Here is the Savage Technologist.
I've wanted to make a sword and gun style build work since forever. I don't know if this is the right way to do it, but that's why I'm here to explore options. With 5 levels you get DEX-to-damage with guns, and with 3 in UC Rogue you get Dex-to-damage with melee (plus a bonus feat). Also, any Barbarian-specific effect that boosts STR increases DEX instead. That's nice.
At low levels you could use a weapon that doesn't take up space in your hand - Unarmed Strike, Armor Spikes, Thorn Bracers, a regular old not-spiked Gauntlet. This should leave you with a hand free to reload. You can be a Tiefling with a Prehensile Tail to help retrieve ammo for reloading. Also, we can get scent if we go Tiefling (variant special ability option #53), which is a good utility ability in general. Or we could have claws (1d4 damage). We could also be adopted by Orcs to have a bite attack (1d4 damage). This gives us some melee options, and investing in an Amulet of Mighty Fists might be a fair choice for our "offhand" weapon.
Another good race choice would be Human (when isn't it?). Goblin, too, stands out (DEX to damage). Halflings and elves both have their merits as well. A half-orc or half-elf would have the necessary stats: half-elves being able to nab EWP as a bonus feat opens up some exotic options for your offhand weapon is good, and half-orcs can get 90 ft. of Darkvision in lieu of Ferocity, or can keep Ferocity because it's a great low level ability. Sacred Tattoo isn't shabby, either.
Assume we start with 1 Barb level, then 3 Rogue levels, then 4 more Barb levels to make this a mostly melee-centric build at the start.
Is this going to be a viable build? It can shoot in melee without Attacks of Opportunity at level 8; it just needs a decent gun that it can reload without difficulty (and preferably without provoking). It needs a weapon that it can wield without taking up a hand at low levels, and then at high levels can use gloves of storing instead. It needs a way to boost both its melee and ranged damage suitably through feats. Basically, it needs a reason to exist without having other martials laugh at it (let alone casters).
Any suggestions?
Yeah, I suppose either Musketeer or Gunslinger would work, depending on if you want to be more melee or ranged centric at the start.
Would Advanced (but not Modern) firearms be doable? I'm seeing a Revolver as a potential weapon. Or, if I had a way to wield it with one hand without penalty, a shotgun. For reasons.
EDIT: Also, a 1 level dip into Swashbuckler (Musketeer) and NO dip into Rogue seems like a potentially better option... after you've gotten a way to reload weapons while having a hand full (like gloves of storing). It saves you two levels, at least. Could even take the time to nab 2 Fighter levels if you really wanted. Lore Warden, perhaps?
But 3 rogue levels are more universal than Slashing Grace, so there's that.
Yeah, I'm thinking a revolver, 3 levels of UC Rogue, 1 level of Swash (Musketeer), and 5 levels of Savage Technologist (Barb) would be best. This takes 9 levels, but it means you can reload without issues, you get gunsmithing, your BAB is only 1 behind a full BAB character, and you can either nab another Rogue level for another bonus feat (like Weapon Focus), go full Barbarian, or find another use for your remaining 11 levels.
Barring that, rapid reload with a shotgun being one-handed somehow would be amazing.
EDIT: Medium-sized creature wielding a small-sized shotgun in one hand with a -2 penalty, maybe?
Why not stick with your non-hand occupying weapon for the long run? Once you have dex to damage there's not that much difference between armor spikes or a cestus and a short sword really.
A dragon pistol is a 1H scatter weapon if needed. It's even an early firearm if you have difficulty getting advanced firearms approved.
Yeah, I was eyeballing the Dragon Pistol. Nothing feels quite the same when killing demons as using a shotgun though (if allowed).
What would be the best weapon available to you if you were going for one-handed non-hand occupying weapons? Honestly, the amulet of mighty fists on a tiefling with claws and adopted (tusked) sounds really good right now - having an extra, secondary bite attack for melee would be nice.
Combat Juggling, from the Juggler Bard Archetype:
"As long as he is juggling fewer than three objects, the juggler is considered to have a free hand".
Requires two levels. Solves all problems!
I don't think sword and gun works with natural attacks. And on closer examination the bit about 'a light or one-handed melee weapon in the other' would exclude armor spikes. A cestus looks like the easiest option. The thorn bracer isn't worth a feat over the cestus.
The juggler does have to make sleight of hand checks when anything that'd trigger a concentration check happens. Like taking damage. It's not quite ideal.
The juggler does have to make sleight of hand checks when anything that'd trigger a concentration check happens. Like taking damage. It's not quite ideal.
