Editing Crossbow (section)

==Use in warfare==
A major advantage of crossbows over regular bows is that because they're fired using a mechanism instead of depending on human strength to hold the bow in a ready-to-fire position, user fatigue is not such a huge factor. Additionally, the heavier crossbows could generate more force than most humans thanks to the pulley systems used to cock the string and shoot heavier bolts, resulting in greater penetration of the target. Possibly its biggest advantage is that it was easier to train the use of a crossbow than bows since the weapon's operation is much less taxing and they could have sights.

As relatively easy as they are to use, however, the main drawback with crossbows is that they require a wider range of resources and skills to manufacture due to the mechanisms involved. Crossbows also generally have a lower rate of fire than bows. At best, a crossbowman can get off about eight shots a minute. More powerful arbalest crossbows that used windlasses could manage about three shots a minute, but could store more energy than a human could physically pull back with bare hands. For these reasons crossbows excel in a siege situation where the ranges are long and you can duck into cover easily while you're reloading. And since sieges tended to be drawn-out affairs anyway, reload time wasn't as necessary.

Another weakness they shared with early siege weapons and bows is that their energy storage mechanisms were vulnerable to decay (one reason why all three got supplanted by black powder weapons). At the Battle of Crecy (the infamous battle used by some [[That Guy|armchair]] warfare geeks to claim longbows trump crossbows alongside Agincourt - where France's missile troops had been badly deployed and couldn't fire effectively without injuring their own men due the French infantry being too packed in against the English fieldworks), the Genoese arbalests suffered from their prod strings being degraded by rain and being exhausted from rapid forced marching. While they could restring them with proper gear, they left it behind with the wagons due to the French being too impatient (whereas archers can restring their less rigid bows by hand) and were decimated due to being outranged and lacking pavise shields to shelter them from returning fire.

That being said, despite crossbows being much more expensive than bows, they were much less demanding on the user's skill and physique. You can train as many crossbowmen as you have crossbows and replenish killed ones in just few months of training, while a bowman requires ''decades'' of training to be useful on a battlefield. So while a single bowman is much more effective than a single crossbowman, you can afford a half-dozen of crossbowmen for the cost of one bowman, and replace lost ones quickly as long as their weapon survives the battle. This is probably why they first took off in Warring States period China, where raising large conscript armies was the name of the game.

It should be noted that despite having much greater draw weights than contemporary bows (above 500 lbs in some cases), crossbows were not proportionally more powerful due to their very short draw length, translating into a much briefer energy transfer. More modern crossbows sometimes address this by using recurve bows, or even by using a bullpup configuration by turning the bow backwards and then pulling the string past the bow. Additionally, the reduced aerodynamic properties of crossbow bolts as compared to arrows mean that they very rapidly lose velocity after a relatively short distance, giving them great punch at short range but reduced effectiveness at longer ranges.

The fact that even relatively poorly trained men armed with crossbows could royally murder fully armored knights made the crossbow one of the most hated pre-firearm weapons in the Europe, even more than the infamous flamberge. At some point the Pope himself banned crossbows as an unholy weapon not to be used on fellow Christians, but even then they remained popular among mercenaries, rich lords, and Protestants due to their usefulness. Proud knights could accept deaths from elite long/composite bowmen who trained from childhood like they did, [[Butthurt|but not from some hastily drilled dirty peasant levies whose lord could afford a few dozens of crossbows]].

Finally, one of the most underrated uses of a crossbow was the psychological element. Those armies that weren't used to fighting against crossbowmen (and many who were) found themselves outranged, outgunned, outnumbered, and/or overpowered by crossbows. Sure, you could train longbowmen or mounted archers with potentially superior range or mobility, but if you had neither the right kind of wood, the horses, nor the time to train the archers from childhood, you risked being left behind in the dust during an arms race. Additionally, many medieval armours and early modern ones used by the rank-and-file men-at-arms were not capable of withstanding the sheer force that a crossbow shot could inflict, in comparison to many regular bows. So while your nobles and knights in custom fitted plate can arguably handle crossbows at range, their horses and foot levies in gambesons and brigandine with wooden shields can't risk being turned into pin cushions. This meant that the presence of crossbows on a battlefield could keep certain units away, due to them not being able to withstand that kind of shot. Indeed, we have medieval chronicles talking about the power of the crossbow:

