by Ben Litz

"'The Rohirrim have good bowmen after their fashion, but there are too few here, too few.'"

Directed Archery is a very powerful ability, but until now it's been reserved for just two Free Peoples Companions. Legolas, Greenleaf and Aragorn (with his bow) have been picking off minions with ease since the game's inception, but with the release of the Battle of Helm's Deep expansion, others are going to get a crack at it - a lot of others. For just one twilight, the Rohirrim Bow gives the directed archery capability to any companion of the Rohan Culture.

The bow has two main uses. Its first (and most obvious) use is its strength bonus. While it is borne by your Rohan companion it gives him (or her) a cushioning +1 strength bonus. This can make Eowyn and/or Eomer a base 10 strength when used in conjunction with their personal weapons (Eowyn's Sword and Eomer's Spear).

More importantly, with the Rohan culture's ability to become more powerful from wounds on their skirmish opponents, a well-timed directed archery wound can lead to an easy win in a skrmish that might otherwise not be winnable, making the Bow effective as both a source of archery wounds and a skirmish enhancer.

While the Bow's dscard requirement can at first make it look less useful, the ability to recycle it, with Weapon Store or Ecglaf, means it can be used freely, as an integral part of the Rohirrim arsenal.