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Its something that bugs me but, with some research and help from a friendly bowguy (He finds Bowyer sounds too fancy and 13th century) I got an answer that I am happy to discuss on to drek bows so I am gonna talk about it
So why take a bow?
Hunting weapons are pretty important to drekir, they're mesocarnivores and hunting, fishing, and foraging meat sources is necessary for them to live which tends to mean that they engage in a variety of hunting tactics with a variety of things. Everything from trapping and snares to hunting with atlatls and fishing with nets. Different cultures might come up with different tools for different jobs and situations Most of the ranged weapons are not necessarily substitutes for others. A crossbow has different pros and cons than an atlatl for example and bows are no different though, granted.
Bows are possibly one of the most widely adopted preindustrial weapons of humanity throughout all of written history and a sizeable chunk of prehistory in every place in the world except Australia.
While bows are versatile, drekir bows would be less varied than the wide breath of bows we have
Drek bows are more specific due to the narrow size and power range that they can exist in. Cramped environments, regions that are lacking in large amounts of wood , needs to be constantly on the move chasing and shooting at prey, or possibly different preferences.
So the "Drek Bow"
Drek bows, by necessity are going to be very specific in their structure, size, power, draw length etc. as they are pushing up against a lot of the limitations of the drekir in a lot of ways. The bow staves length (length of the bow when unstrung) tends to be somewhere between 36-43 inches or so, maybe 45 inches tops (about 90-115cm) or so. Moreover, their intended draw lengths are also short, with the ideal draw being between 18-24 inches tops (45-60cms or so)
and the poundage of these bows being light, ranging between 30-40lbs for more serious bows and, with some serious training, a drek might build up the epic strength to pull bows that are between 40-45lbs.
And there would likely be even lighter bows that rely on specializing in small animals or using poison as a hunting tactic that might be more around 20-25lbs
Of course 30-40lbs tends to be a solid hunting bow for small and mediumish folks, and can take down larger animals with good shot placement (or a lot of arrows if a humane death isn't in order). The problem is that the arrow will lose its power very quickly, so this limitation would put a dreks bows effective range within the range of a lot of their other hunting weapons that one could make, under 30 meters or so (about 33 yards). Anything further is just going to lose too much power to actually be deadly (but probably painful)
As for materials
There are a variety of woods of course, Osage, Willow, Ash, Elm, etc. Wood being the tried and true method. Drekir bows would probably mostly be flatbows as they are easy to make, less prone to breaking, and are less picky in types of wood. But its not the only material.
Bone and Horns have been used to make bows. There are shortbows that are just made of two ground and shaped horns that tend to fit in this size range (by necesity, horns tend to be limited in size) And bone bows do exist but... are rare. Maybe less rare amongst the drekir but still probably not common as they are difficult to make
Scavenged materials may not be favorable. If it can be found as a rare and lucky find, fiberglass of course makes a great material for bows.
PVC, while everyone would say make it into a bow would not work particularly in the dragonscape. Though its great for bows if made properly, the PVC of the dragonscape has been sitting in the sun for well over a century which would likely make that PVC highly brittle, assuming it hasn't shattered already
so the PVC of the DragonScape is not nearly as useful as what you might find at the hardware store. If anything I would more likely see drekir using it to make arrowhead/projectile points rather than a bow.
And lastly antler, kinda the same as bone but far rarer as antlers only really appear in the far northern arctic regions of North America, but there? probably
So generally speaking, Wood, Horn, Fiberglass, Bone and Antler are all good materials.
and as for shooting styles
Of course drekir might invent multiple shooting styles but so far I only got one on the mind so if you guys got thoughts on other neat ways of shooting mini knives at things let me know. But the general style involves aiming the bow in an arc in front of you, at least on your shooting hands flank and in the front. The bow is held horizontally and the arrow is knocked on the topside of the bow. The draw is towards the crook of the neck, basically the base of the neck where the neck and collar transition to the sternum and ribs as it's kinda an easy gap to pull the arrow towards.
