Bowyer/Fletcher
Characters who grew up as an apprentice under, assistant to, or who practiced the works of a bowyer & fletcher and weapon smith, will have the chance to have this particular Extra Skill. For it pertains primarily to the knowledge of bows & arrows & how they are constructed, including the carving & shaping process, shafting process, stringing process, etc. Thus while the character never has to be the one making the bows or arrows, they do need to have been exposed to the process for long periods of time. This time would need to be vastly longer if the character is learning on their own without a mentor.
With the knowledge & experience of a Bowyer/Fletcher & Weaponsmith under their belt, characters with this skill can expertly appraise bows & arrows (not crossbows or bolts) without any rolls, & properly determine the condition of the bows & arrows. This could result in discovering that a bow is flawed in some way like being too flexible or too stiff, resulting in it not firing properly (penalties) or snapping at an inopportune moment, an average but good quality bow, a strong & expertly crafted bow which would help keep arrows steady, and discovering an arrow's feathers being off or weak, the shaft being too brittle or flimsy, if the arrowhead is properly fastened to the shaft, if the shape is good enough to penetrate armor, & even identify any unique qualities applied to the arrows. In addition, so long as one with this skill spot any damage to the bow or arrow that isn't irreversable, they can repair the damage or do patch work for bows, and replace the broken parts of arrows such as shafts, fletching & arrowheads with the appropriate tools, materials & time to do so without any rolls (unless rushing the job).
Furthermore, the character with this skill, should they ever fashion for themselves their very own bow, will have the following bonuses when using one of their own making & familiarity: They will always have +1 "To Hit". The maxium range for Short, Medium & Long ranges is increased by 1". When an arrow misses, it can/will land nearby their intended target rather than going way off the mark.
With the knowledge & experience of a Bowyer/Fletcher & Weaponsmith under their belt, characters with this skill can expertly appraise bows & arrows (not crossbows or bolts) without any rolls, & properly determine the condition of the bows & arrows. This could result in discovering that a bow is flawed in some way like being too flexible or too stiff, resulting in it not firing properly (penalties) or snapping at an inopportune moment, an average but good quality bow, a strong & expertly crafted bow which would help keep arrows steady, and discovering an arrow's feathers being off or weak, the shaft being too brittle or flimsy, if the arrowhead is properly fastened to the shaft, if the shape is good enough to penetrate armor, & even identify any unique qualities applied to the arrows. In addition, so long as one with this skill spot any damage to the bow or arrow that isn't irreversable, they can repair the damage or do patch work for bows, and replace the broken parts of arrows such as shafts, fletching & arrowheads with the appropriate tools, materials & time to do so without any rolls (unless rushing the job).
Furthermore, the character with this skill, should they ever fashion for themselves their very own bow, will have the following bonuses when using one of their own making & familiarity: They will always have +1 "To Hit". The maxium range for Short, Medium & Long ranges is increased by 1". When an arrow misses, it can/will land nearby their intended target rather than going way off the mark.
