Range Weaons and Zones vs Actual Range and logic

Zones are abstract but 've seen and played in some games were maps were used and the ranges weren’t logical.

In some cases the maps being used were tile and other for the Monolith board and the board ha,rs areas were being used as zones in some other cases the map just had a grid thrown on it,

The problem is that ranged weapons were not being able to fire very far if you looked at what wa being depicted on the map.

The RH stories do give an indication of how far the Shemite bow can fire,

“First marched the Shemitish archers, then the Kothian spearmen, then the mailed knights of Strabonus and Amalrus. Arbanus’ intent was obvious – to employ his footmen to sweep away the infantry of Conan, and open the way for an overpowering charge of his heavy cavalry.

The Shemites opened fire at five hundred yards, and arrows flew like hail between the hosts, darkening the sun. The western archers, trained by a thousand years of merciless warfare with the Pictish savages, came stolidly on, closing their ranks as their comrades fell. They were far outnumbered, and the Shemitish bow had the longer range, but in accuracy the Bossonians were equal to their foes, and they balanced sheer skill in archery by superiority in morale, and in excellence of armor. Within good range they loosed, and the Shemites went down by whole ranks.”

-The Scarlet Citadel

An Englosh longbow had a range of 200-400 yards if you want a comparison.

I’ve been in games with maps saying a ranged attack is a certain number of zones away based on what seems logical given the situation and I’ve been using a different set of Zones for ranged combat than what is used for melee and movement in some maps.

Zones don’t logically work in a lot of situations. I’m well aware of where the concept of them originated from.

Zones are an abstraction and as such are not fixed. So the GM can have zones for moving and zones for shooting when it makes sense. In any case in the economy of the narration the important thing is to have a mechanic to shoot without losing a lot of time in calculating ranges, not to perfectly simulate what a bow does. Also ranges are not a limit, they are a way to increase difficulty, sure you can shoot up to 400 yards with a longbow, but will you hit a precise spot? Long range battlefield archery is not so much about targeting individuals as to create barrages.

2 Likes