I'm creating a campaign setting that is inspired by northen Italian city states during the Renaissance. (Mostly Genoa and Milan). The main kingdom (Dutchy) is filthy rich, has an abundant amount of love for Abadar and has a very small professional army.
They do have an 'army reserve/manditory service' type of scheme that in emergencies will increase their military size significantly.
Anyway, one thing I really want the Dutchy to be famous for is crossbowmen. Thematically it both fits the Abadar worship and Genoese flavor. First, is the crossbowman archetype for fighters any good? Secondly, are Pavise shields covered in any of the Pathfinder materials?
If not how would stat them? There were generally two kinds. One was a big convex, almost tower shield that was proped up by a spike or 'kickstand' that was used to provide cover. The other is a smaller version that was strapped to the Crossbowman's back... From what I've seen they turn around and kneel when reloading so that enemy fire hits the shield.
The shields also tended to be decorated in city-states' coats of arms or religious iconography.
I was thinking that the big could just be treated as portable cover, with some of the higher quality ones giving a deflection bonus. The smaller one is a bit difficult. Would it give an AC bonus against flanking attacks.
I was also thinking that some clerics could use some as holy symbols, but I'm not sure.
the bigger shield sounds exactly like a tower shield to me (they even have rules built in for using as cover). the smaller shield would be a bit trickier... there's no 'facing' in pathfinder, so you can't really use mechanics based on turning your back on someone. you could implement it as a special piece of armor, kind of similar to an armored kilt maybe... have it just grant a +2 shield bonus but penalize max dex/armor check and/or increase the weight category of their armor (none to light, light to medium, etc).
edit: the other alternative would be an item that grants a shield bonus but only under certain circumstances... like 'grants a +2 shield bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity provoked by reloading a crossbow or firearm'; just be careful because the farther you get from the actual rules the more likely you are to encounter/create unexpected problems.
the bigger shield sounds exactly like a tower shield to me (they even have rules built in for using as cover). the smaller shield would be a bit trickier... there's no 'facing' in pathfinder, so you can't really use mechanics based on turning your back on someone. you could implement it as a special piece of armor, kind of similar to an armored kilt maybe... have it just grant a +2 shield bonus but penalize max dex/armor check and/or increase the weight category of their armor (none to light, light to medium, etc).
edit: the other alternative would be an item that grants a shield bonus but only under certain circumstances... like 'grants a +2 shield bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity provoked by reloading a crossbow or firearm'; just be careful because the farther you get from the actual rules the more likely you are to encounter/create unexpected problems.
I checked the rules on tower shields. The only problem is that the rules about using it for cover assume you're going to be using it as a shield (attached to the arm/held) and not a portable wall to reload behind. I don't mind having NPCs using it as such, but what if PCs decide they want to try it out as well? Total cover until the beginning of your next turn on one edge of a square will get problematic.
Maybe the special armor piece or item with conditional effect will be better.
Although I wanted to add them, I might just scrap the idea and stick with 'traditional' crossbowmen. Which still leads me to ask if the Crossbowman fighter archetype is decent.
i think they (fighters with the crossbowman archetype) have their uses... a crossbowman will never deal as much damage per round as a regular fighter with a longbow, but i played one with the vital strike feats who was focused on using readied actions to interrupt spellcasters... he was very good at his job (again, couldn't match a longbowman's damage/round, but @11th needed a 1 to miss most casters even out to 4th or 5th range increment and hit for 3d10+30some, i think- enough damage that nobody ever made their concentration check at any rate)
i think they (fighters with the crossbowman archetype) have their uses... a crossbowman will never deal as much damage per round as a regular fighter with a longbow, but i played one with the vital strike feats who was focused on using readied actions to interrupt spellcasters... he was very good at his job (again, couldn't match a longbowman's damage/round, but @11th needed a 1 to miss most casters even out to 4th or 5th range increment and hit for 3d10+30some, i think- enough damage that nobody ever made their concentration check at any rate)
Sounds good to me. I wanted to use them more as support and be annoying while the more 'professional' soldiers were on the front line. Interrupting spellcasters will be fun. Ideas brewing in my head.
don't underestimate the potency of a unit of them either... 1 attack/round is pretty lame for an individual, but if there are 6 of them and they focus fire (which makes sense for a military unit), suddenly you're looking at potentially 6d10 damage... that means a unit of 1st level crossbowmen can potentially be a legitimate threat to a 4th level party (since they can potentially kill 1 PC per round). by 3rd level they'll also be adding deadshot (since everyone in the unit will ready an action to attack when the last guy is ready- that way no heals in between their attacks), plus they'll likely have deadly aim...
I like how you think. I believe I have solved my problem in adding the Pavise to the game. Historically, some pavise crossbow units included crossbowmen and pavisier (spelling?). They just held the shield the crossbowmen reload behind.
Pairing crossbowen with a few tower shield specialists could prove interesting.
I might also throw in a crossbow inquisitor or two. The campaign is going to be very political and religion oriented. The ruling family of the city state the PCs are from was recently excommunicated and the Dutchy of Ajaccio is pushing for Holy War.
It sounds a lot like you're looking for a "Gun Tank" (Gunslinger Archetype), only with a crossbow instead of a pistol.
Side note: it's "duchy" not "dutchy".
It sounds a lot like you're looking for a "Gun Tank" (Gunslinger Archetype), only with a crossbow instead of a pistol.
Side not: it's "duchy" not "dutchy".
Thanks for the side note... I wonder why I thought there was a 't' in there? I'll probably check out the Gun Tank and see what it looks like.
As for Pendothrax's suggestion; what about making it a standard action? That's the action cost for using a tower shield as cover in the rules. Soft ground would be for the spiked pavise, the ones with a 'kick-stand' could stand on relatively level hard terrain.
Edit: Dutchy: characteristically Dutch. Have to laugh... English has awesome words.