Attacking everyone in a 15' cone and ignoring concealment is sweet. Doing 1d8+0 damage, not so much. So, how do we boost damage? Here's my ideas, give me yours.
Alchemy?
The interactions are vague.
Near as I can tell, if you use the Grenadier's Alchemical Weapon, you should apply the text literally. "The alchemical item takes full effect on the next creature struck by the weapon". If you roll to hit the nearest target first, it even makes sense in-universe; I put some fire in this load of shot, and somebody's getting burned.
Explosive Missile doesn't work. It would be awesome - each target takes direct hit damage AND creates splash, but Explosive Missile only works on bullets, not handfuls of pellets.
Class Features
Challenge and Smite work...poorly. Sneak Attack doesn't work at all (precision damage), Inspire Courage works just fine. Ranger abilities, including but not limited to Favored Enemy, are fine; they are not precision damage. The Inquisitor's Bane ability (and judgments) works fine. The Gunslinger's Gun Training (or Musket Training, Focused Aim or Pistol Training) adds to damage just fine.
Traits & Racial abilities
Nothing to see here, AFAIK.
Feats
Feats specifically can't add to damage with a Scatter Shot. Moving on.
Magic
Anything that adds a bonus, adds a bonus. Elemental weapon enhancements, which I normally don't recommend, might be worth it for a scatter shot, since you probably won't miss the extra attack bonus you could have had instead. Conductive Scatter-guns work, and they rock. You can activate it when you hit a target, and it works once per round, so there's really no confusion. Limning pellets are utterly awesome.
Weapon training also works just fine.
Feat-wise both Point-blank Shot and Weapon Specialization should both work.
You don't think "and its attack damage cannot be modified by precision damage or damage-increasing feats such as Vital Strike" apply to those feats?
Feat-wise both Point-blank Shot and Weapon Specialization should both work.You don't think "and its attack damage cannot be modified by precision damage or damage-increasing feats such as Vital Strike" apply to those feats?
I tend to consider Vital Strike in a class by itself because (as has been shown in a few FAQs) it has different interactions with attacks than a lot of other feats.
RAW, however, it does throw those other feats into a gray area.
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Might be nice for Paizo to include an archetype or feats centered around scatter guns at some point.
Is there any combat equipment that modifies it by chance? For example, a shotgun choke that would make the scatter effect a line attack with more concentrated damage but more limited spread?
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Feat-wise both Point-blank Shot and Weapon Specialization should both work.You don't think "and its attack damage cannot be modified by precision damage or damage-increasing feats such as Vital Strike" apply to those feats?I tend to consider Vital Strike in a class by itself because (as has been shown in a few FAQs) it has different interactions with attacks than a lot of other feats.
RAW, however, it does throw those other feats into a gray area.
[edit]
Might be nice for Paizo to include an archetype or feats centered around scatter guns at some point.Is there any combat equipment that modifies it by chance? For example, a shotgun choke that would make the scatter effect a line attack with more concentrated damage but more limited spread?
Hmmm...I suppose you could interpret that wording as saying that "you can't use any feat that adds to damage." But if that is what they meant, why didn't they just come out and say it? It seems to strongly go against RAI as it would be a very odd design decision to let other powers, abilities and spells effect a scatter weapon's damage but feats are all prohibited regardless of how the extra damage is added. It just doesn't make any sense.
Well, scatter weapons in general are very powerful effects. For example
-They are cone effects that get multiple to-hits against every target within them (meaning they can crit, whereas most other cone effects don't have hit rolls, and therefore cannot). The -2 to hit can be offset fairly easily.
-Since scatter guns are firearms, they are rolling against the touch AC of all targets within the cone, which is generally significantly easier to hit than standard AC.
-They ignore many effects that would otherwise offer a concealment miss chance.
That said, I would probably allow some of the lower-tier feats to affect scatter gun damage. My point was primarily that strict RAW, the vague wording of the scatter weapon effect bars any damage-buffing feats from applying.
It did get my creative wheels cranking, however, and I'm working on a gunslinger archetype centered around scatter weapons.