Bow Rules

[20percentcooler]

One of the Pc's was firing arrows directly into the air, should one come down on him, would he have to overcome his own AC to see if he hits himself?

[OracleofWuffing]

Well, if he was aiming for the air, the arrows would have hit their target, and thus would have been destroyed or rendered useless before they could start falling down on him.

...Thiiiis is one of those things where you shouldn't think about it too hard.

[Flickerdart]

It is incredibly improbable that any of the arrows would hit him, owing to the fact that he would need to account for wind speed. None of the arrows would even land in his square, never mind hit him.

[20percentcooler]

Well, if he was aiming for the air, the arrows would have hit their target, and thus would have been destroyed or rendered useless before they could start falling down on him.

...Thiiiis is one of those things where you shouldn't think about it too hard.

This actually makes sense because he is using a magical bow with no real ammunition.

[Kerilstrasz]

There are 2 thigs to consider here...
He shoots straight up to hit smthing else(?) or the intention is to hit himself?

In either case the arrow that falls down even from Max distance (that means max free fall speed) dont have the kinetic energy to actually do any kind of significant damage... i d say if it hits smthing as it falling it does the minimum 1 dmg or 1/4 rolled dmg as subdual from the impact.

lets say now that he want to hit smthing else right above him..
if he miss , there is 25% chance to loose his arrow and 25% chance to have his arrow broken from impact on a rough surface.
in 1st case,consider the arrow lost by winds or by a wild orbit..
in 2nd case,the air cant really brake an arrow so the arrow after goes the max distance starts to fall...now... there is like 1 to 1million for the arrow to return at his starting point so roll a.. hmm... 1000000 die?

the 2nd option.. he wants to shoot himself by shooting in the air...
if he shoots at his weapon (bow,Xbow)max distance he gets the usual -X
for the distance *2(the arrow has to travel the way back too) plus any -X to accumulate for the winds,sun in his eyes, or anything else the DM decides...
and ofc has to get a final roll higher than his AC...
if he uses less str to fire the arrow to get a total travel distance of 1 range increment(no -X) then the arrow doesnt even gets the kinetic energy to deal any kind of damage.. so have it deal the min 1 dmg as subdual...

at least thats how i would play this in my campaigns..