I'm interferring in the discussion although I just read half of the thread
(I'll happily follow the discussion once I'll have time at home though)

IIRC, there had been a debate in the Mid Ages over whether the Xbow should be banned or not. It was considered by nobles as a non honorable weapon.
The point was that with that weapon a one month trained peasant could kill a knight that trained from birth.

There's a mention about a debate over it in a council (forgot which one; historians will correct me)

As a comparison, it seems the bow was not considered an "evilly-effective" weapon.
Don''t get me wrong, bow is effective, but it takes years to know how to use it.

To conclude, I'd like to know what kind of crossbow do you refer to ?
I don't play MTW2 and I'd like to know if there is different version of those missile weapon ? (short or long bows, regular and siege Xbows ?)

*thread bookmarked*