New respect for crossbows

[Malin Genie]

This morning we had a girl come into our emergency department having been shot by a crossbow. It had gone through the meat of one thigh and into the other leg.

This was after it had penetrated completely through a friend of hers: into the front of the chest, through a lung (miraculously missing the heart and great vessels) and out the back.

Thankfully, both patients are doing well.

I have a newfound respect for the power of the crossbow - 1d8? I think not....

 

[Crothian]

Well, through a person and hitting another sounds like a critical hit. And considering most people are commoners, havind 4 + con HP, I think a d8 sounds about right.

 

[MEG Hal]

This morning we had a girl come into our emergency department having been shot by a crossbow. It had gone through the meat of one thigh and into the other leg.

This was after it had penetrated completely through a friend of hers: into the front of the chest, through a lung (miraculously missing the heart and great vessels) and out the back.

Thankfully, both patients are doing well.

I have a newfound respect for the power of the crossbow - 1d8? I think not....

I heard about that on the radio....was thinking the same, even an epic feat could not shoot through one person and hit another

 

[hong]

Cleaving with a crossbow

Malin, where are you located, actually?

 

[MEG Hal]

Cleaving with a crossbow

Malin, where are you located, actually?

This was a rude quote--maybe true but rude.

Originally posted in the article
"It was horrifying, it was like something you only hear about in America," 15-year-old Tania Miller said.

 

[Henry]

It's interesting to me that so many people think that violence always happens "Someplace else, but not here." Violence and death can happen any place, any time - with everything from a gun, to a shovel. If a human can pick up a tool, they can use it to kill.

Interesting thing - there are many locations in America where "Archaic" weapons (from crossbows and swords to black-powder muzzle-load pistols) are not governed by the same laws as modern firearms. I wonder how much that holds true for other countries such as Australia, Great Britain, and France as well?

 

[drnuncheon]

Well, through a person and hitting another sounds like a critical hit. And considering most people are commoners, havind 4 + con HP, I think a d8 sounds about right.

2.5 + con mod - only PCs (or is it members of PC classes?) get max hit points at first level. (Check the stat blocks of the various humanoids in the MM - first level warriors get ~4 hp.)

J

 

[Mercule]

Interesting thing - there are many locations in America where "Archaic" weapons (from crossbows and swords to black-powder muzzle-load pistols) are not governed by the same laws as modern firearms. I wonder how much that holds true for other countries such as Australia, Great Britain, and France as well?

Henry, I'm not sure exactly what you're getting at here. It _sounds_ like you're saying that these other weapons should be regulated or that regulation would have changed what happened. If regulation was the problem, we'd hear a lot more sword and crossbow rampages and a lot fewer gun rampages.

On a less political front, I've been told by an archery buddy that a modern heavy crossbow is capable of piercing an engine block. They have a lot of penetration.

 

[Harlock]

well, was this a modern crossbow? I have to think a modern crossbow is much more capable thank a typical D&D era crossbow. Synthetic bow, synthetic string, much smoother triggering action, more sound mechanical parts make it more sure to lock at higher tension. It's safer to have a juiced up crossbow these days to the archer than it was to juice up an old style that is likely to break, hurt the operator etc. Glad to hear both patients are doing well, that's great!

 

[MerakSpielman]

Medieval crossbows could penetrate plate mail and still mess up whoever was inside.

Crossbows made from modern materials are even worse.

People worry so much about guns that they don't take things like swords and crossbows seriously. Usually, they hurt themselves in accidents - "playing" with the weapons.

I'm still amazed none of us got hurt (or killed) when my cousins and I would play with my uncle's katana - an authentic (not decorative) one which he brought back from Japan.

Most swords (including but not limited to the Sword-Shaped Objects that many of us own to hang on our wall) are not manufactured sharp these days (the sellers are worried about litigation). You have to sharpen it yourself if you want it that way - and there's very little reason to want a sharp sword (If you want to protect yourself with a deadly weapon, get a gun. They work better. That's why the military uses them.)

Crossbows and bows, though, are still made and used as weapons, not decoration, for hunting. They are deadlier now than they were in 1200AD - and they killed people all the time back then.

If we somehow got rid of all guns, I can easily see people who want to kill other people turning to crossbows.

d8 damage? Remember, in the real world, a dagger can kill anybody with one, good hit. Hit Points are for games. IRL, people die much, much easier.