It's a downright nuisance if you're continuously juggling more than two items. However, if you only juggle with two weapons long enough to have a hand free to reload, then the odds of being hit with a concentration check while carrying out a free action to reload are pretty low, unless a foe readies an attack or you're juggling in a hurricane or something.
Since there's no action specified it's probably a standard action to start juggling. If your GM decides it's enough like changing from 1 to 2 hands on a weapon to be a free action you're sweet, but that doesn't look like the rules situation to me.
If it is a standard action then you'd be best to just max out your sleight of hand skill for a juggler. I expect there are some items or spells which could help out.
Since there's no action specified it's probably a standard action to start juggling.
I thought that Extraordinary abilities without a listed activation/action didn't involve one. Or at least that's how the vast, vast majority of such activities are written; if there's no listed activation time and there's no reference to activating the ability, then you can just do it. The ability itself says nothing like "a juggler can begin to juggle..."
Well anyhow, it's an option.
I guess there's also always just a glove of storing, unless I'm glossing over something about using that.
I don't think sword and gun works with natural attacks. And on closer examination the bit about 'a light or one-handed melee weapon in the other' would exclude armor spikes. A cestus looks like the easiest option. The thorn bracer isn't worth a feat over the cestus.
The juggler does have to make sleight of hand checks when anything that'd trigger a concentration check happens. Like taking damage. It's not quite ideal.
I'm not sure. Looking at the two-weapon fighting feat...
You can fight with a weapon wielded in each of your hands. You can make one extra attack each round with the secondary weapon.
Prerequisite: Dex 15.
Benefit: Your penalties on attack rolls for fighting with two weapons are reduced. The penalty for your primary hand lessens by 2 and the one for your off hand lessens by 6. See Two-Weapon Fighting.
Normal: If you wield a second weapon in your off hand, you can get one extra attack per round with that weapon. When fighting in this way you suffer a –6 penalty with your regular attack or attacks with your primary hand and a –10 penalty to the attack with your off hand. If your off-hand weapon is light, the penalties are reduced by 2 each. An unarmed strike is always considered light.
Now, while TWF mentions hands, you can TWF with spiked armor and an improved unarmed strike, right? Or with a natural attack as your primary and a shield as your off-hand? Would Sword and Gun work similarly as TWF, or would it forcibly require the weapon to be in your hand?
My gut instinct tells me it's fair game to use a natural attack or armor spikes or gauntlet or what-have-you so long as you use only one hand for the other weapon (the gun). The reasoning there is you're NOT allowed to use a two-handed weapon and armor spikes / spiked gauntlet, but you CAN use an improved unarmed strike.
EDIT: Actually, natural weapon attacks SPECIFICALLY can't be used for this. They're not usable with TWF. But you COULD use a bite as a secondary still, and you could use a thorn bracer or spiked gauntlet or armor spikes.
Purely on combat value that's comparing 1d4, 19-20/x2 vs. 1d6, 20/x2 for a cestus vs. armor spikes, i.e. roughly equal. Your hand is more thoroughly clear with the armor spikes of course which might be useful occasionally but as the damage bonus grows the cestus's more common crits will make it better. I think the cestus would be best in the long run.
That works out to be pretty cool anyway. A cestus is really just some spiked padding on your hand IIRC - so you can be punching dudes with your spiked fist and happily reloading your gun in the same round so you can blast them in the face.
I like it.
Okay, so here's my next big question:
How do you go about boosting your combat capabilities as a mixed ranged/melee hybrid?
More TWF feats is obvious, but not enough (since TWF will miss a lot). More DEX is obvious, but limited (though Savage Technologist will help, as will cat's grace). You can't get Weapon Spec for both weapons at once, and certain feats that normally apply to TWF might not in this case since one is melee and one is ranged.
What Rage powers will be most beneficial?
Do you provoke when reloading?
And are there any items or spells that will be absolute musts?
Opening volley will be an essential feat, as will rapid reload & point blank/precise shot. That & TWF feats should keep you busy for a while.
Rage powers - for once beast totem may not be necessary because with a ranged weapon you can stand back and shoot people that don't come to you, rather than need to charge up to them. Ground breaker might even be handy to stop people charging you.
Superstition, witch hunter & spell sunder are still good. Maybe strength surge as well after spell sunder.
I like savage dirty trick and with TWF it has less of a cost than with 2H weapons.
Since your AC may be decent to start with guarded stance might be worthwhile.
