The only thing that seems missing to me would be the Primitive Quality of the bow. And I'd like to see a quote on that quality not applying to the extra dice from Accurate.

Well, the additional Accurate Dices are mostly not considered to be affected by Primitive for they are treated in other ways like non-regular damage dices too. (They cant generate RF for example) But even if these would be capped by Primitive 6, they are still rolled as a D10 and hence are still able to net an average roll of 5,5, changing nothing on the Maths I presented. It would be another case if it was Primitive (5), then even though the average of a D10 is 5,5 it would be effectively reduced to 5.

Alright, the math seems solid. The question is how to better portray the initial concept while still making the regiment combat worthy? I´d thank if you help us with some ideas.

Another thing I think is that the custom Bow advantages are somewhat offset by the fact they have to reload each turn. To effective, you have to Aim first andthen fire, something It cant be done in the same turn your reload the Bow. My point is out of every three rounds you will have to spend one of them reloading the thing, limiting its overall efectiveness

Rapid Reload, a T1 talent, makes Half Action Reloads a Free action. With that talent you can Reload, Aim and Shot every turn.

If you really want to stick to that bow make it not some high-tech gear that could kill astartes but how about them being rather primitive but also some sort of artisan? I would suggest a basic Bow without the primitive quality, if you realy want you can also grant it some Pen2, as if your people would attach small mono-arrow heads to their self-made arrows. If you want to stick to some sort of Composite bow, let every bow be custom made for each soldier, hence being issued with a custom grip as standard, replacing the accurate thing that is OP and has nothing to do on that bow. The custom grip also allows you to shoot more accurate so there you got what you want. A top of that you can think of allowing the Strength Bonus as additional damage. Every bow is custom made, not just a weapon with a custom grip, and it is made to suit its user and the weight he is able to pull from such a bow.

That way you would have a bow that deals as much damage as a Mono Spear, quite decent but not over the top. A nice tool to have but nothing you can relax on, hence forcing your regiment to improvise in certain situations and rely on other weapons or tools like their axes for example. That way they can make use of their strength characteristic on both weapons.

The whole point is that the weapon was never manufactured to be an "Astartes itching bow of doom". It has excellent precision - the Accurate quality - and that's all. Your problem is the OP rules of the Accurate quality and not the actual weapon.

If that weapon has OP rules attached to it, it better have an explanation for it. The bow has not, so I have a problem with the weapon. A Longlas at last offers some sort of explanation though it is also much stronger than it should have been.

If you really want to stick to that bow make it not some high-tech gear that could kill astartes but how about them being rather primitive but also some sort of artisan? I would suggest a basic Bow without the primitive quality, if you realy want you can also grant it some Pen2, as if your people would attach small mono-arrow heads to their self-made arrows. If you want to stick to some sort of Composite bow, let every bow be custom made for each soldier, hence being issued with a custom grip as standard, replacing the accurate thing that is OP and has nothing to do on that bow. The custom grip also allows you to shoot more accurate so there you got what you want. A top of that you can think of allowing the Strength Bonus as additional damage. Every bow is custom made, not just a weapon with a custom grip, and it is made to suit its user and the weight he is able to pull from such a bow.

That way you would have a bow that deals as much damage as a Mono Spear, quite decent but not over the top. A nice tool to have but nothing you can relax on, hence forcing your regiment to improvise in certain situations and rely on other weapons or tools like their axes for example. That way they can make use of their strength characteristic on both weapons.

We can work with that, I´m thinking we could remove the Accurate quality, mantein the HIgh Impact Quality and add a more feasible quality like Crippling(representing some vicious arrowheads). Thoughts?

We will have to re-think some of the things we are including in the standard regimental kit. Honestly, creating the Regimental Kits is a blast xD What should we include in the kit of a Hunter-Killer Regiment...?

If that weapon has OP rules attached to it, it better have an explanation for it. The bow has not, so I have a problem with the weapon. A Longlas at last offers some sort of explanation though it is also much stronger than it should have been.

It has an explanation: it is a reflex bow. And the reflex bow is pretty much the sniper rifle of the bows (a short ranged sniper rifle that is).

Well the crippling would work quite well I think, making the weapon less of a direct killing instrument into some sort of utility tool. Like crippling the foes with the Bow as a gap closer and a follow up charge where they slaughter anyone left after they brought disarray and confusion upon their enemies.

Another nice thing might be Trade: Chymist so your Guardsmen can try to create poisons from the local flora and fauna to apply on their weapons to get some single use Toxic(0) upgrades. Like they draw a single poisoned arrow if they try to assassinate an officer.

And about the Hunter-Killer kit, I prefer to go rather basic with the regimental kit as long as the regiment in question is quite standard. If it is about a Sentinel and infantry an Auspex for your Sergeant is never a wrong idea. Also Krak grenades are rather usefull if it is about fast hit and run tactics, same goes with smoke if you want to retreat in safety after an ambush. Additional rations are also always a good pick, you dont know how long it takes until you see an engagement or if you are ordered to cut of enemy supply lines with long deployment times. Also you might add another favored weapon if you are about tank destruction like Lascannon and Autocannon or Rocketlauncher for some variety.

It has an explanation: it is a reflex bow. And the reflex bow is pretty much the sniper rifle of the bows (a short ranged sniper rifle that is).

Nope... nope and... nope...

