Heavy Crossbow fire rate?

[jreyst]

I don't seem to see anything in the book about the fire rate of a heavy crossbow. Is it actually able to be fired every round with no reload time necessary?

[serleran]

The Player's Handbook mentions no rate of fire for any weapon, leaving it a flat one per round for any and all. However, many people house rule this, some at 1/3 or 1/4 and the like. One could assume, whether right or wrong, that the heavy crossbow comes fully stocked with the needed cranequin (or possibly a windlass) which greatly increases the spanning time (a crossbow, technically, is not "loaded" or "fired" as those are both terms which should properly be applied to firearms), which according to The Book of the Crossbow by Ralph Payne-Gallwey resulted in an average draw time of 35 seconds (providing a loosing of 2 bolts / 3 minutes) -- however, if a windlass was used, the time needed dropped considerably, to a mere 12 seconds (ending as 1 loosing per minute).
_________________
If it matters, leave a message at the beep.
Serl's Corner