Reloading - provokes AoOs, yes. A pepperbox pistol can avoid having to reload each shot, though you still need that free hand.
You're really going to want a lucky weapon. Also in case you get a misfire anyway you might want a backup weapon.
Structurally, you may just want to consider a high STR + high DEX character. When you've got Rage increasing both, and the ability to start with something like 15/17, 16/18, 14, 10, 10, 8, if you want to with Dual Talent Human, you don't necessarily need to bring everything under DEX. Instead, you can focus on those important 5 levels of ST, and then do whatever else benefits you the most.
One all-around damage boost option that's kind of cool is to dip Oracle for the Fatigue Immunity and then grab the Elemental Rage options; you can rage-cycle to add 2d6 elemental damage to all attacks every round.
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Here is the Savage Technologist.
I've wanted to make a sword and gun style build work since forever. I don't know if this is the right way to do it, but that's why I'm here to explore options.
I got sword and gun style to work like a historical buccaneer, though it took a homebrew archetype. That archetype started as a slightly overpowered translation of Savage Technologist to bloodrager, but as I playtested I gradually whittled the changes down to only the necessities. And the lessons I learned can apply to Savage Technologist, too.
First, neither modern weapons nor Rapid Reload are necessary. The key is fighting like a buccaneer: shoot once, holster the gun, and then rely in the sword. Use the firearm to soften up an opponent before charging, or for the touch attack against a high-AC opponent, or to shoot a non-adjacent opponent to help a fellow party member; but don't use the firearm constantly. Carry a second firearm, when you can afford it, in case of misfires. Reload after the battle.
All firearms attack against touch AC in the first range increment. With Dex-to-damage and hitting touch AC, the only reason to enchant the firearm is to overcome DR/magic. Gunslingers can spend grit points to hit touch AC at longer range, but a barbarian does not fear attacking close to an opponent. The Savage Technologist's Sword and Gun ability is great, for it gives even more freedom to use the firearm at close range.
Second, the unchained rogue's Dex-to-damage in melee is also unnecessary. The Savage Technologist still has a morale bonus to Strength while raging, so he or she has reasonable Strength in melee even without pumping up the Strength attribute in the build. Str 14 is enough.
Third, light armor is not enough defense at low levels. And a shield is unmanageable when one hand carries a sword and the other sometimes carries a gun. The Savage Technologist will have to rely on the Dexterity bonus to AC. Dexterity is both offense and defense, so Dex 16 is the mimimum. Thankfully, the Savage Technologist's rage has no penalty to AC.
Okay, so here's my next big question:
How do you go about boosting your combat capabilities as a mixed ranged/melee hybrid?
More TWF feats is obvious, but not enough (since TWF will miss a lot). More DEX is obvious, but limited (though Savage Technologist will help, as will cat's grace). You can't get Weapon Spec for both weapons at once, and certain feats that normally apply to TWF might not in this case since one is melee and one is ranged.
What Rage powers will be most beneficial?
Do you provoke when reloading?
And are there any items or spells that will be absolute musts?
Rage with Power Attack while swinging a longsword two-handed is enough for melee damage. It is not a quick kill, except that your barbarian might have softened the opponent with a gunshot first. Longsword rather than greatsword because a firearm in hand could force one-handed melee attacks.
Therefore, Power Attack is the feat for melee. For gunfighting, I recommend Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Gunsmithing, and Deadly Aim in that order. Quick Draw helps with drawing the second firearm after holstering the first. If you take a level in Gunslinger for the free firearm and Gunsmithing feat and Quick Clear deed, then Gun Twirling would enable quick holstering, though that requires Dazzling Display, too. I built quick holstering into my homemade archetype, so did not need Gun Twirling itself.
That is a lot of feats, so the human bonus feat is very tempting.
Two-Weapon Fighting is not obvious to me. Reloading (or drawing another loaded gun) is too slow to take advantage of TWF's extra attacks. Extra damage via Power Attack and Deadly Aim works better than extra attacks.
My bloodrager swapped out some bloodline powers for rage powers via Primalist archetype, and she loves Reckless Abandon. The bonus to hit applies to both melee and ranged attacks. The Beast Totem line is a classic, and the Lesser Beast Totem claws would solve the problem of a weapon that leaves the hand empty.
Reloading a firearm does provoke. That is one more reason I favor a second firearm instead. My bloodrager carries three currently, a pistol, a dragon pistol, and a laser pistol (she lives in Numeria, land of alien technology). She was tempted by the Reloading Hands spell, which automatically reloads a firearm, but never asked a magus friend to learn it.
