TEXT:  
  
  2
  Credits
  Credits
  Author: Owen K.C. Stephens
  Editing: Rogue Genius Games
  Illustration: Serhii
  Project Management and Planning: Lj Stephens
  Graphic Design and Layout: Lj Stephens
  Bon Vivant and Planning: Stan!
  Contents Copyright 2020 Rogue Genius Games
  For more information about
  Rogue Genius Games, follow us on Facebook:
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  on Twitter: @Owen_Stephens
  All logos are the trademark of Rogue Genius Games, all rights reserved
  Product Code: RGG5220Feb06
  DESIGNATION OF PRODUCT IDENTITY:
  The Rogue Genius Games (RGG) company name 
  and logo; the “52-in-52” and “Gadget Crossbows” 
  names and logos; all artwork, backgrounds, and 
  logos; all trade dress, and graphic design elements.
  DECLARATION OF OPEN CONTENT:
  All game mechanics, proper names of classes, prestige 
  classes, archetypes, feats, skills, spells, magic items, 
  monsters, rituals, artifacts AND OR the names of 
  abilities presented within this book are Open Game 
  Content as described in Section 1(d) of the License.
   
  
  3
  T
  he crossbow is one of the earliest weapons 
  most societies develop, generally shortly after 
  gaining access to reliable metal production (often 
  copper or bronze). It is also generally the first 
  stocked weapon any given culture produces, and 
  the first ranged weapon to store potential energy 
  for later release without constant effort from the 
  wielder. Though generally slower to fire and bulkier 
  in design than comparable bows (and much bulkier 
  than slings, though often with greater range), a 
  crossbow is easy to learn the proper use of. Even 
  after a military has access to early firearms, it 
  often keeps crossbows in use for quite some time, 
  and specialty uses of crossbows are sometimes 
  maintained well into the era of developed firearms 
  and even energy weapons.
  And all that, of course, with without accounting 
  for magic crossbows, crossbows made by 
  mad geniuses, exceptional artificers, and the 
  availability of mythological metals such as mithral 
  and adamantine.
  With entities of super-genius intellect, magic 
  allowing direct communication with crafter gods, 
  and mystic materials from dragonhide to world-
  oak wood to dire wolf sinew, the possible designs 
  that could be created for crossbows (without even 
  getting into crossbows that are themselves magical) 
  is vast, and varied.
  Welcome to the world of Gadget Crossbows!
  GadGets
  GadGets
  Each gadget lists a percentage after its name. This is 
  the additional cost added to a crossbow that has this 
  gadget. This cost assumes the crossbow was built 
  with the gadget included when first made. Adding 
  a gadget to a crossbow later can be done, but takes 
  an additional 20% of the crossbow’s base cost. 
  These costs are always based on the unmodified 
  crossbow’s original cost.
  Armor Mount (+20%): The crossbow is mounted 
  on a vambrace, hip armor, or shoulderpad of a suit 
  GadGet Crossbows
  GadGet Crossbows
  of armor. The armor must be bought separately. The 
  crossbow can be fired with just one hand (though 
  it still takes two to reload), and is ready for use as 
  long as it’s loaded, with no need to draw it out or 
  put it away. Armor-mounted crossbows are less 
  accurate, and take a -1 penalty to attack rolls.
  Bayonet (+10%): The crossbow has a piercing 
  weapon attached to it (which must be bought 
  separately). The piercing weapon must be one that 
  can be used 1-handed, and must weigh less than 
  the crossbow. Attacks with the bayonet weapon 
  take a -1 penalty for the awkward mounting of 
  the weapon.
  This is a stirrup gadget. A weapon can only have 
  one stirrup gadget.
  Blood Groove (+50%): The bolt channel has a 
  notch in the far end and a clamp that presses bolts 
  into it when they are fired, causing each to have a 
  channel that runs from just behind the bolt head 
  along the front third of the shaft. When this bolt 
  strikes deeply enough, this causes initial blood 
  flow from the wound to be heavier than usual. If 
  the crossbow’s attack roll exceeds the target’s AC 
  by 5 or more, the target takes another 1d4 damage 
  on the next round as it bleeds. The blood groove is 
  not deep or long enough to keep the wound channel 
  open after that. The bolt can be pulled free prior to 
  this bleed effect, but that also deals 1d4 damage.
  This is a stirrup gadget. A weapon can only have 
  one stirrup gadget
  Bolt Clip (+200%): A clip, rack, magazine, or 
  similar system has been built into the crossbow to 
  hold bolts. Each time the crossbow is cocked, a bolt 
  is automatically stripped from the clip and properly 
  seated. A bolt clip reduces a crossbow’s reload by 1 
  (to a minimum of 0).
  Bolt Drum (+300%): A bolt drum functions as a 
  bolt clip, except the bolts are kept in a rotary system 
  that can be dialed to load any bolt desired, rather 
  than the bolts being loaded into the weapon in the 
  order they were loaded into the bolt clip.
   
