Gunslinger variant (3.5e Class)

Gunslinger

Gunslingers cannot endure the stress of close-quarters combat for long, so it is unusual for them to start out on the front lines. If a Gunslinger is not given the option of hanging back and picking off targets with their rifle, they must use evasive tactics to avoid being hit in battle. Gunslingers in the early levels can not use weapons other than a simple pistol (1d10 damage critical * 3) to level 5. Gunslingers craft and imbue their own guns and the bullets required for using them. Once they have crafted their weapons they gain a link with these weapons, as if they were living beings.

Making a Gunslinger

Gunslingers do massive amounts of damage, but cannot handle being hit, preferring to find a nice hill or building overlooking the fight, and then picking off targets. They are generally well built and dextrous as they must often climb the sides of buildings to gain a better vantage point.

Abilities: Dexterity is most important of all attributes, as it is dexterity that allows a Gunslinger to survive in combat. Charisma affects their ability to judge and handle social situations and determine how people will react. Intelligence is useful mainly for crafting.

Races: Primarily Humans, Halflings, and Gnomes, but Dwarves and Elves are occasionally Gunslingers.

Requirements:

Alignment: Any;

Starting Gold: 2d4×10 gp (40 gp).

Hit Die: d8

Starting Age: Moderate.

Table: The Gunslinger

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special	Spells per Day
		Fort	Ref	Will		0	1st	2nd	3rd
1st	+0	+0	+2	+0	Cast Rounds, Craft Pistol, Craft Rifle, Gunbound	1		-	-
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+0	Shot on the Run, Dodge	2		-	-
3rd	+2	+1	+3	+1	Modified Rounds, Fast movement, A Gun in Each Hand	3			-
4th	+3	+1	+4	+1	Dexterous Dodge	5	1	-	-
5th	+3	+1	+4	+1	Shot in the Dark	5	2	-	-
6th	+4	+2	+5	+2	Shoot from Their Hand	5	3	-	-
7th	+5	+2	+5	+2	Deft Two Hand Shooting	6	4	-	-
8th	+6/+1	+2	+6	+2	Enchant Bullet	6	4	-	-
9th	+6/+1	+3	+6	+3	Load One-Handed	6	5	-	-
10th	+7/+2	+3	+7	+3	Uncanny Dodge	6	5	1	-
11th	+8/+3	+3	+7	+3	Grace	6	6	1	-
12th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+4	Enchant Gun, Improved Uncanny Dodge	6	6	2	-
13th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+4		6	6	2	-
14th	+10/+5	+4	+9	+4		6	6	3	-
15th	+11/+6/+1	+5	+9	+5	Dead Shot	6	6	3	-
16th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+5		6	6	4	-
17th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+5	Hide in Plain Sight	6	6	4	-
18th	+13/+18/+3	+6	+11	+6		6	6	4	-
19th	+14/+9/+4	+6	+11	+6		6	6	5	-
20th	+15/+10/+5	+6	+12	+6	Unearthly Dodge	7	6	6	1
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (local) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha), Use Rope (Dex).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Gunslinger.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Gunslinger is only proficient with guns. They are not proficient with any type of armor or shield.

Crafting Guns: The very first thing a Gunslinger must learn to do is create weapons. The Gunslinger may take Guncraft as a Profession, and Craft Rounds/Pistol/Rifle. The Gunslinger can add their Guncraft Bonus to all of these Crafting checks. The Gunslinger has to chose one specialization (pistol or rifle) each additional specialization will cost a feat. Guns are difficult to create requiring a Craft Rounds/Pistol/Rifle according to the chart below, over time the gunslinger will become skilled enough to craft more powerful weapons.

Table: Crafting Pistols

Level	Craft DC	Bonus Damage	Attack Bonus	Additional Hardness	Additional Health	Cost
1st	16	—	—	—	—	850gp
6th	23	+1	+1	+2	+5	1450gp
12th	29	+2	+3	+4	+10	3850gp
18th	38	+4	+6	+8	+20	5450gp
Base Pistol:
Size	Small
Critical	19-20/x3
Range Increment	60ft
Type	Piercing

	Weapon
Damage	1d10
Magazine	6 rounds
1 Round	1 bullet
Weight	6lbs

Table: Crafting Rifles

Level	Craft DC	Bonus Damage	Attack Bonus	Additional Hardness	Additional Health	Cost
1st	20	—	+2	+2	—	650gp
6th	27	+2	+4	+5	+5	1600gp
12th	35	+4	+6	+8	+10	2800gp
18th	43	+6	+8	+12	+20	3400gp
Base Rifle
Size	Medium
Critical	19-20/x3
Range Increment	90ft
Type	Piercing

