Eldritch Gunslinger (3.5e Class)

Eldritch Gunslinger

"I have seen what Hell has to offer. I have embraced the darkness and dominated it."

An Eldritch Gunslinger is a martial spellcaster who has devoted his life to the hunting and eradication of all outsiders. He wields powerful dark spells which he channels through his guns. Much like the Warlock, his time spent amongst the outsiders has given him familiarity with the dark arts of the fiends. He uses that knowledge to craft guns and ammunition with the power of Hell. Each sphere he gains he must craft into a new Eldritch Firearm before using the dark magic contained within.

Making an Eldritch Gunslinger

Being somewhat nontraditional spellcasters, and also having decent damage-dealing capability, Eldritch Gunslingers can fit into pretty much any party structure fairly well.

Abilities: An Eldritch Gunslinger's most important asset is the spells he can cast from his guns. The Eldritch Blast is generally a fallback ability when there isn't a spell that you would be better off casting, or when a monster needs finishing off. His ability to summon can help out in a tight spot or when battlefield control is needed.

Races: Eldritch Gunslingers can be any non-Outsider. Their hatred for the Outsiders would preclude one from ever becoming an Eldritch Gunslinger. An Eldritch Gunslinger who later becomes an Outsider, for whatever reason, would likely kill himself from self loathing.

Alignment: An Eldritch Gunslinger can be any non-good alignment but tend toward neutral. Their deep ties to the darkness corrupts their mind to an extent, thus making it very difficult for an Eldritch Gunslinger to be truly good.

Starting Gold: 4d4*10 gp (100 gold).

Starting Age: As Rogue.

Table: The Eldritch Gunslinger

Hit Die: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+0	+0	+2	+2	Eldritch Blast, Invocation (least), Favored Fiend
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+3	Elemental Shot
3rd	+2	+1	+3	+3	Sphere
4th	+3	+1	+4	+4	Call Fiends
5th	+3	+1	+4	+4	New Invocation (least or lesser), Dark Arts
6th	+4	+2	+5	+5	Sphere
7th	+5	+2	+5	+5	Arcane Gunsmith
8th	+6/+1	+2	+6	+6	Bonus Feat
9th	+6/+1	+3	+6	+6	Sphere
10th	+7/+2	+3	+7	+7	New Invocation (least, lesser, or greater)
11th	+8/+3	+3	+7	+7	Fiendish Servant
12th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+8	Sphere
13th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+8	Energy Resistance
14th	+10/+5	+4	+9	+9	Fear Aura
15th	+11/+6/+1	+5	+9	+9	New Invocation (least, lesser, greater, or dark)
16th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+10	Fiendish Resilience 1
17th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+10	Sphere
18th	+13/+8/+3	+6	+11	+11	Fiendish Resilience 2
19th	+14/+9/+4	+6	+11	+11	Devil’s Dodge
20th	+15/+10/+5	+6	+12	+12	Fiendish Resilience 3, Sphere, Shadowstep

Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level)
Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Eldritch Firearm) (Int), Craft (Eldritch Ammunition) (Int), Disguise (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (all, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Use Magic Device (Cha).

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Eldritch Gunslingers are proficient in light armor, eldritch guns, all crossbows, and daggers.

Eldritch Blast (Su): As an attack action, an Eldritch Gunslinger may fire a blast of fire at his foes. This has a range of Close (25 feet +5 ft./2 levels), does 1d6 damage per level of Eldritch Gunslinger, and requires a ranged touch attack to hit.

Invocations (Su): Much like Warlocks, Eldritch Gunslingers choose the invocations they learn as they gain levels. However, a Eldritch Gunslinger’s arcane repertoire is even more limited than that of a sorcerer, and his invocations are spell- like abilities, not spells.

