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

[sgtscott658]

With the Crossbow expert feat and Dual wielder I think you can us both crossbows in both hands. I

I would say yes to having a crossbow in one hand and in a sheld in the other but I would also say you could only get one shot off and thus drop the shield to load the Crossbow.

Yes you can use a Short sword and crossbow in each hand. If you have the Deul Wielder Feat.

If your carrying another weapon in one hand I would say no to reloading.

I think you want to refer to the Crossbow expert feat.

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 o f 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
w eapon, you can use a bonus action to attack
with a loaded hand crossbow you are holding.

Duel Wielder:
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 w eapons 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.

Hope that helps


Scott

 

[Paraxis]

With the Crossbow expert feat and Dual wielder I think you can use both crossbows in both hands.

I would say yes to having a crossbow in one hand and in a shield in the other but I would also say you could only get one shot off and thus drop the shield to load the Crossbow.

Yes you can use a Short sword and crossbow in each hand. If you have the Dual Wielder Feat.

If you are carrying another weapon in one hand I would say no to reloading.
Scott

Why does the Dual Wielder feat have anything to do with this?

 

[MortalPlague]

I'm playing a ranger with crossbow expert in a weekly game. She fights with a rapier in one hand and a crossbow in the other. Since she ignores the loading on her crossbow, I've flavored it that she has a set of bolts on a special rig on her hip so that she can slam them into place by moving the crossbow. It's proven to be a lot of fun so far.

The only problem I'm having is a lack of bonus actions, thanks to casting Hunter's Mark.

 

[was]

I think that you need a free hand available for loading the crossbow. If you want to fight with melee and ranged I'd consider going into two weapon fighting and using the offhand for darts or throwing daggers.

 

[aramis erak]

Unfortunately, this edition does not yet have options for various different types of shields. The only type of shield that might work in this situation is a buckler. I couldn't see you wielding a medium-sized or tower shield with a bow without it greatly affecting your aim.

A lot depends on the type of grip on the shield.
A double or triple leather strap targe, sure, if it's on the draw hand. (I've fired bows and muskets with it on. And used it with a dagger-in-hand, as well; a rapier wasn't effective, but the 15" dagger was.)
A metal bucker with crossbar-in-boss grip? Not a freaking chance. (the problem being that it puts the edge in the way on either hand.)
A strap-to-forearm type (which can be impressively large - up to about 25"), it depends on where the straps hit. Historically, the assyrians used about an 18" for archers... but this type is not so hot in melee.

 

[BigVanVader]

Can you throw and fight with your shield?

 

[Cannyjiggit]

Unfortunately, this edition does not yet have options for various different types of shields. The only type of shield that might work in this situation is a buckler. I couldn't see you wielding a medium-sized or tower shield with a bow without it greatly affecting your aim.

Most people make this mistake about bucklers (and smaller shields in general) but they are not strapped to the arm as a number of fantasy sources have depicted in the past, they would be all but useless if they were. The error comes from the idea that it is a smaller version of a large shield and that as the large shields have arm straps then all shields are strapped to the arm. In reality, the reverse is true.

Bucklers are primarily used to protect the leading hand of a single handed weapon so that the wielder can strike further out without fear of losing fingers to a fast response. Its secondary use (surprisingly to most) is to assist the blocking of incoming attacks in conjunction with the weapon. Each fighter will have their own preference for the size of buckler, the smaller buckler gives more agility with the weapon but needs to be more precise in positioning whereas larger bucklers need less precision but force the weapon into wider arcs in attack. In all cases though the buckler is held in the off-hand and used in conjunction with the primary.

Personally, I like about a 12" buckler, others commonly go as small as 9" or as large as 16". At some point above that, probably about 20" diameter, the buckler becomes too cumbersome to work around and becomes a shield although even then, the smaller shields were still held in a punch grip like the bucklers but the use changes to primarily blocking strikes aimed at that side of the body. From there shields grow to make it easier to protect a larger area with less movement and as the size increases so does the weight which brings about the arm strap to take some off the stress off the wrist for the support of the shield.

In all cases the shield or buckler is held with the hand but sometimes it is also strapped to the arm. Thus use of any 2 handed weapon at the same time is simply impractical

 

[Cannyjiggit]

A lot depends on the type of grip on the shield.
A double or triple leather strap targe, sure, if it's on the draw hand. (I've fired bows and muskets with it on. And used it with a dagger-in-hand, as well; a rapier wasn't effective, but the 15" dagger was.)
A metal bucker with crossbar-in-boss grip? Not a freaking chance. (the problem being that it puts the edge in the way on either hand.)
A strap-to-forearm type (which can be impressively large - up to about 25"), it depends on where the straps hit. Historically, the assyrians used about an 18" for archers... but this type is not so hot in melee.

I agree that some weapons like a crossbow can be used with a larger shield strapped to the arm but I would argue that you're not actually "using" the shield at that point rather you are carrying it.
I suppose a rectangular shield could be set as cover from ranged attacks from a particular direction which in game terms has the same overall effect but I would then rule it takes an action to set the shield and if the angle needs to change significantly, another action to make the adjustment

 

[BigVanVader]

What if a large shield was strapped to your back, and you turn around when reloading your crossbow?

 

[was]

What if a large shield was strapped to your back, and you turn around when reloading your crossbow?

You would probably get the +2 ac bonus. However, turning your back on your enemies is a bad idea. You'd probably give them advantage on their attack rolls and/or lose your dex bonus to AC since you cannot see to try and avoid them.