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Help me get around this;
Sword and Gun (Ex): At 2nd level, when a raging savage technologist wields a one-handed firearm in one hand and a light or one-handed melee weapon in the other, she can make ranged attacks with the firearm without provoking attacks of opportunity. She also gains the benefits of the Two Weapon Fighting feat, but only if all attacks are made with those weapons. This ability replaces Uncanny Dodge.
How do you reload your gun while keeping this up? I really dig the idea of doing this continuously but am not sure how it's done.
Two options:
1. Your "weapon" doesn't keep your hand from doing other things, such as a spiked gauntlet or cestus.
2. Gloves of Storing.
I'm guessing he fires one shot, then switches to the one-handed weapon, like old-timey pirates used to do, or keep (quick)drawing new weapons each round of combat.
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Two options:
1. Your "weapon" doesn't keep your hand from doing other things, such as a spiked gauntlet or cestus.
2. Gloves of Storing.
Okay, so there's good ways to not have the problem of full hands.
But if your right hand is busy making melee attacks, does it have time to also reload the run in your left hand?
Help me get around this;
Sword and Gun (Ex): At 2nd level, when a raging savage technologist wields a one-handed firearm in one hand and a light or one-handed melee weapon in the other, she can make ranged attacks with the firearm without provoking attacks of opportunity. She also gains the benefits of the Two Weapon Fighting feat, but only if all attacks are made with those weapons. This ability replaces Uncanny Dodge.How do you reload your gun while keeping this up? I really dig the idea of doing this continuously but am not sure how it's done.
You do t. It's intended for tech guns that have 10 shots before needing a recharge. There might be some weird work around but if there isn't it's not an oversight.
Two options:
1. Your "weapon" doesn't keep your hand from doing other things, such as a spiked gauntlet or cestus.
2. Gloves of Storing.
Okay, so there's good ways to not have the problem of full hands.
But if your right hand is busy making melee attacks, does it have time to also reload the run in your left hand?
If you're shooting two rounds from a double-barrelled pistol during a full attack and then reloading them after, there's no issue conceptually or mechanically. I don't think theres a strict rules issue with reloading during, but I agree it's a bit strange. I think doing it with a Glove of Storing and/or a hand also attacking might tempt a GM to cry cheese and free-action abuse.
Juggler Bard still offers a simple solution if it's easy to use, but there's disagreement on whether you need a standard action to start juggling, or whether you can just juggle items as needed. If it was the latter, I would just see it as a character able to reload their double-barrelled with their weapon half-held for a moment.
Edit: wait - simple solution: Tiefling with vestigial tail to hold something for a moment while reloading.
How good is Sword and Gun?
Imagine a 5th-level human Savage Technologist barbarian, Str 14 Dex 18 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 10 Cha 8 with Rapid Reload, Point-Black Shot, Precise Shot, and Deadly Aim. While raging, he has a +4 Strength modifier and a +6 Dexterity modifier. Outfitted for Two-Weapon Fighting via Sword and Gun, he has a pistol in one hand and a shortsword in the other.
Imagine a CR 5 opponent with AC 18, touch AC 14, and 55 hp. Using two weapon fighting, he has 16/20 chance of hitting with the pistol for 1d8+11 damage (dpr 12.4) and a 11/20 chance of hitting with his shortsword for 1d6+4 damage (dpr 4.1). Total dpr 16.5. On the second round against that opponent, his pistol is empty, so he swings with the shortsword (13/20 without TWF penalties, so dpr 4.9). Or he could have taken a 5-foot-step backwards, dropped the shortsword, reloaded via Rapid Reload, and shot again (dpr 13.9).
Essentially, the barbarian has invested so much in his firearm abilities that adding the shortsword via Sword and Gun gives only 16.5/13.9 = an extra 19% damage that cannot be repeated the next turn.
The barbarian could have favored the shortsword more, such as by taking Power Attack instead of Deadly Aim. However, Power Attack does only half damage with an off-hand weapon. Thus, the pistol becomes the off-hand weapon, the TWF penalty increases to -4, and the barbarian might as well wield a longsword in his primary hand.
Against the same CR 5 opponent, the barbarian has 16/20 chance of hitting with the pistol for 1d8+7 damage (dpr 9.2) and a 7/20 chance of hitting with his longsword for 1d8+8 damage (dpr 4.4). Total dpr 13.6. (In contrast, shooting with pistol alone would eliminate the TWF penalty for dpr 10.9.) On the second round, he swings with the longsword alone (11/20 for dpr 6.9), takes a 5-foot-step backwards, and sheathes the pistol. On the third round, he swings the longsword two-handed for 1d8+12 damage (dpr 9.1).