	Weapon
Damage	3d6
Magazine	2 Rounds
Round	1 Bullets
Weight	15 lbs
Scope	+2 Attack Bonus

Casting Rounds: Creating rounds is the second thing a Gunslinger must learn to do as it is hard to use guns without ammunition. The Gunslinger gains the ability to craft special rounds which, through advanced alchemical processes, store energy and explosive components that can cause great harm. There are 18 types of rounds, each varies in power and build components. Each round costs 2/3rds of an ounce of the associated material (Roughly the weight of 8 coins, or about 12 measures in a pound of material). Additionally, each round has a base cost of 3 silver worth of materials required by the casting process (this includes the led or other heavy metal). As the material each round is produced from improves, it improves the weapon bonus it receives in order to increase attack rolls as well as to bypass damage resistance. If a critical is made the extra damage is also multiplied.

Creating rounds is a very intensive process, requiring meticulous and detailed alchemical work. To create rounds requires a Craft Rounds/Pistol/Rifle skill check (24) and a molding kit (250gp). Every hour (12 bullets) spent consecutively working past the first requires a concentration check (DC: 20) or the crafter must pause in crafting for 24 hours to relax, the DC increases by 5 for each additional hour spent crafting. Additionally, each hour past the first causes a -1 penalty to all ranged attacks. These points are recovered at a rate of 1 per every 2 hours provided the Gunslinger is no longer crafting rounds.

Further, firing a round is a harsh process on the pistol or rifle. Each round (6 bullets) fired deals damage to the Gunslinger's Pistol equal to it's type number. So, a Type 5 round would deal 5 damage to the pistol, and a type 18 round would deal 18 damage to the pistol. The Gunslinger can counteract this damage by modifying and enchanting his pistol. With up-to-date reinforcement, a gunslinger can keep his guns in good condition, never taking damage when discharging rounds he made himself. This damage stacks with other damage dealt to the weapon that round, making firing two or more consecutive rounds a dangerous prospect.

Table: Casting Rounds

Level	Round Type	Craft DC	Bonus Damage	Extra Materials	Attack Bonus
1st	Type 0	16	0	None	+0
3rd	Type 1	17	1d4	Copper	+0
	Type 2	19	2d4	Copper	+0
	Type 3	22	3d4	Copper	+0
6th	Type 4	25	2d6	Silver	+1
	Type 5	26	3d6	Silver	+1
	Type 6	27	4d6	Silver	+1
9th	Type 7	28	2d8	Gold	+2
	Type 8	29	3d8	Gold	+2
	Type 9	32	4d8	Gold	+2
12th	Type 10	33	2d10	Platinum	+3
	Type 11	35	3d10	Platinum	+3
	Type 12	36	4d10	Platinum	+3
15th	Type 13	37	5d10	Mithral	+4
	Type 14	38	4d12	Mithral	+4
	Type 15	39	5d12	Mithral	+4

Gunbound: Gunslingers create a sort of bond with their weapons, much as a druid would have a bond with her animal companion, a Gunslinger can interact with his weapons on a deeper level then other characters. To achieve this bound the Gunslinger must have made the weapon he is bounding to and spend 24hours with his weapon. At the end of this period the Gunslinger must make a check 1d20+Gunslinger level (DC20) to successfully bound with the gun. This process will cost the gunslinger 250xp. The Gunslinger may bound with more then one weapon but the DC to do so increase by 5 with each successive gun and the experience cost increase by 50xp with each successive gun. When a Gunslinger has these bound weapons on him, he can achieve feats that he could not without, consult chart below.

