Arbalest (War Crossbow)
by Parzival
Crossbow, War (Arbalest)
Fire Rate: 1shot/3 rounds
Range: 90/180/270
Size: L, 2H
Damage: 2d6+1
Special Requirements: Strength 12+ to use.
Special ability: Treat target Armor Class as 1 worse for normal armor.
Special notes: A PC with Frost Giant Strength can fire and reload at a rate of 1 shot/round
Encumbrance: 220 cn incl. windlass
Cost: 120 gp incl. windlass
The Arbalest, or War Crossbow, is a heavy duty, high powered cross bow, typically intended to be fired from some sort of resting surface as a parapet wall or standing brace, but a wielder with sufficient strength can use it without such aids (Strength 12 or better). This bow is intended as an “armor piercer”, and thus treats the target’s AC as one worse than usual. (The exceptions are magical ACs and Armor Classes derived from a creature’s innate agility (as a pixie), which remain unchanged.)
The arbalest cannot be reloaded by hand, or with a “crows foot,” but instead requires a heavy and complex two-handed windlass system which is attached to the bow and cranked to pull the drawstring back. As a result, the fire rate is ponderous— only one shot every three rounds, with two rounds required to reload (time which includes attaching the windlass, cranking it, and removing it so as to aim and fire the weapon). However, a wielder with the equivalent Strength of a Frost Giant (typically provided by a magic potion or possibly the rare magic girdle) may draw the bow by hand, producing a rate of fire of 1 every round.
Note that the encumbrance includes the weight and bulk of the windlass, whether attached or not, as it is assumed to be carried along with the arbalest. Without the windlass, the encumbrance is 180 cn.. An arbalest is always sold with a windlass, even if the purchaser doesn’t want one— weapons merchants have little demand for a windlass by itself, so they won’t cut the price either way.
The arbalest is primarily used in siege situations, and rarely encountered in the field (or the dungeon).