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Author: Generality

Feb 25th 2016 at 12:45:33 PM

[[AC: Literature]]
* In ''Literature/TheElenium'', because crossbows are considered the most formidable nonmagical weapons against armored knights, the Church Knights who protect most of the continent are unfond of crossbows and as such they are used mainly by criminals, insurrectionists and Lamorks, who resist the Church and have crossbows as their NationalWeapon.
* Crossbows are used in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' Night Watch books as the closest fantasy analogue to guns, since the books are mostly parodies of {{Police Procedural}}s. However, since the watch is trying to ''keep'' the peace they seldom use the weapons, having them mainly as [[WeaponForIntimidation an open threat]]. When there is combat, it mostly comes down to swords.
* The Band of the Red Hand in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' is a mercenary army that has a corps of crossbowmen. In the later part of the series, a crank has just been invented that allows a single man to reload his crossbow in reasonable time, making crossbowmen similarly useful to bowmen; but because they take a lot less training, they're much cheaper to field. Using these in tandem with guerrilla tactics, the Band is able to fend off a major imperial force for a long time with almost no casualties.

[[AC: Video Games]]
* The Demon Hunter and Scoundrel both use crossbows for preference in ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'', though both can also use bows with little practical difference. The Demon Hunter takes them BeyondTheImpossible by firing them rapidly without reloading and can even DualWield crossbows somehow.