Repeating Hand Crossbow Training + Running Reload

[AvtrSpirit]

Part 1

The old version of the Repeating Hand Crossbow Training feat had the wording -

"If you have the Running Reload feat, you can reload a repeating hand crossbow magazine on the move. You can use Running Reload as a 3-action activity to reload a magazine into a repeating hand crossbow after you Stride, Step, or Sneak, or as a 2-action activity if you use a magazine from a shootist bandolier."

Was this ever a meaningful rule? The "Repeating" trait has this line when talking about the 3 actions needed to change a magazine: "These actions don't need to be consecutive and are the same as Interacting to reload."

Does that mean someone could Running Reload three times (or twice with bandolier) to change up the magazine, even without that paragraph in the feat? If not, why not? And if yes, what did that paragraph add?

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Part 2

The new version says "If you have Running Reload or a similar feat". Assuming that the Interact actions for Reloading and changing magazines are the same (mechanically), then is there a class feature that meaningfully interacts with the new version?

I was trying to work out if the Drifter's reload could be relevant here but even then coming up short in finding a relevant difference.

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For some emotional context, I'm asking these questions more out of curiosity than frustration. Most likely, I'm missing a rules interaction somewhere. And even if it turns out to be rules jank, I think some of that is inevitable in a large system, and I don't hold it against the broader design philosophies of the system with which I'm largely aligned.

[NorrKnekten]

The special part of the old training feat is that you can put more actions into the same activity to fully reload it as opposed to needing to take the same activity multiple times.

This is expanded into anything else but its only ever really meaningful with activities that can only be performed once per round or similar.

[Claxon]

The new rule is just trying to future proof against options that may come.

The main thing I see, is that with running reload you could spend 3 actions, move, and then reload the magazine of your repeating hand crossbow.

It's action compression.

I don't know if you could do 3 separate acts (2 with the bandolier) of Running Reload (which are normally 1 action cost) and reload the magazine or not. I think probably you can. And this is probably better in most circumstances (because it gets you more movement). But there might be a circumstance where performing the action multiple separate times might not be beneficial compared to doing the action once (but getting less movement).

[Finoan]

Claxon wrote:

I don't know if you could do 3 separate acts (2 with the bandolier) of Running Reload (which are normally 1 action cost) and reload the magazine or not. I think probably you can. And this is probably better in most circumstances (because it gets you more movement).

That's my thought too.

The old version of the Reload activity for reloading a repeating weapon's magazine wasn't clear that it cost three separate standard Reload actions.

Guns and Gears Errata wrote:

Pages 151-152: Repeating trait now specifies that the Interact actions to replace a magazine are the same as Interacting to reload.

Before that errata, there were people trying to argue that things like the Gunslinger's various Slinger's Reload feats would let you reload a repeating weapon for one action. It says you reload your weapon, so you fully reload your repeating weapon.

Without creative rules interpretations, the special rule in Repeating Hand Crossbow Training to interact with Running Reload is a bit more limited than the current version. It would only let you move once as a 3-action activity to reload your repeating weapon. And without that feat, it is likely that the GM wouldn't allow Running Reload on its own to let you reload a repeating weapon at all - in order to avoid reload rules cheese.

The current repeating trait rules with their note that the actions needed to reload the weapon are multiple separate standard Reload actions makes the weapons with the reload trait interact with other abilities a lot better. It is clear that you can use a Slinger's Reload ability with them, but it only counts as one of the needed interact actions to reload a repeating weapon. Same with Running Reload - it is natively compatible with repeating weapons. Each time you use Running Reload it would only count as one interact action to reload the repeating weapon.

The interaction with Running Reload in Repeating Hand Crossbow Training is no longer needed. Running Reload already works with repeating weapons like a repeating hand crossbow, and in a better way than what the feat provides. If you want to replicate the previous behavior, you could just use Running Reload once, then use two more interact actions to stand in place and finish reloading your repeating crossbow.

[Elric200]

If a repeating crossbow has a magazine, why wouldn't some clever inventor or dwarf crafts man just make a detachable magazine that could be reoladed in one action and make bank.

[Claxon]

Elric200 wrote:

If a repeating crossbow has a magazine, why wouldn't some clever inventor or dwarf crafts man just make a detachable magazine that could be reoladed in one action and make bank.

The gods keep smiting them and the last thing they here before their death is "For balance!"

[Red Griffyn]

Yeah its completely superfluous in 100% of cases. Even in the cases where you would trigger a reaction or suffer some kind of damage if you move you could just choose to 'step' as part of running reload or just not use running reload and stand in place.

I think the only purpose of this feat is to give access to the repeating crossbow/bandolier if your GM is abusing the rarity/access system.