weapon ranges and carrying capacity

[Shadowdragon]

What would be good maximum ranges for the following weapons? I'm looking for both the maximum range overall, and the maximum range at which the weapon still has a chance of hitting and injuring a single human-sized target.

weak bow (about 50lb draw weight)
average bow (about 100lb draw weight)
strong bow (about 150lb draw weight
weak crossbow (about 100lb draw weight)
average crossbow (about 250lb draw weight)
strong crossbow (about 400lb draw weight)
javelin
sling (with either lead bullets or regular stones)
throwing axe (lke a francisca)
throwing knife

Also, does anyone use the rules for carrying capacity in the rpgs they play? Is there a system out there that has a very quick and easy way to keep track of encumbrance? Something that not only accounts for each object's weight, but also their bulk (a greatsword only weighs a few pounds, but you're not going to be able to carry more than a few without having your mobility reduced)

 

[Arkhandus]

Honestly, I don't know the exact historical ranges. I do know that D&D is at least reasonably close in its weapon ranges, but I can't remember if that's before or after considering the Far Shot feat. Been too long since I read about historical bow ranges and whatnot...... But I know you can find this stuff on the internet. Try Wikipedia, or Google a search on historical longbows.

I think I remember English longbows having a maximum effective range of something like 1,000 yards (or maybe it was 300 yards), before the arrow became little more than a slow-falling stick. But I could be terribly misremembering which weapon this range was for.


The francisca I think had an effective range of about 30 or 40 feet (maybe 50 or 60 but I doubt it), and was designed in such a way that it would typically bounce once when it hit the ground, traveling a bit farther and possibly cutting at the shins or ankles of anyone who tried to just hide behind their shield. But by the time they looked over their shield as the thrown axe went past, the franc would already have charged most of the intervening distance to hack at them with a downward axe chop from his second francisca.

 

[GreatLemur]

Honestly, I don't know the exact historical ranges. I do know that D&D is at least reasonably close in its weapon ranges, but I can't remember if that's before or after considering the Far Shot feat.

Dave Noonan has some feelings on the subject of D&D bow ranges and accuracy.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Check out the bow rules in discussion of bows article posted here on Enworld. It gives you the option of using 'weak' bows instead of the cookie cutter PHB ones.

 

[Shadowdragon]

OK, I guess I should be looking for the maximum ranges vs a single target for bows. Volley fire should be left for large-scale miniature battles (like Warhammer Fantasy). The rest of the weapons can't seem to use volley fire so I guess I just need to know the maximum ranges for them. I have some ideas from what I've learned trawling the internet. They are very rough ideas as getting a straight answer about weapon ranges is harder then pulling teeth from an unsedated lion. I'll write them up and post them here so others can let me know what ranges I got right and which ones are horribly wrong.

 

[Shadowdragon]

weak bow - 75ft
average bow - 150ft
strong bow - 275ft
weak crossbow - 100ft
average crossbow - 175ft
strong crossbow - 300ft
javelin - 100ft
sling - 200ft
throwing axe - 50ft
throwing knife - 50ft

Do those look anywhere near right?

Edit: Increased some of the ranges.

 

[Rothe]

weak bow - 75ft
average bow - 150ft
strong bow - 250ft
weak crossbow - 100ft
average crossbow - 175ft
strong crossbow - 300ft
javelin - 70ft
sling - 200ft
throwing axe - 30ft
throwing knife - 30ft

Do those look anywhere near right?

Those look really good for effective ranges. They match pretty well the research I've done over the years from books, world records, competitions, etc. The numbers for arrows look like those for an armor peircing arrow. One thing to watch out for in the data is what arrow is tested, it makes a big difference on range.

The strong bow range looks a little short for a longbow or mongol recurve bow, maybe add another 25' for these bows, or elven bows, etc. Or maybe you can add effective range if your good with these bows.

Javelin looks a little short, maybe 100'.

You know the sling range looks a little long, but I think I consistently underestimate this weaopn despite all the historical data that shows how good it was.

The axe and dagger seem short as well. I'd think an effective range was more around 50', 30' being shorter range without penalties to hit.

 

[Rothe]

...
Also, does anyone use the rules for carrying capacity in the rpgs they play? Is there a system out there that has a very quick and easy way to keep track of encumbrance? Something that not only accounts for each object's weight, but also their bulk (a greatsword only weighs a few pounds, but you're not going to be able to carry more than a few without having your mobility reduced)

Yes but not religous about it, only tracking major things and using lots of common sense. I use them more to prevent abuse and factor in armor weight. Once a base calculation is done it is not redone unless someone tries to carry lots of big things or lots of gold.

 

[Shadowdragon]

Those look really good for effective ranges. They match pretty well the research I've done over the years from books, world records, competitions, etc. The numbers for arrows look like those for an armor peircing arrow. One thing to watch out for in the data is what arrow is tested, it makes a big difference on range.

I'll probably have certain types of arrows modify the range. I was thinking of using lighter heads, like hunting and bodkins as the base range. Then heavier heads, like broadheads would reduce the range.

Regarding the sling, I was surprised at their range when I first started looking into them. Some sources put the range around the same as a strong crossbow (about 300ft), but I think those were in the hands of very, very, very skilled slingers (probably with lots of feats like Far Shot).

Yes but not religous about it, only tracking major things and using lots of common sense. I use them more to prevent abuse and factor in armor weight. Once a base calculation is done it is not redone unless someone tries to carry lots of big things or lots of gold.

I have a feeling this is what a lot of people do. I'd still ike to hear some other opinions on carrying capacity and encumbrance (do you like them, ignore them, hate them, etc?)