Some bows made be specially made in order to be more effective weapons for very strong characters, or to be usable by unusually weak characters.
Normal, “off the shelf” bows may be used effectively by any character whose strength is 6 or greater. Weaker characters are unable to draw normal bows fully enough to fire them properly and maintain steady aim. Such characters may commission a “light” bow to be made. While theoretically any type of bow may be made “light,” their performance is limited by draw weight and so there is no advantage to making such a weapon either long or composite, and so typically these would be short, self bows.
A “heavy” longbow may be made which requires at least 16 strength to draw and aim effectively and will confer the character’s damage bonus to the arrow up to +2 at a distance of ¼ their maximum range or closer (180’) and has a maximum range of 720’. Such a bow must be custom-made and costs 3 times normal.
A “light” bow has a maximum range of 225’ and delivers 1d3 damage regardless of construction type and size. Although it must be custom-made, such a bow costs no more than normal.
A composite bow is a traditional bow made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together. The horn is on the belly, facing the archer, and sinew on the outer side of a wooden core. When the bow is drawn, the sinew (stretched on the outside) and horn (compressed on the inside) store more energy than wood for the same length of bow. The strength can be made similar to that of all-wood "self" bows, with similar draw-length and therefore a similar amount of energy delivered to the arrow from a much shorter bow. However, making a composite bow requires more varieties of material than a self bow, its construction takes much more time, and the finished bow is more sensitive to moisture.
The main advantage of composite bows over self bows is their combination of smaller size with high power. They are therefore more convenient than self bows when the archer is mounted. For most non-mounted archery purposes, composite construction offers no advantage. They are superior for horsemen however, and the materials also allow for constructing bows of unusually high draw strength without breaking as a self bow would. Crafting a composite bow may take a week's work, excluding drying time (months), while a self bow can be made in a day and dried in a week. People living in humid, rainy regions historically have favored self bows, while those living in temperate, dry, or arid regions have favored composite bows.
A “heavy” composite longbow may be made for characters of exceptional strength (that is, 18/XX) which may only be effectively drawn and aimed by characters with exceptional strength. Such a bow will confer the character’s damage bonus up to +4 at a distance of ¼ their maximum range or closer (187.5’), has a maximum range of 750’, and costs 5 times normal.Short self bows, and short composite bows may not be made “heavy.”