Hand cannon

Version 0.29: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Name	Hand crossbow
Skill	Ranged Weapons
Damage	17
Accuracy	+3
Base delay (%)	18
Min delay	10 at 18 skill
Hands	1H
Size	Little
Ranged?	Yes

A compact piece of machinery, used for firing bolts. It takes some time to load and fire.

The hand crossbow is the strongest one-handed ranged weapon, allowing for the use of a shield, though it's still a cumbersome weapon in its own right. Its mindelay cannot be brought any lower than 1.0 no matter how high your Crossbows skill becomes. Regardless, it's still a potent weapon, much stronger than a sling and a direct upgrade to an arbalest.

	Image
Mundane
Magical
Artifact

History

• In 0.29, hand crossbows were made heavier (12 to 17 damage, accuracy +5 to +3, base delay 15 to 18) and became designated for later portions of the game. They were effected by the ranged weapons rework that applied to all launchers, including the removal of the dedicated Crossbows skill and bolts. Prior to this version, Hunters and Arcane Marskmen could start with this weapon.
• In 0.15, hand crossbows (as well as arbalests and triple crossbows) were introduced, replacing the standard crossbow.
• In very old versions of Crawl, the hand crossbow was a one-handed ranged weapon which fired darts.