D&D 5E [MERGED] Various crossbow/dual-wielding threads

[maritimo80]

FEAT Crossbow Expert

A character with crossbow expert feat can use a long sword in hand, and on the other hand one hand crossbow? That can only be a light weapon instead of the long sword?

The feat crossbow expert speak "When you use the Attack action and attack with a onehandedweapon, you can use a bonus action to attack with a loaded hand crossbow you are holding."

The feat D u a l W i e l d e r speaks:

You master fighting with two weapons, gaining the
following benefits:
• You gain a +1 bonus to AC while you are wielding a
separate melee weapon in each hand.
• You can use two-weapon fighting even when the onehanded
melee weapons you are wielding aren’t light.
• You can draw or stow two one-handed weapons when
you w ould normally b e able to draw or stow only one.


Summarizing, it can be any one-handed weapon or still need to be LIGHT WEAPON?




C r o s s b o w E x p e r t


Thanks to extensive practice with the crossbow, you
gain the following benefits:
• You ignore the loading quality of crossbows with
which you are proficient.
• Being within 5 feet o f a hostile creature doesn’t
impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls.
• When you use the Attack action and attack with a onehanded
weapon, you can use a bonus action to attack
with a loaded hand crossbow you are holding.

 

[Astrosicebear]

The Crossbow Expert and Dual Wielder feats don't interact. Crossbow Expert does not impose any two-weapon fighting penalties because the other weapon is not a melee weapon.

So if you are trying to use Crossbow Expert, you must wield a hand crossbow and a one handed melee weapon (which is anything one handed or versatile but not restricted to light weapons).

 

[Paraxis]

A character with crossbow expert feat can use a long sword in hand, and on the other hand one hand crossbow? That can only be a light weapon instead of the long sword?

Summarizing, it can be any one-handed weapon or still need to be LIGHT WEAPON?

The base two weapon fighting rules only apply to melee weapons, it says melee like three times in the description.

The dual wielder feat is also mostly only about melee weapons, the only part that applies to any weapons is the drawing and stowing ability.

You don't use the normal two weapon fighting rules when using a rapier and hand crossbow. If you don't have the crossbow expert feat you just choose which to attack with using your attack action, if you do have the crossbow expert feat if you attack with either then you get to make a hand crossbow attack as a bonus action.

As a side benefit of this, since the rules for two weapon fighting do not apply you get to add your dexterity modifier to damage with all the attacks.

So human(variant) rogue level 1 with crossbow expert feat.

Attack action choices,
Rapier and hand crossbow as bonus action.
Hand crossbow and hand crossbow as bonus action.
All attacks add dex modifier to damage.

 

[Joe Liker]

The Crossbow Expert and Dual Wielder feats don't interact. Crossbow Expert does not impose any two-weapon fighting penalties because the other weapon is not a melee weapon.

So if you are trying to use Crossbow Expert, you must wield a hand crossbow and a one handed melee weapon (which is anything one handed or versatile but not restricted to light weapons).

^^ That.

Plus, you do not get any AC benefit from Dual Wielder because a crossbow is not a melee weapon.

 

[maritimo80]

The Crossbow Expert and Dual Wielder feats don't interact. Crossbow Expert does not impose any two-weapon fighting penalties because the other weapon is not a melee weapon.

So if you are trying to use Crossbow Expert, you must wield a hand crossbow and a one handed melee weapon (which is anything one handed or versatile but not restricted to light weapons).

I can use my DEX bonus in the attack with hand crossbow if i have the FEAT Crossbow Expert ?

 

[Paraxis]

I can use my DEX bonus in the attack with hand crossbow if i have the FEAT Crossbow Expert ?

Yes, it is a ranged weapon you add your dex bonus to hit and damage.

You are not using the two weapon fighting rules, as that applies to only when you are dual wielding two melee weapons.

It is like how you add your strength modifier to the d4 attack that polearm master feat gives, how the bonus attack action some class abilities get still add the ability score modifier to damage.

The ONLY time in 5e you don't add your ability score modifier to a weapon damage roll is when dual wielding two melee weapons, and you don't have the two-weapon fighting style that classes like fighter and ranger can get, and that is then only to the bonus action attack with the off hand weapon.

 

[Astrosicebear]

I can use my DEX bonus in the attack with hand crossbow if i have the FEAT Crossbow Expert ?

ALL ranged weapons in 5E use DEX for the attack and damage rolls. The Crossbow Expert feat does not change this.

 

[pming]

Hiya.

If you look at historical crossbows, not necessarily. Hell, I'd be more reticent to allow reloads of a heavy crossbow without using a foot on the bow than two hands. And would pretty much require a foot be involved if reloading 1-handed.

I agree with you...in the context of 'reality'. However, in the space of a 6-second round that 5e is made up of, I don't think "one-handed-reload" would fall into the "able to shoot, put weapon down, grab ammo, load for next round". As a DM, I'd let a player reload with one hand, but I'd definitely make it take longer than a second or two. I'd probably let him get away with an "every other round on a successful Dexterity Save against DC 12 (harder than Easy, not quite as hard as Medium difficulty). Failure means it takes him one extra round. That sounds to me to be reasonable and has that uncertainty factor that makes the player think twice about weighing his odds.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[pming]

Hiya.

Yeah, but you're right in that those things don't say you need hands free. While for most people they probably need to climb a tree with two hands, maybe my character's part monkey somewhere in his ancestry, so he has an easier time of it(as evidenced by my pouring every skill point I have into climb), for example.

Yes, but now you are into the side of "not the normal, average situation". What I mean is that, say, the characters Proficiency bonus is used for a LOT of different things. Those "things" are based on a perspective of "the character". If a character grew up in a town far to the north, where the primary terrain is tundra (ex: mid to northern Greenland, northern Yukon/Alaska, etc), a DM would be completely justified in not letting the PC get his Proficiency Bonus to determine if some type of berry was good to eat while he is foraging in the jungles of the Amazon. Being in the Amazon is so far removed from his "normal, average situation" that his Proficiency isn't going to be useful (or at least it will be severely reduced). What does this have to do with being part monkey? It has to do with what the rules are assuming is a "normal, average". The normal, average person doesn't have monkey blood in his ancestry; ergo, why there should be a hefty penalty or outright "no" to climbing a tree with no arms/hands.

If a rule doesn't explicitly say something, a player should be able to give his case on why he feels he shouldn't need what the rule didn't say. And maybe it ends in a 'no' if it gets too silly.

A bit confusing, but I think I see what you are saying. I believe a player should be able to have his PC try and do ANYTHING...the player is in complete control of his character. That said, I, as DM, have to make a ruling on how likely that situation is to pull off. This can range from automatic "You do it", to impossible "You don't do it". Usually it falls somewhere in between, "You can try, make X roll at Y DC; this, that and the other thing are the likely consequences for success/failure. Roll...".

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[Psikerlord#]

This is exactly what I thought as well. How flippin cool would it be for a character to have a crossbow for a hand!?

holy cool batman!