The question is in the title. As if gunslingers weren't laughing enough at ancient dragons already.
It's reasonable. Nice for dropping a flyer. Not sure what modifiers would be required, but I'd sure as heck require a hover check.
It's reasonable. Nice for dropping a flyer. Not sure what modifiers would be required, but I'd sure as heck require a hover check.
RAW, no hover check required. Being hit with a burrowing bullet makes you Staggered for several rounds (no save). A gunslinger will always keep one in his pocket for use against big dragons, who he will almost always be able to hit with a ranged touch attack.
The high cost of the bullet makes it less obnoxious than the 3.5 spell Ray of Dizzyness, I'll give it that. Then again even that spell had to get through SR before it could completely hose a dragon.
Being staggered doesn't mean you drop, though. Hovering is not an action.
I've effectively banned them from my games. Players don't need that much of an easy I win button. The only drawback is cost.
Staggered is just a down right nasty condition.
It's reasonable. Nice for dropping a flyer. Not sure what modifiers would be required, but I'd sure as heck require a hover check.RAW, no hover check required. Being hit with a burrowing bullet makes you Staggered for several rounds (no save). A gunslinger will always keep one in his pocket for use against big dragons, who he will almost always be able to hit with a ranged touch attack.
The high cost of the bullet makes it less obnoxious than the 3.5 spell Ray of Dizzyness, I'll give it that. Then again even that spell had to get through SR before it could completely hose a dragon.
Give the dragon a hydromancer buddy, soak the gunslinger and the powder. Boom. Dragons are intelligent after all, they can in fact have underlings. You have the entirety of Paizo books (or at least the PRD) at your disposal at any moment. While an arms race with your players isn't the greatest of ideas, it's no fun to not have a challenge.
It also gives you opportunities to develop your villains/foes further. Say the dragon dies while the hydromancer is still conscious, have them run to the corpse and cry over it. Suddenly you've turned something that functioned to mitigate a player that regularly outshined others into something involving for the entire party.
note: you have to be within your first range increment to GET that ranged touch attack, so if that dragon is flying (and it damn well should be), you're not going to be nearly close enough for that.
note: you have to be within your first range increment to GET that ranged touch attack, so if that dragon is flying (and it damn well should be), you're not going to be nearly close enough for that.
Distance Musket, 80'. With Deadeye deed, 320'+ easily.
I don't see the problem too much.
Oh wow, you staggered the enemy! Cept its chipmunk familiar makes a dc 15 heal check.. Not so staggered.
Plus not useful against robot dragon
Staggered cannot be healed with a heal check. And it's a no save, almost guaranteed hit, that will prevent them from having a full round worth of actions.
Action economy is king. Losing out on the ability to make full attacks is a big deal.
He meant that the bullet can be removed with the heal check.Staggered cannot be healed with a heal check. And it's a no save, almost guaranteed hit, that will prevent them from having a full round worth of actions.
Action economy is king. Losing out on the ability to make full attacks is a big deal.
In this specific case, it can be healed:
This +1 firearm bullet deals normal damage, but when it hits a living creature, it burrows into the creature's flesh, causing wracking pain until removed or until the bullet burrows its way out of the creature. While these bullets burrow, the creature is staggered. This effect lasts for 1d3 rounds or until the bullet is removed with a DC 15 Heal check made as a standard action. Greater burrowing bullets take longer to pass though the bodies of living creatures (the staggered effect lasts 1d3+2 rounds) and are harder to remove (DC 20 Heal check as a standard action).
That's what I get for posting before I've had my morning coffee
And really if you're the GM, there is a number of other ways you can come up with the remove the bullet too, I'm certain. Like rust monsters for example. Or a black dragon falling into a pool of acid etc.
Putting deflect arrows on something you want to fight at range, could totally ruin the bullet's ability.
It also only activates this ability if it hits a living creature. If the creature isn't alive, the bullet does nothing.
Perhaps one should compare it to Frigid Touch?