Repeating Arbarlest?

Burning Wheel Subsystem Advice and Guidance
1

Dwarven Tinkerer wants to cobble together a device that would improve the nock and draw time of his Arbarlest by making it self cocking and self loading using a clockwork windlass that is primed with each shot that then recocks the weapon and cycles the next projectile into position from its hopper or clip. He would be using his War Art and Black Metal Artifice skills augmented by his Tinkerer Dt and tapping into his Greed.
My questions are:

  1. Should such a thing be allowed?
  2. If allowed, how much faster should it be? (Arbarlest normally take ten actions to nock and draw, he would like to make it five)
  3. Is it reasonable to enforce a “Reload” limitation on such a device?
    (similar to the Recharge limitation from the Enchanting rules in the MaBu, basically a DoF roll for each shot after the first to see if it either breaks, jams, or just ran out of ammo)

What do you think?

2

Such things exist in our Shadakai campaign. We call the seastorm crossbows. They’re based on the ancient Chinese repeating crossbows: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repeating_crossbow

So they’re legit!

I think they use the stats of a hunting bow for damage? Hrm… Luke would know best.

Here’s a video of it in action:

//youtu.be/JToxcNxED5I

3

I know that Burning Sands has rules for reloads. I don’t know if they are what you are looking for however.

4

I think the best the device could do is shave off the standard two actions to nock or load the arbarlest, as whether or not it is being cranked back by a device or by hand it still has to be cocked (drawn). Although he could make it a little bit faster by increasing the obstacle to make it in the first place.
Just saving the load time makes it drop from 10 down to 8 Actions to fire a bolt, while firing stones drops from 6 down to 4 Actions. Not quite the 5 (bolt) / 3 (stones) he was hoping for, but he could always increase the build obstacles.