I have crossbow expert feat, and am dual wielding hand crossbows.
im in a combat situation where im about to be surrounded, and i can kill the only target on one side.
i wanted to use my bonus action shot to kill the creature, and use my reaction to hold my action to fire on the creatures coming around the corner.
I can't find anything that specifically speaks to this situation. 5e-24 crossbow expert feat means i can reload without a free hand and ignore ammunition. on the one hand, if i only had one crossbow id think i wouldnt be able to do this because the way i think that works is i fire it with my action, and then can fire the same one again as a bonus action, but with 2 the way i think of it is i shoot one with action, one with bonus action.
The reason for this is that, under both the 2014 and 2024 rules, being able to do that bonus action attack is contingent upon you using your action to take the Attack action first. In your example, you're not taking the Attack action; you're taking the Ready action. You intend to take the Attack action later, but you might not, because the trigger for the readied action might not occur or you might choose to ignore it when it does.
Conceptually, the idea with these bonus action attacks that are dependent on the Attack action is that both attacks are part of the same "move" you're doing.
Firing the second hand crossbow as a Bonus Action is only possible after firing the first hand crossbow using an Action. Firing the first hand crossbow as an Action triggers its Light property allowing the other hand use as a Bonus Action with the Crossbow Expert Feat.
It is an Action to Ready an Action.
If you Ready an Action to fire at a creature who has yet to come into view, you are unable to use a Bonus Action to fire the off-hand hand-crossbow (because you did not use your action to trigger the Light weapon property).
Yup. One thing to remember is that any time you ready an attack, you are not using the attack action. When you ready an attack, you are using a reaction. So any effect that triggers "when you use the attack action" does not apply to readied attacks.
The only way to do this would be with something like Action Surge or Haste. Action Surge allows you to take the attack action after you ready an action and then use the bonus action whereas Haste has it's own attack action which is enough to trigger the bonus action of the light property. The only reason I think of doing this is for Rogues so that they can get off more sneak attacks, since else wise, you have an action and so why waste it on readying an attack when you can just attack?
I have crossbow expert feat, and am dual wielding hand crossbows.
im in a combat situation where im about to be surrounded, and i can kill the only target on one side.
i wanted to use my bonus action shot to kill the creature, and use my reaction to hold my action to fire on the creatures coming around the corner.
I can't find anything that specifically speaks to this situation. 5e-24 crossbow expert feat means i can reload without a free hand and ignore ammunition.
on the one hand, if i only had one crossbow id think i wouldnt be able to do this because the way i think that works is i fire it with my action, and then can fire the same one again as a bonus action, but with 2 the way i think of it is i shoot one with action, one with bonus action.
thoughts?
No, you can't do this under the Rules As Written.
The reason for this is that, under both the 2014 and 2024 rules, being able to do that bonus action attack is contingent upon you using your action to take the Attack action first. In your example, you're not taking the Attack action; you're taking the Ready action. You intend to take the Attack action later, but you might not, because the trigger for the readied action might not occur or you might choose to ignore it when it does.
Conceptually, the idea with these bonus action attacks that are dependent on the Attack action is that both attacks are part of the same "move" you're doing.
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Firing the second hand crossbow as a Bonus Action is only possible after firing the first hand crossbow using an Action. Firing the first hand crossbow as an Action triggers its Light property allowing the other hand use as a Bonus Action with the Crossbow Expert Feat.
It is an Action to Ready an Action.
If you Ready an Action to fire at a creature who has yet to come into view, you are unable to use a Bonus Action to fire the off-hand hand-crossbow (because you did not use your action to trigger the Light weapon property).
Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
thank yall!
i completely forgot to re-read the light property on this one, appreciate the quick responses
Yup. One thing to remember is that any time you ready an attack, you are not using the attack action. When you ready an attack, you are using a reaction. So any effect that triggers "when you use the attack action" does not apply to readied attacks.
The only way to do this would be with something like Action Surge or Haste. Action Surge allows you to take the attack action after you ready an action and then use the bonus action whereas Haste has it's own attack action which is enough to trigger the bonus action of the light property. The only reason I think of doing this is for Rogues so that they can get off more sneak attacks, since else wise, you have an action and so why waste it on readying an attack when you can just attack?
If you need it, there's also an entry in the SAC about that feat: