Indirect Shooting
- Thread starter bensei
- Start date
Bagpuss
Legend
Depends if there is a ceiling then it would be virtually impossible since to get the arch low enough the arrow would have to have very little velocity thus not be effective against the target.
Assuming its outside, so not impossible I would probably just give at least a +10 AC bonus to the target. Reason being the target is much smaller when viewed from above, and can dodge in all directions. If your firing in a straight line it really only matters if the target moves left or right, with such a high angle any movement forward or backward by the target would lead you to miss. Also the arrow is up in the air for much longer, so unless the target was stationary it would be virtually impossible to hit them, wind speed would also throw the arrow off course.
Perhaps +10 AC (to reflect how hard it is just to get it to land where you expect) and a 50% miss chance (to take account of unknown things such as wind speed at high altitude and the target moving while the arrow is aloft) even if it lands on target.
Assuming its outside, so not impossible I would probably just give at least a +10 AC bonus to the target. Reason being the target is much smaller when viewed from above, and can dodge in all directions. If your firing in a straight line it really only matters if the target moves left or right, with such a high angle any movement forward or backward by the target would lead you to miss. Also the arrow is up in the air for much longer, so unless the target was stationary it would be virtually impossible to hit them, wind speed would also throw the arrow off course.
Perhaps +10 AC (to reflect how hard it is just to get it to land where you expect) and a 50% miss chance (to take account of unknown things such as wind speed at high altitude and the target moving while the arrow is aloft) even if it lands on target.
bensei said:
In real life, arrows are fired on ballistic trajectories when shooting at targets more than about a hundred feet away, so in a sense you already have "indirect shooting". It's just that people don't usually want to bother about the details in the game.
In this instance, I'd just assign the target a cover bonus to AC, say three-quarters cover for +7, or nine-tenths cover for +10.
Bagpuss
Legend
Re: Re: Indirect Shooting
Indeed but until you get some distance beyond 100 ft the targectory is still pretty flat. I'm assuming he's talking about some within on range increment. You might want to reduce the cover if they are further away (although the shot will probably be as difficult due to the range penalty increasing).
hong said:
Indeed but until you get some distance beyond 100 ft the targectory is still pretty flat. I'm assuming he's talking about some within on range increment. You might want to reduce the cover if they are further away (although the shot will probably be as difficult due to the range penalty increasing).
In addition to increasing the AC, I think it would also make sense (if you're trying to use reasoning to explain why the character can make a shot as described) for the arrow to do a lot less damage than normal. The reason for this is that the archer will have to shoot at a velocity that's a lot less than normal for gravity to effect it enough to have a more extreme arc. An arrow shot at a lower velocity would hit much softer.
ARCHery
Just attack normally, with the +10 AC penalty for cover. The arrow can be fired (almost) straight up, and will do the same damage. Dodging isn't really a concern, as the target probably wont even realize that the arrow being fired up into the air is intended for THEM!
Just attack normally, with the +10 AC penalty for cover. The arrow can be fired (almost) straight up, and will do the same damage. Dodging isn't really a concern, as the target probably wont even realize that the arrow being fired up into the air is intended for THEM!
SylverFlame
First Post
)The target would have to be a bit away from the wall for this to work, since the arrow will ALWAYS follow a curve (other obstructions not considered). As such, a person immediately behind the wall (ie. touching it) would be virtually unhittable unless you were using a Banked Shot (can't remember the PrC for this, OoTBI?) or a Phase Shot (like Arcane Archer) or some such effect.
If the target is suitably placed to be able to be hit, I agree a +10 AC is not out of order. I'd also adjust this number for the height of the wall and the distance the target is away from the wall. Also, remember that a normal arrow shot has an arch height (highest point the arrow goes) in the middle of its flight. As such, an archer equally distant from a wall as the target only has to guess how high they want the arrow to go to clear the wall (invisible walls are fun for this
).
It should be noted this works for guns as well, only guns are sighted with the barrel slightly off straight as arch heights don't need to be as high if more force is added.
Ah rudimentary physics. How I despise it.
If the target is suitably placed to be able to be hit, I agree a +10 AC is not out of order. I'd also adjust this number for the height of the wall and the distance the target is away from the wall. Also, remember that a normal arrow shot has an arch height (highest point the arrow goes) in the middle of its flight. As such, an archer equally distant from a wall as the target only has to guess how high they want the arrow to go to clear the wall (invisible walls are fun for this
).It should be noted this works for guns as well, only guns are sighted with the barrel slightly off straight as arch heights don't need to be as high if more force is added.
Ah rudimentary physics. How I despise it.
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