D&D 5E New game for me. Is this acceptable?

[Riley37]

I guess the player wanted the game-mechanic rate of fire, not the image of a two-gun crossbowman?

He wanted the two-gun image, and he wants to replicate Western tropes in D&D, eg the stranger striding into a bar, playing poker, wearing a duster jacket and a white hat, etc. I pointed out that the repeater crossbow is much like a pump-action tube-fed shotgun, or a bit like a lever-action repeating rifle. He's rolling with the compromise. I think he also prefers a vaguely-plausible weapon, rather than "each hand crossbow re-tensions the bowstring, and sets another bolt in the groove, by THE POWER OF FEAT".

He asked about fire-arms, and I pointed out that muzzle-loaders are, if anything, slower to reload. (They also would not be crossbows, FWIW.)

 

[Jeff Albertson]

He wanted the two-gun image, and he wants to replicate Western tropes in D&D, eg the stranger striding into a bar, playing poker, wearing a duster jacket and a white hat, etc. I pointed out that the repeater crossbow is much like a pump-action tube-fed shotgun, or a bit like a lever-action repeating rifle. He's rolling with the compromise. I think he also prefers a vaguely-plausible weapon, rather than "each hand crossbow re-tensions the bowstring, and sets another bolt in the groove, by THE POWER OF FEAT".

He asked about fire-arms, and I pointed out that muzzle-loaders are, if anything, slower to reload. (They also would not be crossbows, FWIW.)

The Gunslinger class, from PF, is easily converted (already have).

 

[Tony Vargas]

He wanted the two-gun image, and he wants to replicate Western tropes in D&D, eg the stranger striding into a bar, playing poker, wearing a duster jacket and a white hat, etc.

Oh well. Bucking genre that hard rarely works out well.

 

[Riley37]

Actually, so far so good. I had already decided that "wear something white into Freona's Teakettle" was a recognition signal for Harper agents, so he wore a white hat and got contacted. One checkbox, checked!

Then his team was doing some investigation, so he found a tavern near Valjevo Keep where off-duty guards drink and gamble. "Who's this stranger with the audacity to walk into a Black Fist bar and order a glass of goat's milk?". Ding! Another trope checked!

He plays poker fairly well, is all set to clean out one of the Fists... then meets the guy's eyes, smiles knowingly, and folds, effectively letting that guy take the "pot". It's not quite an open bribe, but it gets the Fist willing to tell him some minor secrets. Plot progression via poker! Ding!

He's also had a tense stand-off over a shady high-stakes deal in an abandoned barn (some of you may recognize the scene), and an action scene in which his duster jacket billows as he pulls out his weapon and commences to rapid fire. I'd say he's doing just fine.

D&D, Western, space opera, chambara (wild martial arts)... there's a LOT of potential for overlap. Heck, you could even cross Western with Gritty Interplanetary Tramp Freighter; and if you played it just right, you could still end up with some good stories. Though if one of the characters carried a "hog-leg" lever-action carbine, on a gorram SPACE SHIP, that would be a rather implausible mix of tech levels. (I'm looking at you, Zoe Washburne!)

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Mechanically, the best Uncommon item for you is probably Winged Boots.

However, if I were your DM, you wouldn't get to loudly disclaim a RAW option (Crossbow Master + dual wielding = 1 extra attack per round) in favor of an even cheesier and more powerful alternative (shield + self-loading crossbow). Just no. If you want it so badly, just take the feat, but you still won't get a bonus action attack if your other hand is occupied with a shield.

 

[Minsc]

Thanks guys. I'm re-imagining this character as a more traditional archer, but with spells. Kind of looking like Bard from "The Hobbit"

When I look at the suggested equipment, I can't help but get munchkinny and start thinking about that headband of intellect.

In a point but system, being able to punt my INT to 8 and replace it with a 19 is almost too good to be true.

 

[Leatherhead]

Thanks guys. I'm re-imagining this character as a more traditional archer, but with spells. Kind of looking like Bard from "The Hobbit"

When I look at the suggested equipment, I can't help but get munchkinny and start thinking about that headband of intellect.

In a point but system, being able to punt my INT to 8 and replace it with a 19 is almost too good to be true.

Now there is a character concept:
A dumb fighter starts out as all dumb fighters do, with weapons and smashing stuff. Then one day, they happen across a trinket of some ancient and forgotten wizard. The fighter dons the trinket, and suddenly hears the wizards voice in their head. The wizard, in return for having a new prime body to experience stuff, teaches the fighter some magic in return and even helps in the casting while they are together.

It's still munchkinny, but at least it is interesting.

 

[Minsc]

Now there is a character concept:
A dumb fighter starts out as all dumb fighters do, with weapons and smashing stuff. Then one day, they happen across a trinket of some ancient and forgotten wizard. The fighter dons the trinket, and suddenly hears the wizards voice in their head. The wizard, in return for having a new prime body to experience stuff, teaches the fighter some magic in return and even helps in the casting while they are together.

It's still munchkinny, but at least it is interesting.

I hadn't quite thought of it that way, but it's cool. I was thinking of using two different voices, and sometimes neglecting to wear the circlet (for comedic purposes, mostly). Besides, I personally have nowhere near a 19 INT. Next time I make a boneheaded decision, I can attribute it to my circlet slipping off.

Sounds fun!

 

[SoulsFury]

If I were DMing, I'd allow a +0 self loading hand crossbow for a fifth level character. But then again, I still hand out bonus xp for written and submitted character backstories.

I do too. One of my players leveled before the others because of the input he has put into the campaign. I let my players know I was giving experience for that. The same player who leveled also went on vacation for two weeks and still leveled first. One player had a problem with this (Its a PBP game). Not a big problem or anything, but the game seriously stagnated while this player was away for 18 days. I found it pretty offensive the other player who did almost nothing for three weeks was surprised they didn't level.

 

[Jester David]

A hand crossbow with infinite ammo might be rare, but one that transports anmo from a quiver to the bow might be uncommon.
It's not that powerful and likely not worth the step up to rare.

(As a DM I wouldn't allow loading two crossbows at once. You need a hand free to reload. The feat just lets you fire more than once if you have multiple attacks.
Although you can draw and fire two then drop one and reload. Or drop the hand crossbows after the first shot and pull out a larger crossbow.)