Should bows be Exotic Weapons?

[Quasqueton]

The thread on firearms in D&D made me think of this.

Considering how difficult, historically, it was to train a man to use a bow, should the bow be considered an Exotic Weapon in D&D?

Should a crossbow be a Martial Weapon?

[And if using firearms. . . since firearms grew in use mainly because they were easier to use than a bow, shouldn't they be Martial Weapons, instead of Exotic Weapons as most firearms rules make them?]

Quasqueton

 

[Aaron L]

If swords are martial, then bows CERTAINLY are. Being able to fight effectively with a sword is far more difficult than learning to shoot a bow with reasonable accuracy.

And crossbows should certainly not be martial weapons, pointing and pulling the trigger isn't the most difficult of tasks

I'd put firearms in the same category as crossbows myself, but the reason for their being exotic isn't really ease of use.

 

[RithTheAwakener]

No i dont think so. For a bow all you gotta do is knock an arrow on a string and pull. A gun (the D&D guns, not modern ones) require gun powder, loading and packing all that stuff then adding a musket ball then aiming and firing. To be able to fire a D&D gun and repack everything in 6 seconds is quite a feat in my mind, where as a bow and crossbow are extremely simple.

Modern firearms are quite different and shouldnt be exotic IMO, the only problems would be finding the safety.

Crossbows should not be martial, cause all u have to do is pull the cord back, toss in a bolt and pull the trigger.

 

[Staffan]

No i dont think so. For a bow all you gotta do is knock an arrow on a string and pull. A gun (the D&D guns, not modern ones) require gun powder, loading and packing all that stuff then adding a musket ball then aiming and firing. To be able to fire a D&D gun and repack everything in 6 seconds is quite a feat in my mind, where as a bow and crossbow are extremely simple.

You forget that the main reason armies switched to the musket was that you could train a decent musketeer in a matter of days or weeks, while it took somewhat longer to train a decent crossbowman and MUCH longer to train a decent archer.

The other main reason armies switched to the musket was that it was cheaper to make than longbows - you need really good yew wood for a longbow, and it takes a long time to finish making one, whereas you mostly need a foundry that can mass-produce cast iron hollow cylinders to make muskets.

Of course, D&D gets both these wrong.

 

[Staffan]

Double post.

 

[Staffan]

Triple post even.

 

[Umbran]

If swords are martial, then bows CERTAINLY are. Being able to fight effectively with a sword is far more difficult than learning to shoot a bow with reasonable accuracy.

I am not at all sure that this is the case. The basics of swordplay are not so terribly complex - the complex methods are covered by feats other than the proficiency itself.

A modern bow may have any number of technological developments in materials and design to make it easier to shoot, but the longbows found in the D&D rules could require many years to learn how to shoot fully and properly at range. The muscle development required alone is no mean feat.

That being said, I don't think bows should be exotic. Shortbows were a staple hunting weapon the world over, too common to be considered "exotic". And longbows in the game are not quite powerful enough to deserve that label either.

 

[Sejs]

No, bows shouldn't be Exotic.


Neither should guns, really - they should be Simple weapons, like crossbows are.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I think part of the reason for gunpowder weapons being Exotic is to limit their use during gameplay.

 

[MerakSpielman]

That being said, I don't think bows should be exotic. Shortbows were a staple hunting weapon the world over, too common to be considered "exotic". And longbows in the game are not quite powerful enough to deserve that label either.

Exactly. Get yourself some springy wood and a length of twisted sinew and pretty much anybody can make a crude bow capable of killing a deer - or even a human.

When I was a kid I made a bow and arrow out of 2 bamboo sticks, some kite string, and enough tape to put a ball on the end of the arrow so it wouldn't hurt anything. First time I shot it I hit our cat - not really that hard to make or use. If I'd sharpened the end instead of making it harmless I might have killed the poor thing.