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<blockquote data-quote="jgsugden" data-source="post: 1338667" data-attributes="member: 2629">I've said it before, and I'll say it again.The numbers mean *nothing* unless you put it in the context of a campaign setting. There are so many variables that you can't incorporate them into any simple mathematical analysis.If you're doing battle on a huge open field with your enemy beginning combat at nearly 2,000 feet away, the bow will be better. If you're starting combat in a small 10' X 10' room with your opponent 5' away, the melee weapon is more useful. The standard power attack formulas fall apart if your foe has DR that you can't avoid. A holy bow is far better against a Rakshasa than a holy axe. How many attacks will an archer be subject to (as opposed to a melee fighter)? What are the respective odds that a melee fighter and an archer will be flanked?You can do math til you're blue in the face, but in the end your results will either be incomplete or will be too bundled in conditional statements to be of any use.The real question is this: Can an archer plan an important role in a PC party? The answer, from my experience, is yes. That is the important question.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="jgsugden, post: 1338667, member: 2629"] I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The numbers mean *nothing* unless you put it in the context of a campaign setting. There are so many variables that you can't incorporate them into any simple mathematical analysis. If you're doing battle on a huge open field with your enemy beginning combat at nearly 2,000 feet away, the bow will be better. If you're starting combat in a small 10' X 10' room with your opponent 5' away, the melee weapon is more useful. The standard power attack formulas fall apart if your foe has DR that you can't avoid. A holy bow is far better against a Rakshasa than a holy axe. How many attacks will an archer be subject to (as opposed to a melee fighter)? What are the respective odds that a melee fighter and an archer will be flanked? You can do math til you're blue in the face, but in the end your results will either be incomplete or will be too bundled in conditional statements to be of any use. The real question is this: Can an archer plan an important role in a PC party? The answer, from my experience, is yes. That is the important question. [/QUOTE]

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