With the arm straight, depending on the length of the dreks arm and draw, will be close to 19 inches and the draw is not held. Rather the drek is going to ideally be releasing the arrow as soon as the arrow hits the end of the draw. So its not a "draw, aim, and release" but rather it's an instinctively aimed push/pull and release as quickly as possible
This style also does not interfere with the legs allowing a drek to move while slinging arrows which is a big advantage of the bow
And as some other thoughts
The first probably being an explanation why I keep trying to get bows to work. It's mostly that bows are one of the most famous weapons across the world and most countries have some knowhow of bows if not a lot of experience. Across the Americas Bows are used in modern bowhunting, traditional bowhunting and is used today across all of the americas and. Even if you're not a guy who knows their way around a bow, you have probably seen a lot of them
This sort of general understanding of a bow is probably going to bias a lot of 1st gen drekir in the early years to make one as its probably the first thing that will come to mind on average
a sort of "Man sprinting at things with a sharp stick with my friends kinda works... but I bet I could try and make a bow to make this easier" Even if things like atlatls, slings, etc. can get more power
which may result in some drekir groups trying to make bows, not hitting the right recipe and/or giving up for things like atlatls or throwing sticks, while other groups of drekir get a good bow figured out at some point (doesn't have to even happen just in the 1st generation). Then that info gets passed down from the adult to the annoying little mongrel who keeps asking them what they're doing with the piece of wood
so yeah. Arrows are gonna be more straightforward so ill get back to that later but yeah bows
I think this is a pretty good overall explanation. It may not be the most dominant weapon of the dragonscape for hunting and fishing (as it would be used for both depending on the culture) but I think I am confident that it would exist and it would probably exist in the above way
So why take a bow?
Hunting weapons are pretty important to drekir, they're mesocarnivores and hunting, fishing, and foraging meat sources is necessary for them to live which tends to mean that they engage in a variety of hunting tactics with a variety of things. Everything from trapping and snares to hunting with atlatls and fishing with nets. Different cultures might come up with different tools for different jobs and situations Most of the ranged weapons are not necessarily substitutes for others. A crossbow has different pros and cons than an atlatl for example and bows are no different though, granted.
Bows are possibly one of the most widely adopted preindustrial weapons of humanity throughout all of written history and a sizeable chunk of prehistory in every place in the world except Australia.
While bows are versatile, drekir bows would be less varied than the wide breath of bows we have
Drek bows are more specific due to the narrow size and power range that they can exist in. Cramped environments, regions that are lacking in large amounts of wood , needs to be constantly on the move chasing and shooting at prey, or possibly different preferences.
So the "Drek Bow"
Drek bows, by necessity are going to be very specific in their structure, size, power, draw length etc. as they are pushing up against a lot of the limitations of the drekir in a lot of ways. The bow staves length (length of the bow when unstrung) tends to be somewhere between 36-43 inches or so, maybe 45 inches tops (about 90-115cm) or so. Moreover, their intended draw lengths are also short, with the ideal draw being between 18-24 inches tops (45-60cms or so)
and the poundage of these bows being light, ranging between 30-40lbs for more serious bows and, with some serious training, a drek might build up the epic strength to pull bows that are between 40-45lbs.
And there would likely be even lighter bows that rely on specializing in small animals or using poison as a hunting tactic that might be more around 20-25lbs
Of course 30-40lbs tends to be a solid hunting bow for small and mediumish folks, and can take down larger animals with good shot placement (or a lot of arrows if a humane death isn't in order). The problem is that the arrow will lose its power very quickly, so this limitation would put a dreks bows effective range within the range of a lot of their other hunting weapons that one could make, under 30 meters or so (about 33 yards). Anything further is just going to lose too much power to actually be deadly (but probably painful)
As for materials
There are a variety of woods of course, Osage, Willow, Ash, Elm, etc. Wood being the tried and true method. Drekir bows would probably mostly be flatbows as they are easy to make, less prone to breaking, and are less picky in types of wood. But its not the only material.
Bone and Horns have been used to make bows. There are shortbows that are just made of two ground and shaped horns that tend to fit in this size range (by necesity, horns tend to be limited in size) And bone bows do exist but... are rare. Maybe less rare amongst the drekir but still probably not common as they are difficult to make
Scavenged materials may not be favorable. If it can be found as a rare and lucky find, fiberglass of course makes a great material for bows.
