D&D 5E (2014) RAW are crossbow bolts interchangable for different crossbows?

[ECMO3]

Can a crossbow bolt you find or buy be fired in any crossbow (hand, light or heavy)?

 

[Azzy]

Ask the DM first. While the PHB does nothing to differentiate them mechanically, it doesn't generally pass the fiction test to have heavy crossbows fire hand crossbow bolts and vice versa. You DM may or may not care about that, though.

 

[pukunui]

By RAW, yes. There’s only one kind of crossbow bolt listed in the equipment section of the PHB.

5e’s crossbows are already pretty fantastical (i.e. unrealistic) given how quickly / easily you can reload them. Letting them all use the same bolts just kinda goes along with that.

 

[Umbran]

By RAW, yes. There’s only one kind of crossbow bolt listed in the equipment section of the PHB.

Which we can work in the fiction as, if you have multiple crossbows for some reason, when you get ammunition, you pick up a mixed bunch, and don't worry about it after that.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I can handwave found armor fitting perfectly, so crossbow bolts don't even merit notice.

 

[Azzy]

I can handwave found armor fitting perfectly, so crossbow bolts don't even merit notice.

Pretty much. There's the "when does worrying about such minutia actually add to the game" litmus test. Most of the time it doesn't.

 

[Mad_Jack]

The game rules don't make a distinction between different types of bolts. Although a hand crossbow bolt realistically shouldn't be the same size as a regular crossbow bolt, I personally wouldn't bother to differentiate them - like Bill Zebub said, nobody bothers to determine whether or not found armor will fit a character.
(Besides, if you're going to start doing that, you should also be hitting regular archers with the same rules and require arrows to be of the correct draw length for the character's bow.)

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Heck, same thing goes for arrows, to a lesser extent.

 

[bedir than]

All those casters get unlimited cantrips. You should let the martials use bolts interchangeably.

 

[Bill Zebub]

All those casters get unlimited cantrips. You should let the martials use bolts interchangeably.

They should need a different arcane focus for every elemental damage type.