Would it be a Craft (Bow) or Craft (Weapons) or something?
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I'd think you might treat them as inappropriately sized weapons. -2 penalty to attack, maybe even -4. But to like remove the head from an arrow then re-fletch it as a bolt? Craft (bows)... DC 15 RAW to craft a bolt, but as a GM I'd likely increase that to at least DC 17 if not 20. You have to accommodate the abnormal weight of the arrowhead in the design and construction of the bolt shaft and its fletching to ensure an accurate flightpath.
Assuming you'd even allow it at all. For nonmagical arrows, my PCs would be totally out of luck, and likely for magic arrows as well.
I'd assume that the fletching would be difficult to repair/replace if you shortened the arrow at the back end.
And if you shortened it at the front, you'd need to reattach the tip and it might throw the balance out of whack when the thing was fired.
It's an interesting idea though; maybe a Craft (Weapons) or Profession (Bowyer/Fletcher) check at a medium to high DC (15?).
Crossbow bolts and arrows are not as similar as you might think.
You would likely be better off just crafting bolts from scratch.
At my table if you wanted to do this I would allow it with a sufficient craft check, but the resulting arrow/bolts would be less effective. I'd probably put a -2 on the attack and drop the damage by one die.
adamantine dragons solution works best.
a fletcher should be able to do it... but its not just a matter of breaking an arrow down in size.
having said that... an arrow for a short bow and a long bow are entirely different in reality but a generic item in game so I would not be too worried about it.
... now that i think about it I bet you the problem is that the OP found some magic arrows and now wants to use them in his crossbow.
I would allow it IF the player makes a sufficient craft check or pays a nominal fee. essentially the crafter is able to take the magical arrow heads and put them on non magical masterwork bolt shafts.
still not a perfect real world solution but works for me in a fantasy environment.
Speaking as someone who does actually shoot medieval bows and crossbows, 'realistic' answer would be a definite no.
Strength of an average crossbow prod is significantly higher than that of a bow; because of that you will find crossbow bolts to be significantly heavier, thicker and stiffer than arrows. In addition, your usual crossbow bolt will have 2 fletching 'fins' that allow it to lie flat in the crossbow groove, whereas an arrow will commonly have three (occasionally 4) fletching fins. Also, the butt of an arrow will usually be notched whereas crossbow bolt will have a flat end.
Overall, while you could in theory shorten an arrow, reposition the fletching, remove the notch etc, you would end up with a projectile too light and fragile for a crossbow. At best, you could expect arrow fired from a crossbow to have an erratic trajectory, lacking mass and proper fletching expected of a bolt. At worst (and IMHO very likely) scenario, the impact of crossbow bowstring, imparted by massive power of (often steel) prod would crack or outright shatter a comparably dainty and fragile arrow.
Of course, it's a fantasy game, and no one says reality has to be mandatory in your game as long as fun is had by all...
Not realistic but this is a game: if it were me I'd allow it the way Adamantine Dragon proposed.
In real life, no. They are not the same weight and thickness. The head of and arrow is different and would not pierce armor.
In a fantasy setting, anything is possible I guess. But I wouldn't allow this as a «spur of the moment» thingee.
The ONLY! reason I can think of for a player to even try this is ...
PC "Damn. I don't have any more bolts"
GM Looking around I see the arrows dropped by the orc I just slew.
PC "Can I cut an arrow so it can be shot from my crossbow?"
GM well let me check ...
Thus here we are talking about it. This is only a guess.
And to me I would say yes with a -2 to attack and the make shift bolt is fragle.
thats the ONLY! reason you can think of?
the idea of a crossbow wielding character coming across a bunch of magic or special arrows and wanting to convert them to bolts does not seem possible to you?
or maybe the character is just loopy like that ^_^
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If I can believe in magic rings that resize themselves for everything from goblins to giants, I have no problem believing in magic arrows that turn into appropriately proportioned bolts when you try to load them into a crossbow. Regular arrows and crossbow bolts? Not so much, though I'd let a wizard blow a Prestidigitation to turn a crossbow bolt, a burnt-out wand, or even an appropriately sized twig into an arrow if his archer buddy needed one in a pinch.
Of course, I also follow the real world logic that non-magical arrows can be retrieved after use and don't always break, especially if they miss.
Yes. As others have stated before, apply a penalty to hit and let 'er fly!
If I can believe in magic rings that resize themselves for everything from goblins to giants, I have no problem believing in magic arrows that turn into appropriately proportioned bolts when you try to load them into a crossbow. Regular arrows and crossbow bolts? Not so much, though I'd let a wizard blow a Prestidigitation to turn a crossbow bolt, a burnt-out wand, or even an appropriately sized twig into an arrow if his archer buddy needed one in a pinch.
Of course, I also follow the real world logic that non-magical arrows can be retrieved after use and don't always break, especially if they miss.
A-ha! But he didn't say they were magical now, did he....?!? ;-)
It would be Craft:Prison Shank.
But you have to make the bolt out of a toothbrush.
I thought crossbows could be made to fire just about anything. In any case, I'd treat it as an improvised weapon and leave it at that.
I don't think you could just cut an arrow down to size, but I might let a player use an arrow for spare parts in place of the raw materials for a craft check.
Bolts cost 1 sp each with a DC 15 craft check. You could divide the result of the check by 56 to find hourly progress if you wanted to.
Perhaps because you can get 20 arrows for 1gp rather than 10 bolts?
That is just silly. I call shenanigans on this.
Just buy some bolts, or craft them.
Got no money? Grab a sling and some rocks.
Now there's an idea! Rocks are cheap!