Similar to the last trip to Pennsic, I have a lot to say about Combat Archery. One of the official reasons I went to Pennsic, outside of Her Highness, was that I am seeking a Deputy for the Society gig, and I offered to be available for questions while I was there. One of my applicants was available for an informal chat at Inspection Point, so when Her Grace volunteered for a good number of entourage shifts, it freed me up to go participate in his Intro to Combat Archery class. I am a bit more known out of kingdom now, so as much as I try to be sneaky, I’m a terrible spy.
We only had 2.5 fighters from Gleann Abhann: His Grace, me and my travel companion who was authorized the week before war (she only fought in the CA battle). I didn’t walk to the field with His Grace for the town battle, as I wanted to go early in order to help out at Combat Archery point and get the feel of how it was going with the community. So, we didn’t end up fighting with the same forces. I found the Meridian archers and fought alongside them. I am pretty sure we were fighting with the East’s army. We were allied with the East, but I am 90% sure it was the Royal East forces I was with that first day.
The first battle was exhilarating and being seen for my skill from strangers was ego inflating. I was repeatedly thanked by the army on our side, and I was pulled to target a specific person on the opposing side, and once I got him, they told me He was the Prince of the Midrealm. The CA only battle with a new archer from Gleann Abhann was also great. My photo was in the Pennsic Independent for that one! And the bridge battle was best of all. During a hold, I was asked by a Tuchux to come help them with a pair of archers that were giving them problems. I went into the thick of things after “Lay On” was called, and ended up taking them both out. The one behind the pavise I got right in the eye slot. It was beautiful!
As much fun as I had shooting at Pennsic, I realized two things. The first is that I need to focus on my fighting garb a bit more to give a standardized “look” while I’m on the field. Because I’m vain and want people to know me by my skill. I end up not wearing my gambeson very often because it’s so dang hot. The other is that archery is cherish/vilified based on the balance of archers on the field. The side I was on had a 2:1 advantage of archers. One the archer heavy side, the army worked with the archers by calling targets and celebrating great shots. The East even presented tokens to the Meridian archers in court in thanks for their support during the battles.
The complaints about archery hitting to hard all came from the Midrealm side. It made me realize that it’s not about hitting too hard – it’s about getting more than an “average” number of hits. When you are hit on a spot that already has a bruise, which could be more common with combat archery targets, the bruise looks and feels exponentially worse. When archers are balanced, the primary target of an archer is the other opposing archers. When they are unbalanced, archers have more of an opportunity to target commanders and other skilled combatants (like spears and mid-range weapons). This leads to the “compounding” hits, especially in a rez battle.
I have been on the “losing side” of 5:1 archers and it’s not a fun place to be. This is a game after all, and we should want to make it fun for everyone playing. When the War Councils happen to make the sides as even as possible, the commanders should also account for archery. We all know that archery is a force multiplier, so those numbers should be as balanced as possible as well as the overall combatant numbers. As Gleann Abhann’s DEM and Combat Archer General, I want to have a voice in the meetings to ensure archery is even, so everyone can have fun.
Once this connection was made, it made me realize how I changed the perception of the Gleann Abhann Army from anti-combat archer to a positive relationship. I spent 3 years building the combat archer rolls, and in 2019 archers accounted for 20%+ of our army’s numbers. Once the army saw archers making a difference in their battles, they became supporters and included archers in battle plans. I remember two key turning points: archers helping the army hold a point in the ravine battle and archers helping to take a bridge in a bridge battle, which our small army has rarely accomplished.
From there, Knights would ask me to encourage the archers to train with them at War Practices and asked for specific classes around archery. There has absolutely been ebb and flow to this cadence, and some of it’s based on my conflicting responsibilities. In order to keep the rolls up, you need continual enthusiasm and loaner equipment – including a spare bow or two and a cache. I did a lot of fundraising to get Gleann Abhann’s cache up to around 300 bolts (and two dozen arrows, just for the Legolas/Link idealists).
I did an annual bulk order for the archers in the kingdom for ammo. It took a lot of organization, but I was able to get bolt costs to around $4 each plus tape and glue. When you get 14 archers together plus the fundraising for the Kingdom cache, you get a lot more bang for your buck. In fact, it may be time to get another one of those together, and I already ordered red linen to block print for new fighting tunics.
dual mundanity 