So, without further ado, The Gunfighter! (I will update the class as I fill in more powers)
The Gunfighter:
Gunfighter
Class Traits
Role: Defender. You suppress enemies and cover your allies by keeping a constant hail of bullets flying through the air.
Key Abilities: Dexterity, Con, Wis
Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, Hide Tunic, Gunslinger's Vest
Weapon Proficiencies: Simple melee, Simple Firearms, CommonFirearms
Bonus to defense: +1 Reflex, +1 Fort
HP at 1st lvl: 15+Constitution Score
HP per lvl: 6
Healing surges per day: 8+Con mod
Trained Skills: Choose 3 from the following list: Athletics (Str), Endurance (Con), Insight (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Streetwise (Cha)
Build Options: Gunslinger, Soldier
Class Features: Gunfighting Talent, Shootout Style, Suppressing Fire
Gunfighters are the epitome of the Wild West: lawless, deadly, and tough as nails. In shootouts they focus on keeping the enemies' heads down so that their allies can maneuver into advantageous positions, but can take down enemies with the best of them if the situation calls for it. You choose both a weapon and an archetype: the weapon is your friend and companion, and with that particular firearm your skill is unmatched. Your archetype helps determine your strategy in battle and your selection of powers. Some Gunfighters opt for a fast and free style of combat, moving rapidly between cover and dazzling the enemy with your skills. Others are more methodical, targeting the enemies weak points to hinder their strategy.
Creating a Gunfighter
Gunfighters generally fall in to one of two groups: Gunslinger and Soldier. Your choice of ability scores and powers will depend on the archetype you choose. Gunslingers that use Revolvers and Rifles have a controller bent, and use powers that limit the enemies' options in combat. Shotgun Gunfighters feel more like strikers, since they are able to deal very large amounts of damage to enemies at very close ranges.
Gunslinger
The Gunslinger is the master of the fast draw, using speed and daring as a weapon every bit as deadly as the bullets he fires. Gunslingers excel at using revolvers in one or both hands, but can also choose to use shotguns or rifles and be very effective. Dexterity is a must, as it improves reflex, initiative, and attack rolls. Constitution is helpful as it gives you more hit points, which are always good. Wisdom can also be quite important as it improves the usefulness of many of the Gunslinger's more tactical powers.
Soldier:
You were trained to fight as part of a military unit, or perhaps an irregular militia group on the frontier. You're powers have an additional emphasis on debilitating and hindering your opponents. Dexterity or Constitution (for shotguns) is your key attribute for attacks. Wisdom is also important because it improves the effects of many of your powers. Constitution is important for increased HP, and Dex or Int help keep your Reflex defense and Initiative high.
Gunfighter Class Features
Shootout Style
Choose one of the following.
Fastest Gun in the West: If your initiative total is higher than the target you've marked, you gain a +2 marale bonus to damage rolls against that target.
Keep their Heads Down: Marked targets that you have damaged this turn suffer a penalty to damage rolls equal to your Wis mod.
Gunfighting Talent
Choose Revolvers, Shotguns, or Rifles. You gain +1 to attack rolls with those weapons in addition to the following (even if you don't meet the prerequisites).
Revolvers: You gain Improved Initiative as a bonus feat. Choose Double Shot as one of your at will abilities.
Shotguns: You gain Point Blank Shot as a bonus feat. Choose Sure Shot as one of your at will abilities.
Rifles: You gain Distracting Shot as a bonus feat. Choose Precise Shot as one of your at will abilities.
Suppressing Fire
Every time you attack a target, whether you hit or not, you may choose to mark the target. The mark lasts until the end of the next turn. While the target is marked it takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls for attacks that don't include you as a target. In addition, whenever the enemy leaves a square within your optimal range that does not have cover, they provoke an opportunity attack (unless they are shifting).
Gunfighter
Class Traits
Role: Defender. You suppress enemies and cover your allies by keeping a constant hail of bullets flying through the air.
Key Abilities: Dexterity, Con, Wis
Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, Hide Tunic, Gunslinger's Vest
Weapon Proficiencies: Simple melee, Simple Firearms, CommonFirearms
Bonus to defense: +1 Reflex, +1 Fort
HP at 1st lvl: 15+Constitution Score
HP per lvl: 6
Healing surges per day: 8+Con mod
Trained Skills: Choose 3 from the following list: Athletics (Str), Endurance (Con), Insight (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Streetwise (Cha)
Build Options: Gunslinger, Soldier
Class Features: Gunfighting Talent, Shootout Style, Suppressing Fire
Gunfighters are the epitome of the Wild West: lawless, deadly, and tough as nails. In shootouts they focus on keeping the enemies' heads down so that their allies can maneuver into advantageous positions, but can take down enemies with the best of them if the situation calls for it. You choose both a weapon and an archetype: the weapon is your friend and companion, and with that particular firearm your skill is unmatched. Your archetype helps determine your strategy in battle and your selection of powers. Some Gunfighters opt for a fast and free style of combat, moving rapidly between cover and dazzling the enemy with your skills. Others are more methodical, targeting the enemies weak points to hinder their strategy.
