Archer vs guy with bow

This is in no way meant to point fingers at any particular archers. This is in no way intended to be a guide on how to shoot arrows. I'm not much of an archer, so this is largely taken from the viewpoint of "guy getting shot at, all the time".

People complain about archers, a lot. Archers complain about people, a lot. The combination of miscommunication, flawed perspective, and getting shot in the face have lead to countless disagreements and heated discussions. As a herald, I've often been forced to spend too much time monitoring archers and their targets to keep bad calls and poor hit taking from ruining otherwise good fighting.

But, "archers aren't people", it must be entirely their fault. Some blame, does in deed, land squarely on the shoulders of "guy with bow". More on him later. However, people seem to get all bent out of shape about bad calls or getting shot. I'm sure I've been upset plenty of times about poor calls, but I try not to let it ruin a day of fighting. If I know for sure a call was bad (like hit arm clean, and they called leg), I might mention it to the archer after he fight. This isn't meant as a complaint, but as a gentle reminder to watch their shots closely. The same idea behind asking someone of a shot I threw landed or not if I think I hit them. Open, calm communication.

I did mention "guy with bow". These are people that give good (and unskilled) archers the bad name. We've all seen it. Bow strung incorrectly, arrows that barely pass, calls almost every shot wrong. Then there are good archers, people that rarely have complaints against them, other than maybe from being too good at killing someone that day. Rather than go through a list of what "guy with bow" does wrong, lets look at what good archers do right.

1) Knows the rules. Yes, there are plenty of people with bows that haven't read the Book of War.

2) Plays safe. Half draws, even outside of the distance, especially when rushed. Stops fighting if the bow or arrows cause an unsafe situation.

3) Calls off questionable hits. "Nothing". If they aren't sure, they don't want you to take the hit.

4) Gives target benefit of the doubt. Shots on the borderline are left up to the target's discretion, as long as they took the hit.

5) Avoids full draw face shots. Still will shoot you in the face, but doesn't do a full draw at the minimum distance allowed.

6) Watches their shots until they hit. Many archers get caught up pulling out their next arrow rather than watching the last one hit.

7) Calls hit zones, not "dead". Saying dead could mean the archer is dead or the target.

There are, of course, several factors that separate a good archer from an unskilled one, but that's better left to the archers to teach. What separates an unskilled archer from a "guy with a bow" is not being a detriment to fighting and not creating a negative environment.