Archery and LOTR

[Ranger REG]

As for Viggo Mortensen he was a very late, last minute actor. The original actor who's name PJ refuses to reveal, dropped out. So Viggo came in. Because of this he missed out on all of the swordsmanship training that the other actors received. He was then thrown in the deep end by having to do the Weathertop scene first.

From what I've heard, Viggo had prior swordfighting training. It was also kind of cool that PJ hired the same swordfighting coach who trained and choreagraphed the Star Wars lightsaber dueling scenes.

In fact, he had high praises for Viggo. A tough actor, during the LOTR shooting of the fighting scenes (the "Battle of Helm's Deep"), someone capped his front teeth. Viggo used crazy glue to put them back on and show up the next night.

I'd like to see Sylvester Stallone do that.

 

[Zander]

That is a cool site.

WayneLigon's friend doubts that an archer could shoot 3 arrows in so many seconds on the grounds that top Olympic archers can't manage it. But she forgets that Legolas is thousands of years old. He's had many generations of men to practise and gain experience. She should also bear in mind that elves are superhumanly dextrous according to Tolkien. In the LotR book the elves assume that everyone (humans, dwarf and hobbits) can tightrope walk but only Legolas really can. The others need a guy. When you combine that much practice/experience with that level of hand-eye co-ordination, it's not surprising that Legolas is such a good shot.

 

[Zander]

Kershek,
That's a really impressive display.

 

[Steverooo]

Kershek,
That's a really impressive display.

I love the quiver on the right (I get so sick of GMs telling me that quivers only hold 12 arrows, or somesuch! I need to keep this photo around for future debates!)

 

[Steverooo]

A friend of mine who has an interest in archery did this page where she talks about archery, the LOTR movie, and the reality of using a bow. Very interesting. Also some good thoughts on playing an elf.

Tell Ellen Steverooo said: "WOW!" Is that her, singing the lament?

 

[Kershek]

Thanks Both quivers are hand made and can hold up to 30 arrows if you pack them in. They can easily hold two dozen.

The most arrows I've personally seen shot in 30 seconds at a target 20 yards away is 10, and that's with shooting two on the first shot. The most I've heard of being shot is 16 somewhere on the east coast. The most crossbow bolts I've seen shot in 30 seconds is 7 (with most in the gold), and that was damned fast. I can get 5 off and 6 if I'm really flowing well.

 

[Celebrim]

Apparantly, no one in the real world is taking rapid shot as a feat, which I find really odd given how useful it is. If someone had rapid shot, you'd hear tales of 20-25 arrows fired in 30 seconds, and if rapid shot was widespread most dedicated archers could easily manage 10 in 30 seconds.

Hmmm....

 

[Mercule]

Apparantly, no one in the real world is taking rapid shot as a feat, which I find really odd given how useful it is. If someone had rapid shot, you'd hear tales of 20-25 arrows fired in 30 seconds, and if rapid shot was widespread most dedicated archers could easily manage 10 in 30 seconds.

*slap*

Seriously, when you start comparing D&D to the real world, you have to allow that a fleshly paragon _might_ be able to do what a 10th level character, in one area. D&D is intrinsically heroic. Even w/o the ELH, it runs well beyond the range of possibility in our own world.

The term I use is "Hollywood physics".

 

[Kershek]

In the person I mentioned, he needed a second to bring his arm down, take an arrow, and bring it up to the bow. Another second and a half to put the arrow on the bow, knock the arrow, pull back, and point towards the target. Another half a second for aiming. That's about three seconds worth, and you have to do that 10 times in a row with the following in mind:

o No fumbling when grabbing an arrow. Don't bother looking down when grabbing one or you will lose time.

o Smooth rhythm with minimal movement when bringing the arrow to the bow. If you're bending over and moving the bow to the side to put the arrow on, you're losing time. You have to grab the arrow at the nock and get it on the string in one movement while the hand holding the bow puts the arrow in place at the other end.

o You need to keep the bow pointed down range while you do the above so you have minimal correction when you pull the string. Note that this doesn't necessarily mean that your arm has to be fully extended the entire time.

o Instinctively pull the string to the same distance and anchor at the same point of your face. Your head needs to be at the same position so you can use two points of the arrow for aiming. Don't grasp the bow or you can affect trajectory when you fire. Don't pluck - keep your shooting hand anchored to your face. Don't stoop or lean unless you can do it exactly the same way each time. Any variation of your finger movement as you let go will cause the arrow to veer left or right. By the way, do all that in a half second.

o Don't marvel at the shot hitting the target. By the time it hits, you should already have grabbed the next arrow at its nock without looking.

o Again, minimal movement means less correction in stance.

o The quiver can be behind your back or on your belt - it's a personal preferece based on your style of pulling arrows and not a guaranteed advantage one way or another.

o The two riskiest points are the grabbing of the arrow and nocking it on the string. If you're not in complete rhythm, you can really fumble those up. On a 30 second speed round, your heart is racing and you really want speed, so your mind can play tricks on you and get ahead of yourself. This causes error in judgment and kills your pacing.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

From what I've heard, Viggo had prior swordfighting training. It was also kind of cool that PJ hired the same swordfighting coach who trained and choreagraphed the Star Wars lightsaber dueling scenes.

In fact, he had high praises for Viggo. A tough actor, during the LOTR shooting of the fighting scenes (the "Battle of Helm's Deep"), someone capped his front teeth. Viggo used crazy glue to put them back on and show up the next night.

I'd like to see Sylvester Stallone do that.

If Viggo was a classically trained stage actor, then he absolutely had sword-fighting training. It's one of the things taught to such actors.