Creating a Gunfighter
Gunfighters generally fall in to one of two groups: Gunslinger and Soldier. Your choice of ability scores and powers will depend on the archetype you choose. Gunslingers that use Revolvers and Rifles have a controller bent, and use powers that limit the enemies' options in combat. Shotgun Gunfighters feel more like strikers, since they are able to deal very large amounts of damage to enemies at very close ranges.
Gunslinger
The Gunslinger is the master of the fast draw, using speed and daring as a weapon every bit as deadly as the bullets he fires. Gunslingers excel at using revolvers in one or both hands, but can also choose to use shotguns or rifles and be very effective. Dexterity is a must, as it improves reflex, initiative, and attack rolls. Constitution is helpful as it gives you more hit points, which are always good. Wisdom can also be quite important as it improves the usefulness of many of the Gunslinger's more tactical powers.
Soldier:
You were trained to fight as part of a military unit, or perhaps an irregular militia group on the frontier. You're powers have an additional emphasis on debilitating and hindering your opponents. Dexterity or Constitution (for shotguns) is your key attribute for attacks. Wisdom is also important because it improves the effects of many of your powers. Constitution is important for increased HP, and Dex or Int help keep your Reflex defense and Initiative high.
Gunfighter Class Features
Shootout Style
Choose one of the following.
Fastest Gun in the West: If your initiative total is higher than the target you've marked, you gain a +2 marale bonus to damage rolls against that target.
Keep their Heads Down: Marked targets that you have damaged this turn suffer a penalty to damage rolls equal to your Wis mod.
Gunfighting Talent
Choose Revolvers, Shotguns, or Rifles. You gain +1 to attack rolls with those weapons in addition to the following (even if you don't meet the prerequisites).
Revolvers: You gain Improved Initiative as a bonus feat. Choose Double Shot as one of your at will abilities.
Shotguns: You gain Point Blank Shot as a bonus feat. Choose Sure Shot as one of your at will abilities.
Rifles: You gain Distracting Shot as a bonus feat. Choose Precise Shot as one of your at will abilities.
Suppressing Fire
Every time you attack a target, whether you hit or not, you may choose to mark the target. The mark lasts until the end of the next turn. While the target is marked it takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls for attacks that don't include you as a target. In addition, whenever the enemy leaves a square within your optimal range that does not have cover, they provoke an opportunity attack (unless they are shifting).
But the "pinning down" should work a bit like being marked by a fighter. My suggestion is to give all guns the following weapon quality:
Gunfire: Until the end of the target's next turn, any individual targeted by a Power with the "firearm" Keyword is unable to take any Move action other than a Shift (although he may still be Pushed, Pulled or Slid by other character's Powers). If the firearm scores a critical hit, in addition to any other results, the Gunfire quality will last until the end of the target's second turn.
Gunfighters are not defenders. Defenders require close combat. Gunfights should never happen in close quarters, so I don't think there should be a gunfighting defender. Drop the "marking" -- it doesn't really fit. Instead, I'd make the Two-Fisted Fighter, the standard for the gunslinger and give him an extra basic attack when he wields a second gun. I'd also give him the following "Intimidating Shot" power -- any enemy in a square adjacent to an enemy targeted by a Power with the firearm Keyword is treated as if it had been targeted by the power for purposes of the firearm's Gunfire quality. That way if enemies are packed together, he can keep them all pinned down with one bullet.
Now, most combat in 4E is designed to last about 4-5 rounds. As long as each six-shooter only shoots one-bullet per round, they should be okay.
They should be controllers, using their shots to pin multiple foes or to shift them around the field ("Dance, varmint!"). He'll want to slide foes adjacent to one another to take advantage of his Intimidating Shot power.
I'd drop armor proficiencies. People in the Wild West just didn't wear armor.
As for anyone being able to "pin down" enemies in combat, that's where delayed actions come in. Maybe I'll expand opportunity attacks with firearms along the lines that you suggested to make it more pronounced. I'll think about it, but your comments are well taken.
