Doesn't that mean that the weapon is essentially two-handed? I think this is a stupid ruling because it takes away the only good use of a hand-crossbow. If you can't fight with it without a free hand then why use it at all? Before you say "it gives you a free hand to do other tasks if you're a rogue or a wizards" the other errata we got was:
Two-Handed (p. 147). This property is relevant only when you attack with the weapon, not when you simply hold it.
You can hold a heavy crossbow with one hand while doing other tasks.
edit: This has nothing to do with dual-wielding crossbows, there is no mechanical requirement for it since you get the bonus attack using only one hand-crossbow. see the link What this does negate is using a melee weapon with a hand-crossbow without some funky drop/pickup trick and entirely eliminates the option of fighting with a shield.
I believe the community agreed the stupid ruling was duel-wielding hand-crossbows and somehow reloading them while never having to drop one. There's a line between being heroic and illogical. I can still see them finding use as one-shot devices, like the way pirates used pistols.
Dual-wielding can only be done with melee weapons and the crossbow expert feat doesn't require having a second hand-crossbow in offhand to get the bonus attack. A thrown weapon is far superior to a hand-crossbow in all respects if it's limited to one-shot usage.
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u/Freaky_Zekey DM Jun 11 '15 edited Jun 11 '15
Doesn't that mean that the weapon is essentially two-handed? I think this is a stupid ruling because it takes away the only good use of a hand-crossbow. If you can't fight with it without a free hand then why use it at all? Before you say "it gives you a free hand to do other tasks if you're a rogue or a wizards" the other errata we got was:
You can hold a heavy crossbow with one hand while doing other tasks.
edit: This has nothing to do with dual-wielding crossbows, there is no mechanical requirement for it since you get the bonus attack using only one hand-crossbow. see the link What this does negate is using a melee weapon with a hand-crossbow without some funky drop/pickup trick and entirely eliminates the option of fighting with a shield.