Double Crossbow and Vital Strike


Rules Questions


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Pretty straightforward, since a double-crossbow shoots 2 bolts as an attack, when I use Vital Strike to attack with it, does the weapon double the damage of *both* bolts, or only one? Vital strike is not precision damage, so I'm not seeing anything within Double-Crossbow entry or Vital Strike entry that would prohibit this, just wondering if there is something else out there?

Double Crossbow: "Due to its size and weight, you take a –4 penalty on your attack roll if you’re proficient with it, or –8 if you’re not. If the attack hits, the target takes damage from both bolts. Critical hits, sneak attack damage, and other precision-based damage apply to only the first bolt.

Reloading one bolt is a standard action; the Rapid Reload feat reduces this to a move action. Crossbow Mastery allows you to reload both bolts as a move action.

A double crossbow fires crossbow bolts."

Vital Strike: "When you use the attack action, you can make one attack at your highest base attack bonus that deals additional damage. Roll the weapon’s damage dice for the attack twice and add the results together before adding bonuses from Strength, weapon abilities (such as flaming), precision-based damage, and other damage bonuses. These extra weapon damage dice are not multiplied on a critical hit, but are added to the total."


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Vital Strike allows you to roll the weapon's damage dice multiple times. From what I see, the double crossbow'crossbow's damage die is listed as 1d8 in its entry.

I think, by RAW, you're stuck with 2-4d8+1d8. In my games, I'd certainly let you go for 2-8d8. With the feats required, the penalty to attack rolls and the fact that it's still just a crossbow, I don't see the harm in it.


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That whole section of the Vital Strike text ("you can make one attack at your highest base attack bonus that deals additional damage") is not actual rules text, but reminder text. It doesn't make a ruling, because there is no need to - the attack action is already a singular attack at full BAB. Since the Vital Strike part repeats a general rule, the description of the double crossbow is a case "specific beats general".

There's plenty of redundant reminder text throughout the CRB (and other books), like how Weapon Training says you add the bonus to CMB of maneuvers made with those weapon even though that is already covered in the maneuver rules, how Mobility and Haste say you lose the dodge bonus when denied the dex bonus even though the combat rules already says that, how the Monk's Unarmed Strike class feature says "This means that a monk may make unarmed strikes with his hands full." when everyone can do that, or the sheer stupidity of the consequitive Monk class features Proficiency and AC Bonus both saying you lose the bonus when wearing armor.


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So where did we land on this? I mean, for the one attack, the crossbows damage dice is doubled. The crossbows damage dice is now 2d8. I make a single attack with this, and two bolts hit. The damage dice is just the default value role per hit. I just happen to hit *twice* in this one attack (a unique combination with vital strike).

The only comparison I could bring it to is Startoss Comet, which specifies that it only effects the first target hit, but even then you’re making additional attack rolls. This is a single standard action attack action, with unique weapon damage rules (a successful hit means you roll damage for 2 bolts).

I’m less worried about the semantics side of it, and more wondering if I’ve missed some ruling states “single damage dice” or something from vital strike


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Ahhh I see, it doesn’t say you double the damage dice, it says you roll the damage dice twice. What a horrible waste of 4.5 damage from poor dev/editing


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As far as I can tell, when you use the attack action with a double crossbow and chose to use the Vital Strike feat, presuming your attack hits, you deal 1d8 critable damage and 3d8 non-crittable damage. Deadly Aim etc. gets applied twice in total.

Both initial d8 are "the weapon’s damage dice for the attack", so both get rolled twice (each).

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