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Since crossbows have such brutal reload times, and they aren't that much better than a composite bow or long bow, I have a house rule that armor missile penalties for crossbows is halved since the assumption is that part of the deduction comes from drawing the bow when firing, which you don't have to do for crossbows.
crossbows are a much longer reload time. Light crossbows have a step-stirrup for pulling back the string and then the bolt needs to be inserted. Heavy crossbows need to be hand cranked to pull it back. So there is a reason for it being a long reload time.
I did a similar thing for the Missile Penalties being halved from wearing armour while using Crossbows.
Still used same reload times, but like you said the main penalty comes from keeping your arms steady as you draw back the string and aim which isn’t happening with Xbows.
It has been a while since I played Rolemaster. I think their assumption for heavy armor was that it's bulky and got in the way of using missile weapons and movement in general. After watching people do cartwheels in armor on Youtube I am not so sure.Quote:
Since crossbows have such brutal reload times, and they aren't that much better than a composite bow or long bow, I have a house rule that armor missile penalties for crossbows is halved since the assumption is that part of the deduction comes from drawing the bow when firing, which you don't have to do for crossbows.
Your idea is good, a person using a crossbow could take a few seconds more to aim without the worry of getting tired. My experience while archery hunting and target practice (without armor) is that you don't keep a bow drawn for more than a few seconds. It is holding the bow drawn for long periods of time (like in the movies) that your aim becomes unsteady. I was most accurate when it was a smooth, draw, aim, and release.
Classic Rolemaster seemed to get a few things wrong like Rapiers not working well against armored opponents. From what I have read a rapier was designed to punch holes in plate and slip through the rings of chainmail. The falchion was my weapon of choice.