[dunklzahn1]

Ok got a few questions about bows. Wanting to make a bow sniper. Is it possible to mount smartlink to a bow with rangefinder to allow for arrow travel? Also being as tho the bow has to be "drawn" each time its fired, would it be possible to use adept power Quick Draw to draw the bow and use it as a semiauto, in other words, could I get two shots off each turn? Thanks in advance

[FastJack]

The smartgun system connects a firearm or projectile weapon directly to a user’s smartlink (p. 333).

You can hook it up to a bow, you just wouldn't have any readouts on ammo or the other "gun" bells & whistles.

As for the Quick Draw power, I'd house-rule that it would change the Ready Weapon action of loading the bow from a Simple Action to a Free Action, but firing the bow would still be a Simple Action, so it would still require two actions to load and fire the bow. But changing it from Simple to Free does mean that you could load the bow (Free Action), Take Aim (Simple) and Fire (Simple) in a single Initiative pass, giving you the +1 DP modifier to the Attack test.

[Medicineman]

Sorry Fastjack ,but the Quick Draw Power lets you Shoot an Arrow in one simple Action ,so Two shots are possible
(and with War and MRSI the Dreaded Troll Archers from the Trollkingdom of the Blackforest in the ADL are the moste feared Artillery Unit in the SR World ...we're talking 20K    )

he who Dances in the Trollkingdom
Medicineman

[Chaemera]

Medicineman's right, here's the RAW:

An adept may draw and use a single melee weapon, missile weapon, throwing weapon, or firearm in one action, and need not spend two actions to draw and ready the weapon and then attack: drawing and readying occur in the action used for the Attack Test.

Readying entails drawing a firearm from a holster, drawing a throwing or melee weapon from a sheath, picking up any kind of weapon, nocking an arrow in a bow, or generally preparing any kin of weapon for use. A weapon must be ready before it can be used.

[FastJack]

The reason I'd house-rule it my way is because you're not using an action to load a bullet in the chamber for each shot fired from a gun.

Yes, "Drawing" the bow means loading the arrow and pulling back the string in Archery terms. However, the "Drawing" done in Quick Draw is pulling the weapon out (from your holster/from your back/whatever) and firing.

Since firing a bow normally takes 2 Simple Actions (1 for Nocking the Arrow and 1 for Firing the Bow), and a gun only takes 1 for Firing, I figured that it would be more likely that, when dealing with Archery, the Quick Draw power would let you pull an arrow from your quiver and ready it to fire as a free action.

Think of it this way: If the PC doesn't have Quick Draw and uses a bow in combat, then, if the bow is not in his hands, he has to take 1 Simple Action to Draw the Bow from where he keeps it, 1 Simple Action to draw an arrow from his quiver and 1 Simple Action to fire the bow. Whereas, the PC with a gun simply has to use 1 SA to draw his gun from his holster and 1 SA to fire it. In later rounds, the archer has to use 2 SAs to continuously load and fire his bow while the shootist simply has to use 1 SA to pull the trigger.

Edit: Even better, think of it this way: Bows are Single Shot weapons.

Most weapons that fire in single-shot mode can fire only in that mode. Firing a single-shot weapon requires only a Simple Action, but that weapon cannot be fired again during the same Action Phase.

[Bradd]

FYI:

"With the heaviest bows (a modern warbow archer) does not like to try for more than six a minute."[23] Not only are the arms and shoulder muscles tired from the exertion, but the fingers holding the bowstring become strained; therefore, actual rates of shooting in combat would vary considerably.

Seems it's reasonable to call a hand-drawn bow a single-shot weapon. That said, I would use standard Quick Draw rules with bows: With a single Simple action, draw the bow and/or arrow and fire it. Remember that the threshold is one higher if you draw with both hands at the same time.

[savaze]

Troll cyber-adept archers can be scary armor/barrier piercing monstrosities...  They aren't necessarily on par with the speedy gun-fu types slinging automatic weapons, but there's definitely a place for them (and they have style!).  Since the rules with archers seem highly limiting, you definitely wanna talk it over with the GM beforehand and work out all the rules clarification/house-rules needed (like the stuff being suggested above).

I played in a game where no one used anything other than single-shot or man powered weapons that was hilariously fun (very primitive situations).  It caused everyone to wanna bring their scrounged ghettoized firearms and bows into normal situations.  It didn't play out as well as their "standard" gear, except for the troll cyber-adept archer.  Remember that subsonic projectiles (arrows/bolts) won't make any noise, the quiet twang of a bow isn't a readily or easily identifiable sound, and poison is your friend for those who live through the initial impact (unless you're using Rambo arrows)...

[Bradd]

Arrows do make a hissing or sizzling sound in flight, and bowstring noises vary quite a bit, although it's my understanding that the loudest sound a bow makes is the arrow striking the target.

[savaze]

Arrows do make a hissing or sizzling sound in flight, and bowstring noises vary quite a bit, although it's my understanding that the loudest sound a bow makes is the arrow striking the target.

I'm no archery expert, but I grew up with bows and guns, I just haven't had a lot of time to do either due to my circumstances, that's life...  It's been a while since I've been to the archery range, but in my experience all bows put out roughly the same noise level: recurves (creak then fump) compound bows (less creak more fump), or simple bows (no creak all fump). 

The noise, in flight, comes from the fletching which is widely varied based on the material.  Synthetic feathers make the most noise, from what I remember, (cheapest is always loudest with arrows) but it's still very quiet, especially so when compared to the sonic boom of a bullet cracking by your head. 

You're correct on the impact sound on hard targets, but not on soft ones.  On hard targets. that it doesn't blow through. (e.g. trees - hopefully) the composition of the arrow makes the sound: natural materials crack and shatter with high-weight bows otherwise it's a little bit of a warbling sound, while synthetics undulate wildly (sometimes it almost sounds like a red-neck guitar).  Even ricochets don't make a lot of noise, it's a quick scraping sound, until it sticks, breaks, or loses momentum, in which case synthetics can be the loudest, if the arrow's fiberglass not aluminum, but it's unlikely to happen (it was more likely that I broke the head and/or lost some fletching in those circumstances).  In soft materials it's more likely that the target will be making the noise...  Otherwise "softie" absorbs all the vibrations and, on high-pull bows, the arrow can completely penetrate through, if it doesn't ricochet inside the target (dang them bones).

Overall it's still very quiet with low pitch noises, and most of the time you get two shots before wildlife catches on.  Maybe the future even has stealth arrows???

[dunklzahn1]

Thanks for all the ideas. The problem with asking the GM is that I AM the GM. LOL.  But in either case the discussion in this thread is very similar to the discussion we had at the table last session. And yes, my sniper is a Troll! Helmet, Smartlink goggles, and a bow! Think it adds tons of flair. Still really dont know what im going to go with, however I have to agree with the bow being a  "single shot" weapon. But thanks for the help guys.

[hobgoblin]

On the noise thing, the Brits used small crossbows for silent kills during WW2.