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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Oracular Vision" data-source="post: 242909" data-attributes="member: 2265">If you substitute "bowman" for magic user in all the above arguments, you have the same problem. No one used bows in the front line of a fight, that's why bowman had extra shortswords for melee when the enemy got too close. But it happens in 3rd edition all the time. The central problem, one that has no easy answer, is that some people feel you shouldn't be able to cast spells easily or use a ranged weapon easily when there is a sword-wielding fighter actively hitting you. The pathetic AoO and "ready action" rules never seem to actually prevent spellcasting or use of the bow. Combat casting, concentration checks, and the 5-foot step all make sure it never happens. In the DMG, it says that combat should be considered as fluid and real-time, with initiatives being used as a game mechanic to determine who moved first. All actions occur simultaneously in that 6 seconds. But that's not what happens in reality.Grappling spellcasters and sundering the bow or crossbow seem the only way to prevent this, and that does not happen much either in games I have seen.Basically, you like it or you don't, some don't, thats all.</blockquote>