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I'm making a new Pathfinder Society character to be played for the first time later today. This is technically my ninth Society character (though I've only really played three of them).
I've decided on my class, I'm making a Gunslinger (Musket Master). I've decided on my first feat (Pointblank Shot).
My problem is that I haven't pinned down a race or technically even a stat build yet.
Race: I know I don't want a human or a gnome (all my other characters are one or the other). I was looking strongest at Dwarf or Tiefling, maybe a Tengu. Any advice on what would make an interesting, but still playable race for a Gunslinger?
Stats: With a strength of 10 a chainshirt and musket put a medium-sized character into medium encumbrance by themselves. With ammo and other basic gear, things get even worse. I really don't want to dump INT, so what kind of build should I be looking at to max my DEX and WIS, with maybe a touch of STR so I can carry my gear.
Traits: I know traits at least partly depend on race and faction, but what other traits go well with the Gunslinger?
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Gunslingers tend to rely more on bonuses for their damage than damage dice so small races with greater accuracy make good gunslingers. Halflings get a bump to Dex which is good for both accuracy and damage. Just about any race that gets a bump to Dex can make a descent gunslinger.
On the other hand, gunslingers are highly accurate to begin with so the Dex bump is not as necessary for gunslingers as it might be for other ranged characters.
Dwarves are great for their wisdom bump and favored class ability and a bump in Con is never a bad thing.
The weight of your gear will be an issue until you can get a Handy Haversack and/or Endless Bandolero. After that it won't be much of an issue.
My personal opinion is that gunslingers shoud have a minimum wisdom of 16 to give them a minimum of 3 grit. This gives you one grit to keep in reserve for things like being able to use Quick Clear. One you hold for something that is important. And one you spend readily so that you can get grit when you kill/crit things.
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Gunslingers tend to rely more on bonuses for their damage than damage dice so small races with greater accuracy make good gunslingers.
I know what some of those bonuses are, but since this is my first time creating a Gunsligner as well, are there any specific examples you want to share. I already know, and plan to get, Deadly Aim as soon as I can.
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I've done very well as a Musket Master with a 14 Wisdom BUT trollbill isn't wrong. If you are going with..say a Pistelero, I'd go with a 16. A lot of pistolero deeds require more grit than a MM does.
The big things for a Musket Master are Quick Clears (oh yes) and MAYBE extending range. That being said take a look at some of the deeds and actions.
The big thing with a Musket Master is you have a longer range than a pistol wielding gunslinger as well as a neat rapid reload that ALSO bumps 2handed firearms down to 1handed firearm speed.
Things that the wisdom DOES help is will saves. For a while that was the bane of my Musket Master's existence. Cause Fear and a low will save (Alchemist/Gunslinger is a useful class but YE GODS.. Will saves suck).
The dwarven radical trait of Stubborn and/or the Good Natured trait help with all sorts of will related unfun (Enchantment/compulsions for the first and fear for the second) as does a dip of a few levels into will strong classes like inquistitor. Add in things like Iron Will and/or Cloak of resistance can prevent you from being asked to shoot your fellow party members.
The issue is you need to plan out your build a ways. Feat economy for a Gunslinger is always hard and intense. A good deep to look over is Deft Shootist, but results might vary depending on how often you get in close in or not. Pistol types I'd suggest considering it (and if you can tweak the feats.. build towards Sword & Pistol)
The mobility issue for Musket Masters tend to fade a bit after you put distance on your musket. My only complaint is that there is NO fixes for the double barrelled musket. 10 ft range sucks.
One GOOD point of Dwarven Gunslingers that can NOT be missed. (even though I nearly did) is the 1 point reduction/4 levels favored bonus.
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Gunslingers tend to rely more on bonuses for their damage than damage dice so small races with greater accuracy make good gunslingers.I know what some of those bonuses are, but since this is my first time creating a Gunsligner as well, are there any specific examples you want to share. I already know, and plan to get, Deadly Aim as soon as I can.
Deadly Aim + Gun Training + Point Blank Shot + Magic. My 8th level gunslinger does 1d8 +14 with each shot.
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Deadly Aim + Gun Training + Point Blank Shot + Magic. My 8th level gunslinger does 1d8 +14 with each shot.Gunslingers tend to rely more on bonuses for their damage than damage dice so small races with greater accuracy make good gunslingers.I know what some of those bonuses are, but since this is my first time creating a Gunsligner as well, are there any specific examples you want to share. I already know, and plan to get, Deadly Aim as soon as I can.
Oh yes..
So +1..
My Gunslinger/Alchemist does a LITTLE less till you stop to add in things.
Deadly Aim + Magic + PB Shot + Gun Training does 1d12+10 BUT I can also infuse admixtured acid/Alchemist Fire (1d6+1d6, plus possible 2nd round of fire) and Vital Strike means something like 2d12+10+2d6+3.
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Deadly Aim + Gun Training + Point Blank Shot + Magic. My 8th level gunslinger does 1d8 +14 with each shot.Gunslingers tend to rely more on bonuses for their damage than damage dice so small races with greater accuracy make good gunslingers.I know what some of those bonuses are, but since this is my first time creating a Gunsligner as well, are there any specific examples you want to share. I already know, and plan to get, Deadly Aim as soon as I can.Oh yes..
So +1..
My Gunslinger/Alchemist does a LITTLE less till you stop to add in things.
Deadly Aim + Magic + PB Shot + Gun Training does 1d12+10 BUT I can also infuse admixtured acid/Alchemist Fire (1d6+1d6, plus possible 2nd round of fire) and Vital Strike means something like 2d12+10+2d6+3.
Obviously it makes a difference if you are focusing on one really good shot versus multple pretty good shots.
