The crossbow is the common ranged weapon of Antiterra, carried by soldiers, guards, mercenaries, bandits, Templars and adventuring companions alike. A hit from one is a ballestazo; Farruco received one and is remembered for it.
| Type | Weapon |
| Spanish entry | Ballesta |
Description
Crossbows come one-handed and two-handed. One record calls it “a kind of bar”, an obscure passage. It is carried “hanging on the back”. Its material, weight and sound are not recorded.
Use
It works as a triad: weapon, bolts (found beside the weapons) and reload time. After a shot it is “unloaded” and must be reloaded. It can fire several times in one sequence at a cost in accuracy. Needing cover while reloading, it is seen in squads: mercenaries readying crossbows in formation, three bandits with “swords and crossbows”, important guards in mail with crossbows.
Spread
It is common everywhere, valued for reliability over gunpowder, which one companion admitted “we don’t do fire very well”. In Paris a young girl practices her aim with one. Crossbows loaded with bolts were found in a cabin.
Wichita, an Indian woman, carries a crossbow from Spain. Among the ucránicos treasures (probably “uchronic”) was “a crossbow perhaps from the east, from the kingdom of the Han, who already used weapons of that kind”, a treasure rather than troop gear.
The giant crossbow
A giant crossbow, “not very different [in] proportions” from hand ones, is loaded by several people, strung with a golden thread, and aimed at titans.
Companions
For at least one company it is the main weapon: they carry two and reorder them (“I’ll order the two crossbows again”). Philippe fires his in combat; Freeman took one up in the monastery fight. That they can be ordered implies makers or repairers.
Open questions
- What distinguishes the Spanish, Han and common crossbows.
- Where the giant crossbow stands, who built it, how many people it needs, and whether it is unique.
- One combat account counts “loaded bullets remaining”, up to fifty, which fits no known hand crossbow.
- How long reloading takes.
- The price and delivery time of an order, and who makes them.