RPG:Classes/Arbalest
Creak. Creak. Creak. The eerie sound of the reload crank on a heavy crossbow is often the last that many creatures ever hear should they not be paying attention to the heavily armoured woman aiming at them with a massive weapon more suited for the siege than casual battle. Shink. Thud. Blood spurts from a gaping wound torn open by a jagged bolt head. A creature sinks to the ground as the pain wracks its body and screeches with a final, futile effort to hang on to life. Arbalests wield the significant and terrifying power of heavy crossbows, trading freedom of movement and speed of attacking for vastly more powerful attacks. They are the spat venom of the Dominion's vast military might.
Merciless Executioners
As slow as the cold bubbling of terror and the approach of certain, inevitable death, Arbalests form the core of each Charge of the Tretalleri army. They stand at the centre of the formation, surrounded by foot soldiers who are not only trained to work with them, but are also trained to protect them. Intrinsically slowed by the heavy crossbow that they carry, Arbalests are sitting ducks out in the open, but at the heart of a Charge, they are the difference between life and death as the lines of battle clash.
One cannot expect a simple soldier who is mired in a fight with another soldier to notice the other one sneaking up on him, ready to end his life. The Arbalests' duty is to ensure that no man is felled by dirty tricks, that the foe willing to kill through subterfuge and deceit receives a fatal crossbow bolt to the neck.
Tamers of Massive Beasts
In a world where firebirds and dragons exist, it is not unreasonable to expect that some kingdom in a faraway land has a creature that it uses as a weapon to destroy entire armies. When the Arbalest is not protecting his or her allies, he or she is looking for signs of these colossal beasts, just ready to be killed by a well-placed shot on a vulnerable spot.
Perhaps an Arbalest may spend more time reloading his or her crossbow than shooting bolts with it, but with his or her strength, it takes only one shot to incapacitate even the most intimidating of creatures.
