Shelyn

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ikarinokami wrote:
longbows are flat out better than shortbow. the only places or people who used shortsbows were places where the longbow had not yet been invented. not everything has to be balanced mechanically. a longbow costing more than a short bow is enough.

This is really not true.

Longbows are *horribly* awkward weapons. Their advantage is their range which, yes, was very effective in large open battles that have been popular throughout history. In battles with poor visibility or at closer quarters, longbows are a bad choice.

I think they've become popular in D&D circles because, mechanically, they've been good and people's mental image of them has... actually been shortbows, while people see shortbows as some miniature silly weapon.

I'd be happy for the longbow to become the mechanically weaker ranged option for most Pathfinder combats, as its range is rarely a factor and that was supposed to be its shtick.

That said, I think Volley is the wrong way to do this, and an example of the worst parts of 2E's design. Instead of having weapons do cool things, they're making weapons awkward and feel bad to use. It's the 'nerf everything' style.

Killing Volley and adding Agile to shortbows would go well to both making the more appropriate shortbow better, and to making players more likely to feel rewarded for good weapon choice instead of punished for weapon choice.