With Mike Selinker’s revelation that we might see an official Harrow Deck item “in a few weeks,” I’m shifting my efforts from the (strictly theoretical in my fan brain) Harrower Character Deck over to another project that has been occupying my time: non-Gunslinger gunslingers.
“What does that mean?” you ask? Well, since the game developers “tend to assign only one class for multiclass characters,” these are basically multiclass characters that take the Gunslinger class and something else. For my purposes, I’ve focused on the other class (which is the one that will be listed for each of the characters) – each basically is just enough of a Gunslinger to handle guns competently.
Each of these characters is also inspired by one or more characters from literature and pop culture. For now, the name I’ll be providing is that of the inspiration character(s). This is intended to provide you with an idea of where I’m coming from with the character.
First, the Ranger[/Gunslinger]…
Male Human Ranger
SKILLS
Strength d6 □+1
Dexterity d8 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Ranged: Dexterity +2
Constitution d8 □+1 □+2
-Survival: Constitution +1
Intelligence d6 □+1 □+2 □+3
Wisdom d10 □+1 □+2 □+3
-Craft: Wisdom +1
-Perception: Wisdom +2
Charisma d4 □+1 □+2Powers
Hand Size 5 □6
Proficient with Light Armors, WeaponsAt the end of your turn, you may recharge a buried weapon that has the Firearm trait.
You may bury a weapon that has the Firearm trait to add 1d6 (□ +1)(□ +2)(□ +3) to another character’s combat check at another location.
Cards List
Favored Card Type: WeaponWeapon 4 □5 □6 □7
Spell -
Armor 1 □2
Item 3 □4 □5 □6
Ally 2 □3 □4
Blessing 4 □5
You may treat 1 copy of the weapon Musket as if it says “Owner: [Leatherstocking].”
Some of you may be more familiar with his other names: Hawkeye and Natty (Nathaniel) Bumppo; and if you haven’t read the books, you may be more familiar with him from the movies, especially the 1993 version of Last of the Mohicans (with Daniel Day Lewis playing the character). It has been a long time (over 20 years) since I read the books, so my memory of the character may be a bit fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure that the movie version was slightly modified from the literary version in that his exceptional marksmanship is augmented with melee skills (he had them in the books, too, but the focus was definitely on his ability to shoot his long rifle).
The musket sort of makes up for initial imbalance, making an Elite firearm a Basic firearm for this character. Thematically, it should be a rifle, but that’s not appropriate to the setting.
This version clearly borrows from Harsk and Lirianne. This guy is intended to sit tight and shoot at monsters threatening his party members at other locations. The first power also allows the Leatherstocking to bury firearms on his own turn, maximizing his combat power. He’s a bit of a one trick pony at this point.
Note that he’s much slower than Harsk – he can only use weapons with the Firearm trait (rather than “any card” as the iconic Ranger). This is offset (hopefully sufficiently) by the fact that firearms that are buried tend to inflict more damage on enemies, making them more potent. Also, those techy firearms of Golarion take time to reload, so it wouldn’t seem appropriate for the Leatherstocking to be as fast as Harsk in this (who, theoretically, only has to get another bolt for his crossbow (though admittedly, crossbows aren’t quick/easy to reload, either)). If this isn’t considered balanced, the power might be adjusted to letting the Leatherstocking bury any card, while keeping the other power the same. In this way, the player might bury undesirable cards in addition to firearms, but he’s only going to get the firearms back.
I’m considering two things (in addition to the possible modification to the shooting power). First, his hand size might be reduced to 4. I haven’t done that so far because his powers drive towards using his cards out of turn, so I didn’t want to limit his own turn so much. Second, I might add a very minor core power, but only if the two powers he already has aren’t considered sufficiently balanced with other characters.
Now, the roles. One role sticks to the marksmanship and scouting concept, enhancing that to superlative levels. The other shifts more towards a cinematic version of the character (and one in keeping with the wilderness warfare tactics employed in the New World during the time period).
LEATHERSTOCKING (EAGLE EYE)
(I haven’t come up with a nifty filler text yet.)Powers
Hand Size 5 □6 □7
Proficient with Light Armors, WeaponsAt the (□ start or) end of your turn, you may recharge a buried weapon that has the Firearm trait.
You may bury a weapon that has the Firearm trait to add 1d6 (□ +1)(□ +2)(□ +3)( □ +4) to another character’s combat check at another location.
