Have Bow, Will Shoot - Bow Generator & Archery Mechanics

 This is a bow:

I should've become an artist, I know.

This is, more or less, how a bow works: first you knock an arrow, then you pull the string, potential energy is stored in the limbs as they flex. Then, you release the arrow and all this energy is transferred to it, which then leaves the bow propelled by this same energy, hopefully hitting your target at the end of its journey.

This is a bow in your typical table top game:

        Bow, 1d6 damage, ranged attack.

And this is how a bow works in your typical table top game: roll Attack, if you succeed, roll damage.

Nothing too exciting, eh?

Observing the only archer in the party, I noticed that most of her choices boiled down to "Shall I shoot now or shall I shoot later?" While she is smart enough to use terrain and positioning to her advantage, I still feel that, when it comes to attacking, there aren't many interesting options available to her, or to any other player that wants to pick up a bow.

For this reason, I present to you...

Bow Generator

How to use it?

First choose a Bow Type. The generator proper has three categories. These are Bow Stave, String and Bow Quirk. Simply roll 2d10 and 1d6 and check the results below.

New Mechanic: Overdraw

    A player can choose to bring their character's bow to the limit by drawing the string way beyond the anchor point. This gives them access to the bow's especial abilities while putting the its integrity at risk. When a player Overdraws, he or she must roll on the Aftermath table to see whether the bow can resist the stress. 

   

    Stacking

Overdrawing causes Stacking, which represents the increasing stress the bow is subjected too. The higher the Stacking, the more dire the Aftermath. Reducing Stacking is simple: unstring your bow and let it rest. For every watch, reduce stacking by 1d3. If you let your bow rest for an entire day, reduce all your Stacking to 0.

Anna Lakisova

BOW TYPE

Short Bow, 1d6 dmg
1 Slot
60’ range (can’t call shots beyond that range)

Longbow, 1d10
2 Slots
100’ range (can’t call shots beyond that range)
Takes 1 Action to knock an arrow.
Disadvantage in enclosed spaces.

BOW STAVE

Each stave has its own properties. A player can choose to Overdraw his or her bow to activate the bow's especial ability. If they do, check the Overdraw Aftermath table below.

1. Taxus.  Pale, tenuous grain. The exceptional flexibility of Taxus wood makes it an excellent choice to shoot over vast distances. Overdraw: you can make a shot up to twice the bow’s range without penalties. If you are aiming at a target within the bow’s normal range, you have advantage on your attack roll.
2. Carya. Dark brown with darker grain. Particularly hard and shock resistant. Ignore any Crack results when rolling for overdraw effects. Overdraw: the strength of this bow provides some extra penetrative power. +2 Attack, +2 damage.
3. Quercus Obscura. Dull grey, scattered white grain. Absorbs light and dampens sound.  Shots made with this bow are extremely hard to pinpoint. +1 Stealth. Overdraw: +1d6 damage to unaware targets.
4. Lignum. Earthen brown, thumb-thick ebony grain. Incredibly hard and dense, and equally heavy. Step up the damage die by one. Takes up 1 additional inventory slot. Overdraw: the penetrative power of lignum bows is almost unparalleled. Pierces the first target hit. Roll damage with advantage. It requires a monstrous effort to pull the string beyond the anchor point. Suffer 1d6 damage.
5. Black Locust. Ghostly white, translucent foggy grain. Also called funereal wood, it makes an ominous sound reminiscent of a deadly acridia swarm when struck.   Overdraw: the bow lets out a horrifying shriek, forcing a Morale test on the creatures that can hear it. If the arrow hits a creature, the test is made at a disadvantage, as they are gripped by the certainty of their own mortality. Particularly powerful creatures may not be affected.
6. Laburnum. Deep amber, elegantly textured grain. Also known as the tree of life. Laburnum shafts keep sweating sap long after they are removed from the tree. Once a day, you can collect a dose of this sap to be prepared immediately. If boiled or otherwise treated, this dose can be used to counteract or slow down many poisons or heal 1d6 HP. If collected raw, it will cause one of the symptoms described below if somehow ingested. Overdraw: the limbs of the bow bend and stretch, forcing some of the sap out through the raise, which the arrow picks up as it is shot. A creature stuck with one of these arrows suffers one of the following at random:
1. Drowsiness. Pass a Vitality test or fall asleep. Particularly large creatures might not be affected.
2. Retching. Pass a Vitality test or spend the next turn vomiting.
3. Convulsions. Disadvantage on next action.
4. Mild Hallucinations. Pass a Knowledge test or spend the next turn thrashing at something that may or may not be there.
5. Confusion. Pass a Presence test or madly attack the closest ally.
6. Deep Slumber. Pass a Vitality test or fall into a coma for 1d3 days. On a failure, fall asleep as in Drowsiness.
7. Cinderwood. Ashen grey, cinder flakes falling. Completely impervious to fire, leaves an impression of white ashes and pale soot on the naked hand. Warm to the touch. Overdraw: the shock shakes the bow to its core, liberating a 10’ radius cloud of dense, pallid ash centered on your location and awaking the bows burning core for a brief moment. The first arrow you shoot next turn is set ablaze as it grazes the raiser, dealing +1d6 fire damage.
8. Petralemn. Stone grey, angular grain. Hard as stone, flexible like a bending branch, Petralemn staves generate an incredible amount of raw force. +1d6 damage but arrows are always destroyed after the impact. Overdraw: wreaks havoc on buildings and structures, tearing down anything softer than the hardest wood and badly damaging anything but the hardest metal. Creatures hit must pass a Vitality or be knocked prone and stunned for 1d6 rounds (save each round to recover). On a success, they are simply knocked prone. Exceptionally big creatures may not be affected.
9. Purpleheart. Violet iridescence, sinuous, tantalizing grain. Harvested from a Janusian tree in the Labyrinthine grounds. Smooth and subservient, its enigmatic grain pattern shifts in mysterious ways, never repeating the same shape twice. Overdraw: the pattern locks in place and brightens with iridescent light as you shift from perception, becoming completely undetectable for 1 round or until you interact with the environment in any major way (pulling a lever, shooting an arrow, shoving someone into a pit of acid…).
10. Mnemosina. Dormant blue, drowsy pulsating grain. Pliant like a homeward thought, precise like a penetrating obsession. +1 Attack to targets you have already struck. A bow made of mnemosina can be stored in your Memory. You can take 1 action to evoke the bow. It was always in your hand. Overdraw: recall an arrow previously shot with this bow. The arrow flies back to its original position following a straight trajectory and reconstructing itself as it flies, nocking itself on arrival as if it had never been fired. Creatures in its path must roll Skill or suffer normal arrow damage. If the arrow is currently stuck on a target, it simply rips itself free and the target suffers normal arrow damage, no save.

