I've finally decided to go in and houserule the heck out of Pathfinder to get the game to fit what I want out of it. One thing I'm not satisfied with are a lot of the core feats. So I'm going through to see what can be done to make every feat an exciting and tantalizing choice to made and feel like a real power upgrade for the character. Every time a feat is written down on that character sheet it should feel like the moment when an Immortal in Highlander cuts another Immortal's head off.
First, a look...
PRD wrote:
Rapid Reload (Combat)
Choose a type of crossbow (hand, light, or heavy). You can reload such weapons quickly.
Prerequisite: Weapon Proficiency (crossbow type chosen).
Benefit: The time required for you to reload your chosen type of crossbow is reduced to a free action (for a hand or light crossbow) or a move action (for a heavy crossbow). Reloading a crossbow still provokes an attack of opportunity.
If you have selected this feat for hand crossbow or light crossbow, you may fire that weapon as many times in a full-attack action as you could attack if you were using a bow.
Normal: A character without this feat needs a move action to reload a hand or light crossbow, or a full-round action to reload a heavy crossbow.
Special: You can gain Rapid Reload multiple times. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new type of crossbow.
If you want to stroll down a fantastical and historical debate on crossbows, along with what to do with them, you can check out this thread and this thread.
Now, onto the feat...
So if you've followed those threads you might come to the conclusion that there is something lacking with crossbows, or maybe not. I'm in the camp that thinks there is something lack.
Now when I was looking over feats and read about Rapid Reload, it felt like they were taking the crossbow that is already prone on the ground, and decided to kick it some more.
Why? Because there is an expectation that you should be taking this feat multiple times if you wanted it to work for different types of crossbows. Rapid Shot (which applies to any missile weapon) is sitting across the way, gleefully laughing as Rapid Reload takes its beating.
So, first, with a revision it needs to get rid of this specialization in a weapon. You get Rapid Reload once and it applies to any crossbow.
Second, it needs to expand beyond crossbows, so it would be worded in such a way that any weapon that requires a move action or more to load now shifts down one step. Thus slings, sling staffs, flask throwers, etc. would all apply to the feat.