□ If you are the only character at your location, you may evade your encounter (□ and if it is your turn, you may explore your location again).
□ At the end of your turn, you may examine the top (□ or bottom) card of your location deck.
□ When you play a blessing to add to your Ranged combat check, add d12 instead of the normal die.
So this one is basically a sniper and a scout. The role name is a not-so-subtle play on the "Hawkeye" name.
In contrast:
LEATHERSTOCKING (SKIRMISHER)
(I haven’t come up with nifty filler text for this one, either)Powers
Hand Size 5 □6 □7
Proficient with Light Armors, WeaponsAt the end of your turn, you may recharge a buried weapon that has the Firearm trait.
You may bury a weapon that has the Firearm trait to add 1d6 (□ +1)(□ +2)(□ +3)( □ +4) to another character’s combat check at another (□ or any) location.
□ You gain the skill Melee: Dexterity +1.
□ On the first exploration of your turn, if you defeat a monster, (□ you may draw a card and then) you may immediately explore again.
□ For your Melee combat check, you may recharge a weapon that has the Firearm trait to add 1d6 (□ +2) to your check.
So this one is Hawkeye from the movie – sniping at opponents in the thick of a battle (taking care of his party-mates’ monster foes at the same location) and quickly rushing into (and through) melee after shooting at his own enemies. He retains his core marksmanship abilities and the ability to maximize his gunfire (i.e., using the “bury” powers and then recharging buried firearms), but the additional powers are going to steer him into also making use of melee weapons.
I see this character using the Gunslinger Class Deck, possibly also with the Ranger Class Deck (like the hybrid class/character deck use we’re seeing with the “Ultimate” character deck series).
And just to tease, the other characters are a Pitborn Inquisitor (inspired by a combination of Hellboy and Roland, Stephen King’s Gunslinger) and a Goblin Barbarian (inspired by Yosemite Sam, but female).
In a high-party count, the 'start/end of turn recharge' (and this applies to all character powers in general) impact is next non-existant, or at least negligible. Given that it keys off Leatherstocking's primary means of offense (his Firearm weapons), I'd certainly like to see a 'shuffle' upgarde to the 'recharge' (so there's actually a chance to see your Guns more often). I'd probably swap that in pre-role for the +3 upgrade of his main power (as is, pre-role, he has one of these 'boring' build where you basically pump points into the same single effect, without opening up new tactics or decision-making for the player).
By the same token (he throws away his weapons for his power), I'd make him start with 5 Weapon cards.
Since he's likely to throw away his weapons off-turn, you need a method to replenish his hand and combat abilities (or else player may be more reluctant to use the power) - for the Eagle Eye, I'd throw in a "and you may draw a card" upgrade to the main power (Skirmisher compensates by being able to remain Melee-competitive even without a weapon in hand). I'd swap it for the (usually) useless power of 'examine bottom card'.
On Skirmisher, to better differentiate from the more gun-focused Eagle Eye, I'd probably remove the +4 upgrade to main power. You could either throw in A) again, a shuffle upgrade for his last power, so he can see his Guns more often; or B) an "or any weapon" upgrade for the last power - thematically, this is Leatherstocking pulling of the wicked Tomahawk / Hunting Knife dual-wield combo (hey, he's a Ranger after all, right) - while gameplay wise it allows the power to also be used with the same weapon he's using for his Melee check (which is probably a back-up anyway, and won't be used if he had a Gun in hand; this upgrade makes using the Melee weapon a viable alternative, as it allows you the choice to preserve your Gun for off-turn support).
On the whole, I really like the character and the way you managed to differentiate the roles :) Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the feedback. I took that feedback and incorporated some other ideas. Here’s the revised character:
Male Human Ranger
SKILLS
Strength d6 □+1
Dexterity d8 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Ranged: Dexterity +2
Constitution d8 □+1 □+2
-Survival: Constitution +1
Intelligence d6 □+1 □+2 □+3
Wisdom d10 □+1 □+2 □+3
-Craft: Wisdom +1
-Perception: Wisdom +2
Charisma d4 □+1 □+2POWERS
Hand Size 5 □6
Proficient with Light Armors, WeaponsAt the end of your turn, you may recharge a buried weapon that has the Firearm trait.
You may recharge a weapon to add 1d6 (□ +1)(□ +2)(□ +3) to another character’s combat check at another location.
