Re: (TFT) New weapon list for ranged weapons --> fine bows?

["Neil Gilmore" <raito@raito.com>]

> My understanding of the matter is "they weren't and they were" - that yew
> staves had heartwood and sapwood, and that bowyers took advantage of this
to
> create bows that were "naturally backed" with the sapwood serving as the
> back. They were also fairly efficient at transfering energy to the arrow,
at
> the cost of length (thus "long"bow).

But not quite as efficient as the eastern european 'eared' bows, which had
the ends of the arms deliberately engineered as levers. But those weren't
made to the poundages of longbows. (See www.horsebows.com to see what I
mean)

> Composite bows can get away with being much shorter, but they need to be
kept
> scrupulously dry because the glue is water-sensitive (barring modern
> materials or magic).

And even more temperature sensitive.

> Both types took time and skill to make; I wouldn't want to try to judge
which
> was "more expensive" or "better" in game terms. They had different
advantages
> and disadvantages. What *did* make a big difference was draw weight (the
St
> required to use the bow). High St bows would be much tricker and more
> expensive to make than bows requiring a lower St score.

I would. Composite bows take a lot longer to make. I once sat through a
seminar on making of longbows. Although the presenter already had the wood
split, he pretty much formed the bow in a couple hours, and said that it
would only take a couple more to completely finish it. Contrast that with a
tape I viewed on making composite bows, where it was said to take a few
weeks. Take the process of making a self (one piece) bow, and add to that
having to prep the horn and sinew and glue, then putting it all together,
and it adds up.

>From what I've personally seen, a stronger self bow doesn't take any longer
to manufacture, though it might take longer to find just the right piece of
timber for it.\\

Neil Gilmore
raito@raito.com
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