Making a good Crossbowman?

[Inconsequenti-AL]

Thanks. Those hero points sound like just the thing.

Are they published? If so, then where could I find them?

I'm guessing AU could be a company. Just not sure which one...

 

[blackshirt5]

Thanks. Those hero points sound like just the thing.

Are they published? If so, then where could I find them?

I'm guessing AU could be a company. Just not sure which one...

It's a book. Arcana Unearthed, from Malhavoc Press.

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

The penny drops. Thanks.

 

[blackshirt5]

No prob.

 

[Gothmog]

What I did in my game to make crossbows more deadly is to allow character who usually get multiple attacks to do ALL the damage with a crossbow if the attack roll hits. That means that a character with a +15 BAB and heavy crossbow will do 3d10 damage if he hits! Yes, its incredibly nasty, but it accurately shows the strength of a crossbow- stopping power. Bows will have a higher rate of fire, and each arrow can be separately targeted, but a bow doesn't have the stopping power of the crossbow. Combine this crossbow damage mechanic with point-blank shot, precise shot, far shot, and other ranged feats, and your crossbowman becomes a superb sniper.

 

[blackshirt5]

What I did in my game to make crossbows more deadly is to allow character who usually get multiple attacks to do ALL the damage with a crossbow if the attack roll hits. That means that a character with a +15 BAB and heavy crossbow will do 3d10 damage if he hits! Yes, its incredibly nasty, but it accurately shows the strength of a crossbow- stopping power. Bows will have a higher rate of fire, and each arrow can be separately targeted, but a bow doesn't have the stopping power of the crossbow. Combine this crossbow damage mechanic with point-blank shot, precise shot, far shot, and other ranged feats, and your crossbowman becomes a superb sniper.

Nasty, Gothmog; I like it. I think I'm gonna steal that rule for my FCtF/AU game.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

One thing that just came to mind is, since unfettered have proficiency with all 'agile exotic' weapons, to classify the repeater xbow as agile exotic.

Umm...Unfettered ARE proficient with repeating crossbows. You must have missed the part about EWP (agile) giving EWP (ranged) too. It'd just be silly for an unfettered not to be able to use a whip or hand crossbows.

 

[scholar]

having played a crossbowmen, I can come up with one more suggestion that hasn't been posted... our dm ok'd craft or prof. weaponsmith/bower or some combination to make extended clips for the repeating xbowamazing how much more useful a tenshot clip, or 15 shot clip are than the base five shotter

 

[Carnifex]

Umm...Unfettered ARE proficient with repeating crossbows. You must have missed the part about EWP (agile) giving EWP (ranged) too. It'd just be silly for an unfettered not to be able to use a whip or hand crossbows.

Except I'm not using AU, just the Unfettered from it. So there are, technically, no such things as agile exotic weapons in the game, and a character cannot take an Exotic Weapons Proficiency (Agile).

 

[Endur]

The archer's ability to reload and do a multiple-attack full attack is the real issue.

If you want a xbow full attack to compete with an archer, a crossbowman needs the rapid reload feat or magic or both. The alternative is to have one or more assistants load his weapon, so the crossbowmen can focus on firing the weapon.

My recommended feats:
Weapon profiency, WF, GWF, WS, GWS, IC, Rapid Reload
Point Blank Shot, Far Shot, Precise Shot, Improved Precise Shot