Great Crossbow

[Doughnut Master]

Is the Great Crossbow from Races of Stone really all that unbalanced? I've been looking at it and it seems to be about equal to a +2 str longbow. Doesn't seem too unreasonable to me...

[Diarmuid]

As its written in the book it's not anything too crazy. When you start making it a martial weapon, and allowing feats not normally intended for it to work with it, and then start adding in things like Aptitude Weapon enhance to do things most DM's would throw a book at you for...that's when it can start to be a little silly.

[Flickerdart]

As its written in the book it's not anything too crazy. When you start making it a martial weapon, and allowing feats not normally intended for it to work with it, and then start adding in things like Aptitude Weapon enhance to do things most DM's would throw a book at you for...that's when it can start to be a little silly.
To be fair, any weapon starts to be silly when you do that, down to the humble Gauntlet.

[Diarmuid]

True, but most weapons dont deal 2d8 base dmg from 120 feet away with an 18-20 crit range, so they dont get the same attention.

[HunterOfJello]

What are the normal tactics with a Great Crossbow? Do people take Quick Draw and run around wearing Strongarm bracers and 30 Large Great Crossbows so that they can fire volleys of 3d8 crossbow bolts at people?

There are probably a number of more amusing strategies involving siege weapons that work out better.

[Diarmuid]

There was a post I was reading a little while ago about Aptitude Great Crossbows and Hand Crossbow focus allowing you to full attack with them, or some such. Then after the talk of Aptitude came the obligatory Lightning Mace and Boomerang Daze mentions as well as the Splitting enhancement.

[Doughnut Master]

That seems more like an issue with the aptitude weapon enhancement rather than with the great crossbow itself.

It has big numbers, but an exotic weapon proficiency and a full round reload seems like a considerable price to pay for them.

Sure, it's better than a lot of other exotic weapons. But a lot of other exotic weapons aren't any good to start with.

[Curmudgeon]

A great crossbow gives a slight increase in damage for the cost of an Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat. As a house rule I always let feats and abilities that work for heavy crossbows apply in the same manner to great crossbows. I have no idea why WotC both got needlessly specific initially when it came to crossbows
Choose a type of crossbow (hand, light, or heavy). and then forgot to include support when they later created new types of crossbows.

[Diarmuid]

Agreed that as written, the EWP is a high price for the small boosts the weapon gets. As mentioned, some people allow the weapon to be treated as martial.

To your original question, nothing is wrong with the weapon as written. Homebrewing, and using combinations no sane DM would allow make it a target for Theoretical Optimization.

[Big Fau]

True, but most weapons dont deal 2d8 base dmg from 120 feet away with an 18-20 crit range, so they dont get the same attention.

Do keep in mind that it is very difficult to add damage to a ranged attack made with something like a crossbow. That's one of the things that keeps the futuristic weapons in the DMG balanced: They are difficult to improve.


and then forgot to include support when they later created new types of crossbows.

That's because of Core Focus Syndrome. The Devs just never got around that problem.

[ffone]

Ya, the issue isn't the GXbow, it's Aptitude.

It makes a nifty backup ranged weapon for a rogue with Telling Blow (crits are sneak attacks) when you have no other way go sneak attack and the luxury of keeping distance until you get lucky.

[Doughnut Master]

This is good to hear. I made a rogue/deepwood sniper mix with just that in mind. My DM balked when I showed him the weapon. I think all of those d8s scared him a bit.

[Doughnut Master]

This is good to hear. I made a rogue/deepwood sniper mix with just that in mind. My DM balked when I showed him the weapon. I think all of those d8s scared him a bit.

[Eldariel]

It's interestingly one of the few standard weapons you can easily get to the efficient size category increase territory; you only need Gargantuan to get it to 6d8 (Expansion to Huge, Strongarm Bracers). But yeah, the numbers are nice but you need to jump through some hoops to make it work.

[NNescio]

It's interestingly one of the few standard weapons you can easily get to the efficient size category increase territory; you only need Gargantuan to get it to 6d8 (Expansion to Huge, Strongarm Bracers). But yeah, the numbers are nice but you need to jump through some hoops to make it work.

Call it... "The Piecemaker" (http://wiki.lspace.org/wiki/Detritus).