[INDENT]Firearm: Firearms are weapons designed to fire small projectiles via controlled explosions. While far more potent and powerful than bows or other similar weapons, firearms are precision instruments, so much care must be taken with the weapon. Both ammunition and the powder necessary to launch the ammunition must be loaded into the weapon.
SUPERIOR RANGED WEAPONS (FIREARMS)
One-Handed
[INDENT]Flintlock Prof. +1; Damage 1d10; Range 5/10; Price 30 gp; Weight 3 lb.; Group Firearm; Properties: Load minor, Off-hand[/INDENT]
Two-Handed
[INDENT]Blunderbuss Prof. +1; Damage 1d12; Range 15/30; Price 40 gp; Weight 10 lb.; Group Firearm; Properties: Load move, Scatter
Rifle Prof. +2; Damage 1d12; Range 25/50; Price 50 gp; Weight 10 lb.; Group Firearm; Properties: Ballistic, Load move[/INDENT]
Ballistic: Anytime this weapon is used in an attack that targets AC, it instead targets the Reflex Defense. Weapons with the Ballistic property also have the High Crit property.
Scatter: This ranged weapon deals damage as a weapon one size larger against adjacent targets, but also deals damage as a weapon one size smaller against targets at long range.
ADVENTURING GEAR
Bullets (20) 1 gp; 5 lb.
Powder (20) 3 gp; 5 lb.
HEROIC TIER FEAT
[INDENT]Prone Shot
Prerequisites: Dex 13, Int 13
Benefit: You no longer take penalties to attack rolls from being prone if your target is not adjacent to you. In addition, you gain a +1 feat bonus to attack rolls while using firearms prone.[/INDENT]
PARAGON TIER FEAT
[INDENT]Suppression Fire
Prerequisites: Dex 14, Int 14
Benefit: If you successfully hit a target with a weapon from the firearm group, your target grants combat advantage to your allies until the beginning of your next turn.[/INDENT]
EPIC TIER FEAT
[INDENT]Firearm Master
Prerequisites: Dex 19, Int 19
Benefit: When you make a ranged weapon attack with a weapon from the firearm group, you can score a critical hit on a natural roll of 19 or 20.[/INDENT][/INDENT]
There is something I'd like to address before it is stated. While, yes, all three weapons should have had the Ballistic ability, I wanted all of the weapons to follow the standards set by the PHB and only have two abilities each. I figured there may be a balancing effect by them, so I thought to stick with the paradigm. However, since the Ballistic property also grants High Crit, the rifle technically has three properties. Moreover, I figured that flintlocks rounds and scatter shot in an adventure setting might make sense being deflected by armor.
Also, again to preempt anyone who might say it,
So let me know what you think.
Edit: Changed the "musket" to "blunderbuss", which does sound much better than either that or "shotgun".
That's a lot of damage, and a lot of range - a decent ranger could dominate the entire field with one of these. I'd up the price a little, and ensure that there's some social stigma (at least) or outright legal ban (at worst) on their use.
High damage, high range weapons don't exist in medieval RPGs for a reason - they don't mesh well. That said, you have 2 choices: 1. make them amazingly rare - gunpowder shouldn't be something every smith in every backwater town has a keg of. 2. make sure npcs have the same (or greater) access to these firearms that the PCs do - if flintlocks are available in every smithy, make sure your lv1 kobold archers have at least 1 on them.
how about "blunderbus" instead of "musket"?
That's a lot of damage, and a lot of range - a decent ranger could dominate the entire field with one of these. I'd up the price a little, and ensure that there's some social stigma (at least) or outright legal ban (at worst) on their use.
High damage, high range weapons don't exist in medieval RPGs for a reason - they don't mesh well. That said, you have 2 choices: 1. make them amazingly rare - gunpowder shouldn't be something every smith in every backwater town has a keg of. 2. make sure npcs have the same (or greater) access to these firearms that the PCs do - if flintlocks are available in every smithy, make sure your lv1 kobold archers have at least 1 on them.
Well, I was hoping that the fact that they are Superior weapons and powder costs 3 times as much as any other ammunition would help balance out their damage potential, but perhaps they do need to be toned down a bit, I just can't figure out where they should be. Either that, or I should raise the cost for ammo more. I did want the weapon somewhat accessible to the players (which is why I picked costs so low, even if all but the flintlock is more expensive than any other weapon), but something they have to invest a lot of money to work with. Also, I gave the two-handed weapons Load move so that a character built around using them still sacrifices mobility to wield the weapon. What else do you suggest that might fix this?
A rifle-sized, crappy gun................................. well, musket actually works for that... if I recall correctly, muskets were ridiculously inaccurate at any real distance. hence the "don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes" bit.
[my bad; this is what happens when I type at 2 am.]
Well, just make sure the npcs and monsters have the same access to these weapons the PCs do - this generally evens the field, and I use it as a cardinal rule when introducing anything into the game, be it weapons, armor, spells, or variant rules.
with the 6 second combat rounds, it would basically be a fire once weapon (encounter power)
brief history of early firearms
www.nps.gov/spar/upload/14thC%20Hand%20Gonne.doc
whoa, hey. I musn't've been awake when I suggested 'blunderbuss.' The blunderbuss is essentially a pistol with a trumpet-shaped barrel.
A rifle-sized, crappy gun................................. well, musket actually works for that... if I recall correctly, muskets were ridiculously inaccurate at any real distance. hence the "don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes" bit.
