We've all heard players telling their GM that "I'm collecting the arrows" after they slaughter hapless villains. The assumption is that arrows are still good to go. Really? I present a thought provoking video about modern experiments in archery.
https://youtu.be/DBxdTkddHaE
So. The conclusions are that chainmail isn't that protective against archery. A well designed metal plate armour can be very protective, but still transmits the shock of the impact. An external Jupon, or padded layer, will help mitigate the impact by a certain margin. And the heavy longbow pull does not allow the lightning quick fusilade of fantasy films. Food for thought. Let's hear yours....
I think collecting arrows is fine. Maybe lose 20% for broken, bent or just cannot find. If there is a good reason (you shot a stone golem!) then make sure the archer knows the arrows broke when they hit and cannot be recovered.
I don't have my players count the arrows but this is fairly recent. On the old good days of AD&D, counting arrows was mandatory. Concerning armor, I changed the system of AC in my homebrew rules : there is an AC score and a Protection score...
I never bothered my players with counting how many arrows they shot and how many remains, however one of them surprizingly took a moment after combat to collect some, just for the role playing of it. I have to admit that was kind of cool.
I just do a flat 50/50 chance which is usually rolling a handfull of d6 for each arrow and counting all the 1-3s.
Logically, at least some of the arrows that miss will be recoverable, and almost none of those that hit. But that'd be tedious to keep track of.
I don't know. It's just never really been an issue for me. In AD&D1e PCs run out of hit points before they run out of arrows. A quiver has a dozen arrows. If combat lasts 12 rounds then it's a TPK anyway.
In principle I suppose there might be several combats and they could run out. But in practice they're usually a bit beaten-up after a combat or two, they have to withdraw from the dungeon and go back to town where they get some new arrows. And arrows are so cheap compared to all the other gear the party has they can always afford more.
As with most folks here I don't mind if my players want to recycle arrows, my percentages are a bit different is all: I just say 25% of the arrows are reusable immediately and 25% can be scavenged for parts.
Quote from: bardiclife on December 23, 2024, 11:38:23 PMAs with most folks here I don't mind if my players want to recycle arrows, my percentages are a bit different is all: I just say 25% of the arrows are reusable immediately and 25% can be scavenged for parts.
Nice variation, I might steal this for my game that's more survival based, and the crafting of gear more common.
Oh, I'm flattered, please do, and tell me if it works for your table!
Interesting ideas all around. I think I'll take inspiration from this and have some simple check for when players decide to recover their spent ammunition. If we feel that it only complicates things, then maybe a "You recover half of what you shot, rounded up/down" would work.