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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 1172621" data-attributes="member: 3146">I don't think I agree with that. D&D does put a lot of the historical limitations on archers. If you check the Wizards character optimization boards, you'll find that they consider strength the second most important stat for an archer. Con is important too (although not as important as for melee types). A con penalty would make an archer less viable. Diseases (filth fever, Demon Fever, Devil Chills, Mummy Rot, etc are devastating to an archer's effectiveness). So D&D archers, DO need to be strong, fit, and in good health if they're going to be effective.You'll also notice that nearly every good archer has the point blank, precise shot, and rapid shot feats as well as the bow proficiency. In order to have all of those at first level, you need at least one fighter level--which is traditionally interpreted as representing intense training (years of training if it's your first level). So, every check point in your list of the historical limitations of bows is represented by the D&D archer as is.That's an entirely different question. And it goes the question of whether or not you want a realistic game. Bows are better than crossbows for most purposes--as long as you're trained in their use. So, in a realistic game, the fighter ought to say, "I guess I'd better get a quality bow." If, OTOH, cool (I'm restraining myself from writing kewl here) is what you're going for and crossbows are cool, then you need mechanics that make "cool" viable. At some point, however, you'll need to decide how far you're willing to go to make "cool" mechanically advantageous. Knife fighters are cool too but making knives as effective as longswords so that the knife fighter could keep up with the swordsman in combat wouldn't sit well with a lot of players and wouldn't work in many campaigns.Myself, I like bows being the weapon of a warrior and crossbows being what the town hands out to commoners when they need to defend the walls against a siege (and what the barkeep keeps behind the bar to deal with violent customers).</blockquote>

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