  
  4
  GadGet Crossbows
  GadGet Crossbows
  Breaching Piston (+10%): The crossbow has a 
  small sliding mini-battering ram built into the stock 
  that can be engaged by the string and prods to be 
  driven forward by the crossbow’s full force when a 
  bolt is not loaded. It takes three interact actions to 
  engage the piston and place the crossbow against a 
  braced, stationary target (such as a door or chest), 
  and hook it in place so the full force is applied to the 
  object. If this is done and the attack is successful, the 
  breaching piston does double the normal crossbow 
  damage to the braced stationary target.
  This is a stirrup gadget. A weapon can only have 
  one stirrup gadget.
  Breakdown Design (+25%): A crossbow with 
  a breakdown design can be taken apart into 
  multiple small pieces. While broken down, the 
  crossbow grants you a +2 circumstance bonus 
  to Stealth checks made to Conceal and Object. 
  It takes 1 minute to take apart or reassemble a 
  breakdown weapon.
  Concealed Storage (+5%): A secret compartment, 
  lined in a thin sheet of lead, is built into the 
  crossbow, largely in the stock. It can store one item 
  of 1 bulk, or 2 objects of light or negligible bulk. 
  The compartment is not obvious at a glance or even 
  when the crossbow is used, but can be found with a 
  dedicated search of the crossbow.
  Corner Hinge (+5%): The crossbow is literally 
  hinged in the middle, and can be bent at a 90-degree 
  to fire around corners. If you are adjacent to an 
   
  
  5
  Pathfinder 2e
  Pathfinder 2e
  object that causes targets of your ranged attacks 
  to receive cover, and nothing else grants them 
  cover, the bonus to AC they receive from cover is 
  reduced by 1.
  Cross Shield (+25%): The crossbow has a shield 
  built into the front of it, which must be bought 
  separately. As long as the crossbow is wielder 
  properly, the shooter gains the benefit of the shield. 
  The crossbow’s additional front weight causes 
  attacks made with it to suffer a -1 penalty to their 
  attack rolls. The shield cannot be used to make 
  attacks, even if then wielder has an ability that 
  would normally allow them to do so.
  This is a stirrup gadget. A weapon can only have 
  one stirrup gadget.
  Custom Grip (+5%): A custom grip is carved 
  to exactly and perfectly fit your hand. As a 
  result it is uncomfortable and awkward for 
  anyone else, who suffer a -1 penalty to attack 
  rolls with your crossbow. Custom grips are 
  exceptions to the rule requiring gadgets to be 
  part of a crossbow’s initial manufacture if an 
  additional cost is to be avoided. 
  Dual-Action (+40%): A dual-action crossbow 
  has multiple systems for recocking it. One is the 
  standard crossbow mechanism, while the second 
  is an action gadget bought at a separate cost. Each 
  time the dual-action crossbow is reloaded, the 
  wielder may decide which action to use, taking all 
  its benefits and penalties.
  Hair-Trigger (+15%): A hair-trigger is a system 
  by which very little pressure need to be applied to 
  the crossbow’s firing mechanism (which may not 
  be a literal trigger, depending on its design) in order 
  for it to fire. If you are already wielding the weapon 
  and get to act in the first round of a combat, you can 
  choose to gain a +2 bonus to your initiative check. 
  If you do, the first action you must take is to fire the 
  hair-trigger weapon, or you lose that action.
  You cannot have both a hair-trigger, and a safety 
  trigger.
  Lever-Action (+40%): A lever-action crossbow 
  has a single level (generally mounted on the bottom 
  or side, though top-mounted level-action crossbow 
  designs exist) that combines all the mechanical 
  actions needed to prepare a crossbow to fire into 
  a single open-and-return motion. Because a lever-
  action’s total work is restricted by the travel 
  distance of the lever, lever-action crossbows have 
  lighter pull-weights than comparable crossbows of 
  similar design, and suffer a -1 penalty to damage 
  rolls (minimum 1 damage).
  A level-action reduces a crossbow’s reload by 1 
  (to a minimum of 0).
  This is an action gadget. A crossbow can only 
  have one action gadget added to it, unless it is a 
  dual-action crossbow (see above).
  Multiple Bolt Track (+10%): A multiple bolt 
  track crossbow has grooves for two crossbow bolts, 
  rather than one, and it fires them simultaneously 
  at the same target. Special double bolts can be 
  bought (at 150% the cost of normal bolts) that are 
  connected by a thin wax bridge that breaks off as 
  they are loaded, allowing the crossbow to be loaded 
  and fired in the same time as a normal crossbow. 
  Otherwise, loading the crossbow takes as long as 
  loading two crossbows of the same type.
  Attacks with the multiple bolt track crossbow 
  that fire two identical bolts gain a +1 bonus to the 
  attack roll, as it is more likely at least one bolt 
  will hit.
  Potion Bracket (+100%): A potion bracket is a 
  special bracket that can hold one spring-loaded 
  clamp that can have a single potion, elixir, or 
  alchemical bomb affixed to it. This bracket takes 
  three actions to load with a clamp, and potion. Each 
  clamp is a one-shot device that costs x10 as much 
  as a single crossbow bolt. When a bolt is fired from 
  the crossbow, a thumb-trigger can cause the clamp 
  to be released from the bracket, attaching itself to 
  the front of the bolt. If the attack roll is successful, 
  the bolt shatters the potion, causing its contents to 
  be spread on the target as if the potion had been 
  applied to it. No other damage is done.
  This is a stirrup gadget. A weapon can only have 
  one stirrup gadget.
  Precision Targeting System (+25%): A spyglass, 
  adjustable rangefinder, and multiple sites can be 
  carefully adjusted to make the crossbow much 
  more accurate than usual, but only in theoretical 
  conditions. You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls 
  when not in combat.
   