Table: Gunslinger's Bounded Pistol Abilities

Level	Hardness	Hit Points	Special
1-2	+1	+2	Alertness
3-4	+2	+3	Weaponized Allure
5-6	+3	+5	Bound Accuracy
7-8	+4	+7	Sighting Link
9-10	+5	+9	Call Pistol
11-12	+6	+11	Bound Accuracy +2
13-14	+7	+13	Scry Pistol
15-16	+8	+14
17-18	+9	+16	Bound Accuracy +3
19-20	+10	+20
Alertness: Whenever a Gunslinger is in physical contact with his bound pistol, touching it with his hand, he gains heightened senses and is treated as if having the Alertness feat. Weaponized Allure: Whenever a Gunslinger attacks with his bound pistol he may add his Charisma modifier to his attack. The Gunslinger may draw two bound pistol's as a single move action. If he has the Quick Draw feat he may do so as a free action. Bound Accuracy: A Gunslinger slowly learns every detail and characteristic of their weapon. At fifth level a Gunslinger gains a +1 to his attack roll. This increases at level 11 to +2, and then to +3 at level 17. Sighting Link: A Gunslinger's bond with his weapons is a unique and spiritual one, crossing over to the supernatural. By concentrating (DC 20), a gunslinger can instead see out of the sights of his weapon, as if looking right out of the barrel of the pistol. This ability allows the Gunslinger to preform some extremely impressive trick shots, such as shooting behind him or around corners with no loss of accuracy. Using this ability is a move action and negates all but 100% miss chance. It also allows the Gunslinger to fire around his own 100% cover as long as he is adjacent to a square with 0% cover. Call Pistol: Upon reaching level 9, a Gunslinger can will his weapons to his hand. The pistol must not be gripped by anyone, so that it may fly free to it's master. Secondly, the gunslinger must be able to see the bonded weapon or know its exact location to call it to him. This is equivalent to a move action to preform, or a free action if the Gunslinger has the Quick Draw feat. Scry Pistol: At level 13, a Gunslinger can scry (as the spell) on his weapons once per day per Int modifier. This is a spell-like ability requiring no material components or focus that allows the Gunslinger to see and hear his bonded weapons and their surroundings if they are ever separated. It has a casting time of 1 full round. Modified Rounds: At third level a Gunslinger begins to create modified rounds which hold special elemental projectiles. There are six different types of elemental rounds; Cold, Fire, Electrical, Sonic, Acid, and Poisoned. Additionally, the Gunslinger can create holy and unholy water capsule rounds which contain aligned water, powdered silver, and garlic (or other materials that could be suspended in small capsules) used against evil or good enemies. Every hour, a Gunslinger can craft 6 rounds of any one element and requires materials detailed in the following chart. Additionally, each hour requires a craft (rounds) DC check to successfully create. Failure results in the loss of all crafting materials. These modifications can be made to any type of bullets the Gunslinger can and has made. Table: Modified Rounds Level Type Craft DC Bonus Damage Required Materials 1st Fire/cold 12 +1d6 fire/cold 1 flask of Alchemists Fire/1 Coldstone 2nd Holy/Unholy 15 +1d4 holy/unholy 1 flask of holy/unholy water 3rd Sonic 18 +1d6 sonic 1 thunderstone 5th Electric 21 +1d6 electric 1oz. acid 8th Acid 24 +1d6 acid 1 flask of chosen acid 11th Poison 27 +poison Chosen Poison (requires check for working with poison) Shot on the Run: At 2nd level, a gunslinger gains Shot on the Run as a bonus feat. A gunslinger need not have any of the prerequisites normally required. Dodge: At second level the Gunslinger gains the dodge feat. Fast Movement: At third level the Gunslinger gains Fast Movement as a monk would, increasing their movement speed by five feet every three levels. A Gun in Each Hand (Ex): At 3rd level, a gunslinger becomes adept at wielding pistols in each hand. The gunslinger is treated as having the Two-Weapon Fighting feat when shooting a pistol in each hand, and only if he is wearing no or light armor. Dexterous Dodge: Same as Dodge but +2 AC against the target rather than one. Uncanny Dodge: A gunslinger no longer looses his Dex modifier to AC when he is caught flat-footed. He does, however, still loose this bonus when immobilized. Shot in the Dark: Gunslingers gain a version of Sneak Attack at fifth level; unlike rogues, Gunslingers may only use Sneak Attack whenever they are unnoticed by an enemy. This means if the creature fails to Spot the Gunslinger, then the Gunslinger may sneak attack it. At fifth level Shot in the Dark damage is 1d6. This increases ever other level by 1d6. Shoot From Their Hand (Ex): At 6th level, a gunslinger may attempt to shoot a weapon from an enemy’s hand. The gunslinger makes an attack roll against the weapon (AC 10 + weapon’s size + wielder’s Dex modifier + any bonuses the weapon has against disarming). If the attack is successful, the target is disarmed of the weapon. This attack may not be made against weapons that are hidden or obscured by their carrier. Deft Two-Handed Shooting (Ex): At 7th level, a gunslinger can fire very accurately even with his off hand. When fighting with a pistol in each hand, he treats his off-hand pistol as a light weapon. Enchanting: Gunslingers can enchant