Re: (TFT) Crossbows Are Too Powerful ?

["Ty Beard" <tbeard@tyler.net>]

Rick --

I have long lost my copy of The Palladium Book of Weapons & Castles. Does it
give the mass of crossbow bolts and longbow arrows? I can find numerous
sources on the velocity (typically given as 130-150 fps), but sources on
bolt weight are scarce. The source I used is a website and I can't find it
now.

--Ty

----- Original Message -----
From: "rsmith" <rsmith@lightspeed.ca>
To: <tft@brainiac.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2002 6:15 PM
Subject: RE: (TFT) Crossbows Are Too Powerful ?


> Hi Everyone,
> I seemed to have missed the post that
> started this thread but here are my thoughts.
>
> The jump from a 1 die horse bow to a
> 1d+2 longbow for a only one point increase in
> minimum ST bothered me to the point where I
> increased the minimum ST of long bows to 12.
> (I added a 1d+1 hunting bow at ST 11.)
>
> Part of the reason for this change was
> you had to be STRONG to use a long bow
> effectively.  Almost no one had the upper body
> ST to use it, and it had to be developed with
> years of practice.
>
> I added composite bows, (see my new
> weapon list on Ty's site) which did more damage
> for a given strength of draw.  However, as per
> Steve Jackson's thoughts on rapiers verses
> broadswords, I ignored reality and made them
> require significantly more ST to use.
>
> After I finish up Undead, I was thinking
> of writing rules for sieges in TFT.  I picked
> up "The Palladium Book of Weapons & Castles"
> by Matthew Balent.
>
> In this book, he suggests that the heaviest
> crossbows (using steel instead of wood) did 2.5
> times more damage than a long bow.  The wood,
> composite and backed crossbows did damage near
> what a long bow did.
>
> I agree, the ST needed to use a crossbow
> quickly in TFT require the user to cock the bow
> with brute force, thus prompting the high ST.
> Much weaker people can use crossbows using goat
> foots and cranequins (see Advance Melee).  The
> cost is that they may only be fired once per
> minute or so.
>
> (TFT is very generous about the firing
> times for ranged weapons.  Longbows realistically
> should be fired once every 2 or 3 rounds, & using
> a cranequin should take a minute but TFT allows
> it to be done in 30 seconds.  It is easier to
> strike twice with a sword or another balanced
> weapon in a 5 second period than get off a couple
> of shots with a heavy bow, but bows are the only
> weapon that get to fire twice per turn.)
>
>
> The thing is, any combat rules for a fantasy
> game are unrealistic.  What we should strive for
> (not necessarily in this order) are:
>
> -  Fast
> -  Playable
> -  Tactically interesting
>
>
> Got to run, I may post more later.
>
> Rick
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: tft-owner@brainiac.com [mailto:tft-owner@brainiac.com]On Behalf Of
> Ty Beard
> Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2002 12:26 PM
> To: tft@brainiac.com
> Subject: (TFT) Crossbows Are Too Powerful in TFT or Longbows are Not
> Powerful Enough
>
>
> It's apparently so.
>
> Longbows and heavy crossbows fire a projectile of similar mass, diameter
and
> velocity. The mass of a bolt or arrow is around .35g and the velocity is
> about 40mps for he longbow and 42 mps for the heavy crossbow bolt. The
> crossbow bolt has a higher ballistic coefficient, which gives it better
> hitting power (and probably better accuracy) at a given range. But the
> bottom line is that the kinetic energy of both weapons is about the
same --
> 280-309 joules.
>
> Also, the required ST for crossbows is way too high compared with
longbows.
>
> Of course, raising the damage of a longbow to 3 dice will make them *very*
> popular. So I suggest a the following additional rules and changes for
bows
> and crossbows in TFT.
>
> -Longbows require a ST of 13 and do 2+1 damage.
> -Heavy Crossbows require a ST of 12 and do 2+1 damage.
> -Light crossbows require a ST of 10 and do 1+1 damage.
>
> These weapons ignore all armor and shields.
>
> --Ty Beard
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