I remember way back when hunters used to have to buy stacks and stacks of arrows, and thankfully got rid of that… but now we’re left with infinite ammo.
Do you just play like they have an extra quiver? Do you gather up your arrows after? Are you an arcane archer that shoots magic bolts?
All viable. I like it when my ammunition is green, so I’m experimenting with shooting a sling shot of clingy, pointy seed pods.
Salaieska’s family is contracted with a fletcher. And her quiver has a miniature portal inside of it that automatically refreshes her arrows as she uses them. I made this up on the spot but it could theoretically be reasonable given how tied to magic Sin’dorei are in literally every aspect of their life.
In actuality, I play by the needs of the plot. She has as many arrows as the plot needs and she makes arrows if she needs to for the plot or if the scene demands an action taking place semi in the background.
Otherwise known as the Legolas quiver.
Wait, is this a thing people actually worry about? I never even thought about it past being a game mechanic
I mean I just pull bullets out of an ammo pouch
I wouldnt say “ worry about”, just something I thought of. 
Oh I didn’t mean it that way, I guess i came off all wrong, heh
This is one of those things that I’m only making note of if it’s somehow important to the vibe or theme of the story. If scarcity is a thing, then maybe I’d make note of limited projectiles and remark on needing a backup weapon, or choosing our targets carefully. I’d want to emphasize the logistics of the situation to add to the overall experience of the scene or event.
I don’t shoot arrows, I shoot swords. And yes, it’s expensive.
None of my characters are archers. The closest I really come to that is gunman/sniper who primarily uses magic powered firearms. They technically still have ammo of a sort, but that’s partially dependent of the wielder’s personal mana, and while she’s no mage she’s not exactly hurting either. She keeps a few potions on her, as well as a set of throwing knives, as precautions.
I want to start replaying my Archer character more and more now, but I dabble in archery IRL, and fletching is an important part of the hobby. Testing arrows and having a relationship with every shot that you have is important, and I always had Caelin crafting his own shot, and having them be blessed/enchanted with different magical effects.
After combat events, and during practices, I always demonstrate that he polices his ammo, or as best as he can. It’s just a nice little touch that he cares about that sort of thing, and is more frugal because of the effort that goes into creating them in the first place
If anyone wants to do archery training Rp, I miss doing it ;-;
Great question (and I like your name)! I give my Sentinel a set amount of 30 arrows in her quiver. They are special commissioned arrows blessed by priestesses. She rarely goes anywhere without her nightsaber so she has extra quivers on her saddle. If she is in a formal battle alongside her sisters, extra arrows would already be at hand to them. Otherwise, when she runs out, she collects her own from bodies. If she is desperate, she will collect others’ arrows on the field if available. If she is feeling extra vengeful and knows in advance who she is fighting, she will put poison on her arrows. >:)
I figured it’s one of those things that - like in D&D, Pathfinder 2, etc - I don’t really keep track of, much like rations.
Enforcing an arrow limit on a hunter feels like an unnecessary punishment, unless we’re also imposing weight restrictions on swords, asking when the last time it was sharpened, or waiting for mages, warlocks, priests, etc to start getting headaches because they’re using a lot of mana.
The short version is, most people don’t bother RPing much about their arrows. Here’s the long version:
A typical RP with an archer would be something like: Assess your bow, string and arrows to make sure they’re still sound prior to battle RP starting (bow/arrow failure is a thing and it can be nasty if it happens). When you’re RPing an attack, make sure the field in front of you isn’t obstructed by a friendly melee fighter. If not, you pull an arrow with your index finger and thumb at the fletching end of the arrow. Then you nock, aim and loose. If a friendly is standing in my way, I’ll RP taking a step to the side. You can RP shooting stationary or while moving. I like to position high when I can.
After the RP, if you want to determine how many of your arrows are still good, you can do a roll. If you shot 6 arrows, then roll 1d6 to see how many are found or still in good condition.
If you want to go the magical route, there are special trick arrows that Hawkeye or Green Arrow use. These can be fire, freeze, explosive, smoke or blinding flash, sonic, net, zip line or grappling hook, tranquilizer, electric shock, listening devices, flare, magnetic, blunt tip, etc. If I RP any of these, I like to run it by the DM for approval and I don’t like to use more than a couple different specials. I feel like engineering or enchanting professions would be involved in creating these and that they’re 1-use only and expensive.
Details:
Bows come in a few different types in-game. There’s long bow, recurve and crossbow (I don’t remember many compound bows, but I think we have at least a couple).
For long bow, recurve and compound bows, you’ll be using arrows in a quiver that’s either on your back or hanging from your belt. The assumption is you’ll have around 12-20 arrows in that quiver at any given time (I usually don’t count them ICly, but I also don’t RP attacking more than 12x in a battle). If you’re a dedicated archer, those arrows are either hand-made by you or by a fletcher who is familiar enough with you to measure your draw length (how far you pull back the bow string) to know how long to make your arrows. The arrows will be specific to you in this case, and you may have your own markings/coloring on the arrows to be able to find and identify them after a battle.
The arrows will have (typically) 2-3 feather bits called fletchings. The notched end of the arrow is set against the string, then you nock the arrow - pull back the string and arrow to an anchoring point (a lot of people use the corner of their mouth as their string pull length), aim and let loose.
If you have time to set up, you might take the arrows out of your quiver and sink them tip first in the ground in front of you - easier to grab quickly for a faster nock but not necessarily good for the arrow. If you’re aiming at something far away, you aim your direction first, then angle the bow upward.
If you’re not using a crossbow or a compound bow, you won’t stand for long periods of time holding your bow as nocked. If you do, your arm will get tired. If you want to get fancy, you can nock more than one at a time and loose them (you hold them close together when you do and I roll for each arrow). There’s also string walking, which involves moving your hand lower than where on the string the arrow is nocked (if that makes sense) which changes where you’re aiming.
A crossbow uses bolts, not arrows. And your nocking is different. You’ll either face the crossbow down toward the ground and step into it to pull the string back, or some have cranks to pull the string into place. Then it stays nocked until you shoot it. Nock, load your bolt, aim and fire.
Other random bits: A crossbow is more accurate than a recurve because it doesn’t drop during flight as much. A compound bow has pulleys on top and bottom that allow you to hold your bow as nocked for longer periods of time. An archer may make small markings on their bow that show distance measurement angles for accuracy. They may also ask someone to spot for them and tell them if the shot went short, too far, etc. Winds can blow your arrow off course.
I RP every time I shoot an arrow it does a little pew a sound.
Once Outlaw Rogues got flintlock pistols, everyone swapped to those because of their egos.
Yeah, especially with a lot of rifles having abandoned the flintlock route in favor of revolver or lever action. Those become I.W.I.N. buttons pretty quick whenever there’s trouble.
RP reloading your blunderbuss, I dare you.
Gimmie five minutes to type a paragraph*
*A Thackeray paragraph
Don’t make me signal the invisible snipers.
Bet.
/10 char