Arbalests?

[Seharvepernfan]

Do they have a representative in D&D? I know about the great crossbow, but that is essentially a larger heavy crossbow, whereas an arbalest is a different beast altogether.

[atemu1234]

Not really. But keep in mind that a longsword isn't always a longsword; a longsword can also be any manner of blade of the same size, it just keeps the same stats, even if IRL they would be different altogether. The same probably applies here.

[Curmudgeon]

D&D gives short shrift to ranged weapons in general, and especially to those which aren't used for piercing damage. Slings don't qualify for Rapid Reload or Manshot, for reasons I can't fathom. All the crossbow rules are needlessly specific ("Choose a type of crossbow (hand, light, or heavy).") and have the effect that great crossbows are ignored. Power Attack provides an easy power-up for melee attackers, available at level 1, letting the attacker roughly double their damage. The closest equivalent for ranged combat is the Splitting enhancement (Champions of Ruin), not available before 11 (with a generous DM who allows putting ½ total wealth in one item) and more typically at level 14 (¼ WbL).

So, no arbalests, because WotC hates you. :smallsigh:

[Flickerdart]

I dunno, a weapon that has a rate of fire of 2 shots per minute (and that's for a skilled arbalester) doesn't seem like it would be all that useful for adventurers, unless you had a whole bandoleer of them.

[Seharvepernfan]

They were far too big for a bandoleer. The point of them is their relatively extreme range and damage; so either as a sniper weapon or a surprise round weapon.

[Ephemeral_Being]

How does a downsized Balista from Stormwrack sound? It's a Huge type weapon, right? Which does 3d8 damage. So downsize it to Large, and you've got 2d8. Takes 4 rounds to reload, which ends up being 2 shots per minute.

That seems like the closest thing you're going to see.

EDIT: And I'm an idiot. Entirely different class of weapons. You could still use it. Downsized or not. But the listed range increment is still crap. I don't have any idea how you're going to get one that goes 300m. No weapon does that, as far as I know.

[Coidzor]

Honestly, though, the principal disadvantage and problem with Crossbows is how their reload times make them fit poorly with the emphasis of iterative attacks for users as they transcend the mundane and become superhumanly good at combat.

That you want to make the reload times even worse to model arbalests is probably not the best of decisions, unless you just really want to have something that volley fires on the PCs every few rounds or have everyone who can get a surprise round carry around one ready to go off at a moment's notice and then be dropped as they do their actual shtick.

And then there's the concern that someone could just completely obviate the reload speed penalty anyway via magic or magic+rapid reload.


EDIT: And I'm an idiot. Entirely different class of weapons. You could still use it. Downsized or not. But the listed range increment is still crap. I don't have any idea how you're going to get one that goes 300m. No weapon does that, as far as I know.

Composite Longbows have 335.28 meters (converting from 1100 feet via Google) as their maximum range.

Heavy Crossbows have 365.76 meteres (converting from 1200 feet via Google) as their maximum range.

And that's before any potential range-increasing mundane modifications or weapon templates or magical properties or special ammunition or materials.

[Ephemeral_Being]

Composite Longbows have 335.28 meters (converting from 1100 feet via Google) as their maximum range.

Heavy Crossbows have 365.76 meteres (converting from 1200 feet via Google) as their maximum range.

And that's before any potential range-increasing mundane modifications or weapon templates or magical properties or special ammunition or materials.

Right. Range increment is not maximum range. I know that. Dunno how I got the two confused.

In that case, yeah. A Balista from Stormwrack has basically the stats you want. It's just a matter of getting a handheld one by your DM. Or being 12 feet fall.

[Curmudgeon]

How does a downsized Balista from Stormwrack sound?
It's big, certainly, but it doesn't have the arbalest's ability to propel stones or bullets.

[Flickerdart]

It's big, certainly, but it doesn't have the arbalest's ability to propel stones or bullets.
Pack it with stone- or lead-tipped bolts? It works for Green Arrow. :smallamused:

[Spiryt]

I dunno, a weapon that has a rate of fire of 2 shots per minute (and that's for a skilled arbalester) doesn't seem like it would be all that useful for adventurers, unless you had a whole bandoleer of them.

Weapon 'fire rates' are bonked anyway in D&D, so I'm not sure why arbalest one would need to be 'realistic' TBH. Just use heavy crossbow stats here.

Besides very skilled shooter would actually shoot way more often than 2/minute anyway.


Personally, I would home-brew it via giving crossbows 'Strenght rate' just as bows have, only 1.5 strength bonus 'two handed' style.

So 18 Str Heavy Crossbow, hits for 1d10 + 6

Seems simple enough to me, and gives some reason to actually use crossbows.

[BootStrapTommy]

It was my understanding the great crossbow is more or less an arbalest. Hence the "it takes a full round to reload" thing.

And the 2d8 damage.

[Flickerdart]

Besides very skilled shooter would actually shoot way more often than 2/minute anyway.
Do you have a source? A regular heavy crossbowman would fire 3 shots per minute, and an arbalest was even more cumbersome to load.

[Telonius]

They were far too big for a bandoleer. The point of them is their relatively extreme range and damage; so either as a sniper weapon or a surprise round weapon.

"You're going to backstab him with a ballista?"

[Spiryt]

Do you have a source? A regular heavy crossbowman would fire 3 shots per minute, and an arbalest was even more cumbersome to load.

The problem is that no one really specifies what is 'regular' crossbow or arbalest in those numbers.

Everything depends on particular crossbow, method of spanning, strength and skill for shooter.

Here some dude reloads ~900 pound bow in about 10 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yogv2dDnx64

Here's ~20 s with unspecified windlass bow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ykrg4rQIO0

Depends on how strong of a bow can one span with device of given 'speed' and how quickly he really wants to do it.

But 2 times per minute generally seems like lazy tempo for really huge, siege bows.

[Flickerdart]

Here some dude reloads ~900 pound bow in about 10 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yogv2dDnx64

That is a 17th century bow, from about 500 years after the era of the arbalest.

[Spiryt]

That is a 17th century bow, from about 500 years after the era of the arbalest.

It seems you're going by that Wiki definition of 'arbalest' which is mainly confusing.

There was no steel crossbows, or crossbows pulled with windlass, or other complicated devices in 12th century.

To need some ~30 seconds to span, you obviously need 15th, 16th or 17th century device that requires a lot of motions.


Crossbows in 12th century were likely all still spanned by belt or similar simple levers. So they by definition couldn't be spanned throughout 20 seconds.

Video simply shows that one still can easily bend pretty hard (at ~900 pounds) crossbow by simple wooden lever.

Definition of arbalest as 'really huge crossbow' is most likely mostly modern, as word was used to simply refer to 'crossbow' in French.

If there was any 'era of arbalest' it was 15th and 16th century, because that's when people were employing some really hard, powerful bows.