D&D 5E Crossbow Expert

[Dausuul]

Yeah, it's an odd restriction. It doesn't make sense to include it for the sake of preventing attacks with unloaded crossbows--the rules for ammunition already establish you have to have ammunition to make a ranged attack.

I think the goal is to prevent double-tapping the same hand crossbow, but it's a weird way to go about it. It seems like you could get around it by first shooting, then using your free "interact with an object" to reload, then taking your bonus shot. Unless you say that "interact with an object" only covers drawing the bolt from your quiver, and reloading is a second interaction? In that case you could still double-tap, but only if you started the round with a bolt already in hand.

(And you do have to use your free interaction. Drawing and loading is part of shooting, but once you finish shooting, the crossbow is unloaded. If something gives you a bonus attack, you can draw and load as part of the bonus attack, but in this case you can't even get the bonus attack unless you first have a loaded crossbow.)

 

[kerbarian]

Actually, if you have to "interact with an object" to double-tap with the same hand crossbow, you'd have to do the same thing even if you're wielding, say, a sword and a hand crossbow.

You'd get one bonus attack per combat (assuming the crossbow starts loaded), but from then on it will only be loaded if you spend the time to load it first.

It seems really strange that the effect of the Crossbow Expert feat would be that you're more distracted by reloading crossbows in combat than someone without the feat.

 

[Roger]

I expect to see this used pretty much exclusively by spellcasters anyway, so I'm not too stressed out over it. Sure, attack with your hand crossbow, whatever.

 

[Kobold Stew]

I expect to see this used pretty much exclusively by spellcasters anyway, so I'm not too stressed out over it. Sure, attack with your hand crossbow, whatever.

It synchs particularly well with Rogue, Sneak Attack.