Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-30830745-20180225111723/@comment-26298013-20180225192657

Two, awesome, words for you: Numenorean Steelbows

Anyways, I definitely agree with the above point about crossbows being unnecessary, though they are terribly inefficient at changing draw force to projectile force, meaning that even the largest crossbows aren't any more effective against armor than a longbow (the bolts would often shatter on impact with plate armor, without punching through. The way plate-armored knights and lords and such were brought down from range usually involved a lot of arrows, which would turn the poor man inside the tin can into a lump of bruises.) Either you're using the largest crossbows to maybe-hopefully punch through a thinner spot of plate or the mail covering the gaps at close range, or you're using lighter ones because your men aren't trained well. Otherwise, you probably just want the mass fire ability of longbows, which are faster than crossbows to use (because you don't have to set the longbow on the ground and crank a windlass for thirty seconds to draw the thing).

Without plate, the most logical ranged weapon is the longbow with a bodkin point, which is capable of (at about thirty yards' range, most commonly) splitting apart links in mail and punching through. Of course, this is turned on its head if you're facing Dwarves. Dwarves certainly have the level of metal-working skill necessary to make plate, yet they don't, because their mail is capable of holding up under blows that break necks (See Azog versus...Nain, I think) and other ridiculous things. So good luck breaking their mail without something like a crossbow with armor-piercing bolts.