Raptor1033
Aug 27 2003, 10:11 PM
does SR have any canon flight arrows? some sort of arrow type that sacrifices a little power for longer range? if so what book and page is it on if not any advice on how i should make them?
motorfirebox
Aug 28 2003, 01:51 AM
you'd have to ask talondel to be positive, but i'm pretty sure that the AD&D ideas about "flight arrows" and "sheaf arrows" were "utterly insane". as far as i know, there's no real way to maximize an arrow for distance instead of damage, as both distance and damage are related to velocity (though damage is also related to the type of head on the arrow). the higher the velocity, the more damage your arrow will do, and the further it will go.
Raptor1033
Aug 28 2003, 04:59 AM
i did a little bit of research, keep in mind that i am not an expert in this by any means. but it looks like even today people are making flight arrows by making the shaft of the arrow lighter and stronger so it flexes less when it leaves the bow, giving it more energy forward and wasting less on the flight wobble. also making the fletching smaller increses the distance an arrow can go. so it's more a matter of optimizing each arrow for distance.
a little reading about
what i found
motorfirebox
Aug 28 2003, 07:24 AM
sure, sure. go ahead, believe someone that knows what they're talking about, instead of some random loser on a forum. see if i care. i don't.
Talondel
Aug 28 2003, 03:31 PM
Shaft length, weight, and width are big things that influence range, as is the fletching itself (you can sort of "rifle" an arrow by putting the fletchings on in a helical corkscrew pattern, making it spin as it flies). As far as damage codes themselves go, though, they don't make much difference; and I think the assumption in SR is that you're already using the most state of the art materials possible, IE the lightest in new polymer-alloy metals, an overdraw gutter, etc, etc.
One of the biggest changes would be the head itself -- a D&D "sheaf" arrow (I guess) would be one of those big nasty wicked broadheads you see Rambo using (not the ones that blow up, sorry kids). The balance and weight of the arrow is very 'off' with those, compared to a target arrow (D&D "flight" arrow?). The head on a target arrow is hard to notice, really; the shaft just seems to pretty much taper to a point (which normally just looks like a bullet, to be honest).
Some target arrows will be very sharp, but remember that it's not exactly going to cause a lot of raw tissue damage -- it's just a sharp point. Stabbing someone with a pencil would make the exact same hole in them, it'd just be a lot deeper hole if you fired it from an appropriately powerful bow.
To be honest, it's a tough call to make as far as the SR rules go. The only arrow with any sort of range modifier is the "hammerhead" (which most people just call "blunt tips" IRL), which is basically a bow's gel round. IRL, you use them for hunting things like squirrels and rabbits (where the sheer velocity of the arrow just sort of breaks all their insides despite being a broad point of impact about the same size as a quarter) and not ruining the pelt. Those specific "hammerhead" arrows have a shorter range than standard -- but none of the other arrowheads have any sort of modifier.
All right, all that out of the way? I'd say there really aren't any "flight" arrows in Shadowrun. Realistically speaking, you aren't going to do the sort of damage the bow and arrow damage codes list if you're using a target tip. Target tips are made to cause as little damage as possible (so you don't have to buy new targets real often, just target faces).. so the reasonable assumption is that you're running around with actual broadhead/hunting arrows, when you're shooting at the cops. That said, there's a specifically listed "barbed head" (p. 12, CC), which just messes the logic involved all up.
Realistically, to get decent damage you'd already have to be firing a broadhead. The "barbed head" in CC, though, just causes extra damage unless you're careful (and lucky) when you pull it out... thing is, that's really how a broadhead operates in real life. Instantly-lethal shots notwithstanding (brain, heart, spine), an arrow isn't likely to kill a deer (for instance). The tissue damage caused by the deer running with a three-foot-long metal shaft stuck in it, with that metal shaft's three-bladed head tearing holes in it as it runs through the woods is normally what causes the kill (unfortunately). It's one of the reasons I've never taken up bowhunting -- it's really, really, hard to get a very quick kill, and I don't really relish the thought of sticking something, then just knowing that while I chase a blood trail, it's slowly tearing itself apart with every pump of its legs and every tree it bumps into.
And...and...right, back on topic, sorry. Technically, the answer to your genuine question is no, there aren't flight arrows. If you wanted to get some extra range, I'd say you could get target arrows that had less and less bladed heads (more aerodynamic, lighter, heads)... with a +1 Str Min for range for every -2 Str Min for damage.