libranchylde
Hey Guys!
I am currently preparing a campaign setting / world design for 4e and I have come across a dilemma. To include firearms or no? Initially I thought no. It would unbalance the game. Then I thought, if you keep it in context of a medieval world turning toward the renaissance, then black/gun powder is a reasonable invention to have. Any firearm would be muzzle loaded and would slow down the reload and effectively make them encounter weapons / powers. While the damage would be higher than other ranged weapons, the reload time would keep firearms in line power-wise with other weapons and power levels.
"Verdenheim":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/verdenheim
"Miscellany":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/verdenheim/wikis/miscellany
Would love some feed back on what everyone here thinks.
Thanks
Comments
Good luck Libra!
DarkMagus
All guns are considered Simple Ranged Weapons for purposes of powers, feats, class features, and other rules.
There are two kinds of guns:
*Pistol*
Simple one-handed ranged weapon
Cost: 35 gp
Damage: 1d8+4
Proficient: +1
Range: 10/20
Weight: 3 lb.
*Musket*
Simple two-handed ranged weapon
Cost: 60 gp
Damage: 1d10+4
Proficient: +1
Range: 15/30
Weight: 10 lb.
Properties
*High Crit* _A high crit weapon deals more damage when you score a critical hit with it. A critical hit deals maximum weapon damage and an extra 1[W] at 1st
You're either going to be doing one of three things:
1. Guns are vastly superior to any other ranged weapon, and nobody picks anything else.
2. Guns are balanced with crossbows/bows.
3. Guns are vastly inferior to other ranged weapons, so why did you bother doing the work to bring them in?
Take, for example, timwbrown's take on guns. I do like the way he did damage expressions, but if I were to build a ranger in his group, for example, I would NEVER pack a gun. I'd stick to a repeating crossbow/longbow.
The reason is, I CAN'T RELOAD IN BATTLE, I need to switch to a new one. That would mean that a power like Twin Strike, which gives me two shots with a ranged weapon, would not be possible, as the gun only shoots one shot at a time.
What about being granted extra attacks? A warlord would be useless to someone who has a gun, because, hey, I shot my gun my last turn and didn't have enough actions to swap for a new one, thanks for granting me a ranged basic attack, you want me to throw the gun at him?
Personally, I would just create a "superior high-crit repeating crossbow" and re-skin it as a gun, and you have to spend a feat to be proficient in it. But, honestly, I have a hard time wrapping my head around "guns exist, but are only slightly better than crossbows"
corrinavatan is quite correct about the three errors to make when putting guns in D&D; my guns are a labor of love and an experiment. There's a bunch of little factors I was considering when I built them. I had thought of going the Gamma World route - where a gun is simply an encounter-power item - and it would be much easier to just pick up and add to any campaign. For most folks, it would probably work just as well to do that, or to use existing alchemy rules to simulate guns.
Probably the easiest trap in using guns is to keep them from getting too good: as soon as you allow easy reload, or a wide variety of ammunition, with anything like an approriate damage expression, they become overpowered against any sword or bow, and -boom- you've gone from medieval fantasy to modern (even if early-modern). And for many audiences/players, a gun is a gun and they're going to expect to be able to use all the gun shticks they see on the screen. You'll need to be pretty clear about what kind of guns exist in the world and stick to that definition against all assumptions, desires, and arguments from your players. Not that it's all that hard, but nail it down in your own mind before you start play.
This works well in Gamma World, with the post-apoc setting, though - it may not work well in a fantasy setting.
dlaporte7271
"violent skies":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/violent-skies
As for you, dlaporte, I've done wonders with alchemist's fire to keep from having to use gunpowder itself. For instance, a large flask (more like a large jar) filled with alchemist's fire is packed into the cannon first, then wadding, then the cannon ball. Instead of lighting a wick to ignite the powder, a pike is hammered through a hole in the cannon breaking the jar and exposing the AF to air, causing it to combust. This in turn creates the pressure needed to expel the projectile. That should be all the explanation needed ^.^
http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/drashlan/wikis/firearms
imagine you are 6 years old and you see a revolver in the street. you pick it up and because its so heavy it aims downward and you blow your foot off!
therefore you should make it at least a 14 or above to hit on the d20 (with the easiest of weapons)
and you should only make it 4-8 possible hp damage for a pistol (lets say) therefore the only advantage of using a firearm is that it will hit a high amount if you even hit!
(sorry if im confusing)
then by 6th level it will be easy, and those guns will come in handy because you can hit high damage as apposed to a bow that can sometimes only do a 2 :P