Pulled from the "Runequest Q&A "offical" thread ...

[g33k]

... as general-discussion / chat is unwelcome there.

@Squaredeal Sten asked:

Quote

is the "aimed blow" rule on p.197 of RQiG, meant to apply to shooting with bows and slings?

I ask because it seemed to me that because

-"aimed blow"  appears in the 'Weapon use' section of the combat chapter, and that section (pp.197-200) is otherwise devoted to melee,

-and missile weapons are not dealt with until the Weapons section (pp.206-216, in which missile weapons starts at p.211, with special shooting conditions (protected targets, moving targets, into melee) on p.214,

it seems strange that aimed shots were not mentioned with the rest of the missile rules.

There is obviously room to disagree - but we can't have it both ways, so it needs a resolution.  And - very subjective, i know - something bothers me about getting head hits each time at long range, and the proposition that the archer or slinger can be "waiting for an opening" with a long time of flight.

Whether or not "aimed blows" are equally-RAW for missile & melee (and only Chaosium, I think, can answer), there seems some room for discussion here, particularly around his last point.

Regarding "flight time" vs "aimed blows" the obvious solution, to me, is to put a range-limit on "aimed blows:"  you cannot be more than (for example) 1/2 the standard range ofthe weapon, or the target is too-likely to have moved while the missile is in flight.

I don't think Chaosium wants to delve that deeply into the corner-case simulationism -- though I could be wrong, they may not see it as a corner-case -- so I doubt it'll be Rune-Fixed; hence, it needs a HR for any table that cares about it.

[jajagappa]

7 hours ago, g33k said:

Regarding "flight time" vs "aimed blows" the obvious solution, to me, is to put a range-limit on "aimed blows:"  you cannot be more than (for example) 1/2 the standard range ofthe weapon, or the target is too-likely to have moved while the missile is in flight.

The RAW rules already account for movement by the target (p.214) and notes cumulative effects.  So an aimed blow at a target moving away from straight-on is going to be at 1/4 chance to hit.  I don't think anything additional needs to be added.

[g33k]

9 hours ago, jajagappa said:

The RAW rules already account for movement by the target (p.214) and notes cumulative effects.  So an aimed blow at a target moving away from straight-on is going to be at 1/4 chance to hit.  I don't think anything additional needs to be added.

The point of the OP is specific to  long-range + aimed-blow .

If your missile is in the air for a full second or longer (or even "most of a second"), how precisely can you target a moving person (likely on uneven ground!)... really?  Precise-enough for an aimed blow (particularly the ever-popular "headshot")?

As per the OP, that seems... dubious...

I actually agree with you:  this specific issue doesn't "need" to be in the rules.

But it seems an interesting gap in the generally-true-to-combat feel of RQ combat, and worth a HR for those to whom this "gap" seems glaring... maybe the OP has a munchkinous player with a DEX-maxed archer, in need of a notch of reining-in... maybe they themselves are an archer, seeking  greater verisimillitude... I dunno; don't really need to know.

I thought it worth an eyeball or two.

[David Scott]

7 hours ago, g33k said:

The point of the OP is specific to  long-range + aimed-blow .

If your missile is in the air for a full second or longer (or even "most of a second"), how precisely can you target a moving person (likely on uneven ground!)... really?  Precise-enough for an aimed blow (particularly the ever-popular "headshot")?

As per the OP, that seems... dubious...

If the archer has a skill of 100% and a composite bow at long range (200m) they've only 1/4 x 1/2 chance = 1/8. Seems good to me. Rune magic like Sureshot (Foundchild & Yelm) make this kind of shot a specialist undertaking.

Given the ranges of bronze age archers, this all seems good to me.

See The Range of the Ancient Bow by W. McLeod Phoenix , Spring, 1972, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Spring, 1972), pp. 78-82 on JSTOR (access may vary): https://www.jstor.org/stable/1086685 is a good short overview. 

[soltakss]

7 hours ago, g33k said:

The point of the OP is specific to  long-range + aimed-blow .

If your missile is in the air for a full second or longer (or even "most of a second"), how precisely can you target a moving person (likely on uneven ground!)... really?  Precise-enough for an aimed blow (particularly the ever-popular "headshot")?

Medium range is half=skill, long range is halved again, aimed shot is halved again.

So, someone with 100% skill has an aimed shot of 13%n at long range.

Is that hard enough for you?

 

[soltakss]

Just now, David Scott said:

If the archer has a skill of 100% and a composite bow at long range (200m) they've only 1/4 x 1/2 chance = 1/8. Seems good to me. Rune magic like Sureshot (Foundchild & Yelm) make this kind of shot a specialist undertaking.

Snap, or Jinx for the younguns.