aphazia's page

Not trying to stir up anything around here except some progress, but..

Sorry, I had some FAQ items I wanted to get out this week, but a pile of projects, a sick wife, and traveling got in my way.

I'm shooting for early next week...right after I finish serving as a guest judge on RPG Superstar.

Here we are, approximately 2 weeks later, with no updates aside from one or two posts. The playtest first round was slated to run through February 14th - I assumed we would hear something then, or shortly thereafter... but figured "Heck, I'll wait until the end of the work week for some slack time." Besides, as man folks run their games over the weekend, perhaps Friday would be just in time to get new rules out for weekend testing.

I was avidly reading and participating in this forum- the Gunslinger has obvious problems and issues, but that is, of course, the reason for a playtest. After February 5th, I continued checking.. with no updates. Now I peek in here every few days, unsurprised at the lack of new information or rules clarifications.

Stephen, you're dropping the ball on us here. I say that not to bust chops, but simply as an interested customer eager to help continue your playtest. At this point in time, with no other guns to use, clarifications on some things, or baseline on rule changes for the Gunslinger for the next round, the playtest is essentially at a stand still as we wait for new information and changes.

Can we get our update? On the 5th you'd stipulated "FAQ items", but I should hope that at this point, the delay has been due to a great deal of reworking the class that we will see promptly.

While the gunslinger class in present playtest form is really all but unplayable, the thing I love the most is the feel and style of the class itself. That said, I will continue to hope that with other weapons revealed and some of the great feedback that's been given, the rest of the class will become more viable.

That said, on to my thought- and this is based solely off the dashing and bravado inherent in the Gunslinger as I see them - why about adding a deed that allows the Gunslinger to spend Grit to add to their Acrobatics, possibly also Sleight of Hand?

This could scale with level (+5 at First, +10 at 4th? Balance can be adjusted.), and maybe last for 1 action, or maybe last for X rounds, etc. It would basically just account for the Gunslinger 'manning up' and leaping into action in some crazed fashion- swinging from chandelier, sliding across the top of a bar, diving around a corner guns blazing, etc. Sleight of Hand could apply too, for things like juggling a pistol into the air while punching an enemy or throwing an improvised weapon at them, etc.

Certainly not overpowering, certainly not going to fix the current pains of the class, but for flavor, panache, and fun, I think this would be a great use of Grit at the right moment.

My two cents, clearly, but this seems like it is one of the defining bits of the Gunslinger Class. The +1 is nice, but the +DEX mod damage is the real gravy here.

Any guy with a bow, at first level, can add STR damage via Composite Bow. (I won't get into the obvious debate over why Composite Bows should be exotic...) You would think that, at first level, a gunslinger, who makes his trade around this particular piece of hardware, a specialist in firearm combat, should really have that same advantage right off the bat, no?

There are a number of other things to consider, but this one strikes me as a bit silly right off the bat. If not 1st level, perhaps 2nd? I can't foresee why you'd need to wait till 5th level in order to become better than other folk at shooting your specialist tool of the trade.