I'm planning on loading a revolver with a quick loader being a move action.
Thanks for the comments!
When using a firearm, any enemy that tries to enter a square adjacent to you provokes an opportunity attack (unless they are shifting). If you hit, you cancel their movement.
As a standard action, any character may "cover" an area in front of them in a 90 degree field of fire. Until the beginning of your next turn, any enemy that moves (other than shifting, being slid or pulled) out from behind cover provokes an opportunity attack from you.
In this way defenders are still good at pinning enemies down because of their bonuses to OA's, their ability to take standard actions and cover enemies in the same round, and their ability to debuff enemies who want to target characters other than the defender.
I'd like to offer up some RPGs that I used when creating my own Wild West D&D world, if you haven't seen them already; Desperadoes, Deadlands, and Castle Falkenstein (specifically the "Six-Guns and Sorcery" supplement).
I enjoy doing historical scenarios with a D&D twist. I kicked around a game set during the American Revolution. A vampire at Valley Forge ("General Washington, what's that mark on your neck?" "'Tis nothing," he said as he pulled up his collar against the stinging cold.), Ethan Allen wrestling a werewolf, King George III being replaced by a Mind-Flayer controlled doppelganger, the Waxhaw Massacre being the result of a green dragon instead of the Green Dragoon (Banastre Tarleton), Ben Franklin the Artificer of Philadelphia, etc. It's great fun!
PS: I absolutely agree, Jonah Hex rocks!
Historical scenarios in D&D ftw! I'd love to play in/run a campaign or just a series of unrelated adventures like that. I loved Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker Series for exactly that reason. Hopefully I can get these gun rules polished enough to make the combat aspect of such an adventure entertaining.
Scout: Striker, wilderness warrior. Builds for Rifle and bow (for them damn pointy-ears!), stealthy, etc. Maybe make it Hunter instead, to make it a good bounty hunter class.
Marksman: Striker, with a bit of a defender-feel to it. Kind of like what a Ranger is to a rogue.
Marshal (or something): Leader, builds for officer and official or something.
Okay, that's about all I've actually got...I thought I had more.
I'll post my next class tomorrow when it's done. I call it the Sharpshooter, it's a striker. It will have 2 builds:
Sniper- Self explanatory, patient and deliberate and deadly. keyed to Int.
Trickshooter- Makes impossible shots look easy. I'm using Doc Holiday as a base idea for the class, potentially more up close than the Sniper but still a striker. Keyed to Cha.
And awesome, I think I may have to make a bounty hunter paragon path now. Or just a class.
I still like to hear comments, so if you have 'em keep 'em coming!
You should, perhaps, spread them around a bit.
Like, Precise shot, since it has the +2 to hit, maybe should attack AC.
Sure Shot could target Fortitude.
I'm not saying I think they have too, but most classes don't target the same defense with all their at-wills.
So, I notice all the at-wills target reflex.
You should, perhaps, spread them around a bit.
I agonized about that a bit. Ref and AC are folded into 1, so that accounts for that. I'll change Sure Shot to Fort and see how that helps.
Thanks!
Hmm, just thought you also might want to specify that this power requires you to actually have more than one barrel!:D
I'm curious why Double Barrel is 1W+ CON. Does it reflect your ability to hold the firearm still while opening up with both barrels? (I admit I've never fired a double- barrelled shotgun before).
Hmm, just thought you also might want to specify that this power requires you to actually have more than one barrel!:D
Yeah, I know the Con attack stat is a bit wacky, but you've essentially gotten the gist of it. Shotguns have a lot of kick (though no more than a high powered rifle, which we're keying off of dex) and so they are Con based.
Or that's the fluff. To be more precise from a design perspective, Con was chosen to put some emphasis away from dex as the be all and end all of ranged combat. I want there to be a reason to play a ranged fighter that uses something other than Dex for their attacks.
as for needing more than one barrel, consider that /EDITED!
To clarify my design goals (in case you're interested, this is also a way for me to think "aloud"):
Gunslingers are fast and slippery, they get to strategic ground quickly by acting before their enemies and avoiding the worst of their shots on the way there. They tend to use two weapons, which lets them control the battlefield because they can keep a mark up on two enemies at a time. Mostly about keeping the enemies' attention on them and dealing damage back.
Soldiers are more deliberate. They use rifles more often and their opportunity attacks are more accurate and damaging. Their attacks hinder foes with status effects, and so they are more adept at "shutting down" enemy combatants.
I'll be keeping these ideas in mind as I review the powers I made to see if they fit.
Cheers!