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Arrow Aftermath, Or "There Is A Stick In My Chest!"

Impaling missile weapon aftermath:

  If an arrow or other impaling weapon does 4+ points of damage after armor and wound modifiers then it is considered to be stuck in the wound. While in the wound, it gives a penalty equal to half the damage to IQ and DX. Also, every arrow stuck in a person gives them a -1 penalty to their move.   If they break off the shaft, they can further halve these penalties (round down). If they take the time to remove the impaling missile, they must make a First aid -6 roll to remove it without damage or they can make a ST roll to remove it, taking half the damage it did going in. A person attempting to remove a impaled weapon from himself must make a Will roll or HT roll to do so.   These rules are fast in play and give the bow, spear, thrown knife, etc a respect you wouldn't believe. The rules are fairly easy to remember also.  

Removing Impaling weapons:

The same rules are used for any impaling weapon (picks, arrows, etc).    
  • ST roll to remove quickly, and weapon does half as much damage coming out as it did going in; round down.
  • First Aid roll to remove slowly. If the First Aid scores a critical success, no damage is taken removing the thing. If a success, 1 pt of damage. If a failure, the thing is removed, but does half as much damage coming out as it did going in. If a critical failure, the same damage is done removing it as when it went in.
  • A Diagnosis roll beforehand gives you +1 to the First Aid roll.
  • Successful Surgery use removes the weapon with no extra damage.
  • When an impaling weapon is still inside a person, make an HT roll. A failure indicates that they are bleeding, a success indicates that the weapon's head is stopping the bleeding. So from this the PCs must decide if it's better to leave the weapon in or not.
  • If the person does vigorous activity (such as fighting, running, etc) with the weapon still in them, then they must make a HT roll. A failure causes 1HP to the same location. And of course the weapon's bulk may hinder their action, for example it's hard to crawl down a three-foot high and wide tunnel with a six-foot spear in you.
  Since we also use the Bleeding rules, we say that it's necessary to remove the thing in order to do First Aid or Surgery on the wound, and thus stop the bleeding.    

Dealing with missile-firers:

    One thing I got out of this was that deceptive attack is not allowed with bows. Makes sense, really. Bows don't work very well against someone who is dodging outside of a short range. And if you tried to throw a knife at someone standing 30 feet away and was dodging, I would be a little surprised if you hit, even if you were good. Nevertheless, it seems like you could feint to make someone get off balance. I think the feinting could be treated as a subset of aiming (see below).   Another angle I like is requiring perception against any ranged weapon attacker who takes a little time to place his shot (unless you hide behind a shield or duck for cover). If you fail your perception check, you lose sight of the weapon for a split second and lose the ability to dodge. So, the rule:   If somebody aims at you, you have to make a perception check (think of it as defense against aiming). If you fail, the aiming person gets to make a deceptive shot (kind of like a snap shot where you wait until your target isn't paying sufficient attention). The fear of failing the perception shot might make some people dive for cover, which is probably what happens in real life. (I've never been in a battle against archers, so I can only guess). Great archers might stay on target for a few seconds each time before letting an arrow fly when their target isn't paying enough attention. I think it would be reasonable to allow no dodge on a perception check critical failure.   Option 1: You might allow a snap shot versus multiple targets (any that fail their perception check could be fired at with a penalty of -4, snap shot, and with a deceptive attack). A great archer could cover about 10 targets and wait for a critical failure. Obviously, the problem with this option is the number of perception checks you would have to make (tedious). With one target, it isn't so bad (only one perception check instead of an attack + defense roll, typically).   Option 2: At a point blank range that depends upon the range of the weapon, your deceptive shot could be at +2 attack (i.e., your first reduction of -2 would be free).   Option 3: A confederate can try to distract your target. If the target fails a concentration check, they don't get to roll perception (treat as a critical failure--no dodge).   Summary: Successful Per roll, Dodge normally; Failed Per roll, Dodge at -4; Crit fail Per roll, no Dodge at all.  

Recovering Arrows

If an arrow does not penetrate rigid armor, it breaks. As Tod's Workshop demonstrated, every arrow that hit the metal breastplate shattered. Shattered arrows are why there is a "V" shaped ridge on breastplates: to reduce the amount of shrapnel and splinters that glance off under the chin. The arrowhead might be recovered (if it can be found), but it's highly likely that the tip is bent, broken, flattened, or just mangled. A blacksmith (even a blacksmith out in the boonies, who only repairs tools) can reshape them by heating them and beating them back into shape.   Arrows that don't penetrate mail have a 2 in 6 chance of breaking, and the arrowheads have a 5 in 6 chance of needing reshaping/resharpening.   Arrows that do penetrate rigid armors may be dug out of their victims as per normal, but the heads are mangled and need repairing. Those that penetrate mail will be fine on a 1-3 on 1d. Otherwise, the heads are damaged and will need repair.   Arrows that miss and hit stone or metal behind the target will shatter. Hitting a tree will cause them to break half the time. Softer materials will allow the arrows to not be terribly damaged, and they can be recovered if found.  

Arrow Types and Armor

There are three main types of arrowheads: broadhead, bodkin, and needle bodkin. Broadheads are used for cloth armors, fur, leather, and skin. Bodkins are used for rigid armors, and are armor piercing (AP2). Needle bodkins are used for mail, and gambeson, and are armor piercing against those types (AP2).   Waxing the heads and greasing the shafts increase penetration. Up the Armor Piercing modifier to the next level (usually from 2 to 3). So a waxed, needle bodkin, used against chainmail (DR4), reduces the effective DR of that armor to DR1.    Note: the waxed/greased arrows had twice the penetration depth of the "clean" arrows in tests against wooden shields, mail, and gambeson. Waxing/greasing broadhead arrows will make them Armor Piercing against gambeson (and leather, if anyone actually uses flexible leather as an armor) with the AP(2) modifier. Although broadheads are usually used against unarmored foes, and penetration isn't a problem.

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