PVC, while everyone would say make it into a bow would not work particularly in the dragonscape. Though its great for bows if made properly, the PVC of the dragonscape has been sitting in the sun for well over a century which would likely make that PVC highly brittle, assuming it hasn't shattered already
so the PVC of the DragonScape is not nearly as useful as what you might find at the hardware store. If anything I would more likely see drekir using it to make arrowhead/projectile points rather than a bow.
And lastly antler, kinda the same as bone but far rarer as antlers only really appear in the far northern arctic regions of North America, but there? probably
So generally speaking, Wood, Horn, Fiberglass, Bone and Antler are all good materials.
and as for shooting styles
Of course drekir might invent multiple shooting styles but so far I only got one on the mind so if you guys got thoughts on other neat ways of shooting mini knives at things let me know. But the general style involves aiming the bow in an arc in front of you, at least on your shooting hands flank and in the front. The bow is held horizontally and the arrow is knocked on the topside of the bow. The draw is towards the crook of the neck, basically the base of the neck where the neck and collar transition to the sternum and ribs as it's kinda an easy gap to pull the arrow towards.
With the arm straight, depending on the length of the dreks arm and draw, will be close to 19 inches and the draw is not held. Rather the drek is going to ideally be releasing the arrow as soon as the arrow hits the end of the draw. So its not a "draw, aim, and release" but rather it's an instinctively aimed push/pull and release as quickly as possible
This style also does not interfere with the legs allowing a drek to move while slinging arrows which is a big advantage of the bow
And as some other thoughts
The first probably being an explanation why I keep trying to get bows to work. It's mostly that bows are one of the most famous weapons across the world and most countries have some knowhow of bows if not a lot of experience. Across the Americas Bows are used in modern bowhunting, traditional bowhunting and is used today across all of the americas and. Even if you're not a guy who knows their way around a bow, you have probably seen a lot of them
This sort of general understanding of a bow is probably going to bias a lot of 1st gen drekir in the early years to make one as its probably the first thing that will come to mind on average
a sort of "Man sprinting at things with a sharp stick with my friends kinda works... but I bet I could try and make a bow to make this easier" Even if things like atlatls, slings, etc. can get more power
which may result in some drekir groups trying to make bows, not hitting the right recipe and/or giving up for things like atlatls or throwing sticks, while other groups of drekir get a good bow figured out at some point (doesn't have to even happen just in the 1st generation). Then that info gets passed down from the adult to the annoying little mongrel who keeps asking them what they're doing with the piece of wood
so yeah. Arrows are gonna be more straightforward so ill get back to that later but yeah bows
I think this is a pretty good overall explanation. It may not be the most dominant weapon of the dragonscape for hunting and fishing (as it would be used for both depending on the culture) but I think I am confident that it would exist and it would probably exist in the above way
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Well they already do have crossbows, I've said this plenty and I have drawn them plenty (though not sure if I've posted them here)
It's a case of that a crossbow is not a replacement for a bow, they both come with advantages and disadvantages that cultures will need to weight. Crossbows and bows can exist equally
It's a case of that a crossbow is not a replacement for a bow, they both come with advantages and disadvantages that cultures will need to weight. Crossbows and bows can exist equally
There are other downsides too.
Maintenance is a problem as unstringing these bows is hard and crossbow prods undergo a lot more intense stress than what an average bow would be going for. Which means prods and strings are going to wear out more often and necesitate replacement so there is overall more work that will need to be put into the crossbow.
Reloading mechanisms are a pretty unreasonable request for drekir crossbows. At best things like hooked belts are used by these crossbows are both low enough in power and simple enough to make complex reloading mechanisms both not needed and probably not well understood by the drekir.
Maintenance is a problem as unstringing these bows is hard and crossbow prods undergo a lot more intense stress than what an average bow would be going for. Which means prods and strings are going to wear out more often and necesitate replacement so there is overall more work that will need to be put into the crossbow.
Reloading mechanisms are a pretty unreasonable request for drekir crossbows. At best things like hooked belts are used by these crossbows are both low enough in power and simple enough to make complex reloading mechanisms both not needed and probably not well understood by the drekir.
Depending on the range of motion they can accomplish with their arms, the might be able to fire across their chest, perpendicular to the length of their body. Not sure how feasable that is tho.
