simple arrow question

[Lopke_Quasath]

Are the arrows for shortbow and longbow the same, or are there two seperate kinds of arrow?

A very picky question, I know, but important for characters sharing arrows in a pinch.
It happened last session and we just weren't sure.

Cheers.

 

[rhammer2]

Yes they are different. A short bow uses arrows around 2-3 foot long. A long bow's arrows are over a yard long. Remember that a shot bow is only about 3 foot from tip to tip, while a long bow is about 6 foot long.

Are the arrows for shortbow and longbow the same, or are there two seperate kinds of arrow?

A very picky question, I know, but important for characters sharing arrows in a pinch.
It happened last session and we just weren't sure.

Cheers.

 

[Sejs]

I'd just say arrows are arrows for simplicity.

 

[Lopke_Quasath]

Ahh damn. I see both your points. Realism vs simplicity.

Too bad the Craft skill doesn't cover ammo in the descriptions.

Hopefully I can convince my DM to go the simple route and make the arrows interchangeable.

Thanks.

 

[RigaMortus]

Well in the PHB there are only descriptions for Arrows and Bolts. Not Arrows (Shortbow) and Arrows (Longbow) or the like... However, in the weapons table under each bow, they have arrows listed for each type of bow. Why not have it listed once if they were universal? And if they are not universal, why not have a description of each type of arrow?

 

[Lopke_Quasath]

That's exactly why I asked this question.

The PHB is so vague with this, but I guess it was a minor issue to contend with.

I am happy to keep it simple and make them interchangeable.

 

[Legildur]

Gee I'm glad someone asked that quesion. We've just started adventuring in the World's Largest Dungeon and I was the last to pick a character type. I worked out that, apart from the sorcerer, we had no real range attack ability. So I generated a human archer (starting Ranger, but will probably go fighter levels from here and possibly Order of the Bow Initiate PrC from Complete Warrior at some point).

Straight up I figure that arrow supply could be a problem, as I also didn't know whether arrows were interchangeable, so I bought artisan's (bowmaker's) tools and took 4 ranks in Craft (bowmaking). I figure that in a dungeon you are unlikely to 'lose' your arrows on a missed attack roll because of the short ranges. But I also figure you can repair the ones that normally wouldn't be recovered because they are broken (assuming some wastage because of cannabilising parts to make good arrows).

Looks like I'll have to ask the DM the question as to whether short and long bow arrows (and even composite long bow and long bow arrows) are interchangeable. Hopefully he'll go with the simplistic approach rather than bog me down with logistics too much.

 

[Creat]

We have different arrow types, but if you make them yourself the craft check would be the same, you'd only have to specify which ones you are making.
Also the supply shouldn't be a problem, since you can take quite a few with you (at least that's how we handle it), you'd only have to buy/make some every now and then, and based on my experience most parties (esp. at low levels) head back to towns quite often since they lack the ability to cure deseases and stuff, or just want to buy something.
If I recall correctly you have a 50% chance that a missed arrow is broken when it misses (it's always considered destroyd when it hits), but I don't think anyone ever bothered to pick them up again, esp. since they don't cost a huge amount of money (or even one worth mentioning, not even at low levels).

 

[thalmin]

IRL, there are even different arrows for more powerful bows. An archer buys arrows to match the pull (strength) of the bow. I don't recall a difference between composite and straight bows, but I have seen it between compound bows and the others.

In my campaign, the short and long arrows are different. I also use different arrows for mighty bows, but have a bit of leeway, i.e. an arrow designed for a +2 mighty bow works fine for a +1 or a +3.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

In D&D 3.5, arrows are arrows. There is no difference between arrows for different types of bows. Crossbows use bolts.

Simplicity.