Shooting, minotaur vs wild-elf.

[Arjugha]

Training shooting, two rangers, same rank, ashen longbow+ranger's arrow:

Wild-elf:
XXX aims at a goblin monger and gently releases the string of his bow.
A ranger's arrow whizzes as it flies towards a goblin monger!
A ranger's arrow MUTILATES a goblin monger!

XXX aims at an ogre artillerist and gently releases the string of his bow.
A ranger's arrow whizzes as it flies towards an ogre artillerist!
A ranger's arrow MUTILATES an ogre artillerist!

Minotaur:
You aim at a goblin monger and gently release the string of your bow.
A ranger's arrow MANGLES a goblin monger!

You aim at a red bird and gently release the string of your bow.
A ranger's arrow MANGLES a red bird!

Even twice harder.
Why the hell we need non-minotaur rangers then?

[Geryon]

Dextrous ones should fire more frequently, as far as I know.

[omledufromage]

Still is disgusting to see...
in fantasy books and stuff, it is always the dextrous folk who use bows, because it doesn't (shouldn't) depend totally on strength for damage. All you need is a minimum, but more than that minimum shouldn't change damage.

[Kage]

- Yeah its odd... not that its totally relevant but in most D&D scenarios... your dexterity affects how much hitroll you have with bows.  It takes a special feat or ability on the bow called "mighty" to even calculate your strength into the damage inflicted (usually on composite bows).  So maybe mino should hit hard but miss more then elf?

[Quino]

But seriously, have you ever fired a bow/crossbow? It takes a lot of strength to draw the string!

[omledufromage]

Yes, of course it does... but consider the time when people actually used bows: They had that strength. It is not superhuman strength, it is just something now-a-days we do not have practice in. What I am saying is, once you have the strength necessary to manage a bow, more strength won't give you a boost, right?

[Quino]

What do you mean by neccessary? If you apply more tension, you let arrow fly further, with greater speed, causing bigger impact, don't you?

[omledufromage]

Not exactly, because there is a max of force that may be applied, or else the bow breaks.
Here are some interesting things to read:
http://newton.indstate.edu/swez/Storage/ph101/Physics%20of%20the%20Bow%20and%20Arrow.ppt
http://www.stortford-archers.org.uk/medieval.htm

Basically, they mention the maximum elastic energy that the wood of the bow can store, and how that helps to determine the velocity of the arrow (along with other factors, such as the mass of the arrow). The range is determined by the speed and the angle you point the bow. It was estimated that the necessary force needed to draw a medieval longbow goes from 500 to 800 Newtons (which is a lot, actually).

PS: There are some mathamatical errors in the sites.

[tbox]

Basically only human factor in damage is precision. Rest depends on type of bow and arrow.