Bows

[Warren]

Just a quick question, and I think I've got an answer to it, but I'm not sure. How are Bows handled?

1) Do they Escalate as Fighting (Body+Will) or Gunfighting (Acuity+Will)? I think they should be Fighting, leaving Gunfighting to well, just guns, but it means that Mountain People hunters and the like are unable to usefully Escalate.

2) Do they do d8s or d10s fallout? I'm happy to go with d8s here, as the Simulationist in me is happy that an arrow would hurt less than a bullet. But, again, I'm not totally convinced.

3) I'm assuming that Bows don't get an extra 1d4 as a Belonging, and are just regular objects from that point of view.

Basically, this all boils down to the question - are Bows 'guns that don't go bang' or 'knives with range'?

Thanks,
Warren

[Eric Provost]

Well... I think the rules are actually pretty clear on bows.  But old habits do die hard.  :D

Bows are weapons, but are not guns.  Therefore, they are Fighting and d8 fallout.

-Eric

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Basically, this all boils down to the question - are Bows 'guns that don't go bang' or 'knives with range'?

That's not the question. The question is, do bows matter as much as guns? If they did, why would the Dogs use guns? What do they mean to the players?

What you describe is unrelated to Simulationism. You're talking about making the world match the expectation of the players, including you. If everyone expects bows to work like guns, then that's true. If they don't, it's not.

[sirogit]

There are quite a few variables involved:

A) Should guns do more damage than bows?
B) What's a more sensical escalation, knife to bow or bow to gun?
C) Should Acuity or Body matter more for being good at bows?
D) Should being a bow-fighter mean the same as being a gun-fighter?

I like the way "Knives with range" makes bow-men: Strong, violent folk by best assumption, but not quite as all-out destructive as a man with a loose gun.

Towards the "Mountain people hunters are unable to escalate usefully" comment, I think you'd be wrong. Not only would they be able to escalate from either Physical or Talking to Fighting, but you also could consider that a lot of them would be well-disposed to aquiring guns, much like some NAs were.