<blockquote> ''This cross-bow is a bow of the barbarians quite unknown to the Greeks; and it is not stretched by the right hand pulling the string whilst the left pulls the bow in a contrary direction, but he who stretches this warlike and very far-shooting weapon must lie, one might say, almost on his back and apply both feet strongly against the semi-circle of the bow and with his two hands pull the string with all his might in the contrary direction. In the middle of the string is a socket, a cylindrical kind of cup fitted to the string itself, and about as long as an arrow of considerable size which reaches from the string to the very middle of the bow; and through this arrows of many sorts are shot out. The arrows used with this bow are very short in length, but very thick, fitted in front with a very heavy iron tip. And in discharging them the string shoots them out with enormous violence and force, and whatever these darts chance to hit, they do not fall back, but they pierce through a shield, then cut through a heavy iron corselet and wing their way through and out at the other side. So violent and ineluctable is the discharge of arrows of this kind. Such an arrow has been known to pierce a bronze statue, and if it hits the wall of a very large town, the point of the arrow either protrudes on the inner side or it buries itself in the middle of the wall and is lost. Such then is this monster of a crossbow, and verily a devilish invention. And the wretched man who is struck by it, dies without feeling anything, not even feeling the blow, however strong it be.''


Anna Comnena, ''The Alexiad'' </blockquote>

Crossbows are still occasionally used for military purposes; while a crossbow's bolts lack the stopping power of modern firearms, it fires quieter than any "silenced" firearm and it can also be used for niche purposes such as launching grappling hooks or detonating tripwire-activated mines, and its lower projectile speed means it's much less likely to set off any worn explosives. And even its comparatively lower ability to kill outright can be compensated for by taking a page out of the Indian Navy's book and use cyanide-tipped bolts. Alternatively, you can take the Rambo route and use bolts with explosive tips.

See Also: [[Katanas are Underpowered in d20#Crossbows are Underpowered in d20|Crossbows are Underpowered in d20]]

===Loading Mechanisms===
Because later crossbows were often too tough to simply pull back unaided, a number of devices were invented to allow the wielder rearm the crossbow via pulling back the string (in a process called spanning). The device used usually depended upon the draw weight of the bow, as heavier bows would require more advanced devices that required more time to pull back.

*'''Gloves and Stirrup''': Generally leather or some other material, good quality gloves (or some tough callouses) can save one some finger or palm bleeding from trying to pull it by the old fashioned way. Talking from experience, if one is to do it this way, put your entire upper back, legs, and arms into it, and then pull. The user placed both feet on either the bow's span on each side of the stock or in the stirrup ring attached to the crossbow head. Modern hunting crossbow crossbows often use this alongside a sliding cord of rope attached to free floating hooks and handles for hunters to pull in a pulley configuration. The most common loading mechanism in popular culture besides the cranequin and windlass. First appearance: 700 to 500's BCE. Mechanical advantage: 1 to 1. Maximum draw weight: 150-300 lbs.

*'''Stirrup and Belt Hook''': Most crossbows you see have a stirrup ring towards the front end for putting your foot through to hold it steady. Combined with a belt worn around the waist with a hook attached to it, the wielder could use their whole body, rather than just their arms, to arm the crossbow. Could also use a belt-attached pulley configuration to lessen the strength to draw. First appearance: 1200's. Mechanical advantage: about 2 or 1 to 1 (depending on whether using pulley configuration). Maximum draw weight: 320-450 lbs.