their weapons upon reaching eighth level. This means that they may apply any spell they are of sufficient level to cast (this spell does not have to be from the Gunslinger Spell list) upon their weapon, then apply a permanency spell. This costs 250 experience points and can only be done once unless a Mage's Disjunction spell is used to remove the enchantment. Enchantments can include all manner of spells. Gunslingers may have no more than one enchantment on each weapon. If a spell not listed under enchantments is used (fireball for example), you may cast that spell by removing the correct level spell slot from that days spells per day. Load One-Handed (Ex): At 10th level, a gunslinger has become so comfortable with his pistols that he can reload one while firing another. A gunslinger needs only one free hand to reload a pistol instead of two. Grace (Ex): At 10th level, a gunslinger gains an additional +2 competence bonus on all Reflex saving throws. This ability functions for a gunslinger only when he is wearing no or light armor and not using a shield. Improved Uncanny Dodge: at 12th level the Gunslinger can no longer be flanked. Dead Shot: Once per day a gunslinger can make an attack with his rifle that is a guaranteed critical and has the chance of killing or incapacitating a target. After three rounds studying the target to line up a good shot, you may decide whether to kill or incapacitate the target before the shot is fired, and the target is entitled to a fortitude saving throw (15+1/2 gunslinger level+Int. If the target fails his fortitude save the target either dies or is incapacitated. Hide in Plain Sight: You may hide whenever and wherever you want without minuses. Hiding in normal hiding spots now grants you a +6 to hid in those places. You may not hide from someone who is staring directly at you, searching for you, or engaged in combat with you at the time of the hide attempt. Unearthly Dodge: At 20th level, the Gunslinger is dexterous enough to dodge absolutely anything they can see coming. This means all attacks both melee and ranged and all spells that have a save also have a chance to be dodged with a reflex save (DC equal to Attack rolled). If the dodge fails versus a spell the gunslinger is still entitled to a saving throw if one is normally allowed. This applies to all spells that require a ranged touch attack, all traps, all normal attacks, and anything else that the gunslinger can see coming. To use this ability versus a spell the Gunslinger must first see the spell being cast a second succeed on a spellcraft check to determine the nature of the spell. This ability can be used a number of times each round equal to the Gunslinger's dexterity modifier. Spells Spells: Gunslingers are adept at using illusion and trickery to achieve their ends. Gunslingers know and can use any spell off the following list. Every 4 levels they may also pick one spell from any school that they are high enough level to cast and add that to their spell list as well. A Gunslinger's spell selection works like that of a warlock; he need not scribe any of the spells, and can cast one at a moments notice without preparation. Gunslingers choose their spells from the following list: 0— Div Detect Poison: Detects poison in one creature or small object. Detect Magic: Detects spells and magic or enchanted items within 60 ft. Read Magic: Read scrolls and spellbooks. Evoc Dancing Lights: Creates torches or other lights. Flare: Dazzles one creature (–1 on attack rolls). Light: Object shines like a torch. Ray of Frost: Ray deals 1d3 cold damage. Illus Ghost Sound: Figment sounds. Trans Mage Hand: 5-pound telekinesis. Mending: Makes minor repairs on an object. Message: Whispered conversation at distance. Open/Close: Opens or closes small or light things. Univ Arcane Mark: Inscribes a personal rune (visible or invisible). Prestidigitation: Performs minor tricks. 1st— Conj Obscuring Mist: Fog surrounds you. Illus Color Spray: Knocks unconscious, blinds, and/or stuns weak creatures. Disguise Self: Changes your appearance. Magic Aura: Alters object’s magic aura. Silent Image: Creates minor illusion of your design. Ventriloquism: Throws voice for 1 min./level. Trans Animate Rope: Makes a rope move at your command. Feather Fall: Objects or creatures fall slowly. 2nd— Abjur Arcane LockM: Magically locks a portal or chest. Conj Fog Cloud: Fog obscures vision. Evoc Darkness: 20-ft. radius of supernatural shadow. Blur: Attacks miss subject 20% of the time. Illus Blur: Attacks miss subject 20% of the time. Hypnotic Pattern: Fascinates (2d4 + level) HD of creatures. Invisibility: Subject is invisible for 1 min./level or until it attacks. Minor Image: As silent image, plus some sound. Mirror Image: Creates decoy duplicates of you (1d4 +1 per three levels, max 8). Misdirection: Misleads divinations for one creature or object. Phantom TrapM: Makes item seem trapped. Trans Spider Climb: Grants ability to walk on walls and ceilings. 3rd— Evoc Blacklight: 20-ft. radius of darkness. Illus Displacement: Attacks miss subject 50%. Illusory ScriptM: Only intended reader can decipher. Invisibility Sphere: Makes everyone within 10 ft. invisible. Major Image: As silent image, plus sound, smell and thermal effects. Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Classes → Base Classes