  
  6
  GadGet Crossbows
  GadGet Crossbows
  Pullies (+100%): Rather than just having recurved 
  prods pulled back by a crank of leaver, a series 
  of pullies allow even more potential energy to be 
  stored in the string. These pulleys rotate off-center 
  as the string is drawn back, allowing the weapon 
  to be cocked with the normal amount of effort to 
  be fired as normal, or additional load time can be 
  taken to add considerable additional draw weight. 
  When the crossbow is already loaded, another 
  Interact action can be taken to add that additional 
  force, which is stored in the pullies. When kept 
  in this state, the crossbow does an additional 1d4 
  points of damage on a successful hit. However, 
  the pully system cannot maintain this additional 
  draw for more than 1 minute. After that time, the 
  additional power is lost as the string manages to 
  go slightly slack.
  Safety Trigger (+15%): The crossbow includes a 
  safety, a small stud or level that can be engaged to 
  prevent the crossbow from firing, and that safety 
  is tied into the firing mechanism, and requires a 
  firm, long pull to deactivate the safety and fire the 
  crossbow. If you are wielding a crossbow with a 
  safety trigger, and confusion (or a critical failure 
  effect if one is used) indicates you attack or damage 
  yourself with the crossbow, you don’t.
  A weapon cannot have both a safety trigger, and 
  a hair-trigger.
  Sling Bolt (+5% cost): A sling bolt allows you 
  to attach a shoulder sling strap to your crossbow 
  (which is included with sling bolt cost, and has a 
  negligible price to replace). The sling wraps around 
  your torso and one shoulder in a comfortable and 
  convenient way. If you drop your crossbow, it 
  simple falls against your body on the sling. This 
  also happens if you are disarmed of the crossbow, 
  unless the check to disarm you is 5 or more higher 
  than required.
  Stabilizers (+35%): Stabilizers are a set of 
  long rods that are typically set up in a triangular 
  configuration, extending out from the body of the 
  crossbow. A stabilizer compensates for the fact that 
  for a moment after the once the string is released, 
  the bolt remains in contact with the crossbow for 
  a fraction of a second, and it can be thrown off 
  course by things that happen during that time. The 
  stabilizers absorb vibrations and reduce shock, 
  helping to keep the bolt on target. A crossbow with 
  a stabilizer has the penalty for firing into the second 
  range increment reduced by 1.
  Stock Sheath (+5%): The stock of the crossbow 
  has been modified to act as a sheath for a smaller, 
  lighter melee weapon.
  Underslung (+50%): The crossbow is itself 
  mounted beneath another stocked ranged weapon 
  (normally another crossbow, though it is possible 
  to mount a crossbow underslung a musket, if such 
  weapons are available). The second weapon must 
  be bought separately, and must have at least as 
  much bulk as the crossbow. The two weapons are 
  loaded and fired separately, but can both be held 
  ready at the same time. They are treated as two 
  separate weapons in all regards except for being 
  able to hold them both in a ready position at once.
  An underslung crossbow that is mounted 
  beneath a crossbow of the same type is often 
  called a double crossbow.
  Windlass-Action (+20%): A windlass-action 
  crossbow has a full two-handled windlass built into 
  the back of the weapon to allow a much stronger 
  pull weight to be added to the prods, at the cost 
  of making the weapon slower and more awkward 
  to reload. A windlass-action crossbow gains a +1 
  bonus to each damage die it has. A windlass-action 
  increases a crossbow’s reload by 3.
  This is an action gadget. A crossbow can only 
  have one action gadget added to it, unless it is a 
  dual-action crossbow (see above). 
   
  
  7
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  manager and Planning: Lj Stephens. Bon Vivant: Stan! 
   
  
   
  
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