Is there any monster/move in the game that explicitly uses stun damage? It’s defined on page 22 but i haven’t seen it anywhere else in the game.
Is there any mechanical reason why there are no range-weapon damage boost moves? There is Blot out the sun but that isn’t giving you extra damage on a hit.
About stun damage I don’t know.
Lack of busts to range-weapons damage I think is to make melee important. But in my campaign I created a few custom range moves for ranger who really wanted to have an archer/sniper guy. There was also a fighter in the team and it worked quite well for us.
You’re a lot less likely to have to Defy Danger to make an attack with a ranged weapon. The fighter has to Defy the Danger of a giant’s club with more range than the fighter has height. The fighter has to Defy the Danger of exposing himself to other orcs when he goes for the shaman. The fighter has to Defy the Danger of the giant spider’s web to strike it.
A ranger just takes the shot if he doesn’t want to get in close.
That’s the reason I always figured it was for.
Still, I wouldn’t be against giving the ranger a +d4 volley move as 6-10 move, by time the fighter or paladin probably has a +d8.
Also, stun exists as a tag that can be put on any weapon or monster move at your discretion. I think it may also have applied to all unarmed attacks at some point(or I’m misremembering), but it doesn’t anymore.
John Doe comment is a large part of it, I think. The other part is, in the inspirational fiction, how often does an archer fell a mighty beast with one shot (discounting Smaug, as that involved a magic arrow)? Not often.