Over three rounds, the shortsword and Deadly Aim averages 16.5 + 4.9 + 4.9 = 26.3 damage, and the longsword and Power Attack averages 13.6 + 6.9 + 9.1 = 29.6 damage. Neither of them compare to keeping exactly 20 feet from one's opponent and shooting with pistol alone (dpr 13.9 with Deadly Aim, dpr 10.9 without), but opponents try to interfere with that tactic.
So Sword and Gun is weak, only about an extra 2.7 damage against each opponent at 5th level. Nevertheless, I like that whenever an opponent backs my character to the wall, I can still shoot him in the face without provoking an attack of opportunity.
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Sometimes, it's about theme and flavor as well as optimization... Though speaking of optimization, what happens to your calculation when Rage cycling with Elemental Rage and wearing Deliquescent Gloves? Strategies for optimizing TWF apply very well, especially if making double-barrelled standards when not full attacking.
Another interesting option is Amateur Swashbuckler and a Blue Scarf to threaten with reach while shooting... "Here, enjoy this double-barrelled acidic shot to the face from 15ft, while you consider taking a reach AoO from my +2d6+1d8 rapier".
Sometimes, it's about theme and flavor as well as optimization... Though speaking of optimization, what happens to your calculation when Rage cycling with Elemental Rage and wearing Deliquescent Gloves? Strategies for optimizing TWF apply very well, especially if making double-barrelled standards when not full attacking.
Another interesting option is Amateur Swashbuckler and a Blue Scarf to threaten with reach while shooting... "Here, enjoy this double-barrelled acidic shot to the face from 15ft, while you consider taking a reach AoO from my +2d6+1d8 rapier".
If I add options, then the possibiites multiply. I don't want to calculate every one.
In general, something that adds fixed damage to every attack, such as Deliquescent Gloves, does better with TWF. Optimizing that involves optimizing the total chance of hitting, regardless of hand. In constrast, Elemental Rage applies only to melee attacks, so it responds only to increasing the chance of hitting with the sword.
TWF seemed an odd ability for sword-and-gun style, because the gun is limited by reloading. So I wanted to crunch the numbers. It does help a little, so it isn't a trap. It is only half as limited with double-barreled pistols, but for a character without Quick Clear, the extra chance of a misfire could backfire.
Plausible Pseudonym's suggestion that it was meant for technological weapons that hold 10 charges (assuming they aren't timeworm) is plausible. But real people used sword and gun with early firearms, so I like trying to make the style work the historic way.
Mathmuse, I know you want the sword and gun guy to have a one-shot pistol, but there's a fair bit of discussion above about not doing so. Possible options include
- A double barrelled pistol. No special actions needed but it only holds 2 shots obviously.
- A normal pistol with juggler bard. May be awkward rules-wise, may not depending on the GM.
- A normal pistol in the hands and tail of a tiefling. Perfectly fine RAW.
- A pepperbox pistol and cestus. May be awkward rules-wise, may not.
- A high-tech weapon if you can score one.
Like the people who insist that historical bucklers were held in one hand, that historical sword and gun was one-shot mostly doesn't actually change the rules of PF.
Also there's this feat. You can use it as often as you shoot and the bonus is big. I don't think you included it in your DPR calcs.
Benefit: Whenever you deal damage with a ranged attack, you gain a +4 circumstance bonus on the next melee attack roll you make against the opponent. This attack must occur before the end of your next turn.
In general, something that adds fixed damage to every attack, such as Deliquescent Gloves, does better with TWF. Optimizing that involves optimizing the total chance of hitting, regardless of hand. In constrast, Elemental Rage applies only to melee attacks, so it responds only to increasing the chance of hitting with the sword.
TWF seemed an odd ability for sword-and-gun style, because the gun is limited by reloading. So I wanted to crunch the numbers. It does help a little, so it isn't a trap. It is only half as limited with double-barreled pistols, but for a character without Quick Clear, the extra chance of a misfire could backfire.
It's true Elemental Rage only works with the sword, but as a static bonus it's friendly to one-handing at least. It also plays well with any bonus natural attacks.
Amateur Gunslinger is perfect for grabbing both Quick Clear and Swordmaster's Flair: Blue Scarf, and it works off WIS.
