One-handed reloading of a pistol crossbow?

[ravenfish]

When choosing a ranged weapon for a character with the One Hand disadvantage, I considered the pistol crossbow, which can be fired one-handed but theoretically needs two hands to load. I was wondering if there are any official rules for loading such a weapon one-handed (presumably by taking extra time or requiring some sort of skill roll). I have looked through Low Tech and Martial Arts without finding anything promising, but it is possible I have overlooked something, and I have vague hopes that someone can direct me to a High Tech supplement (with which I am much less familiar) that has equivalent rules for gun loading that could be borrowed. Assume that use of "cinematic" rules is to be minimized if an alternative exists, and that the character does not have any mitigator more advanced than a hook or stump-knife.

[If no one can come up with anything, a house-rule I am considering would be to multiply the time required by a factor of fifteen, as that corresponds to sufficient "extra time" as per Campaigns to cancel out the -4 penalty to success rolls for a task that is difficult but not impossible to perform one-handed, so that pistol crossbow could be loaded in a minute of awkward bracing and pulling. In the absence of official rules, does this seem reasonable to people?]

On a related note, once that crossbow is loaded, is there any guidance (either in terms of GURPS rules or reenactor experience) for how long it can stay in such a state? Obviously it doesn't need to be kept drawn by muscle power like a self-bow would, but I understand that torsion weapons tend to degrade if kept stretched for long periods (certainly, my rubber-band weapons exhibited such behavior when I was a child, and I recall references to needing to unstring bows when they aren't in use). If the character keeps the crossbow loaded under his desk ready to whip out and fire, is that asking for it to fail when it's needed?

[Anthony]

While I don't know of any rules for it, it's probably not that hard to do a one-handed reload if you have a hook or similar prosthetic -- while you'll need a hand to load ammunition, the other arm doesn't need to do much more than keep the crossbow from moving too much while you load it, and that's probably possible (if somewhat tricky) without a hand. This can probably be made easier with a bit of hardware (some sort of socket that can hold the stock, something like a protruding nail near the front that you can hook on to).

[Varyon]

A crossbow scaled to your ST isn't going to be able to reloaded with one hand, at least not without mechanical assistance such as a goat's foot, winch, etc, because you need the strength of both arms to draw it back. For one that is scaled to an ST around 70% of yours, however, a single hand will be sufficient to draw it back (70% ST has right around half the BL), you just need to do something to keep it in place. For a short draw length (which is likely for a pistol crossbow), you could probably brace it against your hip or similar. That might be doable in as little as two additional seconds - one second to get it placed securely, the normal time to draw it back and place an arrow, and one second to get it back into position to fire - but I'd probably go with +3 or +4 seconds instead. Attaching something like a goat's foot probably adds another +3 or +4 seconds (+6 to +8 seconds), in addition to the normal amount of time needed to actually use such a device.

[zoncxs]

I would be ok with the character modifying a piece of armor to have a hook, most likely by the hip/waist, that can catch the rope of the cross bow and they can then push it down, drawing it back.

This requires that they always wear this special gear in order to reload the pistol crossbow and the bow needs to be rated such that they can do this with one arm.

Once its cocked, they would then need to attach it on the special gear to then be able to load the bolt.

So, though I would allow it with a pricy custom gear, it would still take much longer than a normal person still.

[pawsplay]

Goat's foot boot, I think.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by pawsplay

Goat's foot boot, I think.

Yeah, Goats Foot or a windless. Also a repeating crossbow.

[WingedKagouti]

Originally Posted by ravenfish

On a related note, once that crossbow is loaded, is there any guidance (either in terms of GURPS rules or reenactor experience) for how long it can stay in such a state?

A Google search suggests up to 24 hours as the limit in various results from various reenactors and modern stores.

As far as suggestions to reload it, the options in the thread seem reasonable. But personally I'd go with a thrown weapon as ranged option for a one-handed character.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by ravenfish

When choosing a ranged weapon for a character with the One Hand disadvantage, I considered the pistol crossbow, which can be fired one-handed but theoretically needs two hands to load. I was wondering if there are any official rules for loading such a weapon one-handed

I don't think there are any official rules for loading any ranged weapon one-handed. For any crossbow, as long as you can use another body part or a brace to cock the bow, you can then set it down and load it one-handed.

A custom rig with a foot stirrup or a belt-mounted hook would allow the crossbow to be cocked one-handed. The trick would be holding the crossbow in place (possibly cradling it in both arms and doing a bit of acrobatics with the good hand) to place the bolt.

Your idea that reloading takes 15x as long with one hand is actually pretty good, since it would cover the extra time required to set the crossbow down, draw a bolt while squatting or kneeling, placing it and then carefully getting up while holding the loaded weapon.

Adaptive technology to hold the crossbow in place while loading or to cock it using a prosthetic would reduce the extra time requirements.

[pawsplay]

The crossbow bolt doesn't have to be fully in position to wind a crossbow. I don't think one-handedness would be that significant for loading. But drawing would require it be hooked or braced on something.

[Phil Masters]

One Hand or One Arm?

If it's the former, then you really just need to strap the pistol to the stump (and train in shooting with that arm); drawing and loading can then be handled by the active hand, with whatever mechanical aids you'd probably also need if you had two hands.

If it's the latter, the only ways I can imagine of dealing with this involve so much faff it all goes into the "don't bother, find an alternative" box.