Players should prioritize the feats that offer Bonus Action attacks over the feats that offer added damage, as at low levels the additional attacks will, on average, provide better results.There are a variety of reasons to use hand crossbows!Ĭombat practicality. The feats, available in Dungeons & Dragons' core books, provide these weapons more attacks, and more damage, than any other weapons available, outside of the use of specific spells like Swift Quiver, or very niche builds like a Path of the Berserker Barbarian. While it may seem an odd aesthetic, there is good reason that high level D&D games contain so many polearm warriors and hand crossbow snipers. Though there are feats found outside of D&D core books, including Unearthed Arcana articles, that offer similar boons to weapon types other than the hand crossbow and polearms, the combinations provided in the Player’s Handbook are likely accepted in more games and are valid in official RPGA games under Wizards of the Coast’s organized play program. Once they have the required feats for these combos, players would also be wise to raise Dexterity for hand crossbow specialists, and Strength for polearm users, unless they are able to acquire a superior Belt of Giant Strength, instead. For the polearm users, the Barbarian and Paladin classes offer reliable sources of Advantage to help them with their accuracy, as Barbarians gain Reckless Attack, and Paladins can take the Oath of Vengeance, whose Vow of Enmity offers the Paladin advantage on attacks against a specific enemy. Fighters and Rangers are more suited towards the hand crossbow build, as these classes can take the Archery fighting style, offering a +2 to hit with ranged weapons to help offset the -5 they will be regularly taking to their attack rolls. While the combination of an added attack as a Bonus Action, and increased damage at the cost of accuracy, will allow D&D characters using these feat combos to make short work of low Armor Class enemies, players should still take care to ensure they can compensate for the loss of accuracy to take on harder to hit foes. Weapon reach applies as well, making the combination of Polearm Master and Great Weapon Master a deadly duo for glaive and halberd users, weapons that are mechanically identical in Dungeons & Dragons. It also benefits from the enhancement of a magic weapon, and includes the Heavy Weapon property if the weapon was already considered Heavy. Player’s Handbook errata, and D&D design Jeremy Crawford’s Sage Advice column, clarifies that unlike D&D dual wielding this Bonus Action attack adds a character’s Strength modifier to damage. Polearm Master’s Bonus Action uses the blunt end of the weapon for 1d4 bludgeoning damage. Polearm Master provides this for the glaive, halberd, quarterstaff and spear, though the glaive and halberd are of special note as these are Heavy weapons, therefore also eligible for the -5 to hit, +10 damage feature of Great Weapon Master. The feats Polearm Master and Crossbow Expert allow characters to take an additional attack as a bonus action using certain weapon types after using the Attack Action with the same weapon. Related: D&D Campaign Ideas For Stephen King And Dark Tower Fansĭ&D has two action types, the Action and the Bonus Action, but not every character is innately capable of taking a Bonus Action.
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