Crossbow, Light
D&D 5e · 2014·Weapons·No attunement
Base weapon damage before your ability modifier. Use the calculator to include hit chance and critical hits.
Damage calculator
Hit chance
55%
Expected damage / attack
4.35
Attack bonus
+5
Average normal hit: 7.5 · Average critical hit: 12 · Critical chance: 5%.
- Category
- Simple weapon
- Damage type
- Piercing
- Normal / long range
- 80 / 320 ft.
- Magic attack bonus
- +0
- Weight
- 5 lb
- Attunement
- Not required
- Rarity
- Nonmagical
- Price
- 25 GP
Calculator assumptions & rules
One attack against a creature. Natural 1 misses; natural 20 hits and doubles damage dice, not flat modifiers. Expected damage includes misses and critical hits. Advantage uses the higher of two d20s; Disadvantage uses the lower. Magic bonuses shown on the item are counted once.
Uses only the weapon’s ordinary hit and the listed on-hit extra dice, when enabled. Class features, Sneak Attack, fighting styles, mastery effects, damage on a miss, special critical-hit effects, ongoing damage, resistance and immunity are excluded. Check the full rules below for additional effects.
Changing calculator inputs does not change the item’s rules or create a new page URL.
Using Crossbow, Light
- Dexterity can drive this simple weapon’s attack and damage rolls. Add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll only if you are proficient.
- The base 1d8 weapon damage averages 4.5 before your ability modifier and extra effects. Hit chance matters too: compare expected damage per attack rather than the die alone.
- The normal range is 80 feet and the maximum is 320 feet; attacks beyond normal range have Disadvantage. The calculator lets you model the attack mode separately.
- This weapon needs two hands when you attack, so a wielded shield conflicts with that attack setup.
Simple ranged weapon. Damage: 1d8 piercing, before the applicable ability modifier. Properties: Ammunition (range 80/320), loading, two-handed.
Full item details & properties
Rules for this edition
- Proficiency
- A simple ranged weapon; proficiency allows adding your Proficiency Bonus to its attack rolls.
Weapon details
- Damage
- 1d8 piercing
- Weapon class
- Simple Ranged
- Range
- 80 / 320 ft. (normal / long)
- Ammunition
- Crossbow bolts
Properties
Ammunition(range 80/320)
You can use a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a ranged attack only if you have ammunition to fire from the weapon. Each time you attack with the weapon, you expend one piece of
Loading
Because of the time required to load this weapon, you can fire only one piece of ammunition from it when you use an action, bonus action, or reaction to fire it, regardless of the number of attacks you can normally make.
Two-Handed
This weapon requires two hands when you attack with it.
Tags & related references
Compare alternatives
Same edition, using your calculator inputs above. Special properties and character features can change the choice.
Same base weapon; compare its bonuses and rarity
Crossbow, Light (+2)6.4 expected damage / attack65% hit chance1d8 +2 piercing · +2 magic attack · 80 ft. rangeNot specified · 5 lbSame base weapon; compare its bonuses and rarity
Crossbow, Hand3.75 expected damage / attack55% hit chance1d6 piercing · +0 magic attack · 30 ft. range75 GP · 3 lbUses the same attack ability; compare handling and damage
Crossbow, Heavy4.95 expected damage / attack55% hit chance1d10 piercing · +0 magic attack · 100 ft. range50 GP · 18 lbUses the same attack ability; compare handling and damage
Ordinary attacks only. Matching extra-damage conditions follow your input; alternatives keep their default bonus allocation.
Crossbow, Light FAQ
Does Crossbow, Light require attunement?
No. This entry does not require attunement; follow its activation and use rules.
Is the listed price a guaranteed purchase price?
The listed price is a reference from this catalogue entry. Availability and the final price depend on your game and GM.