| From: | "Dark Thought Publications." <JEK5313@*****.TAMU.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Troll bows, the Official Critique (tm). |
| Date: | Tue, 13 Apr 1993 10:53:23 -0500 |
offense, you seem to really be DT in some cases. While this isn't a flame
(hopefully, I won't have to say the M- word once), I have some serious
questions as to the nature of your information. Now, while I like the method
of your write-up, I question its necessity.
Normal bows DO take into account the longer draw of the troll (and Sasquatch,
too. Flare wouldn't be happy to be forgotten.). Firstly, your information
regarding the troll size, "many trolls are twice the height of a normal human,"
is faulty. The ratio is more like half again. Secondly, let me draw your
attention to the ad in SSCat, before it even identifies it as the Ranger X.
What does it say on the top of the page, boys and girls?
That's right: Compound bow system.
Well, Waisley, you don't seem too knowledgeable about the compound bow you just
made. You have a damage code of STR+6, which I can say only one thing to:
excessive. I don't see any reason to change the existing Ranger X system,
just for trolls, or for anyone else either. The compound bows of today are
made from the finest composites available, for the best strength and
flexibility. I can expect that this would be true no less of the compound
bows of 2054. The wonderful thing about a compound bow is the fact that you
can adjust the draw strength and draw length of the sucker to accomodate, so
long as you have the overall size of the bow to match, roughly, your size.
I maintain that the bows of 2054 will come in a variety of overall lengths, to
match the variety of people. They already exist today, why not then, or are
we regressing?
What this means is that I get myself a 100-pound draw bow with an overall size
of about 1.25 meters (a little less than half the troll average height). Then,
I adjust my draw length, via the pulley system, to approx 1 meter. Then,
because I'm such a brawny and masculine sort of guy, I crank that sucker up to
#220 draw (or whatever is appropriate for a strength of 16 or so). Now I'm
doing some truly grotesque damage (please roll. . . nevermind, you won't be
rolling it down anyway. . .) in a system that works perfectly. If it ain't
broke, don't fix it.
Now, another item here is your concept of arrows. Yes, the average arrow for a
troll will be on the order of a meter (doubles as a security door-stopper)
long, but that damage an arrow does has nothing to do with the weight of the
arrow, as that is almost negligable. The tip of the arrow will be the thing
that does all that damage, and it won't be of such a heavier weight than a
standard arrow (i.e. one of human stock size average). I imagine that the
arrowhead will be made out of the lightest, strongest metals (or hey!! even
plastics maybe) possible, just as todays are. A front-heavy arrow realls
decreases accuracy, and may require indirect fire at ranges normally accessable
to a lighter arrow as direct.
Shadowrun does not qualify as the most realistic games, especially the combat
system, but if you want to have different damage codes for diamond arrows as
opposed to spike-tipped armor piercers, then that's your problem to remember
all the differences. Personally, I don't want to derive some formula by which
we may discern the damage code of a weapon by the breadth of it's arrowhead
blades and the number of them; their weight, the length of the shaft, etc.
Another thing I object to, categorically, is your ranges for the "Ranger-XT."
I think that they are superfluous and silly. I do not know whether you use SRI
or SRII, so please forgive me if I unknowingly cast aspersions on your reading
ability. In SRII, the ranges for bows, most specifically _including_ the
Ranger-X Compound Bow System, are strength-modified. The extreme range, I
believe (but do not quote me on this - look it up) is 6*STR*10m.
Basically, I do not think that you are justified in any of the claims presented
in your article, most importantly the increased damage code. And notice, I
didn't say the M-word *once.*
But now, to the article in question itself.
I reserve the right to delete from the reprint any information previously dealt
with in the above, or as unnecessary to the overall issue.
] Compound Troll Sized Bow System
] The X-T bow also come with an enlarged Bow Accessory mount so that
]any multitude of aditions can be added to the bow.
What?!?! Are you telling me that the hook-up for a smartlink for a troll has
to be bigger than that for a human? A scope????? I think that their eyes are
approximately the same size, but I sure don't see any ads for Troll-Sized
Scopes (tm). Then again, maybe you're (and I spelled it right!! :p) right.
After all, the system isn't the most realistic.
] 2 precision bow is str +4 M and a spear (pole arm) is str +3 S
] so I figured it would be either 5+ or 6+ and went
] with 6+ since the precision to the normal bow is +2 more
Huh? I humbly request that you seek experience in using complete English
sentence structure if you wish to be understood. What does "precision to the
normal bow" mean?
] 4 yes in the hands of a troll street samurai it could
] pierce a Banshee - gee and its legal too!!
I am unprepared to beat the armor dispute, but check your legal codes for
Seattle, laddie.
Once again, Waisley, I am sorry if you think that you have received undeserved
attention here. However, I feel rather strongly about the whole thing. I made
the bow my "life" when I played a sasquatch, and so your bow resembles
blasphemy of the highest sort.
-Ethan Court.
