Making Crossbow's Useful

Darklone · Dec 6, 2002

Huhm. Not a hand crossbow, but what about returning throwing axes? You can have them in revolver hip holsters and "fire" them as often as you wish

ConcreteBuddha · Dec 6, 2002

Jeremy said:
Lower? I'm the guy with the one level of Spelldancer who is metamagicking 6x empowered endurances and persistent divine powers on his character. Don't worry about lower.

Just checking.

It's the aesthetic though, I don't want a two fisted crossbow. While I like the pump action to load the next bolt, I really am in a revolver kinda mood and am looking for some kind of existing enchantment/weapon modification that I can twist around the description of until it is a six-shooter hand crossbow.

Click to expand...

My third DnD character ever (way back when I was thirteen), was a gnome that rigged up a gadget to fire 5 hand crossbow bolts from underneath each sleeve. String was tied between each finger and a catch that triggered each individual bolt.

Ahh...those were the days... *grin*

Tobold Hornblower · Dec 6, 2002

Here's an inspirational image:
http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/hosted/Pozas/Pictures/Oddballs/gnome_fighter.jpg

My favorite tactic is to toss the spent crossbow to an unseen servant who reloads it an hands it back to you. With two heavy crossbows you can get an attack every round this way, though that might require a second unseen servant, depending on how your DM rules the exchange of weapons as being Free Actions or Move Equivalent Actions. And it looks way cool when you're walking along with a big crossbow and bracer of bolts just floating there next to you.

Jeremy · Dec 6, 2002

Here's one version I found out there that I could modify to be cylinder based instead of clip based... This look decent?

Repeating Hand Crossbow
This crossbow is a gnomish invention, designed to have the awesome fire rate of the repeating crossbow and the smooth touch of the hand cross bow. It contains very advanced mechanics and is extremely hard to build (adds +4 to the craft check for making an exotic weapon) and given to only very few persons. Of course, it’s never (or just as likely as to see a half-orc qualify as bard and wizard at the same time) found magically enchanted.

Profile
Range: 30. Weight: 3. Size: Tiny. Type: Piercing.
Damage: 1D4. Critical: 19-20/*2. Ranged exotic weapon.
Proficiency: Exotic weapon proficiency (repeating hand crossbow).
Cost: 325 gp

Special Rules
You can make a number of attacks equal to that of your normal amount of attacks per round without having to reload, as long bolts still remain in the clip. Each clip contains a maximum of 5 bolts and reloading is a full round action that provokes attacks of opportunity. If you have no clips containing bolts, filling a clip is also a full round action that provokes attacks of opportunity. The cost for bolts is the same as that of normal hand crossbow bolts, but each clip for containing them has a cost of 5 sp. As noted above, the DC for crafting this weapon is the normal DC for an exotic weapon +4 and og course, one such device can not be crafted without studying an original weapon throughout the first week of crafting.

Submitted to ADnD Downloads by Kenneth Jensen.

rtricher · Dec 6, 2002

Hey there,

All right I've suggested this to someone before and I think that it is an ok idea:

You need quick draw, and a few covered hand crossbows and then tie them to a your belt with a string and then just basically draw, fire then drop, repeat.. this should work I think that way you get more attacks per round , but I like the idea of going to a gnome artificier I'm sure something can be managed to increase the damage or go to a magic shop and ask for a custom built crossbow that enchants the bolts with each of the elements upon firing yeah it'll be expensive but it would be extra d6s on damage every time..

SO either tie them to you or just hand them of to that unseen servant and have him reload and put them back on your belt.. anyway with quick draw you'll be firing a hand crossbow faster than Lucky Luke can fire his 7-shooter..

Zhure · Dec 6, 2002

Animated autoreloading handcrossbows?

Grundle · Dec 6, 2002

Tobold Hornblower said:
My favorite tactic is to toss the spent crossbow to an unseen servant who reloads it an hands it back to you. With two heavy crossbows you can get an attack every round this way, though that might require a second unseen servant, depending on how your DM rules the exchange of weapons as being Free Actions or Move Equivalent Actions. And it looks way cool when you're walking along with a big crossbow and bracer of bolts just floating there next to you.

A heavy crossbow is something like 45lbs and the max. that an unseen servant can lift is way less than that. Has your servant been spending alot of time in the gym?

Velenne · Dec 6, 2002

Community supporters might be able to search back for a thread I did on this exact same topic (repeating hand xbows) not too long ago. If you can find it, post us a link. I think we came to some sort of worthwhile conclusion by the end of it.

In the end, I did make a character based on it. Drop me a line, Jer and I'll send him to ya.

Tetsubo · Dec 6, 2002

Grundle said:
A heavy crossbow is something like 45lbs and the max. that an unseen servant can lift is way less than that. Has your servant been spending alot of time in the gym?

I would disagree with this. Wood and steel just aren't that heavy. I have owned a 150 pound pull crossbow before. It weighed maybe 5 pounds. I realize that it was a modern device. But taking "pimitive" tech into account I can't imagine even the most powerful crossbow weighing more than 20 - 25 pounds. And that would be something in the 300+ pound pull range. No more than a modern rifle weighs 45 pounds. No one in their right mind would use a weapon that weighed that much. That would be a small ballista. Just my opinion.