thundershot
Adventurer
And, of course, good ol' Knuckles.. "I waste 'em with my crossbow!" 
Chris
Chris
Dwarves with crossbows
- Thread starter johnsemlak
- Start date
kengar said:
I think it's two reasons, really.
1) Gimli.
2) To a lesser extent, I think that mining tools like picks reinforce the idea of "swinging" weapons for dwarfs.
That's my HO, YMMV
Yeah, the more I watch LOTR, I keep thinking, he really needs a PICKax, not battle ax.
I was blessed with a GM who let my Dwarven Ranger "gansta shot" his long bow. Realistic, no. But hey it's all in fun. Especaily that character. His idea of being a "Ranger" was much more practical compared to most tree huggers. He would climb trees with spiked boots and make pit traps.
I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
Axes for dwarves probably originally came about for the Gimli reasons described above (Did Tolkien ever explain why his dwarves used axes?).
IMC, I justify it by saying that dwarves have a tradition of honing the edges of their shields to a razor edge. One of them eventually put it on a stick and decided to use it for agression rather than defense. Of course, they make brilliant use of spears, swords, and the like to -- if there's anything a dwarf can do it's turn metal into something that hurts.
The Dwarf-Gnome tinkering issue is an iffy one. On the one side, gnomes definately learned gearcraft and tuning from their stony brethren. But they refined it to a level that's more...stylish, smaller, etc. They've refined the steam technology and adjusted geracraft to a level capable of producing simple enjoyments of life (clockwork, for instance).
Dwarves tend to have the more industrial things. Metal doors that open with steam, huge tanks to brew things, mass-produced weapons, war chariots, and armor.
Basically if it's steampunkish-rennaisence, it's gnomish. If it's huge, industrial, and full of metal and stone, it's dwarvish.
IMC, I justify it by saying that dwarves have a tradition of honing the edges of their shields to a razor edge. One of them eventually put it on a stick and decided to use it for agression rather than defense. Of course, they make brilliant use of spears, swords, and the like to -- if there's anything a dwarf can do it's turn metal into something that hurts.
The Dwarf-Gnome tinkering issue is an iffy one. On the one side, gnomes definately learned gearcraft and tuning from their stony brethren. But they refined it to a level that's more...stylish, smaller, etc. They've refined the steam technology and adjusted geracraft to a level capable of producing simple enjoyments of life (clockwork, for instance).
Dwarves tend to have the more industrial things. Metal doors that open with steam, huge tanks to brew things, mass-produced weapons, war chariots, and armor.
Basically if it's steampunkish-rennaisence, it's gnomish. If it's huge, industrial, and full of metal and stone, it's dwarvish.
Deadguy
First Post
I for one want to praise drnuncheon for standing up for an afflicion that has blighted the Gnomish nation since the advent of that blasted Dragonlance setting. Don't get me wrong, it was fine as an example of a world in which story-arc and setting were combined as one - the world existed to tell one particular story - but it is annoying that so many elements have leaked out into the general play of D&D! 
So yes, the answer to why Dwarfs use Crossbows is that it fitted with their engineering skill. The Dwarfs were the original cunning-people, and the crossbow fits with that skill. There are, as others have pointed out, good reasons why the crossbow is a good weapon underground, but I suspect that it is the engineering skills that are its origin.
So yes, the answer to why Dwarfs use Crossbows is that it fitted with their engineering skill. The Dwarfs were the original cunning-people, and the crossbow fits with that skill. There are, as others have pointed out, good reasons why the crossbow is a good weapon underground, but I suspect that it is the engineering skills that are its origin.
Gez
First Post
drnuncheon: That's so true ! I've sent a massive donation, as I prefer a cure to the other solution (casting cure disease and remove curse on the victim, killing that persons in consecrated ground, casting cure disease and remove curse again on the remain, burning them, sprinkling holy water on the ashes, and then feeding all that in a sphere of annihilation).
Zander
Explorer
Unlike any other missile weapon, crossbows can be readied for prolonged periods with a very quick release (simply pulling the trigger). You can also move fairly easily with a loaded crossbow. These two characteristics make crossbows ideal weapons indoors/underground. D&D doesn't simulate this particularly well but IRL crossbows were the preferred missile weapon of castle defenders especially when outer defences had been breached.
So it makes perfect sense for dwarves to favour crossbows.
So it makes perfect sense for dwarves to favour crossbows.
Last edited:
Olgar Shiverstone
Legend
"Ai! Ai! Barak Khazad! Khazad ai menu!!
Concur with the other comments here that crossbows are just about idea for underground operations -- they can be loaded and fired from the prone, for example, and have some stopping power at close range.
As to axes -- there's something frightening about a muscled-up four-foot tall ZZTop-lookin' dude swinging a battleaxe at your kneecaps.
Concur with the other comments here that crossbows are just about idea for underground operations -- they can be loaded and fired from the prone, for example, and have some stopping power at close range.
As to axes -- there's something frightening about a muscled-up four-foot tall ZZTop-lookin' dude swinging a battleaxe at your kneecaps.
