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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tilla the Hun (work)" data-source="post: 1690323" data-attributes="member: 14214">Correction:  A 5'5" to 6' long bow of primitive design with a clothyard shaft and narrow pt (not the typical broadleaf head) can penetrate an inch of modern plate steel at less than 25 yards...  Medieval plate can't stop that --- deflect, rob of power, etc. but not stop.On-Topic:X-Bows are a) easier to use and b) do more damage on the short to medium distance than a long bow.(a) is covered by the requisite weapon category - simple vs martial(b) is covered by the difference in range of the two weapons (not sufficiently in my opinion, but that's what they tried to do)In my personal opinion, the crossbow should do more damage than the long bow at any comparative distance.  Why?  The long bow was (in the real world) a 'mass fire' weapon.  Whole blocks of archers lined up and fired en masse to 300-500 yards, decimating whole blocks of other troops.A lone archer vs a charging knight knows that odds are pretty much stacked against him (unless he thinks to shoot the horse or something) because even a solid body hit isn't going to stop that charge - he will get hit with something, even if he waits until 25 yards (ignoring the fact that a 'good' marksman could have been drilling arrows into the guy at 1 for every 100' that horse moved).A lone crossbowman on the other hand, can put his first shot directly into the guys chest and have a distinct possibility of knocking him right off the horse.  If he chooses to shoot the horse in the chest, that horse isn't going to hit him.Compare the lbs per square inch force delivery of a bow/arrow head to the xbow's/bolt head.  The bolt is _much_ higher.  In ballistics terms, it's almost like comparing a .45 caliber to a .45 Magnum - or, even better, firing an armor piercing shell at a human vs a hollow nosed shell.  The first doesn't deliver a whole lot of shock - the second delivers it's entire kinetic velocity as shock <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />That's why I agree - the xbows should get a + to damage anywhere within the first range increment.  I like Thanees 2d6 and 4d6 - but then I'll pt out if you grant a heavy xbow 4d6 damage - every single character will walk around with one because you've said it does more damage than a great sword...  at range <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />  Heck, if I had a GS fighter, I'd still carry abour 4 heavy xbows, loaded.  Shoot first - 4 4d6 shots later, if it isn't dead, I'll hack it <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />  Then spend the next hour reloading, of course.</blockquote>

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