Light and Heavy Repeating Crossbows


Rules Questions


Apart from damage and price, are there any other differences between heavy and light repeating crossbows? Can both be reloaded by pulling the reloading lever with a free action?


Crossbow, Repeating wrote:

The repeating crossbow (whether heavy or light) holds 5 crossbow bolts. As long as it holds bolts, you can reload it by pulling the reloading lever (a free action). Loading a new case of 5 bolts is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity.

You can fire a repeating crossbow with one hand or fire a repeating crossbow in each hand in the same manner as you would a normal crossbow of the same size. However, you must fire the weapon with two hands in order to use the reloading lever, and you must use two hands to load a new case of bolts.

They each have the same qualities of their normal counterparts aside from the additional stipulation that to use the reload lever, it must be fired in two hands (rather than at an attack penalty in one hand - in other words, the free action reload does not, by itself, allow you to both TWF and get full iteratives while doing so).

So yes, both versions are a free action to use the lever.


Why then would anyone choose a light repeating crossbow to a heavy one? It appears the only reason a player would use light over heavy would be because of price. Lower price looks like the only advantage.


Weight?


You can fire a light repeating crossbow in one hand, but not a heavy repeating crossbow.


Nope:

CRB wrote:
However, you can shoot, but not load, a heavy crossbow with one hand


Oh. Smaller TWF penalty, maybe?


Also, the Heavy is at -4 one-handed, while the Light is -2.

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