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Not just draw distance, but draw height as well. A longbow is 6' tall, so on a 3' character the PC would be nocking and drawing the bow at the top of his head. That would be awkward as hell.
I was dodging that one, to avoid a particular argument - there are historical longbow-like weapons where the bow is asymmetrical. The distance from top of the bow to the arrow is longer than from the arrow to bottom of the bow, to allow for easier use from horseback.
I was dodging that one, to avoid a particular argument - there are historical longbow-like weapons where the bow is asymmetrical. The distance from top of the bow to the arrow is longer than from the arrow to bottom of the bow, to allow for easier use from horseback.
Not just draw distance, but draw height as well. A longbow is 6' tall, so on a 3' character the PC would be nocking and drawing the bow at the top of his head. That would be awkward as hell.
The draw weight is irrelevant. You can draw a bow mechanically and it remains balanced - equal and opposite forces. And you don't have to hold the bow vertically, which is a good thing, or halflings wouldn't be able to use them at all otherwise.
You still draw from extended arm to cheek. On a short person, that's still going to limit the draw distance, and so the energy you can impart of the arrow.
Though a little bit of reading I've just done suggests that the asymmetry isn't just for firing on horseback. Take that bit with a grain of salt. In Japan, for example, it seem to have more to do more with materials. They don't have the woods Europeans used to make bows, and tend to work with bamboo laminates to do the same thing. But those have less spring to them than wood, so they need to be longer to do the same job, and there comes a point where that means that practically, you need it to be asymmetrical to use it in the field.
Someone upthread mentioned not holding the bow vertically - it is true, you can do that. But then your body gets in the way of the draw, and shorter draw means shorter range.
It maybe that the bow is not of regular thickness - thinner at the top than at the bottom. Given that the force on the upper part of the bowstring would be less than that on the lower part that should make it balance.
Seems silly to exclude thrown daggers from getting sneak attack. That's literally one of the classical rogue abilities. It's an arbitrary exclusion. This bow and this dart can use sneak attack, but these equally precise dagger and handaxe can't.
You still draw from extended arm to cheek. On a short person, that's still going to limit the draw distance, and so the energy you can impart of the arrow.
Though a little bit of reading I've just done suggests that the asymmetry isn't just for firing on horseback. Take that bit with a grain of salt. In Japan, for example, it seem to have more to do more with materials. They don't have the woods Europeans used to make bows, and tend to work with bamboo laminates to do the same thing. But those have less spring to them than wood, so they need to be longer to do the same job, and there comes a point where that means that practically, you need it to be asymmetrical to use it in the field.
Someone upthread mentioned not holding the bow vertically - it is true, you can do that. But then your body gets in the way of the draw, and shorter draw means shorter range.
Some Native Americans/First Nations folk solved the same problems by using a cable around the bow, or a second, shorter, bow in the front, to spread out the pressure of the draw, allowing the same power of European bows with lower quality materials.
