Need some advice on a mini I'm building

[pogre]

Howdy,

I'm working on a heck of a conversion for one of my player's PCs.

It's a gnome bard mounted on a wardog. I've got that part done.

He wanted the gnome to have studded leather - no problem there.

He wants the gnome to have a shortbow - here's where I have some questions.

• Am I correct that a right-handed person would hold the bow with the left hand and draw with the right?
• Would someone wielding a bow want the quiver on the right or left side of the dog?
• As a percentage of the length of a person's body, how long should the shortbow be?

Thanks for your help!

 

[mps42]

non-expert opinion

Howdy,

I'm working on a heck of a conversion for one of my player's PCs.

It's a gnome bard mounted on a wardog. I've got that part done.

He wanted the gnome to have studded leather - no problem there.

He wants the gnome to have a shortbow - here's where I have some questions.

• Am I correct that a right-handed person would hold the bow with the left hand and draw with the right?
• Would someone wielding a bow want the quiver on the right or left side of the dog?
• As a percentage of the length of a person's body, how long should the shortbow be?

Thanks for your help!

You are correct. A right-handed person does hold the bow with the LEFT hand and draw with the Right.
Someone wielding a bow would want the quiver either on his right shoulder or on the right side of the wardog to avoid the arrows getting caught on the bow or bowstring and fouling the draw.
As a generality a "shortbow" is approximately 40% to 50% of body length, a "bow" 50% to 60% and a "longbow" 60% +. Unfortunately the "real" answer is: it depends on your "draw length" see here: http://www.bowsales.com/draw_length.htm

 

[JVisgaitis]

I agree with mps42, but on a mount I'd want the arrows on the other left side.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

As the others have noted, you would hold it in the right.

As for the quiver location, I would assume that is personal taste. There are many conditions that woud affect this:

Which side do you typically mount the animal from? You would likely want the quiver on the opposite side so that you are less likely to disturb the quiver as you mount.

How dexterous of a person are you? A nimble person should be able to draw an arrow through or around the bow, but people of average (and especially less-than-average) dexterity draw from the same side as the hand they are using so that they don't have to cross the bow and potentially foul the draw.

Is the quiver mounted on the animal the primary quiver or is it a back-up quiver that is used only when the primary quiver on the archer's back is empty? If it is primary, then the above conditions really matter. If it is secondary, then the quiver would go where it is accessible but not in the way.

I think most of those points will get you where you need to go. There are a few other minor points to consider (such as whether the quiver is behind the saddle on the animal, alongside the saddle, or in front of the saddle ... or ... how much tilt does the quiver have to allow draw without collecting dirt.) But, these things are more of a personal preference and not "musts."

 

[Meloncov]

Which hand you hold your bow with doesn't relate to your dominate hand; it relates to the dominate eye. While most people have the same dominate eye as their dominate hand, it can go either way.

 

[pogre]

Thanks for the information guys. I have only shot a hunting bow once, and I have no idea if I did it correctly!

I think I'll go with 50% of body size for the shortbow - a little easier to work with as we are talking about a hobbit here. Miniatures almost always have oversized weapons anyway.

I wanted the quiver to be a cool accessory on the dog, but now I'm thinking two quivers - one on the back and one on the saddle.

I thought of another question:

How long should the arrow be in relation to the length of the bow?

 

[Meloncov]

How long should the arrow be in relation to the length of the bow?

Most arrows I've seen are designed to be shot from any bow (I suspect this changes for very high quality arrows, but for the standard arrow you'll buy in most archery stores this holds true). As such, arrows on a short bow will be proportonetly longer than those on a longbow.

I'd say 2/3 the length of the bow.