Bow and Sword in Accord: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

A character who wields both a bow and sword. (This includes crossbows.) This is quite common in fiction for a number of reasons:

 

Subtrope of [[Choice of Two Weapons]].

 

 

{{examples}}

* Uryu of ''[[Bleach]]'' relies almost entirely on the bow part of his ranger make-up, and even his melee weapon is an arrow that can also be fired with devastating consequences, but he has the option of melee open to him.

* Guts of ''[[Berserk]]'' also fits the ranger profile, using throwing knives and a repeating crossbow along with his [[BFS]]. He deviates from the general profile by being heavily armoured and by also having a ''fourth'' weapon (a [[Arm Cannon|gunpowder cannon built into his arm]]) as a nasty surprise for any demons who think they have him beat.

* [[Hawkeye]] trained under both a master archer and a master swordsman. He tends to favor his bow, but when he had to give up his identity, he used his fall-back weapon to become "Ronin".

 

* As'taris in ''[[With Strings Attached]]'' uses both, though the sword far more often than the bow.

 

* Tarl Cabot of ''[[Gor]]'' is an expert swordsman, but he's also quite good with the peasant bow, even though everyone else looks down on it because it's a peasant weapon.

* ''[[Discworld]]'' example: The Ankh-Morpork City Watch carry both swords and crossbows, and in Vimes' case various coshes and knuckledusters as well. Oh, and a truncheon.

* ''[[The Wolfhound (novel)|The Wolfhound]]'' is both an expert marksman and swordsman.

* Richard in [[The Sword of Truth]] is very skilled with his sword, but his gift also makes him a perfect marksman.

* Appears several times in ''[[The First Law]]'' trilogy. Dogman and Grim Harding both use bows almost exclusively, but are still plenty capable with bladed weapons. Ferro Maljinn fits the trope even better, being a deadly archer and swordswoman, switching from one to the other based on how close her enemies are and how many arrows she has left.

 

* In just about every legend of [[Robin Hood]], Robin of Locksley was one of the deadliest archers of the land, and no slouch with a sword either.

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

** It's generally considered a good idea for every character in any edition of ''D&D'' to have both a melee and a ranged weapon. Particularly with the combat rules of 3rd and 4th editions, it's highly advised that frontline warriors pack a handful of javelins, and wizards take advantage of crossbow proficiency.

** Made painfully obvious with the Swordbow (Regular, Light, and Great versions) from the Magic Item Compendium (D&D 3.5). The weapon transforms from a sword (Longsword for Regular, Rapier for Light, Greatsword for Great) into a bow (Longbow for regular, Shortbow for Light, Composite Longbow (+4 Str requirement) for Great) and back again as needed. On top of this, you can also interchange attacks with the two forms as part of the same full attack action.

** In ''[[Fire Emblem Tellius|Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance]]'', you can give bow-wielding Astrid a sword (or lance, or axe) upon promotion. You can also give a bow to Oscar (lance user), Kieran (axe user), or Makalov (sword user) when ''they'' promote. In ''[[Fire Emblem Tellius|Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn]]'', Fiona, Geoffrey and Oscar could learn to use a bow upon promotion to Silver Knight, and Astrid could learn to use a lance upon promotion to the same class.

** ''Shadow Dragon'' has the Horseman, the promoted version of the Hunter, which not only learns how to use swords but also gets a horse. Quite useful.

* Draenei Hunters in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' wield a crossbow as their primary weapon and a sword as their secondary, at least when they first start out. Oddly, they're the only Hunters who use a bow and sword combination as their default weapons (Night Elves and Blood Elves use bows and ''daggers'', which is probably close enough).

** Potential reasons this doesn't show up much: Although all Hunters in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' can learn to wield swords, there are more appropriate statistics for hunters on axes and polearms. And while all hunters can learn bows, crossbows and guns equally well, guns can be crafted if you're tired of waiting for a good bow to drop.

* ''[[Final Fantasy XIII-2]]'' takes this to perhaps the most literal extreme. Serah's bow and sword are the same weapon which she can transform at will.

* Garret uses bow and sword in the first two ''[[Thief]]'' games (partly as an artifact of the unexpected history of the engine in those games) and switches to bow and dagger in the third.

* [[Death Spank]] wields a crossbow alongside a sword (or a number of other melee weapons) in his first and third games. The second game has a gun instead.

* Quite possible in ''[[Neverwinter Nights]] 1'' and ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2|2]]'', although it's more useful in the first game because the sniping opportunities (e.g. taking potshots through a portcullis) are much more frequent.

* ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'' allows Blaster and Sword In Accord, though it's easier in the second game because you can equip two full sets of weapons and switch with the click of a button. The first game requires you to go through the inventory menu to do this.

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* Momba Kawunei in ''[[The Water Phoenix King]]'' is always seen in flashbacks to the war with his massive recurve bow, "Eye-Biter," but he carried a katana then, too—though recently has upgraded to a [[Magitek]] blade capable of cleaving just about anything.

* ''[[Goblins]]'': [[Knight Templar|Kore]] takes this [[Up to Eleven]] with his crossbows and AXES. He usually [[Dual-Wielding|Dual Wields]] one or the other.

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Choice of Two Weapons]]

[[Category:Sword Tropes]]

[[Category:Weapons and Wielding Tropes]]

[[Category:Sublime Rhyme]]