ToME WikiOrvin: Three positions for launching missiles: standing (as now), sitting, prone. Availability depends on the launcher as follows:
- Slings - standing, sitting, prone
Long bows - standing, sitting (only if Bow-mastery>=25)
- Short bows - standing, sitting, prone
- Light crossbows - standing, sitting, prone
- Heavy crossbows (not of Siegecraft) - standing, sitting, prone
- Heavy crossbows of Siegecraft - sitting
- Boomerangs - standing
- Thrown objects - standing, sitting (with penalties to-hit and to-dam)
Firing while sitting or prone grants a to-hit bonus (maybe, +10% of current to-hit for sitting, +20% for prone). However, it takes time to change position (more time to change standing<->prone than standing<->sitting) and you are immobile while sitting or prone. Sitting and prone are not available while levitating/flying, or levitating/flying temporarily negated while sitting or prone.
Also, while sitting or prone, you might receive less damage from force and gravity attacks.
Would anyone else switch positions while arching?
ElvishPillager: I believe the position is kneeling. It would take time, make you immobile, and give you a to-hit and to-dam bonus (neither very high) to archery, and similar penalties to melee. I'd use it. (actually, kneeling would only be useful for bows/crossbows - slings and boomerangs, you'd better be standing up for.)
(justification for the to-dam: archery damage is determined in a great part by the accuracy of your shot. Hit someone in the head and you will do more damage than if you hit them in the toe (unless they are a dragon, for whom toes are the vulnerable spot - no wait, that's a different game :P) hmm, maybe it should give a bonus to crit-hit chance instead of damage? Do archers get crit-hits?)
JohnGilmore: Dragon Toes as a vulnerable spot? That sounds very odd. What game/story are you refering to, and why would that vulnerability make a difference?
ElvishPillager: An ancient graphical adventure game written in HyperCard. In a library in one place in the game, there was a book entitled "Dragon hunting for dummies" or something in that vein, which advised to always attack the toes of dragons. Later when you face a dragon, you have three options for attack: its head (you die), its heart (you die), or its toe (you chop off its toe and all its blood pours out and it collapeses on the floor.)
JohnGilmore: I remember hypercard - I had a good friend who had a mac. Thanks.