Edit: I am very tired and realized a few things that make this very difficult, mechanically.
Edit: I am very tired and realized a few things that make this very difficult, mechanically.
I mean if the bow is horizontal yeah 100% and if it's vertical perhaps? I don't really understand what you mean but I am sure the bow would need to be asymmetrical to not bump their chin if it is vertical. Either way from the front it's more complimentary to how a dreks arms would move
Not entirely following what you are suggesting I think that is my failing there. my bad
Not entirely following what you are suggesting I think that is my failing there. my bad
The idea was the bow would be held away from the body, at an angle. The other hand wpuld be pulling the bowstring almost across the chest in order to get a longer draw than otherwise would be possible. Then I realized with the cirve of the body that their own chest would be in the way. Tired girl has ideas, but they don't always work.
Yeah, funnily enough their chest is actually on the belly, parallel to the ground and what is in front is just the base of their neck.
But moreover their arms are too far behind the front of their body to pull across.
While not necessary if a drek wanted more draw length they could theoretically draw under their body across the ventral side to achieve more length on the draw
But moreover their arms are too far behind the front of their body to pull across.
While not necessary if a drek wanted more draw length they could theoretically draw under their body across the ventral side to achieve more length on the draw
I already have pictures of them using slings: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/46162947/
Moreover as someone who uses slings and used to reasearch them all the time as a hobby, they are limited in their hunting ability and a culture really needs to go all in to build up the accuracy and special training needed to make them work. Moreover drekir being mesocarnivores aren't going to be subsisting solely off of small game but rather, are going to be exploiting a wide variety of available meat sources (Small game, medium game, large game, insect foraging, fishing, all with a variety of methods as needed in a specific context)
So the answer is yes, if that specific group of drekir go all in on it which some do, some don't
Moreover as someone who uses slings and used to reasearch them all the time as a hobby, they are limited in their hunting ability and a culture really needs to go all in to build up the accuracy and special training needed to make them work. Moreover drekir being mesocarnivores aren't going to be subsisting solely off of small game but rather, are going to be exploiting a wide variety of available meat sources (Small game, medium game, large game, insect foraging, fishing, all with a variety of methods as needed in a specific context)
So the answer is yes, if that specific group of drekir go all in on it which some do, some don't
The worldbuilding of the DragonScape has been goin on for 4 years so yeah, definitely a lot more research and worldbuilding than comic. Of course that ratio has been changing over the past year or two but yeah I feel a good, fleshed out and grounded setting is necessary for a solid world
Mesocarnivore well that something I had to look up and certainly didn’t like what I found out so definitely new negative thing I adding to list to reason why I wouldn’t like be turn into drekir (just one being cold blooded which why they have bask in sun instead being able chose when to do it as they would die if they didn’t bask). I would like choose what to eat instead having to eat to avoid getting bad symptoms.
Yep they need to eat a lot of meat which has some pros and cons for sure. They can eat most meats and of course, being mesocarnivores still need to eat veggies and fruits. They can eat most things fine as long as they aren't dairy (not a problem, milk isn't exactly an extant thing in the DS) or complex cereal grains (Wheat, Oats, Corn, etc.)
It's common for drekir to eat a lot of meat biproducts too to meet that meat requirement. Organs, blood, bone marrow, etc. included
It's common for drekir to eat a lot of meat biproducts too to meet that meat requirement. Organs, blood, bone marrow, etc. included
you mean something that protects from dragon magic? Not really, its hard to protect against all the varieties of elemental energy that a mage might use.
There is examples of Alchemical rubber used in fogmasks and protective clothing worn by drekir traveling through voicelakes or other such magic heavy regions. But nothing really exists for combat.
Actual normal armor is even uncommon, though not unheard of (Usually wooden slat armor, hide armor, or lamellar armor made of bone, wood, hide, horn, etc.)
There is examples of Alchemical rubber used in fogmasks and protective clothing worn by drekir traveling through voicelakes or other such magic heavy regions. But nothing really exists for combat.
Actual normal armor is even uncommon, though not unheard of (Usually wooden slat armor, hide armor, or lamellar armor made of bone, wood, hide, horn, etc.)
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