You may bury a weapon that has the Firearm trait to allow a character at another location to evade a monster.
CARDS LIST
Favored Card Type: WeaponWeapon 5 □6 □7 □8
Spell -
Armor 1 □2
Item 3 □4 □5 □6
Ally 1 □2 □3
Blessing 4 □5You may treat 1 copy of the weapon Musket as if it says “Owner: [Leatherstocking].”
So I changed the supporting fire power to a recharge cost, much like Harsk’s. I’ve also adjusted it to allow for any weapon to be exchanged, rather than the previous requirement for it to be one with the Firearm trait (in contrast to Harsk’s power, which allows him to recharge any type of card).
I’ve also added a third core power, this one inspired by the scene in the 1993 movie where Hawkeye provides covering fire for a courier escaping the fort (as well as the climactic scene where he covers Chingachgook’s run through the renegade Hurons to Magua). The game effects aren’t quite what Hawkeye achieved (he killed his targets, after all), but thematically captures the concept of allowing his party members to avoid being cut down by enemies.
Lastly, I increased the weapons cards count to 5, reducing the allies card count to 1. This better supports all of the powers.
(I still haven’t come up with a nifty filler text.)
POWERS
Hand Size 5 □6 □7
Proficient with Light Armors, WeaponsAt the end of your turn, you may recharge a buried (□ or discarded) weapon that has the Firearm trait.
You may recharge a weapon (□ or shuffle it into your deck) to add 1d6 (□ +1)(□ +2)(□ +3)( □ +4) to another character’s combat check at another location.
You may discard a weapon that has the Firearm trait to allow a character at another location to evade a monster.
□ If you are the only character at your location, you may evade your encounter (□ and if it is your turn, you may explore your location again).
□ At the end of your turn, you may examine the top card of your location deck.
□ When you play a blessing to add to your Ranged combat check, add d12 instead of the normal die.
The changes to both roles are pretty straightforward, based on Longshot11’s feedback and the changes I made to the core character.
(Nor for this one)
POWERS
Hand Size 5 □6 □7
Proficient with Light Armors, WeaponsAt the end of your turn, you may recharge a buried (□ or discarded) weapon that has the Firearm trait.
You may recharge a weapon to add 1d6 (□ +1)(□ +2)(□ +3) to another character’s combat check at another (□ or any) location.
You may discard a weapon that has the Firearm trait to allow a character at another location to evade a monster.
□ You gain the skill Melee: Dexterity +1.
□ On the first exploration of your turn, if you defeat a monster, (□ you may draw a card and then) you may immediately explore again.
□ For your Melee combat check, you may recharge a weapon that has the Firearm trait (□ or any weapon) to add 1d6 to your check.
I still think there is some tweaking to be done, but he’s getting there. And, of course, I need some nifty flavor text.
I didn't like the new core power I added ("You may discard a weapon that has the Firearm trait to allow a character at another location to evade a monster") because it was competing with another of the core powers (recharging a weapon to add 1d6 to another character's combat check at another location). So I've replaced it with:
"When a character at your location would shuffle a non-villain monster into the location deck, you may put it on top of the deck."
Everything else remains as posted above.
The concept with the replacement power is that the character is an experienced woodsman and is either tracking (if he decides to place the monster on top) or escaping from (if he decides to shuffle the monster into the deck) the monster. The verbiage is intended to allow him to use this power for any character at the location (so another character might fail to defeat a monster, with the Leatherstocking deciding to track it and kill it himself).
Okay, moving on to the next character.
This one is a combination of three ideas: Hellboy, Roland (the Gunslinger from the Dark Tower series of novels), and Patrick Harper (from the Sharpe’s series). The character started off most like Roland, the visual aesthetic of a holy gunslinger; my mental image added the magic rings a la Seoni/Doctor Strange around the barrels of the gun. Then I shifted to a single big gun a la Patrick Harper and his seven barrel deck gun (and partly to steer the character away from being too Western in nature). This coalesced into a sort of Wild West Paladin, to which I added the not-so-creative twist of the character being half-fiend, a la Hellboy. And while I just called him a “paladin,” the concept of the character within the Golarion setting is more of an inquisitor.
