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<blockquote data-quote="Azlan" data-source="post: 2683036" data-attributes="member: 2340">Then why wasn't it a common battlefield practice for European knights in heavy armor to fire bows before proceeding into melee, as Japanese samurai did? It's not that the knights were unskilled with a bow, for hunting with a bow was a favorite pastime among knights.Medieval Japanese were able to craft breastplates and other armor pieces of plate. Why, then, was the rest of their armor composed of fine chainmail and silk padding? Well, because, they did not want their armor to impair their ability with the bow; nor, for that matter, did they want to impair their ability with the katana (which, truth be told, uses a fighting style that is more based on Dex than Str).A breastplate, and perhaps shoulder guards and some demi guards for the upper arms, does not make for a full suit of plate armor.Notching an arrow, drawing a bow, lining up a target... All of these actions take careful, precise movements. Shooting at a distant, moving target makes it all the more so. The fact of the matter is, full chainmail and plate armor not only weigh heavily upon your arms and torso, but they also restrict their range of movement. And then there's the extremely narrow field of view afforded by a great helm, which is an integral part of any suit of heavy armor.So, while wearing armor should not prohibit the usage of a bow, it certainly should penalize it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Azlan, post: 2683036, member: 2340"] Then why wasn't it a common battlefield practice for European knights in heavy armor to fire bows before proceeding into melee, as Japanese samurai did? It's not that the knights were unskilled with a bow, for hunting with a bow was a favorite pastime among knights. Medieval Japanese were able to craft breastplates and other armor pieces of plate. Why, then, was the rest of their armor composed of fine chainmail and silk padding? Well, because, they did not want their armor to impair their ability with the bow; nor, for that matter, did they want to impair their ability with the katana (which, truth be told, uses a fighting style that is more based on Dex than Str). A breastplate, and perhaps shoulder guards and some demi guards for the upper arms, does not make for a full suit of plate armor. Notching an arrow, drawing a bow, lining up a target... All of these actions take careful, precise movements. Shooting at a distant, moving target makes it all the more so. The fact of the matter is, full chainmail and plate armor not only weigh heavily upon your arms and torso, but they also restrict their range of movement. And then there's the extremely narrow field of view afforded by a great helm, which is an integral part of any suit of heavy armor. So, while wearing armor should not prohibit the usage of a bow, it certainly should penalize it. [/QUOTE]

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