Ye Olde Inn

The armory doesn't specifically state whether you can use a shield with the crossbow--is it a 2-handed weapon? Also, what is preventing someone from shooting the crossbow and switching to a shield at the end of their turn, then switching back to the crossbow to attack? On passing items, the only rule clarification is that a player can pass items if adjacent and no monster is adjacent on their turn (Elf and Barb quest packs). Nothing about how often you can swap your own armor on and off. Assume if you keep the passing items rule for self use, it is all allowed as people did pay for the item and there are enough spells and situations where players have to discard extra weapons in later quest packs, so they would need a stock pile...

Yes the original rules don't tell you.

Jalapenotrellis wrote:The armory doesn't specifically state whether you can use a shield with the crossbow--is it a 2-handed weapon? Also, what is preventing someone from shooting the crossbow and switching to a shield at the end of their turn, then switching back to the crossbow to attack? On passing items, the only rule clarification is that a player can pass items if adjacent and no monster is adjacent on their turn (Elf and Barb quest packs). Nothing about how often you can swap your own armor on and off. Assume if you keep the passing items rule for self use, it is all allowed as people did pay for the item and there are enough spells and situations where players have to discard extra weapons in later quest packs, so they would need a stock pile...

No, the crossbow isn't a two handed weapon because Heroquest doesn't acknowledge two handed weapons. It just tells you which combination of weapons and armor can't be used simultaneously.

Heroqeust doesn't tell you, but it shows evidence of supporting a Finders Keepers style system for exchanging items. If you find it, you keep it, unless they say you can give it away. This is evident in the rulebook where you're told to record gold or potions onto your character sheet, but are then given permission to share your gold with other heroes between quests. Throughout the quest book you're also given permission to exchange items such as in quest 3. Lair of the Orc Warlord, where it tells you in note A. that you find a staff which you can add to your character sheet or give to another player. The same rule applies to found artifacts where if you find it, you keep it, but in the rulebook it not only permits you to give away artifacts that are restricted to specific heroes (Wizard's Staff, Wizard's Cloak), but encourages you to do so by saying, "you should." You can totally flip the Wizard the bird and keep it though.

Equipping and unequipping is ignored and thus, left to us. Yes, you can totally defend using platemail, a shield and a helmet, then later attack with the attack strength of a battleaxe, then move as if not wearing plaitmail ignoring its movement penalty simply by saying you're not currently using it. If you play by that logic though, go buy five helmets to increase your defend dice by 5 extra combat dice. It's totally within the rules.

If you want suggestions about handling equipping or unequipping, do a search in the forum with 'Equip' or 'Equipping' and a few older topics should spring up about handling it.

Jafazo wrote: If you play by that logic...

Expect never to be invited back to any gaming groups. Unless you're a comical genius of course. In which your 5 headed PentaDwarf mutant is totally Justifiable.

mitchiemasha wrote:

Jafazo wrote: If you play by that logic...

Expect never to be invited back to any gaming groups. Unless you're a comical genius of course. In which your 5 headed PentaDwarf mutant is totally Justifiable.

Or he could go play with like-minded individuals, power gaming min maxers.

Second hand is required only to recharge!
If your Hero is properly skilled he can use 2 crossbows at the same time (but seriously... better consider it as a 2-hands weapon):

lestodante wrote:Second hand is required only to recharge!
If your Hero is properly skilled he can use 2 crossbows at the same time (but seriously... better consider it as a 2-hands weapon):

I agree, it takes a second hand to recharge the crossbow, but keep in mind that it's also entirely possible that the shields' straps could be made to free up a wielders hand for limited use, like reloading a crossbow. A light shield designed this way could provide ranged combatants with portable cover vs other ranged combatants.

Equipment in the armory seems scaled to size with one other so the crossbow shown on the Armory qualifies as one that could be fire with one hand. Reloading depends on the shield. If the shields straps were made to cling to the forearm with a separate grip at the hand a hero could easily release his grip at the hand to reload a crossbow, shoot, then when an enemy comes close to attack, tighten his grip at the hand and use the shield.

It's fantasy though, and personally think the idea of firing off two crossbows and reloading them is badass, but it's far more a stretch of the imagination that a shield and crossbow. Dual wielding crossbows were never a thing. Even a repeating crossbow required a free hand to reload with the crank. The closest to dual wielding crossbows would be to load them, fire each crossbow then drop one to quickly reload the other.

Jafazo wrote: The closest to dual wielding crossbows would be to load them, fire each crossbow then drop one to quickly reload the other.

Totally, I have a crossbow and it's quiet hard to load. First timers always struggle. We could have some interestingly designed shields that the crossbow user could implement but that picture is the first time I've seen the concept of them dual wielded.

I've been looking at mitchiemasha's expanded armory, and some that struck me is that both of the bows, which the US version is missing, also say they can't be used adjacent. While that makes sense (because why use a 3AD sword when you've got a 3AD crossbow if they're functionally identical) I feel like it should be much harder to reload a crossbow than a long- or shortbow.

I kinda feel like you should only be able to use a crossbow every OTHER turn.

Or maybe you can only load it outside of combat? 5 shot repeater though.

I don't let them use shooting weapons on adjacent or diagonal enemies. I feel that opens the specialty niche for diagonal weapons and mercs.

While a shortbow or longbow is definitely two handed, crossbows were stronger because you could keep them loaded and ready for shooting indefinitely and then shoot very spontaneously. That fraction of a second that saves your life.

Reloading depends. There were models designed to go right through armour, but you had to use a spanner while reloading. There were models which were reloaded without tool, just with a hand. But all the time reloading takes two hands.

How to translate this in HQ language?

On my equipment cards there is a remark how many hands you need to use it. The Crossbow were never allowed diagonal or adjacent use, but I changed from one hand to two hands and back three times now.