Karl's Bows

Karl's Bows — In-Depth Archery System Overhaul

Craft your own bow from scratch at the Fletching Table, customize every arrow at the Fletching Table, unlock advanced bow types through Knowledge Scrolls, and master three unique enchantments. Every material matters — wood type, composite reinforcement, string quality, arrowhead style, hafting method, and arrow weight all affect performance.

6 Bow Types

Plain Bow: Primitive base bow, available from the start. No scroll required, beginner-friendly.

Flat Bow: Well-rounded all-rounder, balanced in all stats. From novice to veteran, one bow conquers all.

Triangle Bow: Extremely stable, minimizes spread. Supreme accuracy at range, every shot hits its mark.

Yumi: Asymmetrical design, slight advantage on horseback. Bamboo can substitute horn, composite takes it further.

Recurve Bow: Short limbs, rapid rebound, astonishing arrow velocity. Soft bow, unmatched speed — who can rival it on horseback?

Long-limb Bow: Heavy limb tips, pairs heavy arrows with a heavy bow. Requires great strength to draw, damage reigns supreme.

Custom Arrows

Right-click the vanilla Fletching Table to open the mod GUI and fully customize each arrow:

• Arrowhead Type: Broadhead (bleed vs low-armor targets) / Bodkin (armor piercing / shield breaking)
• Hafting Method: Socket haft (1.00× damage) / Tang haft (1.25× damage, extra material and string cost)
• Arrow Weight: Light / Medium / Heavy
• Material: Flint / Iron

Long-limb Bow + Heavy Arrows

The Long-limb Bow gains a 1.33× matching bonus when using heavy arrows.

Knowledge Scroll System

Four scrolls permanently unlock bow types and composite reinforcements:

Dungeon and Nether Fortress chests have a 16.7% chance of containing scrolls; Village Fletcher chests: 33%.

Composite Reinforcement Materials

• Sinew String: Crafted from 2 leather (vertical). +15% durability, +8% draw speed, +5% arrow velocity
• Horn Plate Reinforcement: Requires Scroll IV to unlock. +20% damage / durability / arrow velocity
• Bamboo Plate Reinforcement: No scroll required. +10% damage / arrow velocity / +15% durability

Thumb Rings

• Thumb Ring: Crafted from 1 goat horn. 360 durability, enchantable (Unbreaking, Mending). When held (main hand or offhand): +10% damage, -10% spread, -10% hunger consumption.
• Jade Thumb Ring: Villager trade only. +10% crit chance (1.5× damage), diamond-tier durability (1561).
• Thumb ring accessories fit into Curios ring slots.

Custom Enchantments

All max level 3, obtained through Librarian trades.

Infinity enchantment has been disabled.

Strength Requirement

Bows with draw weight > 50 kg require any level of the Strength potion effect to draw; otherwise, the shot is forcibly released with a warning.

Sneak Bonus

While sneaking: +10% draw speed, -10% spread.

Mob & Loot Changes

• Goats have a 2.5% chance to drop Goat Horn (+1% per level of Looting).
• Loot chests (Dungeons, Abandoned Mineshafts, Nether Fortresses, Strongholds) can all contain Knowledge Scrolls. Fishing treasure may yield unstrung bows.

Villager Trades

• Fletcher: Apprentice → Random unstrung bow; Journeyman → T0-T1 bows + arrow bundles; Expert → T0-T2 bows + Scroll I; Master → All bows + Scrolls II/III/IV.
• Librarian: Journeyman (Lv2) → Random Lv 1-2 enchanted books; Master (Lv4) → Lv 3 max enchanted books.

Quick Start

1. Craft a Fletching Table: 2 string + 4 planks (same layout as the vanilla Fletching Table)
2. Select a bow type in the GUI (Self Bow is unlocked by default)
3. Insert materials: Logs → Wood slot, Goat Horn/Bamboo Block → Composite slot, String/Sinew → String slot
4. Adjust draw weight with +/- buttons; the right panel previews stats in real time
5. Collect your finished bow from the output slot