STRING

1. Wirestalk. Strong and flexible, feels like polished metal. Made with the stems of iron grass, this string can resist tremendous amounts of force and tension. Can be used as a short rope or a garrote.
2. Tusan Silk. Shiny and delicate, swallows sound. Completely silent shots, impossible to pinpoint. You can use your Stealth to make Attack rolls as long as your target is unaware of you. If you get any Snap results when rolling for Overdraw, the string unspuns itself noiselessly.
3. Pale Cord. Perfect white, cold to the touch. Made with the proboscis of a white stalker from the frozen wastes of Parma. Uncannily flexible, it can be used in both short and longbows. The string seems to come alive in freezing environments, shaking ever so slightly when the bow is aimed at hot-blooded creatures.
4. Fluctuasteel. Light and thin, nearly unbreakable. When rolling for Overdraw, ignore any Snap!!! results.
5. Crimson Stigma. Dense and sinewy, trembles in anticipation when prey draws near. Hundreds of crimson stigmata harvested from the Blood Saffron fields braided together into a tough, flexible string. Vibrates slightly when vascular prey draws near (cannot be surprised). If the string is soaked in  fresh blood, any arrows shot with it for the next vigil deal +2 damage vs vascular creatures.
6. Remembrane. Oddly foamy and accommodating. Used by archers and poachers around for target practice. Whenever you shoot your bow, if you haven't moved since the last time you shot, gain +1 Attack.
7. Shrieker. Crude and sturdy, complains loudly when pulled. Made with a bunch of desiccated snapvines, the string lets out a mind-wrecking cry when broken. Every creature within shouting distance must pass a Presence test or be stunned for 1d3 rounds (they can test Presence every turn to break free from the effect). Deaf creatures are unaffected.
8. Glowyarn. Smooth and comforting. Illuminates like a torch for 1 round when plucked or pulled. On a critical hit, a burst of sickly light erupts from the string. Creatures within a 100' radius must pass a Vitality test or be blinded for 1d6 rounds (hey can test Vitality every turn to break free from the effect). Blind creatures are unaffected. On a critical failure, the string loses its properties.
9. Kinetic Twine. Always trembling, ever so slightly. Every time you score a critical hit, the string stores 1 Kinetic Energy (KE). You can transfer 1KE  to the bow to empower your shots (+1 Attack OR +1 damage). You can expend multiple KE per shot. When you roll a fumble, roll Overdraw. When you roll Overdraw, add your KE to the roll.
10. Sinostring. Thin and bright, like starlight reflected on a tranquil pond. Made with the luminous threads from a Clade Venatus’ antlers. Extremely rare and delicate. +1 critical range. Special: name a target you can see at the moment of firing. The arrow strikes the target regardless of distance, passing through any obstacles as if they weren’t there. The string fades into nothingness afterwards.