[my bad; this is what happens when I type at 2 am.]
Well, just make sure the npcs and monsters have the same access to these weapons the PCs do - this generally evens the field, and I use it as a cardinal rule when introducing anything into the game, be it weapons, armor, spells, or variant rules.
I'm going to stick to blunderbuss, since despite the fact that it wasn't quite the size of a rifle, it was still a two handed weapon (albeit there were pistol versions of the gun).
That said, I'm mainly doing this for universal use, and therefore trying to balance it all around to keep in that flavor. In my personal campaign, the players will see little chance of having them... they will be the primary weapon of the main "evil empire" of the setting, and short of looting a soldier the players will probably not get one. I still want them balanced out though... I don't believe in an advantage on either side.
just my opinion, but I'd suggest either an early style hand gonne also called a hand cannon or matchlock over a flintlock.
with the 6 second combat rounds, it would basically be a fire once weapon (encounter power)
The problem there is that if I make the weapon do normal damage for a weapon of this type, it's largely a waste of a weapon if you can only use it once in a fight. If I make it more powerful to compensate, it becomes the kind of weapon that players would want to buy in bulk, so they can just use and use and use with little consequence.
I think I'll stick to these three for now, if only for the fact that I don't see how to balance a per-encounter basic attack.
I understand the intent in making them superior weapons, and in giving them relatively low proficiency values, but as I currently understand it, the only benefit being proficient in a weapon gives is its proficiency bonus, making it such that nobody, anywhere, will be proficient in the flintlock. I'd give it a +1 prof. bonus just so that people would consider picking up the weapon proficiency feat for it.
I actually did that for the fact that flintlocks were often used as a secondary weapon to a fencing sword (hence it also having the Off-hand property) by people that didn't really have (or need) training with a gun to use it. But I do see what you mean, so I changed it.
Guns where not used because they where more effective than long bows. They where used because they where easier to train and nearly as effective.
That all being said, the rifle is OP. It's plenty strong without ignoring armor.
Early guns did not ignore armor. It's just that pike defended gun men could take out plate wearing knights. Once that was true there was no point to the plate.
if you wanted historical accuracy the Long Bow would be a superior weapon...
Would it? Why?
I refer you to my reply on the other thread in which you repeat the longbow claim:
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?p=16176501#post16176501
if you wanted historical accuracy the Long Bow would be a superior weapon, the cross bows would have long loading times and the guns would be simple weapons.
Guns where not used because they where more effective than long bows. They where used because they where easier to train and nearly as effective.
That all being said, the rifle is OP. It's plenty strong without ignoring armor.
Early guns did not ignore armor. It's just that pike defended gun men could take out plate wearing knights. Once that was true there was no point to the plate.
Actually, the rifle is meant to emulate the historical rifle in a sense. See this link for more info. Basically, once rifling was invented, not only did firearms become significantly more accurate with better range, their penetration power became devastating. That being said, the weapon is a skosh out of place in a medieval setting, but fits many steam- or magepunk settings quite well... especially settings where certain races develop gunpowder (dwarven guns are fairly popular in some books). It wasn't meant to be an early gun, but a more advanced one.
But I didn't think it would make sense to make guns simple weapons. Much knowledge in how to care for them and ready them goes into using them. As a DM, I would rule that if you have somebody else load and maintain them for you who is experienced in it, you could get the proficiency bonus untrained, but otherwise you require the Superior Weapon proficiency feat for it.
Besides, the bow is largely superior to the other two guns. It's still more accurate, and has better range than either the Blunderbuss or Flintlock. Damage is its only disadvantage, and not by too much.
Of course, I'm thinking of lowering the dice of every weapon by one.
ADDENDUM: I'd also like to add that I heartily disagree with your reasoning for why guns overtook bows. While they are easier to fire than a bow, it's actually significantly more difficult to prepare for a firing than any given bow. Moreover, bow combat primarily relied on many men firing a volley of arrows in an inaccurate way... up in the air in the general direction of the crowd. Training for firing them really wasn't necessary past getting them to properly knock an arrow back and release the string. That takes a lot of arm strength, but it's much easier to do than to load and maintain an ancient firearm.
But I didn't think it would make sense to make guns simple weapons.
From a game design perspective I agree. From a realism perspective, they're no harder to use than crossbows are.
My only real objection is the Ballistic property.
Would it? Why?
It's harder to train a longbow man than it is to train a gun man.
From a game design perspective I agree. From a realism perspective, they're no harder to use than crossbows are.
My only real objection is the Ballistic property.
The fact that loading was a bit tricky (knowing how much powder to use, how to properly pack a gun, how to wad the bullet... and to do all of that very quickly in the equivalent of a free or move action) and very important in the accuracy of the weapon (an improperly loaded weapon will not fire at all, and too much or too little powder could produce horrible results like backfire or ammo dropping)... I thought it would make sense to turn into a superior weapon since the proficiency feat only grants the proficiency bonus in attack rolls (emulating the fact that a person well-trained in loading and maintaining his gun would have better results firing it, while just about anyone can fire it normally).
As for the Ballistic property, I only gave it to the rifle. Rifling was a significant technology breakthrough that vastly improved the penetration power of the bullet. Not only were rifles far more accurate than older weapons like the musket, but the rifling action which added rotation to the bullet granted the bullet much less drag while traveling through the air... increasing it's armor-piercing capabilities. I thought the Ballistic property would convey that well.