New Rules Options:
Called Shots in Archery

Skilled archers in Asian literature and legend (as well as in modern film) are often depicted as engaging in brilliant feats of archery, such as shooting down foes from improbable distances, launching multiple arrows at once, etc. Western legend and mythology also contains similar stories, most famously in the tales of Robin Hood. GMs who wish to emphasize the role of archery in their campaigns may wish to explore options for adding various sorts of “trick shots” and similar maneuvers for archery attacks. Here we offer some basic mechanical guidelines for introducing these ideas into your campaign.

In general, the primary method for introducing trick shots into the game is the Called Shot maneuver. Called Shots are often undervalued by players because they do not award intrinsic mechanical benefits in the same way as maneuvers like Extra Damage, Disarm, or Knockdown.
However, the lack of specifics also makes Called Shots extremely flexible, and a good GM will encourage players to find creative uses for the maneuver. The following ideas should provide a starting point:

o 2 Raises: Shoot an arrow with a rope attached (such as when trying to get out of a pit, for example).
o 3 Raises: Pin an opponent’s extremity (hand or foot) in place, either to the floor or to a convenient wall, table, or pillar. The opponent takes normal damage but is pinned in place until pulling himself loose (which would probably inflict a small amount of additional damage, such as 1k1). The GM could also rule that the wounded extremity cannot be used effectively, such as by penalizing a character hit in the hand when he uses two-handed weapons, or inflicting the Lame Disadvantage on a character hit in the foot.
o 3 Raises: Shoot someone’s helmet off his head. This might result in a 1-point reduction in Reduction from armor.
o 3 Raises: Shoot an object in order to knock it away (e.g. shooting a sword off the table before a ronin can grab it up, for example).
o 4 raises: Pin an opponent’s extremity without hitting flesh, such as pinning his sandal to the ground or pinning his kimono sleeve to the wall. If the opponent is wearing Heavy Armor, this trick shot might require an additional Raise unless the character is shooting an armor-piercing arrow.
o 4 Raises: Pierce another arrow in an existing target (the classic Robin Hood shot).
o 4 Raises: Cut a foe’s forehead so blood gets in his eyes, rendering him Blind until he takes a Simple Action to wipe the blood away. This trick shot would probably require a fleshcutter arrow to be properly effective.
o 5 Raises: Shoot a small or medium weapon out of an opponent’s hand. This is different from the melee Disarm maneuver, which requires a Contested Strength roll and thus clearly cannot be performed with a ranged attack. However, allowing an archer to “auto-disarm” a foe with 5 Raises may be too strong, so a possible alternative is to require the foe to make a Strength roll at, say, TN 20 to hold on to the weapon. This option also allows the archer to call additional Raises to make it harder for the foe to hold on to the weapon.
o 5 Raises: Sever an enemy’s bowstring.
o 5 Raises: Cut the ties on a foe’s armor, causing it to partially fall off. This could reduce an opponent’s Armor TN and/or Reduction from armor by 1 or 2 points—possibly even reducing Heavy Armor to Light Armor for an extra Raise.
o 6 Raises: Shoot an enemy arrow or missile out of the air. This sort of action transcends the normal restrictions of the L5R game mechanics, since there is no “flight time” rule for missile weapons. However, a GM who wishes to encourage a more cinematic approach to archery could allow an archer who is holding/delaying his action for the Round to react to an enemy missile attack by immediately taking his own attack and trying to shoot it out of the air.