![]() The crossbow was placed against the fork, pointing downward, with the prongs reach on either side of the stock to catch the draw string. The goat’s foot was hung from the shooter’s belt, the forked prong pointing outward. Both hands (and back strength) are used to pull the string into place.ģ.) Semi-manually, using the stirrup and a device called a “goat’s foot.” This was a simple metal bar with a bent, forked prong on the end. The shooter stands with one foot in the stirrup, holding the bow front down against the ground. This only works with fairly weak bows.Ģ.) Manually, using a stirrup built into the front of the bow. ![]() There were five methods used to cock a medieval crossbow, depending on size and power of the bow:ġ.) Manually, holding the stock in one hand and pulling the drawstring into place with the other. I don't know how fast they are compared to historical models. My crossbow is manually cocked, fancier models have cocking mechanisms that might speed things up a little. You'll probably hit something, but you're not going to reliably hit a specific live target. The range that the books quote is based on squads of archers going all "Agincourt" on enemy troops, firing into a mass of men. Olympic level archers with top of the line bows, complete with stabilizers and aiming pins shoot at 70m. The arrow or bolt will fly farther than that, but gets much less powerful or accurate. A traditional bow like a recurve or longbow it's even less (40ish). Extreme range for 99% of people shooting at a potentially moving target is 50-60 yards with a modern compound or crossbow. 1/4-5 rounds would be more accurate.Īlso the ranges in D&D are ridiculous for shooting an individual target. That said, keep in mind 1/2 rounds is extremely generous. These are modern bows, made with modern materials, but a crossbow is INSANELY easier to aim and fire accurately. I bowhunt and have used a recurve as well as a crossbow. This is something that D&D unfortunately does not really have good rules for. The main advantage of crossbows, and it was a huge advantage, was that they required far less training to use than bows. Crossbows were worse than longbows in almost every aspect. Looking at historical crossbows, that is about right. But the long and short bows shoot twice a round for 1d6! So 1E crossbows are far worse relatively. Since the damage output ends up being the same over the course of several combats, it seems to be a fair trade-off.ĪD&D 1E has even more rubbish crossbows, the light crossbow shoots once a round for 1d4 and the heavy every second round for 2-5. That makes the crossbow a tactical choice: You can't attack every round, but when you do hit it leaves a mark! They also work great as 1st-round ogre repellent. Our group decided that since crossbows can only fire every other round, and at the end of the initiative order, they will hit for 2d6 damage in compensation. It is true that crossbows fired much slower than regular bows, but they traditionally hit harder. All three do 1d6 damage.ĭoes the extra 30' of range justify losing 50% of your attacks and acting last in initiative? Yes, there are outlyers about being able to use a crossbow from a prone position, or kneel in the front line and have another missile attack fire over your head from the 2nd row, but those are fringe cases. Now, crossbows do have the best range in B/X (topping out at 240', compared to the longbow's 210' and the shortbows 150'), their cost is mid-range (30gp for a crossbow, 40 gp for a longbow, and 25 gp for a shortbow) but their encumbrance is highest (50 cn compared to the long and short bow's 30 cn). So, in the Marsh Expert Set, page X4 gives the 'optional' rule that "Crossbows may be fired once every two rounds, taking a round to load and one to fire." Add that to page B27, which indicates the crossbow is a two-handed weapon, and therefore attacks last in the initiative order each round (regular bows do not have this restriction). I've searched around, and this hasn't been discussed in about 12 years.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |