Gunslingers: How's the play experience?

[Helaman]

Just wondering how people have dealt with playing them, having them in a party or GMing for them and if its a positive experience.

What roles do they normally find themselves in and do they synergise well with other classes?

[Ice Titan]

Helaman wrote:

Just wondering how people have dealt with playing them, having them in a party or GMing for them and if its a positive experience.

What roles do they normally find themselves in and do they synergise well with other classes?

At high levels, you roll 4d20. If any were a 1, they miss. If a 2 or above, ask as if the result had equaled 2. 95% of the time, you will hit. Deal damage.

It's extremely boring from my standpoint as GM, but my player enjoys it, I think.

Oh, and if it's a 20, the target dies. The gunslinger was dropping 100 damage crits at level 8. He recently crit someone for almost 200 damage at 15.

[Skerek]

i played a PFS with a gunslinger(1st level) using a musket. They do alright damage (1d12+1), the reloading is a pain, generally always hit, but when they crit... daaammmnnn, 4d12+4 is quite nice at first level. Although they have no real way to boost this damage till 5th level.

also misfiring hurts.

this gunslinger found themselves filling the 'ranged support' role which isn't surprising

[nerdorking]

I'm currently playing a level 4 Dwarf Gunslinger (Musket Master) in Carrion Crown campaign and I'm enjoying him.

The first couple of levels were rough largely due to ammo being sooo expensive. But in our last session I was poppin' caps and taking names.

His role in the party is pretty much range dps and a bit of skill monkey (and some comic relief on account of my role playing).

I think he synergizes as well as any other range DPS. In our last game the Magus enlarged him and the Summoner hasted and he took down a flying creature the group may have really struggled with without him.

Helaman wrote:

Just wondering how people have dealt with playing them, having them in a party or GMing for them and if its a positive experience.

What roles do they normally find themselves in and do they synergise well with other classes?

[devil.in.mexico13]

Running a game with one at 6th right now. I let him take a revolver as his main weapon, starting off with the playtest rules and then transitioning over. I think they're balanced to the point of being a little underpowered. You're basically throwing cash at enemies, so he's a bit behind the others players, gear wise. Hardness messes with him a bit. I'm running them through a Numerian dungeon crawl at the moment, and the robot fights are getting a little expensive for him.

I enjoy the class overall, but have no problem telling my players its not an option, or warning them that they will have to be crafting anything at all, firearms wise (as they would have if anyone had played one in my Carrion Crown game). It's fun, it's cinematic (especially with the UC Called Shots rules) and it opens up other setting options for homebrew or third party campaign settings, so it gets a thumbs up from me.

[Skerek]

nerdorking wrote:

In our last game the Magus enlarged him and the Summoner hasted and he took down a flying creature the group may have really struggled with without him.

how on earth did enlarging him help? ranged weapons(and the projectiles they fire) shrink back to the normal size when you attack

[[e-mail]]

I'm keeping an eye on this post. i have a guntank/alchemist grenadier char that i'm working on. you never know how a character feels until you actually play them.

[Helaman]

[e-mail] wrote:

I'm keeping an eye on this post. i have a guntank/alchemist grenadier char that i'm working on. you never know how a character feels until you actually play them.

Funnily enough I was thinking of a Musketeer / alchemist grenadier

[[e-mail]]

Helaman wrote:

[e-mail] wrote:

I'm keeping an eye on this post. i have a guntank/alchemist grenadier char that i'm working on. you never know how a character feels until you actually play them.

Funnily enough I was thinking of a Musketeer / alchemist grenadier

both classes go hand and hand. bonuses to making alchemical ammunition plus a couple low level bombs if you break your gun seems handy, plus a mutagen to boost stats for tanking. never mind being able to cast sheild. also axemusket goodness

[nerdorking]

Well I'll be darned. Just re-read Enlarge. You are correct sir.

Skerek wrote:

nerdorking wrote:

In our last game the Magus enlarged him and the Summoner hasted and he took down a flying creature the group may have really struggled with without him.

how on earth did enlarging him help? ranged weapons(and the projectiles they fire) shrink back to the normal size when you attack

[kaid]

Skerek wrote:

i played a PFS with a gunslinger(1st level) using a musket. They do alright damage (1d12+1), the reloading is a pain, generally always hit, but when they crit... daaammmnnn, 4d12+4 is quite nice at first level. Although they have no real way to boost this damage till 5th level.

also misfiring hurts.

this gunslinger found themselves filling the 'ranged support' role which isn't surprising

One thing I was curious about is in play how easy is it to keep enough ammunition enough to keep shooting.

Just looking at it even if you are making your own it appears work out to about 1gp per time you fire the gun. In my last few adventures which typically are a bit lean on the cash front especially in the first 3 or 4 levels how can you afford to keep shooting. And if you spend your money on it how do you buy anything else?

Also do you have any issues with NPC using aoe flame attacks blowing your gun powder kegs to kingdom come.

[Maezer]

In regards to Ammo. Its an expense. In a setting like PFS you'll always have make more than enough to cover your ammo expenses. In the long run the expense is pretty negligible.

In a home game, negotiate with the GM, particularly if its very tight on cash. Essentially every Gunslinger is sitting on a 400gp a day gold mine. Craft blackpowder at 10% cost, sell at 50% cost, up 1000gp a day. Don't try to pull this on your GM for gaining wealth. But try to justify reducing the effective cost of your adventuring ammo to that of archery levels. By selling matchstick firestarters, or blasting charges, or just selling ammo if guns are common enough. Of course this varies by GM, but if he's okay with gunslingers he's probably fine with ammo not being a huge expense in his world.

As to AoE fire damage igniting powder kegs. First use powder horns in general as they are items designed explicitly to prevent such explosions. But even if you are carting a keg around, I think this can safely be ignored. Very few GMs I've seen actually use the Natural 1 reflex save your carried items have a chance to take damage rule. And even if they do gunpower kegs, probably fall into category 10 on table 9-2 in order of items effected by magical attack.

That said a targeted fire/electrical attack on your powder keg is something your probably should fear a bit.