The normal arrow that an archer of any type would have in his or her quiver. Made of iron, it has no barbs, magical attributes or special features at all and can be used equally well in hunting or in war. It is relatively cheap to buy and the archer grunts in the army would typically be armed with it.
This arrow has barbs on it that will catch deep in the flesh and make the arrow impossible to extract by the average victim without causing gaping wounds. Some countries may consider use of these arrows in war a war crime; even when they don't, possession of these arrows can make the archers with them who try to surrender far more likely to be slain out of hand rather then be sent to the rear and a prisoner of war camp.
This can be anything from a normal arrow that has been dipped in feces or just the earth before being fired, to an arrow that has been specially designed to have poison on it. Again, use of these arrows can be considered a war crime in some places, or just means that enemy archers found with them will not be taken prisoner, as almost all soldiers hate these kinds of arrows with a passion. A scratch from one of them without quick medical care can lead to the struck one losing an arm or leg or even his or her life due to infection.
This can be anything from a normal arrow with flaming hay tied to it, to a normal arrow dipped in something flammable, to an arrow with a fire spell cast on it. It is greatly feared by the foe, but not quite as hated as barbed arrows or poisoned arrows are. It is best at it's task when aimed at thatched roofs.
This is an arrow that has been painted with luminous paint or had a light spell cast upon it. The idea is to use it in the same way as tracer fire, so that in the dark an archer can see what he or she is aiming at. Of course the enemy can see it too and take evasive action. There is no special hatred towards archers who use these;as they are easier to parry or dodge in the dark then a normal arrow would be, their use is seen as perfectly alright.
Normal arrows with steel heads, they have a slightly greater armor piercing capacity and therefore have more chance of bringing down even the most heavily armored knights. Said knights dislike these arrows and the archers who fire them more then most and have been known to cut the fingers off captured archers so they can't fire their bows ever again.
Normal arrows with grooves cut in them, they are said to circle in flight and that gives them more hitting power. Some archers think that such a thing is a myth.
These arrows, instead of sharp points, have small metal *fists* on them and are meant not to kill but to cause nasty bruises, the archer's equivalent of a plastic bullet. They are meant for riot control. They have been known to kill when they hit in, for example, the eye; also they are not much good in battle against amoured foes, they are meant for dispersing the poor.
These have a hollow part through which the wind blows when they are fired, making a loud noise in the hope that when they are fired it will scare the foe. They are not much use for hunting game as the noise in flight helps the animal dodge the arrow as it can pinpoint where it is coming from.
10-Triple point arrow
Instead of one point, this arrow has three. The idea is that it will do three times the damage. In practice, at anything but short range this arrow is likely to either fall short or tumble end over end with as much chance of hitting the foe with the blunt feathered end instead of the sharp end.
Some of the races of the Fae hate iron and will not handle it under any circumstances; to get around this their archers use arrows with copper arrowheads. These have much less penetrating power against plate armor, but are just as dangerous to an unarmored or lightly armored foe.
For fighting vampires, wights, were-creatures and the like silver arrows are often needed; these are expensive and picking them up after combat is important. Woe betide the archer who fails to pick one of these after a battle; he or she will end up doing a spell of latrine duty for a while as punishment and an example to the others.
Far too soft to have much penetrating power except at point blank range, this is the sort of thing that can be given as a medal for bravery or won in an archery contest (or perhaps stolen by the PCs, since PCs like stealing things.) It might also be used as an archery colonel's swagger stick.
The sort of thing that an assassin might have, this is fired at close range from a small crossbow that can be aimed and fired with one hand and is quite easy to conceal. Despite the small size the arrow can still kill if it hits the heart, the neck or the head, and can also be poisoned or have spells cast upon it. As you might expect, there are laws against owning weapons like these in most countries.
Cultures that live in areas with very few trees, where wood is rare and precious, need to make arrows out of other things then wood, and these are made out of bone with a sharpened tip instead of an arrowhead. These are not much use against armored foes, but should not be underestimated by the foolhardy. Even a fully armored knight can be killed by one of these if it flies through the narrow slits of the vizor.
Instead of metal, this arrow uses sharpened flint, like the arrows that were fired before metal-working was possible. If the PCs find themselves thrown into the past, perhaps by a GM using the Regression plot, this is the short of arrow that they could find themselves facing.
