Armour saves

[ochoin]

Whereas many of the ideas expressed above fit my preconceptions, many are a tad more complex than I need. Note: my rules don't even have range differentiation for missiles - no long or short range, just a range.

So as for differing factors for cross bows as opposed to javelins - no.

My Late Romans sadly have no sharks on the strength but as most units carry dracos, I might be able to use the chart above.

donald

[FreddBloggs]

I always liked short range and long rnge for missiles, for no other reason than ineffective LR stuff is shrugged off, short range, and you may have no time to react as the buggers then charge into you.

like I said, depends how granular you want to go.

[Paul]

I always liked short range and long rnge for missiles, for no other reason than ineffective LR stuff is shrugged off, short range, and you may have no time to react as the buggers then charge into you.

like I said, depends how granular you want to go.

With most (at least in the West and North of Europe) "Dark Age" missile fire it's less a case of different ranges and more a case of different "doctrines" of use. Certainly with the Vikings and English the idea of "massed" missiles was limited to mixed units with bows behind (and/or integrated into) the spears. Small units of skirmishing bows were also common.

So for me, in massed combat games of the period archery has more of a morale effect, from the nuisance of the skirmishers to an addition to closed combat where arrows were loosed when melee was imminent.

[FreddBloggs]

Not just bows though, spears, javelins axes etc being chucked in just before contact was known.

Archers were not the volley firing machine guns of later eras, more pin them in place and keep their heads down while your bruisers get close.

One of the things we do know about the period is that relatively few casualties happened in combat, or from early missile.

The casualties mounted the moment cohesion was broken or one side decided it was losing and tried to get away.

[Paul]

Not just bows though, spears, javelins axes etc being chucked in just before contact was known.

Very true, sorry I was blinkered by the "arrers"

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

I told you to be careful or you'd have some poor bugger's eye out.

[Norman D. Landings]

Short range throwing weapons: may be used one-time only per unit.

May be used pre-charge, OR if being charged.

Pre-charge: single roll.
On a success, the barrage is effective and your targets count as 'disorded' for the subsequent melee.

When being charged: single roll.
On a success, the barrage is effective and the oncoming chargers count as 'disordered' for the subsequent melee.

Success threshhold:
Small units/poor troops/poorly armed: 6
Regular-sized warband of seasoned warriors: 5+
Large units / veteran or elite warriors: 4+

(1) These success thresholds apply only if unit is at full strength. If unit has taken casualties, success threshold -1.
(So if a poor unit has suffered casualties, their desultory efforts will be entirely ineffective)

(2) May only be used by forces which historically carried such throwing weapons.

[Paul]

Short range throwing weapons: may be used one-time only per unit.

If this includes throwing spears, thrown just before contact, there are plenty of references of guys of the period carrying two or three of these in addition to other weapons. (If you win a combat there may also be the capability to re use some which weren't broken, but that obviously requires time you might not have!).

[Norman D. Landings]

True enough, but tracking that in game terms? That's a proper faff.

The flurry of thrown weapons pre-charge is just that: a flurry.
It does not uniformly represent one missile per man.
Hengist flung ALL his javelins. Eghert dropped one of his. Haeddi didn't bring any cause Haeddi didn't read the memo.

As an in-game tactic: one time only.

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

Hurst scores from the rebound.