| Gaekub |
I recently started playing in a game with advanced firearms. I have a character already, and I'm perfectly happy with him, but I like to have a backup idea in place.
I was looking down the list of Advanced Firearms and noticed the Double Barreled Shotgun, a weapon that does 4d8 damage if you fire both barrels. This immediately made me think of Vital Strike. So here's the questions I have;
Is it possible? It seems to me that you could Vital Strike a shot from this for 8d8 damage, but its possible I missed a line somewhere that forbids it.
Is it viable? I don't expect to be doing more damage than a dual-wielding Gunslinger, but will I be able to contribute at least as much as say a sword and board fighter?
Finally, what class do you think would work well for this? Full BAB seems like a good plan, since that gives the earliest access to the Vital Strike line. However, I'd also like at least some access to options beyond "Shoot it in half"
Here are the options I was thinking -
Gunslinger: This is the obvious choice, and it's quite likely to at least show up as a dip for proficiency and quick clear. However, I'm not going to able to do much else, and I'm thinking that firing one shot a round makes dex to damage less important.
Fighter: Tons of feats, but it's just not very interesting or have all that much synergy.
Ranger(Trophy Hunter): First off, it doesn't seem to actually get gun proficiency, but that seems like a mistake and I think my GM will see it the same way. You don't need a dip into Gunslinger for Quick Clear, and at higher levels you get access to Named Bullet (the spell). Not a bad choice as far as I can tell.
Bloodrager: This is a weird one. My main idea was access to Furious Finish, but getting a free enlarge when you rage isn't so shabby. Since I'll be a full BAB class making one attack vs touch ac, I'm not so worried about the loss in accuracy. The rage bonuses don't count for much, except maybe the occasional melee attack.
Other possibilities: Warpriest(3/4 BAB but can get the vital strike feats through bonus feats), Inquisitor, Urban Barbarian.
Any ideas are welcome, either on the classes listed, other classes you think would work, feats, etc.
EDIT: Actually, Warpriest is looking pretty good. The main reason for the full BAB is access to the vital strike line, an issue the Warpriest bypasses handily.
| Gaekub |
Interaction of double barrel (or double crossbow) and Vital Strike does not have an official FAQ. Expect table variation.
That's a good point. I misread the double barreled shot as a single attack roll, but it's not.
It would probably just be easier to go either gunslinger or trophy hunter (or anything else that gets Dead Shot as a deed) and use that instead. It has the same flavor, useable with Rapid Shot, and doesn't require the feats. Only real downside is the loss of Furious Finish, but that's not a big deal.