The special thing about a reflex bow was not its accuracy, it was the fact that by design this bow was rather compact though allowed the storage of quite a lot energy. That way It could have as much velocity and stopping power as comparable bows, like English longbows or Japanese yumis but with a much smaller size, making it perfect for horseback. By no means it was any more accurate than other bow designs that were made for direct fire.

Alright, we have ideas about how should the bow work. Now we to settle if the custom bow is standard issue or make it a favorite weapon? Ideas?

It depends on the campaign you want to run.

- They completely primitive (Then I would ignore such gear like stummers though chameleoline might be okay) and used as cannon fodder. They are not used in regular warfare but as some sort of buffer to buy time for the more valuable troops to deploy. They are always some sort of undergeared and have to compensate that with wit and faith. The campaign is about their struggles where they are constantly confronted with the arrogance of regular regiments and the firepower of the enemy if deployed in field. They have no chance for direct combat but excel at guerrilla warfare and scouting/recon. Some commanders make good use of them, some do not and if they are forced to take a city in gruesome urban warfare or lead an infantry charge they will notice what it means to enter a battle field of the 41th millenium with a primitive weapon - they will get slaughtered.

- They are parts primitive where they stick to traditions of their homeworld and prefer some of the weapons they grew up with. Never the less their home world had decent export goods like cattle and its wealth allowed them to equip their tithe regiments in regular fashion with Lasguns, Flak Armour and a few support weapons. But even if they are equipped that way they prefer the sort of combat they learned at home, in the deep forests of XYZ. They know that there are moments where a silent arrow is worth a thousand soldiers and that a decent ambush might triumph over the most zealous charge you could imagine. But they are not stupid. They know that this is a brutal world and what their enemies are capable of. They still use the Lasguns and can be deployed side by side with regular regiments in the line of duty if the situations requires that. (This is kinda like Gaunts Ghosts, their trademark weapons are not the daggers but their bows though.)

In the Campaign we are trying to run we found Commander Solar Belisarius efforts to reconquer a bunch of systems that defected to the Tau Empire, he has no Astartes support at the beggining of the Campaign except for a single Deathwatch Kill team. He counts with nine imperial guard regiments plus auxiliaries for the undertaking, organized in three divisions. The 11th Nitisian is part of the Third Division who specialiaces in movility and asymetrical warfare with light, highly movile, hard-hitting units along the 13th Dragulian Heavy Recon and the St Alessa´s Guard.

Their role in such divisions in to cut off supply lines, scouting, skirmishing assasination and dismantling the Tau Kauyon ambushes before the heavier forces arrive. They are really primitive to the point n which the only real way their appointed comissars and officers can interact without getting beheaded is through their devotion to the Emperor and the Imperial Creed(Nitis was recently brought back to the fold by the Missionarius Galaxia) Their considereded competent bif volatile troops, but are mistrusted because of their brutal ways and primitive methods against a much more advanced foe

-Where does that place them exactly...?

Well, in that case they sound like the really primitive sort, sticking with a bow might be quite a contrast to the Tau rifles. But as guerrilla they are less about engaging the Fire Caste and more about disturbing the Earth Caste when they try to establish a bridge head or their supply lines. Also killing a Tau in an Ambush before he enters his Crysis Suit sounds like a sound strategy.

In that case I'd make the Bow the regular weapon and picture them taking out the Tau Suits like the Ewoks took out the imperial Walkers. xD

They should have access to melta bombs and grenades with slings though, they need some explosives for the Tau pretty much utilize combined arms doctrines. They should not take out any vehicle they see but at last have something to backup if an ambush goes horrible wrong. Maybe include that in their regimental kit. They are primitive cannon fodder, but at last the munitorum might believe they can carry some grenades to the enemy.

Alright this what we have then

STANDARD REGIMENTAL KIT (30 P)

- Universal Kit:. One knife. One Uniform, One Flack Jacket One Laspistol and two charge packs. One per of poor weather gear. One Rucleshack or Sling Bag. One set of Basic Tools. One mess kit and water canteen. One blanket and One Sleeping bag. One rechargeable lamp pack. One grooming kit. One set of cognomen Tags. One instructional handbook. Ration Two weeks worthy

-Norris Pattern Mk.XIV Tactical Bow (30m 1D10 R S/-/- Rld Half. Reliable. +2 Dmg if you Aim. Crippling(2) ) and 20 Arrows(5 P)

-One quiver of Explosive Arrows (Loses the primitive quality and imposes a -10 penalty) (10 P)

-Melta Bomb (15 P)

*Basic Favorite Weapon: Sniper Rifle

*Heavy Favorite Weapon: Tread Fether

The Melta Bomb should come handy in case they manage to sneak up on a Hammerhead or dealing with some Battlesuit That´s in addition to the 2 Blind, Stun and Frag grenades per Player Character, the Mono Axe and the Camo Cloak. I exchanged the Heavy Flamer for a Tread Father for enhaced anti-armor capabilities while mantening the Sniper Rifle. Any thoughts?

That kit sounds good for me. Do you want to stick with the Laspistol? Picking the Sniper Rifles as favoured sounds like a Slug Theme so if you want that kind of side arm besides the bow you might take a Stub Automatic or Autopistol for it. But that is just preference.

Besides that this kit is good to go unless you throw them into a fully escalated warzone.^^ The melta bomb promises some fun though, at last when there is somebody that can use it.

I would give them a Stub Revolver if I had enough points xD I prefer the SP Weapons over the Las Weaponry for some reason