Draft:Arrow

Omega 0.90.4

Arrow(Base damage rating3Base hit bonus+3Normal attack typeMissileHands1Weight2

An arrow is ammunition for a longbow, though it can also be thrown without a launcher. The information box gives one arrow's base properties; its listed hit bonus is not independently added to a fired shot.

Generation

Random treasure, pawn-shop stock and acquirement can produce arrows. The weapon constructor makes a stack of 1-20 arrows, with a shared rolled blessing and enchantment. Arrows have item level 1 and base value 2 Au each; Julie's does not stock them.

Firing and recovery

Choose an accessible arrow with Fire/Throw. A shot removes one arrow from the stack. If the hit check succeeds, that arrow has a 25% chance of being destroyed; otherwise it normally drops at the endpoint for recovery. A miss does not run the destruction roll. Walls and intervening creatures can stop the shot before its selected destination.

With a longbow in the weapon hand, the arrow adds its damage rating and enchantment to current character damage, plus twice the Strength modifier. Without that launcher, it uses only 3 + arrow enchantment + twice the Strength modifier. A crossbow does not substitute for a longbow. Both branches use ordinary physical damage and the character's current hit score.

Simply holding an arrow as a weapon is a different use: the hand count in the information box does not mean that shooting occupies the ready hand with an arrow. Keep the bow properly wielded in both hands and the ammunition accessible. See Shooting and throwing for worked damage and hit examples.

Strategy

Use an appropriate longbow to obtain the much larger damage contribution; throwing arrows without one discards that advantage. An enchanted arrow improves shot damage, but does not add its enchantment to the shot's accuracy check as a separate ammunition bonus. Improving the active launcher affects both current hit and damage.

Recover surviving arrows after securing the area. Their low individual weight makes carrying a useful reserve practical, but stack weight still accumulates. Cursed ammunition can be thrown when it is merely carried; the refusal applies to an item that is both cursed and in use. Avoid equipping an unknown arrow just to identify it.