Bow Construction - Length Calculation

[averzwyv]

How is bow length intended to be measured/calculated? Bows are manufactured as a curved phys-rep, however a review of the current game handbook does not specifically define the method. instead "Overall Length" is used at the top of the table of page 82.

Does Overall Length mean, a straight line from the two most distant points on the physrep, or measurement along the curve of the bow, or curve along the centerline of the bow?

This rules question would also be relevant to curved swords, such as scimitars where the straightline distance between the tip of the sword and the bottom of the hilt, maybe a different length than that along the curve of the blade edge?

This author respectfully submits that for the purposes of fighting dynamics, the artistic design of the bow/sword curvature is irrelevant as long at the tip to bottom distance remains limited, ie you can't reach any further with the "curved" sword, than a straight sword.

 

[KyleSchmelz]

The bow is measured along the curve. I don't know that there's a specific section in the rulebook spelling this out, but this question has come up on the boards a few times before and it's always been ruled that way: example. More specifically I'd go along the front edge of the bow where you'd get the longest curve.

-Chicago Rules Marshal

 

[Paladin of Time]

The specific citation for this rule is found on page 85 of ARB 1.2, under step 7:

If you haven’t already done so, doublecheck the length requirements for everything you’ve built. Measure the weapon tip to tip, along its curve if it has one; it should be exactly as long as you wanted.

Thanks to the vigilant marshal who caught this after the thread was locked and reported it in.

There's always time for exactitude, in this moderator's time-themed opinion.