In addition to its grade (least, lesser, greater, or dark), every invocation has a spell level equivalent, which is used in the calculation of save DCs and for other purposes. A least invocation has a level equivalent of 1st or 2nd; a lesser, 3rd or 4th; a greater, 5th or 6th; and a dark invocation has a level equivalent of 6th or higher (maximum 9th). The level equivalent for each invocation is given in its description in Chapter 4 of Complete Arcane. An Eldritch Gunslingers can dismiss any invocation as a standard action, just as a wizard can dismiss a spell.

Favored Fiend: As a part of the choice to become an Eldritch Gunslinger a person chooses an outsider from the following List of Fiends to focus his rage upon. This is usually the kind of outsider that drove him to become an Eldritch Gunslinger. Be it by killing someone he loves or any number of other reasons, he hates this subtype of outsider even more than the others. The Eldritch Gunslinger gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against outsiders of this type. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against such outsiders.

List of Fiends
Outsider (Air)
Outsider (Angel)
Outsider (Archon)
Outsider (Chaotic)
Outsider (Demon)
Outsider (Devil)
Outsider (Earth)
Outsider (Evil)
Outsider (Fire)
Outsider (Good)
Outsider (Lawful)
Outsider (Native)
Outsider (Water)

Elemental Ammo: A 2nd level Eldritch Gunslinger may imbue his ammunition with elemntal energy at will. His bullets take on the properties of Lesser Orb of Acid, Cold, Electircity, Fire, or Force (Complete Arcane p. 115-116). He may use his character level as his caster level for this attack.

Sphere: An Eldritch Gunslinger gains basic access to a sphere at every third level. If the Eldritch Gunslinger selects a sphere that he already has basic access to, he upgrades it to advanced access. If he already had advanced access, he gains expert access.

Call Fiends (Sp): At 4th level, an Eldritch Gunslinger can Summon an enslaved Outsider with the [Evil] subtype once per day, as long as the Outsider’s Challenge Rating is 3 less than his character level or lower. He can also choose to double the number of creatures summoned by reducing the max CR of the creatures by 2 per doubling (a 9th level Eldritch Gunslinger could summon one CR 6 fiend, two CR 4 fiends, 4 CR 2 fiends, or 8 CR 1 fiends). This is treated as a spell of one half the Eldritch Gunslinger's level, rounded down, with a caster level equal to his levels in Eldritch Gunslinger.

Hellfire Blast (Su): At 5th level, an Eldritch Gunslinger may choose to fire a blast of hellfire instead of normal fire, at the cost of 2d6 points of damage (i.e. a 5th level Eldritch Gunslinger could use a 5d6 fire blast or a 3d6 hellfire blast). This blast bypasses fire resistance and deals half damage to creatures with fire immunity.

Dark Arts: A 5th level Eldritch Gunslinger may choose 3 spells from the following list of Dark Spells to channel through his Eldritch Gun once per day per level of Eldritch Gunslinger. These are treated as spell-like abilities. He may use his character level as his caster level.

Dark Spells	Sourcebook
Darkbolt	Book of Vile Darkness p. 90
No Light	Book of Vile Darkness p. 100
Wither Limb	Book of Vile Darkness p. 110
Chill of The Grave	Libris Mortis p. 63
Fireburst	Complete Arcane p. 107
Ice Blast	Complete Arcane p. 110
Ice Knife	Complete Arcane p. 112

Arcane Gunsmith: At 7th level, an Eldritch Gunslinger gains the skills to craft magic wands into Eldritch Firearms. This requires the Eldritch Gunslinger to succeed a DC 25 Craft Eldritch Firearm check and possess a charged magic wand (use the cost of a hand crossbow for raw materials). Standard Craft rules apply, however, fabricate and minor creation may not be used to craft Eldritch Firearms.

The gun can be used the same way a wand would. However, when the charges run out the gun is useless for 24 hours whereupon the Eldritch Gunslinger must succeed a DC 15 Eldritch Ammunition check to recharge the weapon to the number of charges the wand had when the gun was crafted. A failed check renders the gun useless for another 12 hours after which the check may be attempted again.