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Obviously it makes a difference if you are focusing on one really good shot versus multple pretty good shots.Deadly Aim + Gun Training + Point Blank Shot + Magic. My 8th level gunslinger does 1d8 +14 with each shot.Gunslingers tend to rely more on bonuses for their damage than damage dice so small races with greater accuracy make good gunslingers.I know what some of those bonuses are, but since this is my first time creating a Gunsligner as well, are there any specific examples you want to share. I already know, and plan to get, Deadly Aim as soon as I can.Oh yes..
So +1..
My Gunslinger/Alchemist does a LITTLE less till you stop to add in things.
Deadly Aim + Magic + PB Shot + Gun Training does 1d12+10 BUT I can also infuse admixtured acid/Alchemist Fire (1d6+1d6, plus possible 2nd round of fire) and Vital Strike means something like 2d12+10+2d6+3.
Obviously.. Action economy varies by the type of gunslinger. A pistolero is a lead flinger, hence the need for more grit for UC&D whereas a Musket Master is a sniper (of sorts).
Not to mention Players favored style varies.
For a PFS player, ANY GUNSLINGER should get 1 point of Craft (Alchemy) and Craft (Firearms) then buy the Artisan Shop (Firearms) as soon as possible to get a discount on all non-magical items (Ammo, MW firearms and such)
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For a PFS player, ANY GUNSLINGER should get 1 point of Craft (Alchemy) and Craft (Firearms) then buy the Artisan Shop (Firearms) as soon as possible to get a discount on all non-magical items (Ammo, MW firearms and such)
I knew about the craft(alchemy) for the ammo discount. But I hadn't heard about the craft(firearms) thing, but I'll admit to being behind on the craft rules.
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I knew about the craft(alchemy) for the ammo discount. But I hadn't heard about the craft(firearms) thing, but I'll admit to being behind on the craft rules.
For a PFS player, ANY GUNSLINGER should get 1 point of Craft (Alchemy) and Craft (Firearms) then buy the Artisan Shop (Firearms) as soon as possible to get a discount on all non-magical items (Ammo, MW firearms and such)
It's the vanity (Artisan Shop).. not the craft skill itself. You get a +1 to Day Job checks, and a 5% for the craft skill items in question (Hence a Gun shop gives a 5% discount to ammo and firearms that aren't magical)
If you're worried about encumbrance, Muleback Cords are fairly inexpensive once you have the Fame to get them. You may replace them later on as they do occupy the cloak slot but early on they're useful. Otherwise buy a dog and put saddlebags on it. Dogs go with hunters anyway.
Grit is nice but you'll never have more than a handful of points, so don't go crazy trying to boost it. Any race that gives a bonus to Dex is good, even if they don't have a bonus to Wis.
Be aware that you will feel distinctly underpowered until about 5th level, when you get Dex bonus to damage and likely have dropped your reload time to being a free action. After that point you may start feeling guilty about dominating fights.
Unfortunately there's not a huge amount of feats useful to gunslingers - most ranged combat ones specify bows or crossbows or slings. Definately get point blank / precise shot, rapid shot, and deadly aim.
-j
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I've been playing my Musket Master 'Slinger, Munny, for a while now... he just made 6th level. 5th really was a big boost (got musket training AND rapid shot that level), but I never really felt underpowered.
Munny is human, and has the following stats at level 6
ST14 DX16 CO14 IN12 WS14 CH10
He took his stat bump at 4th in WIS to get more grit.
I went with STR 14 because of the encumbrance... everything weighs so much (guns, armor, etc)... plus it does actually help when he has to go melee... which happens. If I had it to do again, I'd go WIS 14, STR 12, INT 13 instead (for the Grit, access to Combat Expertise, etc).
Feats: Point Blank Shot(1), Precise Shot(human), Deadly Aim (3), Extra Grit (GS4), Rapid Shot (5)
He currently does 1d12+10 damage at +6/+6 (increase by one if in point blank)... partially because he just got a +2 DEX belt, and the fact that he's taking a level of Inquisitor at 6th.
It was a hard sell for me to get Rapid Shot... because I was doing really good damage with a single shot... without the cost of 12gp/turn and without a 28% chance of misfiring per round. Still rapid shot will be worth it... but be prepared to deal with the eventual misfires.
You don't really need ranks in Craft (Firearms) since Gunsmithing doesn't require it. Even if you were crafting firearms, they are build like magic weapons (without a roll, and 1000gp/day). You might have a point for the discount on new guns, but I am not planning on purchasing anything other than "Vera".
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I know this topic is more or less dead, and thank you very much everyone for the assistance, but it appears that my session yesterday generated one more question.
In Society play, can a Gunslinger still pay the base 300gp to upgrade their starter gun to masterwork quality? Two of the players on my table went 'no way, you have to buy a new gun' and the others bowed out as not knowing enough about the gunslinger to know about it.
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I know this topic is more or less dead, and thank you very much everyone for the assistance, but it appears that my session yesterday generated one more question.
In Society play, can a Gunslinger still pay the base 300gp to upgrade their starter gun to masterwork quality? Two of the players on my table went 'no way, you have to buy a new gun' and the others bowed out as not knowing enough about the gunslinger to know about it.
Yes a gunslinger can pay to have his starting gun masterworked in PFS (and then eventually enchanted).
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Yes a gunslinger can pay to have his starting gun masterworked in PFS (and then eventually enchanted).
Thank you very much. That's what I thought, but my table was looking at me like "are you crazy?"
My Dwarf gunslinger did very well in his first mod. One hit for max damage, one hit for minimum damage, and two misses due to absolutely miserable die rolls.
And now that I can actually afford some paper cartridges, my fire-rate will go up and I'll be more effective. (I spent every copper of my starting money and couldn't afford any cartridges at their higher discount rate.)
