondel 05-16-07, 02:13 AM	I don't think three full round actions is very reasonable for stringing a bow -- it rarely takes me more than a few seconds, and I'm not even really hurrying through the motions because someone's trying to stab me to death or eat my face. For purposes of game balance, I'd say it's already covered under the "ready a weapon" rules. Since it's just a game, there's no real drawback to carrying your weapon already strung (or even carrying it in your hand). Similarly, D&D hasn't got rules for what happens to a bow you drop (IE, use a Free Action to get rid of, instead of carefully using a regular action to gently put away), any more than it has rules for swords or spears or daggers that you casually toss around. There's no rules for sharpening stones, oiling armor against rust, the incidental nicks and scratches other weapons have to worry about, or anything else like that; in truth, archers already kind of get screwed because we're automatically losing a good chunk of the arrows that get fired around (whereas sword wielders never have a single thing to worry about, unless someone gets frisky with a Sunder attempt). However, yes, realistically, a longbow would generally be carried unstrung and often even wrapped in a quiver-like sheath (oiled against rain, etc) for protection. I'd say having a sort of side pocket alongside your regular quiver would work, having the bow up and over your shoulder (protruding from the top of the quiver, but no one pays attention to exposure to the elements) would be just fine.
Maquissar 05-16-07, 02:37 PM	If you want to nitpick the details of carrying a bow, then you should do it the proper way. The ideal way to carry a bow unless you are activly expecting danger or hunting is unstrung. The reason for this is because a bow that is left strung for long periods of time will gradually warp and be usless in combat. Personal RL experience, I can string a bow and notch an arrow in about 8-10 seconds (using a bow stringer). Technicaly, you will be out of the action that first round to string your bow (using a stringer tool of course), but you should be able to get off a shot on round two. My Elven Bard carries around an Elven Longbow (Dragon Mag #349) which can be used as both a ranged and melee weapon.
Dark_beebles 05-18-07, 04:35 AM	Beebles to the rescue again..... Use the mod's for longbows in the Races of the Wild. As a freeaction you can "push a button" and the bow will contract into a small cylinder like a wand. And as a freeaction you can convert it back into a bow. There is even a magic mod in the book as well that will allow you to change your weapon (even during a full atk) to a bow/spear or bow/longsword ect... Example. You have 3 atks...you can kill the goblin in front of you, then use your 2nd and 3rd atks of the round and have the "spear" turn into a longbow and shoot 2 arrows. And a cheap yet effective way to use it w/o that is buy the Cloak of Weapons from the Magic Item conpendium...free actin to store or draw any 1 weapon from the item...and its cheap 4,330gp...for a no slot version of it. Hope that helps. :D
Suin Bahhar 05-18-07, 07:52 AM	Would there be a difference in storing properties for compostite bows? I read somewhere a composite long bow is smaller than a regular one, and it wont be as effected by carrying it strung for a long time. Overstrung composites can simply be tightened to provide the pulling power again (fullround action, provoking AoO).
Khaelieth 05-18-07, 08:46 AM	I usually just let my adventurers pull the bow out and fire it without having to string it, it's nitpicking. I sometimes make 'em buy new strings though, what would you charge for it?
selunatic2397 05-18-07, 01:52 PM	I usually charge them a silver a bowstring...but with our houserule of a natural 1 means you snapped the bowstring...they can go through lots of them on a bad day. :devil: One player wanted an unbreakable bowstring made of spidersilk... I charged him my usual fee for minor, but useful, stuff...1000 gold...and said that now on a critical miss/natural 1 you take 1hp of damage due to the arrow shattering next to your face...:evillaugh The players agreed that was fair and bought so many of them I did not have an excessive amount of player cash for months :D I hope this helps you out!
Lady_Mhaor 05-18-07, 07:17 PM	[QUOTE=Khaelieth;12429157]I usually just let my adventurers pull the bow out and fire it without having to string it, it's nitpicking. I sometimes make 'em buy new strings though, what would you charge for it?[/QUOTEt thats like 10 copper pieces if you ask me
GothicDan 05-18-07, 08:10 PM	10 coppers = 1 silver!
Wenin 05-18-07, 08:31 PM	http://www.krackow.com/images/bisok_quiver.gif http://www.atarn.org/letters/ltr_jun04.htm http://www.atarn.org/letters/letr_jun04/ratnik3%20sv%20prokopije.jpg If you're wearing it, I'd imagine you'd want to be able to use it.
Lord_Steve 05-19-07, 02:04 PM	http://www.krackow.com/images/bisok_quiver.gif http://www.atarn.org/letters/ltr_jun04.htm http://www.atarn.org/letters/letr_jun04/ratnik3%20sv%20prokopije.jpg If you're wearing it, I'd imagine you'd want to be able to use it. Awwwwwww......You stole the words from my mouth.....
WightPower 05-19-07, 07:52 PM	all good stuff here..... Hmm..... I'll talk to DM about stringing my bow etc... my guess is he doesn't even know about it! As for the carriage... hmm...... well its a composite longbow, which is about 5-6 feet long.... so I doubt I could fit it in a sheath (as per the links above) I suppose the unstringing + quiver clip + carry on back option is a goer thankyou all!
dragonheart 05-27-07, 02:52 PM	Probably the best bet for carrying your bow is a quiver of Ehlonna - a magic quiver that has 3 pockets: 1. holds up to 6 objects of longbow/staff/spear size; 2. holds upto 12 objects of Javelin size; 3. holds upto 24 objects of wand to arrow size. Reach into a pocket asking for a particular object and its the first thing you touch so drawing an object is a free action. Bows of any sort should be carryed unstrung to prevent damage and loss of power - basically they are springs - and like any spring if you keep it stretched it weakens over time. composite bows are even worse as they are all both recurves multilayered and will break apart completely and become adjusted to the recurved state as the natural one not the unstrung shape if stored in a strung condition. Composite bows are only strung when your going to use them and then unstrung immediately afterwards. the old english longbow was a "self" (ie not recurved) bow that could be kept in a strung state for short times but even it was normally kept unstrung unless needed. Stringing a bow that you have the strength to handle shouldn't take more than a round normally. Now if yoru surprised your out of luck but then that was why you were carrying a spear as you walked - its your close combat weapon and is really more of a stabbing and slicing weapon that a thrown weapon (think of it s a dagger on a stick and you have a pretty good idea of how to use it with both thrusts and sweeps).
The Ranger 05-30-07, 11:02 PM	Stick it in a bag of holding.
Eccerion 06-18-07, 03:10 PM	Hire a henchman to carry it around for you, he can also carry all the stuff you'll need but dont want to carry yourself, that way you can bring an extra bow or two in case one breaks.