Shortbow

A shortbow was a two-handed martial ranged weapon of the bow family. The term was used in a general sense to refer to any bow that wasn't a longbow.

Description
Shortbows consisted of a flexible shaft of wood (or horn or bone), measuring about in length with the ends connected by strong cord or a gut string that is a little shorter than the shaft, causing the wood to bend and keep the string under tension. For a composite shortbow, the shaft was made from laminated materials (again, horn, wood or bone) and fashioned with a recurve, meaning the bow remained bow-shaped even when unstrung. A typical shortbow weighed around.

Weaponology
Unlike longbows, shortbows may be used while mounted. Composite bows are stronger than normal bows and therefore can translate more of the archer's strength into range and damage. Bows require two hands to fire and a good amount of practice in order to hit a target. Therefore, the shortbow is considered a martial weapon.

History
Shortbows were one of the first types of bows to be developed on Toril, although they were not referred to by that term.

The Calishites were one of the first human groups to develop the shortbow. During the 13 century before the Dalereckoning, they acquired captured elven longbows, and from these, they developed shorter versions that could be fired from chariots or from horseback.