Bonus Feat: At 8th level, an Eldritch Gunslinger gains one bonus feat, which can be any feat he qualifies for.

Dark Blast (Su): At 10th level, an Eldritch Gunslinger may choose to change the damage of his Eldritch Blast to Unholy damage by reducing the damage it deals by 4d6 (a 10th level Eldritch Gunslinger could opt to fire a 10d6 fire blast, 8d6 hellfire blast, or 6d6 unholy blast).

Fiendish Servant: An 11th level Eldritch Gunslinger is followed by a cohort whose CR is 2 less than his level, but the cohort can only have levels in True Fiend, Fiendish Brute, or Conduit of the Lower Planes (they can also have racial hit dice).

Energy Resistance: At 13th level, an Eldritch Gunslinger gains resistance 10 to two energy types of his choice, and resistance 5 to a third.

Fear Aura (Su): At 14th level, an Eldritch Gunslinger can radiate a 20 foot aura of fear (as per the spell) at will with a caster level equal to his character level. The save DC is 10 + 0.5 ½ the Eldritch Gunslinger's Hit Dice + the Eldritch Gunslinger's Cha modifier.

Advanced Dark Arts: A 15th level Eldritch Gunslinger may now use all spells from the list of Dark Spells to channel through his Eldritch Gun at will as well as 1 additional spell from the following list of Advanced Dark Spells that may be used once per day. These are also treated as spell-like abilities. He may use his character level as his caster level.

Advanced Dark Spells	Sourcebook
Crushing Fist of Spite	Book of Vile Darkness p. 89
Death By Thorns	Book of Vile Darkness p. 91
Seething Eyebane	Book of Vile Darkness p. 103

Fiendish Resilience (Su): Beginning at 16th level, an Eldritch Gunslinger begins to rapidly toughen. His many years of communing with the dark magics of the Outsiders has shown him the secret of fiendish resilience. Once per day, as a free action, he can enter a state that lasts for 2 minutes. While in this state, the Eldritch Gunslinger gains fast healing 1. At 18th level, an Eldritch Gunslinger's fiendish resilience improves. When in his fiendish resilience state, he gains fast healing 2 instead. At 20th level, an Eldritch Gunslinger's fiendish resilience improves to fast healing 5.

Devil’s Dodge: At 19th level, the Eldritch Gunslinger learns to focus his mind to briefly become hyper aware of his surroundings making him almost supernaturally quick. He may now add his reflex score to his AC 3 times/ day. This is a free action and must be done at the beginning of his turn before he takes any other action. This effect lasts until his next turn.

Shadowstep: A 20th level Eldritch Gunslinger has become deeply attuned to the darkness he fights and gains the spell-like ability to step into the shadows and become one with them. This requires a full-round action. Once completed, the Eldritch Gunslinger seems to fade away. He actually remains in the same location, but he cannot move, speak, or take any action besides returning. Likewise, he cannot be attacked, magically or physically. Nor can he be detected by almost any means as he has essentially left the physical plane. Returning from the shadows requires a full-round action, and the Eldritch Gunslinger is stunned for 1d6- his Intelligence modifier in rounds. If the area where the Eldritch Gunslinger stepped should ever fall out of shadow (as the sun rises and banishes the darkness, for example), the shadowstep automatically ends and the caster is shunted back to the physical plane and stunned for 1d8 – his intelligence modifier in rounds do to the shock. While within the shadow, an Eldritch Gunslinger is only faintly aware of his surroundings. He knows how many creatures are nearby, but he cannot hear them speak, etc. Within the shadows, an Eldritch Gunslinger requires no sleep, food, or water.

Gun Staff

Two handed

Size Medium Critical 19-20/x4 Range Increment 120ft

Type Piercing and bludgeoning

Damage 2d8

Magazine 6 rounds

1 Round 1 bullets

Weight 6 lbs

Cost 200 gp

Epic Eldritch Gunslinger

Table: The Epic Eldritch Gunslinger

Hit Die: d8

Level	Special
21st	Bonus Epic Feat
22nd
23rd	Sphere
24th
25th	Death From the Dark
26th
27th	Sphere
28th
29th	Bonus Epic Feat
30th	Epic Eldritch Firearm
4 + Int modifier skill points per level.