BOW QUIRK

1. Takedown. The bow can be disassembled into its constituent parts (limbs and raise) to fill up less space. ½ Inventory Slots.
2. Bare. This bow has no markings or sights to help you aim. When shooting with this bow, use your Intuition instead of your Skill.
3. Recurve. The limbs of this bow bend away from the archer, imprinting additional speed on the arrow. +30 range, +1 damage.
4. Double-bow. This curious design allows you to take advantage of your strength to make more powerful shots. When shooting with this bow, use your Vitality instead of your Skill. Critical hits deal +1 damage die.
5. Composite. The body of this bow is made of several materials. Roll twice for bow stave. This bow has the properties of one bow and the overdraw ability of the other.
6. Reinforced. This bow has been cable-backed with a segment of wirestalk to disperse accumulated tension. When you roll Overdraw, roll twice and keep the lowest result.

Overdraw Aftermath

Roll 1d6+Stacking. Then, +1 Stacking.

1. The bow creaks and complains, otherwise no effect.
2. Wasted. The arrow you just shot is irrecoverable (it shattered, it flew out of reach, etc…).
3. Snap! The bow becomes unstrung.
4. Hand Shock. Disadvantage on rolls involving your hands until end of next turn.
5. Snap!! The bow becomes unstrung, loudly and violently. Suffer 1d3 damage.
6. Crack. One of the limbs suffers a crack. Shoot with disadvantage until you can repair it. If you get this result again before you fix the bow, it suffers Limb Failure.
7. Snap!!! The string breaks, lashing out at your face and hands. Suffer 1d6 damage.
8. Limb Failure. One of the limbs is completely broken. It can still be repaired.
9. Total Limb Failure. BOTH limbs are broken. They can still be repaired.
10. Shattered. The bow is destroyed in a shower of splinters. Suffer 2d6 damage.

Lily Abdullina

1d10 Equipment
No new mechanic is worth its salt without a list of juicy new equipment to support it.

1. Quiver. Mark one of your Inventory Slots with a Q. This slot can now hold up to twice as many arrows of a given type (20 heavy arrows or 40 light arrows). Arrows stored in this slot are considered fast inventory.
2. Leather Pouch. Mark one of your Inventory slots with a P. This slot is now considered fast inventory.
3. Hand-Guard. ½ Inventory slots. Worn on the shooting hand, protects the wearer from Hand-Shock.
4. Arm-Guard. 1 slot. +1 Defense. Made of leather and embellished with other fabrics such as velvet or suede. Protects the wearer’s arm from string lashes. When rolling Overdraw, ignore the damage suffered from Snap!! and Snap!!!
5. Chest-Guard. 1 slot. +1 Defense. Typically made of leather, protects the chest. Some of them come with an integrated pauldron to offer some additional protection. Sigils and crests are often engraved on the front as a sign of distinction. When rolling Overdraw, ignore the damage suffered from Shattered!.
6. Bow Stringer. 1/3 slots. A strip of leather with a small pocket on one end and a saddle on the other. Reduces the time to string a bow from 1 round to 1 action.
7. Tin of Coating Grease. 1 slot (3 uses). Protects the bow from environmental effects such as humidity or water.
8. Canister of Mending Sap. 1 slot (3 uses). Amber-like, gooey and sticky. Repairs scratches, blemishes and Cracks.
9. Hunting Knife. 1 slot. 1d6 damage. Used for finishing off prey, skinning and trophy taking. It can also come in handy in close quarters.
10. Sharpness. A mixture of laburnum sap and rare herbs. Mossy green. Hunters apply it on their lower eyelids to enhance their sight and pick up minute details of their environment. For the next watch, you can make called shots with a normal attack roll and you get +2 Initiative. If Sharpness is used more than once within the same day, it causes eyeburn.
• Eyeburn: your optic nerves become hyperexcited, making up stimuli and light artifacts that may or may not be there. -4 Intuition, if exposed to a flash of sudden light, roll Presence or become stunned for 1 round. These effects are suppressed while under the influence of sharpness. Eyeburn goes away after not using sharpness for an entire day.