Target Practice.

[Synthesis]

That being said, it's actually much easier to max archery than it is to max a weapon skill, if you know what you're doing.

On elves.

Good luck ever finding a city-elf to shoot at.

Shooting at desert-elves? Not exactly the brightest idea, if you plan on a long and successful career as an outdoorsman.

[Spoon]

I reckon it was meant the other way around. While this is all stuff that is logical and easy enough to work out with the information available, we're basically spelling out certain effective ways of training skills. I'd rather people worked this out for themselves because it makes me feel better than them. Not really, it's guilt that made me post. People don't need to be told things like this, it leads to twinkery. You're both mighty fine roleplayers but this is EVIL!!!

[spawnloser]

The code doesn't support this.  If your archery skill is at <novice>, it doesn't matter how many people are in the next outdoor room: you're going to aim at only one of them, and you're probably going to miss.

As an in-character matter, the PC unit of the Arm of the Dragon is an infantry unit: not cavalry, not archery, not half-giant drummers.  But it still seems odd that archery isn't any part of the training regimen.

Yes, I know that the code doesn't support it.  I'm not saying that the code should, but that OOC consideration ("my skills aren't getting better" when you want to be able t shoot someone) won't sway me to another side in this argument.

I think it would be strange for it to be part of the training regimen, actually.  That's the point.  They're infantry, not cavalry or archery, and they don't need skill.

[brytta.leofa]

Yes, I know that the code doesn't support it.  I'm not saying that the code should, but that OOC consideration ("my skills aren't getting better" when you want to be able t shoot someone) won't sway me to another side in this argument.

"I suck at archery" is an in-character issue.  So is "my skills aren't getting better," actually.

I think it would be strange for it to be part of the training regimen, actually.  That's the point.  They're infantry, not cavalry or archery, and they don't need skill.

Then they don't need bows.  Which is okay...wasteful of your ranger PCs' abilities, but okay.  (Quick, somebody make the reductio ad backstab argument.)

[spawnloser]

That was, actually, exactly the point I was making, brytta.  It's too bad you're playing a character that could be a god among bow-using individuals... that never uses that particular skill.  Too bad, but how many other characters have you played that practically never used at least one of each characters' skills, probably more?  It's okay.  Too bad, though.

[Akaramu]

Archery practice on inanimate objects should be possible - but be limited to a fairly low skill cap. Reaching journeyman skill level is where this kind of practice should end, in my opinion.

[brytta.leofa]

That was, actually, exactly the point I was making, brytta.  It's too bad you're playing a character that could be a god among bow-using individuals... that never uses that particular skill.  Too bad, but how many other characters have you played that practically never used at least one of each characters' skills, probably more?  It's okay.  Too bad, though.

Okay, I guess we're in violent agreement.

I think my only real points are: (1) practice (and not on dangerous animals in the dangerous wilderness) should be easy and encouraged for folks who have a reason to, and (2) archery shouldn't be so ungodly unbalancing that we have to discourage practice.

[brytta.leofa]

Archery practice on inanimate objects should be possible - but be limited to a fairly low skill cap. Reaching journeyman skill level is where this kind of practice should end, in my opinion.

Sounds right to me.  Past that, you're learning to shoot at a moving target.

[LoD]

I wouldn't mind seeing IG tools that allowed people to improve one skill per RL day through some kind of IG tool/prop such as a sparring dummy, archery target, etc...up to some medium-level ability in the skill.

So, one day I could practice my kick skill against a sparring dummy, and I could potentially work that skill up to 40% success rate over 25 RL days of interacting with the prop/tool and role-playing my study and learning of that skill.  The remainder of the skill may require actually using it in a live fashion on actual targets.

If you were only able to use one skill per RL day in that way, it would take you a long while to work up multiple skills even to the medium level of ability, but it would still give someone who was more interested in RP than sparring a way to improve their character over time.  It'd be especially helpful to off-peak players that maybe don't have a very active clan or are restricted by clan policies from being able to practice the skills they want to improve.

-LoD

[jstorrie]

I don't think archery or skills in general need to be relaxed in order to accomodate the introduction of archery targets. Just design archery targets such that they aren't useful past novice-ness, like melée dummies. If a clan has mega bux to spend, maybe they can buy moving targets, with a slightly higher 'cap.'

[RogueGunslinger]

NPC sparring partners.