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Message: <blockquote data-quote="HeavenShallBurn" data-source="post: 4092798" data-attributes="member: 39593">Modern bows actually tend to have slightly less usable range than those used in earlier time periods.  Within that range they tend to be considerably more accurate in the hands of a practiced archer.  History Corner TimePractical range for aimed fire by a single archer were about 30 yards with a self bow raising to 60-80 yards with a powerful longbow.  Some of the best horn-reinforced double recurve bows used by Ottomans could push this close to 100 yards in the hands of the best bowmen, but in the hands of most wasn't appreciably more than a longbow.  The limitation is ballistic in nature, its built into the characteristic of arrows.Crossbows had a far lower rate of fire than bows but during the medieval period had significantly greater aimed range.  Modern crossbows have a much reduced range as a result of changes in the design of bolts when they were essentially turned into shortened arrows to simplify mass manufacturing by machines.  During the medieval/rennaisance period the practical range limit for aimed single fire was approximately 150-175 yards for the lighter crossbows all the way up to 200-250 yards for the heavier ones used by the most expensive mercenary troops.  Two contributing factors.  1.)  Crossbows could have massive pulls far greater than any ordinary bow, 400-600lb draw weights were at the light end with the top about 1000-1200lb.  2.)  The projectiles were designed more like a bullet than an arrow with a thick mass concentrating shaft and abbreviated fletching that vastly reduced windage and surface drag.End History CornerEven though I loved the ability to tweak out an archer build until my character needed a diviner cohort to spot targets for him it got a bit too extreme.  Given that certain builds could push maximum range up to about 5 miles.  So this particular change I don't deprecate.  It'll probably mean magic ranges are shortened as well and I'm not very happy with that given how much high level magic seems to have been nerfed already, but eh not much to get worked up over I won't be playing it anyway.I will say I always liked that except in the case of a successful ambush wilderness encounters tended to be at range where they handled more like firefights.  Never saw a single character in my 3e campaigns both DMed and played that didn't carry some ranged weapon specifically for those fights even if their build was based around melee damage.</blockquote>

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