User blog comment:Deus Gladiorum/What should be in the next Skyrim update?/@comment-4057437-20120711073637/@comment-5229167-20120713223648

Clipping through the target not doing damage is certainly not an intended effect. It's a glitch, plain and simple. While it may be true that the arrow has lost most of its velocity, it would still do damage. If I threw an arrow at you from about 15 feet, which would be quite similar to the velocity of an arrow plummeting to the ground, it would still hurt or even wound you.