The background concept is that the character’s mother was a paladin of Aroden who was seduced by an Asura (disguised as a servant of Aroden, of course). This wasn’t revealed to her until the child was born, its appearance betraying its half-fiend origin. Though she rejected the father, she couldn’t reject her son; and as a result, she fell from Aroden’s grace. She remained faithful to Aroden, however, and later perished in the last crusade to close the Worlwound (which shows how old the character is). She died in the graces of Iomedae, so her son devoted himself to the Inheritor and has served her ever since. (I haven’t bothered trying to figure out how/why he got the big gun.)
My mental picture of the character is that he resembles a half-orc, with only a few signs that he is actually a faultspawn (I’m not set on what those traits are yet – all I have is hyperbole that he is often mistaken for a half-orc). He doesn’t have a name, yet, either, and since he’s a composite of three characters, you can call him the…
Male Pitborn Inquisitor
SKILLS
Strength d10 □+1 □+2 □+3
Dexterity d6 □+1 □+2
Constitution d8 □+1 □+2 □+3
-Fortitude: Constitution +2
Intelligence d8 □+1 □+2
-Craft: Intelligence +1
Wisdom d6 □+1 □+2 □+3
-Divine: Wisdom +0
Charisma d4 □+1 □+2Powers
Hand Size 6 □7
Proficient with Light Armors, WeaponsFor your check that invokes the Firearm trait, gain the skill Ranged: Strength +2.
When you defeat a monster and banish it, you may recharge a spell (□ or a blessing) from your discard pile.
You may discard (□ or recharge) a spell that has the Divine trait to add your Divine skill (□ +2) and the Magic trait to your combat check that has the Firearm trait.
Cards List
Favored Card Type: WeaponWeapon 4 □5 □6
Spell 3 □4 □5
Armor 1 □2
Item 3 □4 □5
Ally - □1
Blessing 4 □5 □6
You may treat 1 copy of the weapon Hand Cannon as if it says “Owner: [Gun Totin’ Faultspawn].”
The skills are intended to reflect his physical prowess and stature. He’s big (big enough to carry a big old gun that the normal human can’t carry), but the focus of his physicality is his toughness (constitution) rather than his strength. He’s smart enough to perform the duties of an inquisitor (and acquire firearms). His Divine skill is intended to reflect that, though he is an inquisitor of Iomedae, he is not typical in this. The Divine skill basically enables him to use Divine spells without banishing them, but it’s low enough that he’s usually going to discard all but the least potent of Divine spells.
His powers make up for the gaps in his skills. The Ranged skill ensures that the character is developed with firearms in his hand (no archer, this one). Meanwhile, the second power enables him to recharge the spells he uses (when he’s not using them to empower his ranged attacks, that is).
Now for the roles. The first is focused around him becoming closer in his service to Iomedae, becoming more “good” as he grows.
no flavor text yet
Powers
Hand Size 6 □7 □8
Proficient with Light Armors, WeaponsFor your check that invokes the Firearm trait, gain the skill Ranged: Strength +2.
When you defeat a monster and banish it (□ or at the end of your turn), you may recharge a spell (□ or a blessing) from your discard pile (□ or you may shuffle it into your deck).
You may discard (□ or recharge) a spell that has the Divine trait to add your Divine skill (□ +2) and the Magic trait (□ and you may add the Electricity, Fire, or Force trait) to your combat check that has the Firearm trait.
□ Add 2 (□ 4) to your check to acquire or recharge a boon that has the Divine trait.
□ When a character at your location fails to defeat a non-villain monster, you may recharge a blessing to put the monster on top of the deck.
□ Blessings that have the Iomedae trait played on your checks add d12 instead of the normal die.
The second role represents the character becoming more in tune with his half-fiend nature, but only insofar as he revels in destroying fiends. He remains a holy inquisitor, but is one of a darker nature.
Even things that go bump in the night are afraid of something.
Powers
Hand Size 6 □7 □8
Proficient with Light Armors, WeaponsFor your check that invokes the Firearm trait, gain the skill Ranged: Strength +2.
When you defeat a monster and banish it, you may recharge a spell (□ or a blessing) from your discard pile. (□ If the monster has the Demon, Devil, or Fiend (□ or Undead) trait, you may instead draw a random spell that has the Divine trait (□ or a random blessing) from the box and shuffle it into your deck.)
You may discard (□ or recharge) a spell that has the Divine trait to add your Divine skill (□ +2)( □ +4) and the Magic trait (□ and you may add the Cold, Fire, or Force trait) to your combat check that has the Firearm trait.
