[Cerek the Barbaric]

I have to disagree with you Butterfingers.

Strength improves damage and ThAC0 because swinging a hand-held weapon is a function of eye-hand coordination (Dex) and power (Strength).

Dex only improves ThAC0 of missile weapons because that pertains to the eye-hand coordination aspect again. The better Dex you have, the better your aim is. HOWEVER, your physical strength is basically irrelevant when it comes to shooting a bow. The tension in the bow determines the speed and impact of the arrow. Even if you are significantly stronger than someone else in real life, you aren't going to be able to increase the velocity of the arrow by any significant amount. Therefore, you would both do the same relative damage with the same bow.

However, if you both hit somebody with the same sword, you will do MUCH more damage than the other person.

As you said, composite bows offset this somewhat, but shooting a bow is as much a function of technique as it is strength.

The bottom line is that arrows and quarrels require the use of a mechanical device...and there is a limit on the maximum force these "devices" can deliver.

A good friend of mine from my PnP days explained that "modifying" a bow to allow Strength damage was more than just a function of "magical enhancement". It also required physically altering the bow itself...making it thicker and longer so it would have greater resistance. Then he said "So basically, to have a bow that granted the bonus for a Strength of 25, you would have to carry a telephone pole around with a metal cable for the bowstring".

Keep in mind that there are plenty of bows and crossbows in BGII which DO grant significant bonuses to your attack and damage rolls.