Ranged Weapon (type)

Ranged Weapon (weapon type) Martial Proficiency 200 hours each This handy skill lets you kill things at a distance without undue danger to yourself. Also called missile weapons, these proficiencies have little crossover value; i.e. knowing how to use a longbow helps little when shooting a crossbow. Each weapon type is a separate skill. Unskilled use has an additional -3 familiarity penalty for a total -8 to attack. Proficiency in a ranged weapon above level V automatically includes basic maintenance (such as restringing a bow), but doesn't include maintenance for technomantic items.

Weapons include:
 * Bow: shortbows mostly; also includes longbows, horse bows and pellet bows; applying a Strength damage bonus requires the warbow skill
 * Disc: spinning one-handed thrown weapons; includes chakram, discus, and frisbee (glow-in-the-dark optional)
 * Grenade: includes balanced thrown items such as rocks or vials of naptha, acid, Greek fire et cetera
 * Javelin: includes assegai, long darts, pillum, and thrown spears
 * Knife/Axe Throwing: any small unbalanced throwing weapon; includes throwing sticks and throwing irons; practice is needed with the various weapons to attain familiarity
 * Longarm: includes crossbows (the primary use of this skill) and rifles, but doesn't include siege arbalest or ballista as these are crew-served weapons using the artillery skill; familiarity or learning to fire a crossbow or rifle only takes half the usual time; does not include knowledge of how to load firearms
 * Pistol: includes hand-crossbows; does not include knowledge of how to load firearms
 * Shuriken: that is, 'hand throwing blade'; light, small, and balanced or semi-balanced items such as darts (more like the kind in a pub than the heavy 3-foot lawn darts—these use the Javelin skill), large needles, paku, piau, shaken, shuriken, throwing spikes, or small competition throwing knives
 * Sling: also includes the staff sling and kestros or Swiss arrow
 * Spear-thrower: device-driven projectiles consisting of a long shaft and/or thong to effectively extend the throwing arm and hurled with a snapping motion; includes the atlatl or woomera, amentum, or staff sling; some of devices throw javelins and spears, others may fire stones or grenades
 * Special: some weapons are unique in their use and will require special training for their unique use; each of these items is a separate skill; as examples: aklys, blowgun, bola, boomerang (the returning type for non-hunting sport), kawanga (a.k.a. throwing claw, grapple, or grappling hook), hunga-munga (double-edged hooked throwing knife), lariat (also called a lasso—thrown loop on a rope), net, slingshot, beer mug, or melee weapons thrown in combat