How powerful is an arrow? It seems that whenever the good guys in Lord of the Rings hit a huge orc, one arrow and they are down for the count. With the exception of the Chariots of Fire orc in Two Towers, the good guys are pretty much able to do “one shot, one kill”. Range isn’t that important as Legolas is able to take down a giant wolf on another hill.
It seemed in Braveheart, the arrows were a painful nuisance. While a few hit the mark, most just screamed. They hunkered down and got their swords ready. Few instantly died upon an arrow hit. Of course, in Braveheart, pikes worked, but that’s another thread.
Now, I know it’s a movie and the good guys have to win vs long odds, but how would it go in real life? How strong would actual arrows be against armored orcs (armored muscular people)? Would it be able to pierce a vital organ that quickly and have them keel over like as hit by a bullet? Wouldn’t they still be able to continue moving and fighting? Would a bow and arrow have the force to knock down a charging wolf?
As for arrows, depends on the type of bow. A Welsh longbow with about an 80-pound pull is pretty lethal if you’re hit in the head or torso. Elves in LOTR might be using lighter bows, but have the advantage of fantastic accuracy (guess you get good at anything if you do it for a thousand years). As for armor, again it depends on what type. The longbow most likely spurred development of plate armor in the 14th century.
What’s that? I’ve been no help at all? I’ve wasted your time?
Legolas doesn’t really count, since he was an absolute expert marksman, and using an enchanted bow to boot. So yeah, it’s plausible for him to hit a distant wolf right in the eye (which would, of course, get past any armor and kill quickly).
As for the rest, we don’t see much detail (a swarm of arrows, and a hoard of dead orcs, but it’s hard to tell if it’s one-to-one), but you’ve got to realize that orcs aren’t really all that tough. When you’re commanding an Orcish army, your strategy isn’t really “Keep them alive despite arrows”. It’s more like “Have more orcs than they have arrows, so it doesn’t matter if every arrow kills”. Even if an arrow doesn’t kill, if it even just slows down the orc a bit, he’s going to get trampled by his “buddies”, because that’s the way orcs fight.
The battles of Agincourt and Hastings are most often cited to celebrate the longbow. Particular statistics may be suspect, but the most descriptions posit numbers like:
Normal practice range for bowmen was over 200 yards
Archers could fire 8-10 aimed arrows per minute. Exceptional archers could reach 15-20 per minute
Arrows could punch through the finest armor at 50 yards.
Having an arrow stuck in almost any part of you means you’re pretty much out of the fight, even if it isn’t in a vital area. Think about it: you’ve got a wooden shaft that’s up to three feet long passing through your flesh. Every time you move, the shaft is going to stretch and tear at your flesh. Moving at all would probably be agonizing enough to knock you unconcious.