Bows over the shoulder

[nauta]

This is selfish, but:

All bows and quivers should be wearable in the <over left|right shoulder> slot.

As far as I know, no bows are wearable over the shoulder, although I could be wrong -- nor have I seen quivers over the shoulder.  At least in my mind, this is how I see a bow anyway (quivers can go on the waist or belt, so it isn't that big of deal there.)

It could be a change across the board to all of them!

[Desertman]

Most people shouldn't wear their bows over their shoulder because it implies you run around with your bow strung at all times.

Unless you are actively using your bow it should in theory remain relatively unstrung. (And thus you can't hang it over a shoulder.)

If you want a good example of this watch The Lord of The Rings and notice how Aragorn carries his bow unstrung over his back. (Props to Viggo Mortensen. The guy is known for really understanding the roles he's in.)

He actually pulls it free and strings it before he starts firing arrows through the door at the goblins hacking it down in the dwarven mines.

I try to roleplay stringing my bow before using it when at all possible for just this reason. (Not the LOTR thing, just the fact you shouldn't carry it strung in general because archers in reality would not/did not....it's terrible for the bow.)

[Vwest]

There are quivers that are worn over the shoulder - most of them, in fact.

There are a couple of bows that can be worn over the shoulder, but those were both one-of-a-kind as far as I know. It'd be nice if more of them were, though.

[QuillDipper]

Most people shouldn't wear their bows over their shoulder because it implies you run around with your bow strung at all times.

Unless you are actively using your bow it should in theory remain relatively unstrung. (And thus you can't hang it over a shoulder.)

If you want a good example of this watch The Lord of The Rings and notice how Aragorn carries his bow unstrung over his back. (Props to Viggo Mortensen. The guy is known for really understanding the roles he's in.)

He actually pulls it free and strings it before he starts firing arrows through the door at the goblins hacking it down in the dwarven mines.

I try to roleplay stringing my bow before using it when at all possible for just this reason. (Not the LOTR thing, just the fact you shouldn't carry it strung in general because archers in reality would not/did not....it's terrible for the bow.)

This is rad knowledge I didn't know, and makes archery RP sound much more entertaining. Thanks

[Vwest]

My characters bows are always strung for the same reason their obsidian weapons never break -- wizards, probably.

Let me wear them over the shoulder, crossbows, too, because it's just easier and leaves my limited back slots free for other stuff.

[Case]

Keeping a wooden bow strung for long periods (even hours) weakens the bow and the string.

A bone bow won't be much better.

Using a bow string to hold a bow to your body ... yeah. They're not that tough.

[valeria]

Using a bow string to hold a bow to your body is stupid for other reasons.  If you fray that string and it snaps, it will unleash nasty force upon you.

[evilcabbage]

Using a bow string to hold a bow to your body is stupid for other reasons.  If you fray that string and it snaps, it will unleash nasty force upon you.

try to imagine how it would feel if your own arrow shot you because your string broke.

[valeria]

try to imagine how your eye would feel if your own eye exploded because that string man

[QuillDipper]

video games have lied to me

[LauraMars]

Why can't there be a special strap attached to the bow for wearing it over the back or shoulder?

I mean how else do you wear your bow over your back, which you can do with many bow objects, without having it strung and/or a special carrying strap for it?

Which would also work for the shoulders one would assume?

I'm having a really hard time participating in this thread in a coherent manner because of the CRUEL HEIGHTS TO WHICH MY HOPES HAVE BEEN RAISED REGARDING THE LOOK ECHO

[nauta]

I'm having a really hard time participating in this thread in a coherent manner because of the CRUEL HEIGHTS TO WHICH MY HOPES HAVE BEEN RAISED REGARDING THE LOOK ECHO

Wait.  Are you for or against look as hemote?

Also, yeaaaaaah.  I kinda assumed our bows had little straps or whatever.

[Marauder Moe]

TIL.  I always kinda figured it was like a guitar, leaving it unstrung for long periods would damage it.  Not sure we need that level of realism in the game, though.

[Desertman]

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of being allowed to wear my bow over my shoulder for my own selfish reasons.

I'm just not going to pretend it's because it's realistic.

I'm going to say, "Well, because I want the extra wear location and I use bows a lot with my characters so this benefits me personally.".



I want to wear my hunter's spear over my back and my bow over my shoulder and look awesome as fuck.

You bet your ass I do.

I also read an article that explained how quivers being worn over the shoulder/back were never really a thing. They were almost always worn on the hip. Reaching over the back and the shoulder to draw your arrow would be incredibly unnatural for an archer with any skill at all because it puts your draw motion completely out of whack. Nobody wore quivers over their backs and shoulders if they were any kind of decent archer. That is just something Hollywood came up with for Robin Hood because the idea is awesome in our minds......and I admit it is.

Again, that's another thing where I'm fine with it because it benefits me personally and I do think it looks awesome in my mind. So bring it on. 

If you can throw fireballs and fight giant dinosaurs, I want shoulder bows and shoulder quivers.

[valeria]

TIL.  I always kinda figured it was like a guitar, leaving it unstrung for long periods would damage it.  Not sure we need that level of realism in the game, though.