This arrow has a very weak Fear spell cast upon it. It cannot be a strong spell or it would affect the archer who had to fire it too much. However, when hundreds or thousands of these arrows are fired all at once by the archers of an entire army, the weak spells unite to form a single morale destroying, bowel shaking Fear spell upon the soldiers of the opposing army.
This arrow has a rust spell cast upon it. Whilst flesh is harmed by it no more then a normal arrow, when it sticks in armour or metal shields it creates spots of rust. Within a couple of hours, unless treated, chainmail or plate armour will begin to rust and corrode. Chainmail will tear at the joints, plate armour will be greatly weakened, and if something is not done about it within a few days, a fine suit of armour will be reduced to a rusty piece of junk, the joints unable to move properly. If the affected armour is either blessed by a holy cleric, cured by a magic user or rolled in a barrel of sand for a while the effects of the rust arrow will stop, but any damage will remain.
This arrow has a tracking spell or in a modern setting, a tracking device placed onto it, so that if it does not kill the target the target can still be tracked. It is barbed making it very painful to pull out of flesh and hard to pull out of anything else. It is one of the few ;possible uses for arrows in a modern setting.
Much smaller then most arrows, this has a potent love potion on the tip, enough to make someone fall in love with the archer for several hours. If the archer shows love back to the target in return without being sexist, controlling or demanding, the love will become real love even after the effects of the potion fade away. Although small, it can still kill if it hits the wrong part of the body.
This arrow is fired not from a hand held bow but from a Scorpion, a huge crossbow that takes four strong men to pull it and is reserved for military use. In a country with legions, each legion will have a few of these. PCs are only likely to encounter them on a battlefield or perhaps as part of the defences of a fort or an ancient tomb. Which is just as well as this is powerful enough to go straight through somebody wearing full plate armour even at medium range.
Often used by the Children of Glass this arrow tends to break off in wounds, and unless the wounds are quickly washed to flush out the glass shards, they will fester and go bad. An arrow to be feared.
This arrow is tipped with a small amount of a very potent explosive, strong enough to damage armour or shields and blow large holes in flesh. It is military issue although small numbers of these have be known to find their way onto the black market.
This arrow has a sedation potion on it and even a scratch can knock somebody out cold for a couple of hours. The expense of the potion makes it cost far too much to equip a large military unit with it; instead it is commonly used by slavers and press gangers who will try and wound rather then kill in an arm or a leg. This makes it easier to dodge then most arrows that are aimed at the body. When the affected person wakes they are already bound and helpless.
25-Raise Dead arrow
In some military units or war bands there is a necromancer and a number of archers armed with these arrows. When somebody is killed by these, the necromancer can quickly raise the corpse as a shambling zombie that still keeps the military skills it has in life until it's brain starts to rot within a few hours. Such units are naturally both feared and detested by their foes, who will not often accept their surrender.
Not as common as fire arrows because of their cost, these arrows have had an Ice spell cast upon them and will freeze the wounds that they inflict, creating extra frostbite damage. But they can also be used by surgeons to prevent infection of a wound, or be used to keep meat frozen to keep the flies away and stop it decomposing. Many armies use them to keep the meat frozen when not in a battle situation.
Expensive to produce and therefore likely to be found in the hands of elite military units only, these arrows turn a large part of the body around the wound to stone. A flesh wound can destroy an arm or leg, whilst if it lodges in an organ, the organ will turn to stone and become useless. Even dragons fear this weapon, although the damage it does to them is much reduced due to their size.
These can be set hovering in the air by the magic user that cast the spell on them, and wait indefinitely until someone comes along who is not wearing the right insignia, when it shoots itself off at the target without the need of a bow. A whole lot of these can be placed to defend an area, the magical equivalent of a minefield. As you can imagine, soldiers heartily dislike encountering them and loath whoever set them up. They can also be used as tomb defences for those tombs that contain grave goods.
This arrow, instead of a sharp arrowhead has a small vial filled with a strong corrosive acid, that breaks when it hits it's target.. Against flesh, the acid causes agonizing pain, against armour, if not washed off within minutes it will weaken it and cause small cracks to form.
30-Insert your own arrow here