Is it not the easy to hit with a missile weapon?

[bergh]

Is it not the easy to hit with a missile weapon?

a crossbow has ATN5, and then if you got skill 6 and wits 5, you got a MP of 11 dices, when fully loaded. then if shooting at 50 meters then it ATN9.
this means that you in average hits with 2 dices. its gets better at shorter range ofcouse.

is it not a BIT to easy to hit, it seems rather impossible NOT to hit when you had aimed for a round.

[Caz]

Well, when you aim and use proper technique, the projectile will go where you point it.  Remember there are modifiers for certain targets and moving targets that will make it more difficult in combat.
   I do think the ATN should be at least 6 though personally, and especially messes things up if you start comparing ATNs to most peoples modern firearms stats.

[Brian Leybourne]

You're also assuming that the opponent isn't making an active defense.

Brian.

[[MKF]Kapten]

I read somewhere that the crossbows of the 16th century was accurate at up to 90 meters (100 yards). The ones who used them were pretty seldom master marksmen so it doesnt sound too far off.

Also I would place a regular mercenary at 4 Wits and 4 skill. An average ability score and a skill that fits the medieval training of soldiers (ie two days to learn to load the crossbow).

[Tash]

I'd give those stats to a conscript, a merc or a professional soldier in a standing army (i.e. someone pledged to a nobel etc.) shoud have maybe 5-6 points in bow and maybe slightly better stats since they would be spending considerably longer that 2-3 days learning to sue their weapons.

As for the accuracy, well as Caz said: unless what you are shooting at does something you can generally be assured of hitting it as long as you know what you are doing and are within the constraints of your weapon.

[Andrew Mure]

Well it all depends on what you're trying to depict.

Of course if you want something that attempts to reflect missile weapons as they were in the middle ages I reckon the rules are about right. If you simply want bows and crossbows to be 'fair', you probably want to do a bit of tweaking.

There are a number of sources from the period that suggest lots of people in influence didn't consider the crossbow and the longbow as 'fair' weapons at all! There were a few attempts by the papacy to ban the crossbow completely, for instance.  Mainly because this weapon allowed a peasant to kill a nobleman with relative ease, there is even the case of at least one king (Richard I of England) who met his end to a commoner armed with a crossbow.

Crossbows were and still are very accurate weapons. They were really the first sniper weapon and were still used by political assassins well into the 19th century only really being replaced by high velocity rifles after the invention of silencers for such.

Anyway my personal view is TROS players should be very careful if they reckon archers are about. Move quickly, use cover and whatever they do don't present said archer with a clear shot at an unmoving target!

[Tash]

Amen!  Now what we need are an easy set of rules for handling many archers firing at once, as in a mass seige or something.

[Lance D. Allen]

"Rules for archers firing en masse will be in..."

::Full evade, all dice::