Because im contemplating this mod that allows me to retrieve more arrows (or all arrows) that i shot, arrows which have hit their target. So logically, if i shoot an arrow at some fleshy creature (lets ignore skeletons and non-organic stuff for now), would i be able to retrieve the arrow?

note: im not making a mod, im deciding whether to download one

Well, depends on the shot I suppose. In most cases, you should be able to pull out the arrow. However, if the point is barbed and the arrow went in relatively far, you may have a hard time retrieving it. Also, I'm not sure you'd like to use it henceforth.

Unless you are playing a heartless bastard who specifically loves to spread disease to his enemies this way.
Yikes.

EDIT: Read the title wrong, sorry about that. But logically, if the arrowhead isn't broken after puncturing the skin.

But aren't you already able to retrieve arrows from your enemy in skyrim? If so, why the mod?

"This arrow went through the butt of a skeever. Would you like this arrow in your mouth?"
*Enemy flees*
*Speech Level Up*

In the majority of cases yes. A well made arrow is unlikely to be damaged in any significant way, so that if it can be found it can probably be reused.

Absolutely! Actually, I have been wondering why is there no realism mod for this. Every arrow that you retrieve from a corpse should get a poison buff on it. Even better, every weapon swinged at a corpse should get a poison buff on it. Just think about all the blood poisoning the Dovahkiin could do this way. Maybe even resurrect long-forgotten diseases. Oh yeah.

Arrows that get stuck can be retrieved by putting an arrow into the corpses inventory, going out and searching the body again. I thought this was common knowledge

Interesting idea Although to be honest i don't think the draughrs are much of "rotting flesh", there don't seem to be any rotting flesh zombies in skyrim, unlike zombies in oblivion. Still, interesting idea.


You don't get back all the arrows, only a few. Which brings to the question where did the other arrows go to? I suspect its probably for balance purposes.

Well, remember that arrows can get broken, especially if they hit a bone or have to go through armour. So it makes sense that you don't get all of them back.

If you ruin the head on Armour, it would still be posible to fix it, but for your time you could make new arrows.

Why don't you include arrow creation in your mod? If you have firewood, Fletching, and Iron, surely you could make new arrows?


I am assuming that you never clean your sword? Cleaning things normally fixes problems like your blade being poisoned.

It would depend on a lot of factors. The strength and quality of the shaft of the arrow would matter greatly as would the place you hit with your arrow. If it bounces off of a bone, the arrow could break and if the arrow rips through armor sometimes it wouldn't be retrievable

having made medieval arrows in my reenacting past, i found making the barrled shaft and hand binding the fletchings took longer than forging the head.
hence why on medieval war arrows at least,the heads were not attatched permanently to the shaft.
so that if the head was damaged or wedged in some way,the expensive and labour intensive shaft could be more easily retrieved.

while the archery is good in this game,it could i think be improved to something brilliant as im sure people are trying to do even as we speak.
proper crafting,different heads and points for different prey etc.and you should not be able to carry hundreds of arrows!

ive done medieval archery and belive me 50 or so proper war arrows are opf significant bulk! cheers

I have done a lot of bow hunting in real life and with a wooden arrow you have about a 25% chance of getting the arrow back.

With the metal ones we use now it's about 80%. The only time you lose those is if the buck rolls over on top of it when they fall.

Honestly I think Skyrim has it about right now.

I think its fine the way it is personaly, they have a perk in the archery tree if you want more arrows to return after you kill somthing.

I was going to comment on this very thing, as i read down the thread. This is very true. I have trashed many a arrow with one one shot. Some upwards of $20 ea.They get more expensive, but that is my limit.

If you are considering a mod for arrows. I would get one that allows you to craft your own. There are some that are standalone. and this feature is offered in Smithing Overhauls as well. I use the latter.

with modern wooden arrows you are of course correct.
ive hunted useing traditional english longbows and handmade wooden war arrows which are of much heavier construction than a modern target or hunting arrow and my percentage of recovery was a bit higher,more like 50-60% most of the time,depending on the target.

also i found with traditional archery it also depended on the drawweight of the bow. up to 150lbs the arrow recovery rate wasnt too bad,but a friend of mine who used a 200lb bow tended to shatter even very heavy bodkin pointed shafts! cheers

Why in Oblivion would I clean my daggers if I can leave them as it is and cause lethal blood poisoning with just a small cut? Your sir, would make a horrible assassin. No offense.

That is it exactly.

As for not getting them all back, it can be put down to many reasons. The arrow gets damaged enough from use that it can't be used again (like the fletching), or it just breaks, or the arrowhead comes off when it is pulled from the body.

In many cases the arrow greatly degrades on impact and it would just snap when you take it out.
Anyway the inability to take all arrows back adds to the challenge.

Well, there is the part where you don't want your blades to rust, and you'd prefer that they don't get stuck in the sheathes......
(And I'm sure the blood gums up your whetstone when you go to sharpen the daggers... )


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And isn't there a perk under Archery to get more arrows back?

This, arrows tend to get damaged sometimes.

Yes, and it makes sense as arrows that go into the rib cage would be easier to retrieve than arrows that go into a sternum or other bone. Or, arrows that hit the gap in the armor rather than armor are more likely to be useable again. So accuracy of the shot could make more arrows useful after battle. Plus, a more skilled bow shooter handle arrows betters, so they would last longer.

Or if the arrow goes all the way through the body, like through the shoulder or the leg, there's no way to get it out without snapping the arrow in half.

Well, i guess the arrow would be dented if i hit bone on the way in or might even break.
Same with most type of bullets to, they tend to be quite dented when you pull them out.

and another thing: i'm not so sure that people actually would like to pull arrows out
of human bodies. I mean, all that nasty stuff on the arrows and not to mention the smell after
a while and the different bugs wanting a taste of it. Then again, i don't go around shooting
people with arrows. At least not in real life