Keyoke Diacherus's page

Take a Spectre and add levels in unchained monk. Technically, the advancement rules state that monk is always considered a non-key class (+1 CR/2 class levels), but I think +1 CR per level is appropriate.

Give said creature the Feral Combat Training feat that allows it to flurry of blows its slam attack. Incorporeal, potentially ridiculous AC (dex, wis, AND cha), and the ability to easily energy drain 6+ levels per round on a (at minimum) CR 8 critter.

Prepare get-away vehicle in case of rioting players.

Seriously though, he sounds like the perfect end to an adventure centered around an abandoned haunted monastery. ("He still awaits pupils who can prove themselves worthy.")

Just don't spring it on them unexpectedly...

So, I've run across a lot of discussions about gunslingers, free action reloads, and full attacking. However, I haven't seen anyone addressing an interesting point I noticed about the Rapid Reload feat (text for it below, emphasis added, all references copied from D20PFSRD.com):

Benefit: The time required for you to reload your chosen type of weapon is reduced to a free action (for a hand or light crossbow), a move action (for heavy crossbow or one-handed firearm), or a standard action (two-handed firearm). Reloading a crossbow or firearm still provokes attacks of opportunity.

If you have selected this feat for a hand crossbow or light crossbow, you may fire that weapon as many times in a full-attack action as you could attack if you were using a bow.

Thus, according to this feat, the only weapons you can make a full attack action with are a hand crossbow and light crossbow. For those wanting to do so with a heavy crossbow, they need Crossbow Mastery:

Benefit: The time required for you to reload any type of crossbow is reduced to a free action, regardless of the type of crossbow used. You can fire a crossbow as many times in a full attack action as you could attack if you were using a bow. Reloading a crossbow for the type of crossbow you chose when you took Rapid Reload no longer provokes attacks of opportunity.

Alchemical cartridges can reduce the required time by one step as well, but they do not have that special full attack addition:

An alchemical cartridge is a prepared bundle of black powder with a bullet or pellets, sometimes with more exotic material added, which is then wrapped in paper or cloth and sealed with beeswax, lard, or tallow. There are many types of alchemical cartridges, the simplest being the paper cartridge—a simple mix of black powder and either pellets or a bullet. Alchemical cartridges make loading a firearm easier, reducing the time to load a firearm by one step (a full-round action becomes a standard action, a standard action becomes a move action, and a move action becomes a free action), but they tend to be unstable. The misfire value of a weapon firing an alchemical cartridge increases as listed in each entry.

Ergo, unless there is a rules addendum or clarification I have missed, the ability of firearm users to take a full attack action is not granted explicitly by the rules and is completely up to DM interpretation. Since the gunslinger class has a built in way to make use of those extra attacks (Dead Shot at lvl 7), I would rule that gunslingers cannot make full attacks regardless of reloading as a free action. This ruling also brings the class somewhat more in balance with archer or crossbowman damage (not as much overall if the archer/crossbowman rolls hot, but almost guaranteed each round due to touch ac).

Thoughts? Opinions? Interpretations?