□ You may discard a card to add 1d4 to a combat check by another character at your location.
□ If the top card of the blessings discard pile has the Iomedae trait, add 1 die to your check.
Well, either the Gun Totin’ Faultspawn passed muster, nobody noticed, or nobody cared enough to comment. I’m going to skip through the minefield and just assume that he passed muster ;) . So here is the third of my non-Gunslinger gunslingers. Imagine if Yosemite Sam, the Tasmanian Devil, and Stripe (from the movie Gremlins) all got busy and made a baby (ewww!), and that baby was a Golarion Goblin that happened to find a couple of pistols in a trash heap one day. Hilarity and mayhem ensues.
Female Goblin Barbarian
SKILLS
Strength d6 □+1 □+2
Dexterity d12 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Stealth: Dexterity +1
Constitution d6 □+1 □+2 □+3
Intelligence d8 □+1 □+2 □+3
-Craft: Intelligence +1
-Disable: Intelligence +2
Wisdom d4 □+1 □+2
Charisma d6 □+1Powers
Hand Size 5 □6
Proficient with light armors and weaponsYou may bury a card to add 1d10 to your Strength or Dexterity check (□ or your check to defeat a barrier that has the Lock, Obstacle, or Task trait).
For your check that invokes the Pistol trait, gain the skill Ranged: Dexterity +1.
When you play a weapon with the Pistol trait for your combat check, you may recharge another weapon with the Pistol trait to add 1d4 (□ 2d4) to your check. (□ If you succeed at the check, you may draw a card.)
Cards List
Favored Card Type: WeaponWeapon 4 □+1 □+2 □+3
Spell -
Armor 1 □+1 □+2
Item 4 □+1 □+2
Ally 2 □+1
Blessing 4 □+1 □+2
You may treat 1 copy of the weapon Dragon Pistol as if it says “Owner: Keelikoot.”
The image of this character is that she is a dual-pistol wielding goblin with a short temper, firing her guns at anything that gets in her way.
The first role is focused on the pistol element of the character. Imagine Yosemite Sam barging into the saloon with both guns blazing. The role itself is based on the name of the first ever episode of Looney Toons that Yosemite Sam appeared in (for those that care about this sort of thing).
It’s dangerous to be anywhere near an angry Goblin with a gun.
Powers
Hand Size 5 □6 □7
Proficient with light armors and weaponsYou may bury a card to (□ draw a card and) add 1d10 (□ and the scenario adventure deck level) to your Strength or Dexterity check (□ or your check to defeat a barrier that has the Lock, Obstacle, or Task trait).
For your check that invokes the Pistol trait, gain the skill Ranged: Dexterity +1 (□ +2).
When you play a weapon with the Pistol trait for your combat check, you may recharge another weapon with the Pistol trait (□ or shuffle it into your deck) to add 1d4 (□ 2d4)( □ 3d4) to your check. (□ If you succeed at the check, you may draw a card.)
□ When you are dealt an amount of damage before you act by a bane, you may add that amount to your checks against the bane.
□ When you would bury a weapon with the Firearm trait for its power, you may bury an ally instead.
The second role is based around the destructive element of the character (the Tasmanian Devil half). The role name is based on the American folk heroine, Calamity Jane (though the character isn't deliberately like Calamity Jane, "calamity" seems like an appropriate word to describe the results of giving a goblin firearms).
Putting the “fire” in backfire.
Powers
Hand size 5 □6 □7
Proficient with light armors and weaponsYou may bury a card to add 1d10 to your Strength or Dexterity check (□ or your check to defeat a barrier that has the Lock, Obstacle, or Task trait). (□ If you succeed at the check, if it is your turn, you may immediately explore your location after the encounter.)
For your check that invokes the Pistol trait, gain the skill Ranged: Dexterity +1 (□ +2).
When you play a weapon with the Pistol trait for your combat check, you may recharge another weapon with the Pistol trait to add 1d4 (□ 2d4) to your check. (□ If you succeed at the check, you may draw a card.)
□ When a character at your location encounters a monster, you may recharge (□ reveal) a blessing to allow that character to evade the monster; you then encounter it. At the end of the encounter, all other characters at the location are dealt 1 Combat damage.
□ When you move to a location, you may examine the top card of the location deck; if it is a boon, banish it; if it is a bane, you may encounter it and add 1 (□ 2)(□ 3) to your checks.