Repeating Hand Crossbow

A popular sidearm, the repeating hand crossbow is an efficient weapon favored by many from all walks of life. Similar to the two-handed variety, this can be wielded with one hand by someone trained or practiced to use the weapon.

History

Rumors place the origin of the repeating hand crossbow with the dwarves of the Geldar Republic. However, this isn't true. The actual inventor is unknown but it's been recorded that the repeating hand crossbow appeared in use among pisky settlements almost twenty years ago. Since then, the current models have been refined and scaled to suit many different sized users.

Physical Description and Use

The weapon comes in many different sizes based on the size of the user, but for an "average" humanoid it is 12.8 inches by 16.5 inches in size and weighs 4 pounds. Unlike a normal crossbow, which has a stock and a lever to pull back the bowstring, a repeating hand crossbow - like its cousin the standard hand crossbow - has a curved handle or grip to allow ease of use. This also allows dual-wielding with two repeating hand crossbows.

Along the top of the weapon is a raised box, 2 inches high that is 70% the length of the main shaft of the hand crossbow, that contains the 5 bolts. When a person using the weapon pulls the trigger at the curved grip, a bolt is fired. The person holding the hand crossbow then pulls a small knob on the side to pull the bowstring back which drops the next crossbow into place to fire.

To reload, a person slides a bolt in through a small hole at the back of the chamber, one bolt at a time.

Item type

Weapon, Ranged

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Statistics

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Cost 800 gp Weight 4 lbs.

Damage 1d3 (small), 1d4 (medium)

Critical 19-20/x2; Range 30 ft.

Type P; Special —

Category Ranged

Proficiency Exotic

Weapon Groups Crossbows

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Details

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A repeating hand crossbow can hold 5 bolts. So long as it had ammunition, it can be reloaded by pulling a knob on the side. This is a free action in combat. However, to reload it, 5 bolts must be inserted by hand into the chamber on top. This takes a full round and provokes attacks of opportunity.

This weapon can be fired with one hand, so a character may dual-wield repeating hand crossbows. However, to use the reloading knob on the side it will require two hands. It also requires two hands to load new bolts into the chamber.