Ok... What hurts on a crossbow is the ammo, which silver is available. A silver crossbow would only hurt a Lycanthrope if you hit it with it. So instead, what we need to do is maybe think of elements that would enhance a crossbow, such as...
Repeater heavy crossbow (Bonus Feat, Rapid Reload -1 Attack due to a lack of accuracy caused by the reloading mechanics)
Angel hair Strung Crossbow (+2 vs Evil, -2 attack and Dmagae vs Good from the power of the bow string)
Demon Mane Strung Crossbow (+2 vs Good, -2 attack and damage vs Evil from the power of the bow string)
Dragon Rib Crossbow (+1 EB)
This is starting to sound a bit high magic, but if we can think of elements that could be harvested from creatures in the game that could make the weapon more potent, or metal alloys that could be made by blending the existing ingots, with more strength than steel, making it hit harder that I think would be the direction to go with setting up a crafting system for Crossbows.
We have to keep in mind, this is not Forgotten Realms, Monsters are badass for a reason, to inspire fear. Soloing is not necessarily the goal, though if on any server that would be an accomplishment, it would be here.
This is not an offical Dev Team response, just my personal opinions.