*'''Goat's Foot Lever''': This was a fairly simple detachable metal lever (colloquially known as gaffles) that gave the user more leverage when pulling back the string. Composed of a rod attached to two curved prongs and two hinged hooks, with a shape reminiscent of a goat's foot (hence the name). Mount on two metal lugs on the body's sides near the trigger, pull drawstring back in one motion via two hinged hooks, place folded lever back on belt via hooked handle or belt bag, load the bolt on the crossbow, and then shoot. This could arm the crossbow in a single smooth motion with the lever's curved prongs making the drawing force decrease as the spanning distance increases. Lighter versions can be spanned from horseback or while standing. The heavier ones would require you to put your foot in the stirrup while kneeling and bracing it against your shin as you pull the lever back. Another more advanced method of using it involved spinning the lever via its hinged hanging hook on your belt so it was upside down; mounting the crossbow to the prongs while flipping the trigger away from your body before resting the stirrup ring on your thigh; and then pulling the stock towards your body with both your arms. The technique permitted you to rearm without taking the lever off your belt but was cumbersome without practice. While not extremely widespread in 14th Century warfare due to the belt and hook being much cheaper, it was fairly common for field portable bows used in defensive roles and for mounted crossbowmen. First appearance: Between 1300's to 1400's. Mechanical advantage: from 5 up to 30 to 1 (depending on how far the lever is pulled). Maximum draw weight: 550 lbs.

*'''Gaffe Lever''': Another form of gaffle tool derived from the goat's foot lever, the gaffe lever consisted of a two piece wooden lever held by a hinge and attached to the stirrup ring via metal hook. The user pushed down on the lever to push the drawstring into the trigger before removing it. More associated with nobles' hunting or shooting clubs than with military arsenals after gunpowder weapons appeared in the 1500's during the Renaissance. Still in use for sporting crossbows used in shooting competitions. First appearance: 1500's. Mechanical advantage: up to 30 to 1. Maximum draw weight: 400 lbs.

*'''Lever-Action''': Alternatively called "Self-Cocking" or "Self-Spanning" crossbows. These generally use hinged or sliding levers embedded into the crossbow body. The user unlocks a catch holding the hinge firm before folding open the half of the crossbow body to catch the drawstring on a latch before pulling it back to the trigger to arm the crossbow. Unlike the Asian equivalent in the Chu-Ko-Nu, these did not have a top magazine. This enabled users to aim after loading and pulling a trigger to shoot at the cost of having to load the bolt by hand. Besides the Scottish Border Reivers' latchet crossbow in the 1600's, two noted examples are Martin Löffelholz's armbrust design in the Codex Löffelholz and Da Vinci's Rapid-fire Crossbow in the Codex Atlanticus (the Balestra Veloce). While [[Awesome|impressive]], lever-action crossbows were never mainstream or famous due to being weaker than regular crossbows and due to being invented during the transition to gunpowder weapons in the 1500's Renaissance. First appearance: 1500's. Mechanical advantage: up to 25 to 1. Maximum draw weight: 220 - 300 lbs.

*'''Windlass''': Alternatively called the "Winch." Like the cranequin, this was a winding device, but it also came with a bulky pulley system that was mounted to the back of the crossbow. As a result, this was a tremendously powerful spanning system at the expense of needing a lot of time to arm. Along with the cranequin, this was one of the strongest crossbow loading methods. Contrary to popular culture, it was more often used on large, heavy crossbows for stationary battles like trench warfare or sieges like modern anti-tank guns. On the other hand, usage on open battlefields (behind pavise shields) for support artillery wasn't unheard of. First appearance: 1400’s. Mechanical advantage: ~160 to 1. Maximum draw weight: 1500 lbs+ (limited by time and bow strength).

*'''Cranequin''': Also called the "Rack and Pinion," this device used gears and a crank to wind up the bowstring, requiring multiple turns to pull it all the way back. The device slid onto lugs mounted on the stock or a taunt noose that gripped the stock. After being used, it was removed before loading and firing. Along with the windlass, this was one of the strongest crossbow loading methods. Contrary to popular culture, it was more often used on large, heavy crossbows for stationary battles like trench warfare or sieges like modern anti-tank guns. Having said that, usage on mounted crossbowmen with lighter crossbows and by footmen on open battlefields (behind pavise shields) for artillery support wasn't unheard of. Some modern hunting crossbows use a built-in winch version inside the stock with a foldable handle. First appearance: 1500's. Mechanical advantage: ~600 or 840 to 1. Maximum draw weight: 2000 lbs+.