Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Stormlock]

A thought just occurred to me. Since dwarves are so prone to clubbing things with their ranged weapons, maybe they should have something made for the task. I propose a battle crossbow; a dwarven crossbow far heavier and menacing with spikes of danger. Make it heavier and require two hands so it isn't strictly better than a normal crossbow, and give it just slightly less damage than a hammer with a crit boost of one. Without a shield they're still likely to be lunchmeat in a melee, but at least they will actually be injuring things when they go on their suicidal crossbow bashing assault.

[Ioric Kittencuddler]

I have a better idea!  Chainsaw Bayonet!

[Jack A T]

Ooh, bayonets...

[Duke 2.0]

 So basically, attach hammers to the ends of crossbows.

 I support this! It's just attaching a weapon to the end of a crossbow, making the weapon less effective. Think of it like a Jack of all trades. Skilled in both ranged and melee, but master of neither.

[Chthon]

Better yet, Gunblades.

Hey, I was just following this chain of thought.  Don't shoot me.

[Fishersalwaysdie]

Modding it in would take like, twenty seconds...

[Ioric Kittencuddler]

Nononnonononono!!  Gun Chainsaw Buster Sword!!!

[Cosmonot]

A thought just occurred to me. Since dwarves are so prone to clubbing things with their ranged weapons, maybe they should have something made for the task. I propose a battle crossbow; a dwarven crossbow far heavier and menacing with spikes of danger. Make it heavier and require two hands so it isn't strictly better than a normal crossbow, and give it just slightly less damage than a hammer with a crit boost of one. Without a shield they're still likely to be lunchmeat in a melee, but at least they will actually be injuring things when they go on their suicidal crossbow bashing assault.

The stats you describe would make a better melee weapon (in general) than any of the normal dwarven weapons, and the disadvantages you describe are essentially meaningless. The weight of the weapon doesn't affect the dwarf unless he's already overburdened, and it's currently impossible to make a weapon require two hands to use, because the regular crossbow already has the tag that's supposed to make it require two hands.

If you look at things from a less mechanical perspective, hitting people with a crossbow is a good way to damage or break your crossbow, and the additional weight would probably make it too unwieldy to aim or use in melee with any effectiveness whatsoever.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Well, it would reduce the kickback...

Also, dwarven crossbows are solid metal, not some flimsy human-made wooden ones.

[Cosmonot]

Well, it would reduce the kickback...

Also, dwarven crossbows are solid metal, not some flimsy human-made wooden ones.

If the crossbow is flexible enough to provide tension then it's going to get bent when you start beating people with it, no matter what it's made out of. And crossbows don't have kickback, they pull forwards and down when fired.

Really, a crossbow is exactly the wrong shape for hitting people unless you don't mind hitting them with the prod, which is almost certain to damage the crossbow if you're doing any damage with it. To put it in other words, a crossbow is roughly the shape of a pickaxe, but if you hit people with the "pick" parts they break. A better idea would simply be to allow the dwarves to carry melee weapons and have the AI switch to their sidearms when they run out of bolts or the enemy gets close.

Also, if you stick a bayonet on the end of a crossbow you will probably have to shove the bayonet into the ground every single time you want to reload. Good luck doing that inside your stone-floored fortress.

[Neonivek]

Actually Dwarven Crossbows are standardly made of wood, hense why the wooden/bone crossbows are the only ones to get the Bower skill (I think).

The Metal Crossbows are the heavy expencive versions of the wooden crossbows. The Wooden crossbows are NOT the cheaper version of the metal crossbows.

ANYHOW...

Crossbows are already good enough as melee weapons with some hammer dwarf skill and benefit from making them from metal instead of bone or wood. Any more power and you start making crossbows better then ordinary weapons to the point where you might as well have all hammerdwarves equip these Battle Crossbows.

[Okenido]

I will only approve of this if combat muffins are included...

(But I approve of bayonets.)

[MuonDecay]

I can't help but wonder if there's such a thing as a non combat crossbow.

Does it shoot flowers? Even those might hurt. Ever get hit in the eye with a sunflower going 30mph? Yeah... ouch.

[Draco18s]

Ever get hit in the eye with a sunflower going 30mph?

...Do you even know how big a sunflower is?

[Quift]

Ridiculous.

I support making Crossbows unusalbe in melee at all for all the reasons given.

Then they should be able to equip swords as a side arm for melee when neccessary. This would be logical, practical and decrease the overpowering of crossbows.