If your bow is a composite recurve bow, you want to leave that baby strung because stringing and unstringing it is extremely dangerous.  You're much more likely to bend one of the bow arms than you are to fatigue the composite material from stress.  But the same isn't true of wood or horn bows.  (This is something I just happen to enjoy RPing and I don't mind if the rest of you just pretend you leave it strung.  IRL stringing a longbow is extremely easy if you know what you're doing, stringing a recurve without a bow stringer not so much, but since a bow stringer is just a piece of rope with some tabs on the ends you're probably okay pretending you have one.)

Dman is correct about hip quivers.  Even modern competition shooters wear hip quivers.  If you ask for one that goes on your back people are going to assume you're there for the cosplay or something.

Also you'd wear a bow down your back just like you'd hang a weapon from your belt or wear it on your back.  You'd just have a loop in the back of your belt, or just tie it on.  The grip is a lot wider than the arms are, it's going to keep that thing from just sliding out the bottom.

i may be kind of into archery guys i'm sorry

[CodeMaster]

A couple neat "code tricks" for bows: sometimes I'll wear a bow around my neck, and just update my tdesc (usually to show it turned to the side so it doesn't impede nod).   I also like to combine tdesc and the hair wear slot: you can RP wrapping your bow around your topknot, tying it around your ponytail or bun, or wearing it at the bottom of a braid, which is a look I'm always watching for since it's indicative of good RP to come.

[Delirium]

[evilcabbage]

A couple neat "code tricks" for bows: sometimes I'll wear a bow around my neck, and just update my tdesc (usually to show it turned to the side so it doesn't impede nod).   I also like to combine tdesc and the hair wear slot: you can RP wrapping your bow around your topknot, tying it around your ponytail or bun, or wearing it at the bottom of a braid, which is a look I'm always watching for since it's indicative of good RP to come.

i'll grab that fucking bow and garrotte you, sir.

just kidding my friend.

[RogueGunslinger]

I've only ever strung a recurve before, and I was doing that very easily without a stringer. I always figured a longbow would be harder than a recurve because it'd be harder to wedge between the legs while bending.

[valeria]

You can string a recurve without a stringer.  It's probably not going to be a problem for a 20# learning bow.  But the stronger the draw is, the more energy you need to bend the bow, and the more likely you are to fuck it up by doing it wrong without a stringer and having Bad Things Happen.  As I understand it from my archery instructor, the reason you use a stringer is more about the way that the recurve limb bends back on itself (and how you don't want to twist it) and how the tips of a recurve bow are specifically notched so that it can keep the string on in the right place (and how you can weaken those by putting pressure on them).

So yes, you can either just string it if it's a weak bow, or press a tip against the ground to bend it enough to slip the string on.  But then you can end up with your limbs flipping around backward.  You can accidentally break or weaken the tips if you're pressing one of the tips on the ground, and if you just weaken them, you can end up with the tip breaking on the draw, the string flying off, and slapping you in the eye.  You can fail to place the string right and have it fly off and, again, that string is very close to your eye.  You could end up looking like this guy:

[Armaddict]

Stringing a bow is not that complicated.  Yes, some things can happen, but you're greatly exaggerating it.  Let's not blow things out of proportion, considering archers generally know what they're doing.

Source: Bowyer/fletcher at Cajun Archery/HotShotsArchery for 3 years.

[valeria]

I think you and my archery coach (my source of information, who is a competition recurve shooter and coaches the local university team as well as local olympic prospects) might disagree about the costs and benefits of not using a bow stringer with a recurve bow. 

Anyway, my main point is: you shouldn't leave wooden bows strung.  That's really not that controversial.

[Asmoth]

I think you and my archery coach (my source of information, who is a competition recurve shooter and coaches the local university team as well as local olympic prospects) might disagree about the costs and benefits of not using a bow stringer with a recurve bow. 

Anyway, my main point is: you shouldn't leave wooden bows strung.  That's really not that controversial.

RL Recurve bow is totally different then piece of shit bone/wood bow we have in game.

But really this is a whole nitpick thread at it's core.  Can't wear your bow over your shoulder because it would ruin the bow.

Well I also can't go out and get bit by an insect the size of my car in real life and go walk it off in about half and hour either. heh.

Suspension of belief folks, not everything has to be 100% real to life.

So in short, I think Valeria is right in MODERN bows.  I think making a bow shoulder wearable isn't going to hurt a thing.

[Armaddict]

There are several bows in game that are shoulder-sheathable.  I have no qualms with this.

I wasn't trying to be argumentative or say what she saying was SPECTACULARLY false or anything, I was just saying that archers who string and unstring their bows consistently are not so prone to fucking themselves up as she was describing.  Sure, it happens, but there is a process that is followed and I did it a few times a workday for years.  In other words, it's not wrong that it can be dangerous, but it's also not wrong that skilled archers in game probably don't have that as the top of their health concern list.

[seidhr]

These are the same bows that can shoot 3 leagues away, suffice to say if you screw up stringing it....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-22tna7KHzI

...sometimes a little suspension of disbelief is in order.  ;-)

[Armaddict]

>string bow
You fail to string the bow correctly, and Tektolnes finds you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-22tna7KHzI

[valeria]

... ouch my laughing muscles...