
![]() |

The book says "when firing an early firearm, the attack resolves against the target's touch AC when the target is winthin the first range increment of the weapon, but this type of attack is not considered a touch attack for the purpose of feats and abilities such as Deadly Aim."
Does this mean:
While using the Deadly Aim feat you have to target the normal AC, instead of the touch AC, regardless of whether you are in the first range increment.
Or
Even though the attack resolves around the touch AC, it is not actually a touch attack. Therefore allowing Deadly Aim to be used and still target the touch AC.

![]() |

It means guns are broken and poorly thought out.
Not really.. because aside from that feat, it's pretty damn hard to get damage bonuses to firearms. Especially if you don't dip/multiclass/play a gunslinger.
You can't apply your strength bonus.
You can't use a sharpening stone on the ammo.
Look at the spells that help ranged combat. For the most part, they explicitly don't help guns. Arrow Eruption, Gravity Bow, etc. The spells for guns, none of them help damage.
At high levels, the touch AC thing is largely moot, since full BAB archers are probably also always hitting. At mid/low levels, the archers may have trouble hitting as often, but at least they can hang comfortably back out of melee reach.
And most importanly, bows/crossbows never misfire and make you waste time clearing them. Even on a 1-2 chance, the minium you're likely to see if the gunslinger wants to shoot more than once per round, is 10% chance. Won't go very long in between misfires.

![]() |

People used to hate hand x-bows for being too gun-like, now people hate guns for being guns.
BUT
PF did a great job of overbalancing guns to the point that they're almost totally useless.
Expensive to buy even the simplest one
expensive ammo
Slow to reload
dangerous to own
dangerous to fire
normal damage dice with fewer damage modifiers than crossbows
their one saving feature is the touch attack, which is almost always at far too close a range for people that really need touch attacks (low BAB = low hp)
Give me a bow, a throwing dagger/axe, heck, a sling... and stop complaining about some peanut butter in your chocolate.