Class Spotlight: Short Bow

If in Conqueror’s Blade we can loosely equate the Bow to a rifle and the Musket to a shotgun, where might the Short Bow be stowed on our metaphorical medieval gun rack? Well, as absurd as the comparison might be, let’s go with a modern submachine gun.

Ok, sure, you’re not going to be loosing off any more than a few dozen arrows per minute, but the rapidity with which you can take aim, fire and move towards your next objective is fairly typical of your contemporary skirmisher or scout; one whose task is to probe the enemy lines, report weaknesses and take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself without fully engaging with enemy forces or taking any undue risk.

With a Short Bow you don’t have the range of the standard bow, nor the stopping power of a musket, but you can still make your presence felt while fulfilling a unique battlefield role that the users of other ranged options are less able to perform.

You can, for example, become something of a distracting presence, by attracting the attention of the enemy and leading them away from matters that might be more pressing. Using waspish speed and threatening constant attack, it’s possible to deliver a feint that ties up more of the enemy that they can tactically afford, allowing allies to press home advantages elsewhere on the battlefield.

The short bow is also a capable secondary or support class, less able to deliver a crushing alpha strike, but able instead to root enemy Generals to the spot for others to focus their more substantial attacks upon. Supplement that with damage over time abilities and the Short Bow General surely deserves its place in the Conqueror’s Blade roster.
 

• Wrath of Artemis: Twin sister of Apollo and daughter of Zeus, Artemis comes from impressive Greek stock, and, being a famed hunter, is often depicted with a bow. Naturally, she’s not to be messed with, lest her wrath of five rapidly-delivered arrows be incurred.
   
• Poison Arrow: It was seen as advantageous in ancient times to use arrows to deliver toxins to debilitate an enemy. However, in medieval Europe, a filthy bit of rag trapped under a barbed arrowhead was probably just as draining to an enemy’s health.
   
• Bola: Sometimes, when you lack the firepower to bring down an enemy, it’s better to let your more heavily armed allies do it for you. What better way to enable a job well done than to pin your target to the ground for everyone to focus their ire upon.
   
• Penetrating Shot: As effective as arrows are at penetrating human flesh, to get through heavy armour the archer has to draw on immense personal strength and concentration. Thankfully this skill grants you amounts of both you didn’t know you had.
   
• Swift Dodge: It’s not a great idea for you to engage an enemy in hand-to-hand combat, especially if they have sharp implements in one or both of those hands. Thankfully, being unencumbered by armour and without a scabbard to cause you to trip over, you can quickly tuck into the limbs of your bow and attempt to roll away from danger.