@JeremyECrawford Hi Jeremy, can you dual wield hand crossbows or not in 5e? All the rules seem to make this an invalid option, but people are still doing mental gymnastics to argue you can and I haven't seen anything from you guys ruling one way or the other 😁
— Rev. Bill Ings (@NBATankathon) December 5, 2020
In D&D, you can dual wield any two weapons with the Extra Attack feature. The two-weapon-fighting bonus action in the combat rules is a way to eke out one more attack if you follow its limitations. The no-fuss way to wield two different weapons of any type is Extra Attack. #DnD https://t.co/4uSGo0WT0l
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) December 5, 2020
Even though the Extra Attack feature in D&D doesn’t impose any limitations on which weapons can be used with it, some weapons have properties that create limits. See the two-handed property for an example of such a property. D&D rules build on each other. The Extra Attack feature, for instance, leaves the door open for any two weapons to be used together, but then a particular weapon property says, "Wait just a minute!" You don't need to worry about such exceptions until you're using them. #DnD
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) December 5, 2020
I am honestly more confused now than I was before. It contradicts the rules as currently written to allow it. What's the confusion? Extra Attack imposes no limitations on what weapons you use with it.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) December 5, 2020
This is my biggest complaint with Twitter is that some people may not notice this follow up. Regarding the original question, the Ammunition property would make wielding 2 hand crossbows ineffective even with Extra Attack correct? (Barring something special like repeating shot)
— NotAllDogs (@NotAllDogs1) December 5, 2020
You need a free hand to load a D&D weapon with the ammunition property. If you have the Extra Attack feature, you can fire two such weapons on the same turn, provided both are loaded. You can load such a weapon as part of an attack with it or as a regular object interaction. #DnD https://t.co/yCh4HHoEuz
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) December 5, 2020
So the answer is no, you cannot dual wield hand crossbows then since one hand needs to be available to load it as part of the attack. You can wield one and fire the same one twice using the extra attack feature as long as your other hand is free to load it. That's partially correct. If you have two hand crossbows that are already loaded—thanks to using the object interaction rules—you could fire them both on the same turn using Extra Attack. But that's an edge case.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) December 5, 2020