Epic Eldritch Blast: At Epic Level an Eldritch Gunslinger's Eldritch Blast begins increasing by 1d8 evey 2 levels of Eldritch Gunslinger instead of 1d6 per level. This means that a 22nd level Epic Eldritch Gunslinger's Eldritch Blast will do 20d6 +1d8 damage. A 26th level Eldritch Gunslinger's Eldritch Blast would do 20d6 + 3d8 damage.

Death From the Dark: After using Shadowstep, a 25th level Epic Eldritch Gunslinger may make a single Death Attack from the shadows once per day. The same rules apply to this attack that apply to an Assassin's Death Attack except this move may be ranged. However, performing this attack immediately forces the user out of the shadows and stuns him for 1d8 - his Intelligence modifier in rounds.

Epic Eldritch Firearm: Upon reaching the 30th level, An Epic Eldritch Gunslinger may choose one of his Edritch Firearms to become Epic. With minimal effort, the Eldritch Gunslinger alters the weapon so that it has infinite charges. This weapon may now be used at will without need for time and a successful Eldritch Ammunition check to recharge. The Eldirtch Gunslinger may only do this once to a single Eldritch Firearm.

Bonus Feats: The epic Eldritch Gunslinger gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic Eldritch Gunslinger bonus feats) at level 21 and 29.

Epic Eldritch Gunslinger Bonus Feat List:

Epic Bonus Feats
Shadow Strike
Blinding Speed
Distant Shot
Deadly Stalker
Made of Scars
Tensegrity
Swarm of Bullets

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Campaign Information

Playing a Eldritch Gunslinger

Religion: Having seen the potential for torture and misery of this world, Eldritch Gunslingers are usually athiests.

Other Classes: The Eldritch Gunslinger prefers to work alone and, thus, has littel need for other classes. A meat shield, however, is always welcome. That said, anyone who gets between him and an outsider is likely to be mowed down..

Combat: The Eldritch Gunslinger typically fullfils a similar role to that of a Warlock or any other combat caster.

Advancement: Eldritch Gunslingers rarely multiclass. If they do it would likely be Ranger (to acquire an additional favored outsider) or Warlock to improve their invocations.

Eldritch Gunslingers in the World

“	The dark comes with the dark and I am ready to revenge myself of it!	”
—Rolynd, Human Eldritch Gunslinger

Eldritch Gunslingers are very rarely seen. They are highly private and, given the nature of their outsider prey, usually are found in dark out-of-the-way places few would willingingly visit. Even if one ran into an Eldritch Gunslinger, it is very likely that one would not realize it.

Daily Life: An Eldritch Gunslinger devotes all his time to hunting down every last vestige of outsider life in the world. He is a vagabond traveling the land keeping an ear open for reports of fiend attacks. Otherwise, he spends his day honing his skills or crafting new weapons.

Organizations: Eldritch Gunslingers usually work alone. If given a good enough reason, however, one will join others to battle evil.

NPC Reactions: Most see Eldritch Gunslingers as somewhat of an enigma. Their single-mindedness of purpose makes them seem closed off and even less than sane.

Eldritch Gunslinger Lore

Characters with ranks in Knowledge(The Planes) can research Eldritch Gunslingers to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Knowledge(The Planes)

DC	Result
5	Eldritch Gunslingers use guns.
10	Eldritch Gunslingers use magical guns and can use them to cast dark spells.
15	Eldritch Gunslingers are vigilantes who have devoted their lives to hunting outsiders.
20	Eldritch Gunslingers' dark spells are derived from The Abyss of The Three Hells. Eldritch Gunslingers have been partially corrupted by their connection with the Outsiders and, in someways, become what they hunt.

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