Sage Advice (18 May 2015)

I can't believe they went that way with hand crossbows.

 

[CapnZapp]

The whole point of levels and hit points is to enable the archetypical fantasy hero such as the muscular barbarian, heroically charging into melee dressed only in a loincloth.

Realism would kill that guy dead.

So, don't aim for realistic rate of fire in a genre emphatically not about sneaking and who fired first.