For reload issues, a Tiefling tail seems ideal; you make two shots from the two barrels of your pistol during full attack, and then you reload with your tail and your pistol-hand (even if that technically means you pass the pistol to your tail and reload with your hand). Somehow a Tiefling seems right for a Savage Technologist anyhow. There's other exotic options for easy reload, but I think a tail is actually perfect.
I think an ideal Savage Technologist might look something like like:
Asura-Spawn Tiefling (Prehensile Tail): 16STR, 16/18DEX, 12CON, 12\10INT, 10/12WIS, 7CHA. At level 9, one level of Oracle is grabbed for immunity to fatigue, and the Elemental Rages and Unexpected Strike are fully cycled. With Amateur Gunslinger granting the ability to use a Blue Scarf, they have a 10ft. reach with their sword, which means that Unexpected Strike can be used to make a second AoO against a target (or at least one AoO if the target only moves within 10ft.).
Help me get around this;
Sword and Gun (Ex): At 2nd level, when a raging savage technologist wields a one-handed firearm in one hand and a light or one-handed melee weapon in the other, she can make ranged attacks with the firearm without provoking attacks of opportunity. She also gains the benefits of the Two Weapon Fighting feat, but only if all attacks are made with those weapons. This ability replaces Uncanny Dodge.How do you reload your gun while keeping this up? I really dig the idea of doing this continuously but am not sure how it's done.
Tiefling with the Prehensile Tail alternate racial trait. Or a vanara.
Or dip 2 levels in alchemist for the Tentacle (flavor as a tail, if you want) or Vestigial Arm discovery. Two more levels (4 total) qualifies for the Explosive Missile discovery.
Also there's this feat. You can use it as often as you shoot and the bonus is big. I don't think you included it in your DPR calcs.
Benefit: Whenever you deal damage with a ranged attack, you gain a +4 circumstance bonus on the next melee attack roll you make against the opponent. This attack must occur before the end of your next turn.
Okay, let's crunch the numbers for Opening Volley. My barbarian will learn it instead of Deadly Aim or Power Attack. Once again the opponent has AC 18 and touch AC 14.
Using the TWF from Sword and Gun with pistol and shortsword, the barbarian first shoots with 17/20 chance of hitting for 1d8+7 damage (dpr 9.8). [The 16/20 in my previous comment has an error: I forgot the +1 from Point-Blank Shot. The barbarian has +5 from BAB, +6 from raging Dex, and +1 from PBS.] Without the +4 from Opening Volley, the barbarian has 9/20 chance of hitting with the shortsword, and with the +4 it becomes 13/20. That averages to 12.4/20 chance of hitting with the shortsword for 1d6+4 (4.6 dpr). Total dpr is 14.4.
The corrected Deadly Aim case has dpr 13.2 for the pistol, dpr 4.1 for the shortsword, and total dpr of 17.3.
However, the Deadly Aim case had to-hit chances of 15/20 for pistol and 9/20 for shortsword, which sum to 24/20. The Open Volley case had to-hit chances of 17/20 for pistol and 12.4/20 for shortsword, which sum to 29.4/20. That is an extra 5.4/20 chance of hitting with the weapons. If we combine it with an extra 1d6 damage from Deliquescent Gloves, that means an extra (5.4/20)(3.5) = 0.9 damage. That narrows the gap between the Deadly Aim case and the Open Volley case to only 2 damage per round. That is a minor difference. As Badbird said above, "Sometimes, it's about theme and flavor as well as optimization."
What if we use the stat array I had above, with Rapid Reload, Double Slice and Opening Volley, wielding an offhand longsword with Effortless Lace, and using Deliquescent Gloves?
Sword
5 +5STR +4OV -2TWF = 12 vs. 18 = .75
4.5 +5s +3.5 = 12 x .75 = 9
Pistol
5 +6DEX -2TWF = 9 vs. 14 = .80
4.5 +6d +3.5 = 14 x .80 = 11.2
Total DPR becomes 20.2, which is pretty decent stuff.
All this makes me wonder, though, about going Savage Technologist + Warpriest of Besmara; Warpriest grants an easy swift-action bonus to all weapons, as well as offering swift-action Bull's Strength to compliment a DEX belt; and it grants free Weapon Focus and a bonus free feat of choice as well (even if that may be offset by taking Extra Rage). I think Savage Technologist 2 -> Warpriest 4 -> Savage Technologist 3 might be the best all-around option; not gaining DEX to firearms until later is very much offset by gaining a major bonus to attack and damage for both weapons (+3 by Warpriest 4 with traits) through buffing.
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Here is the Savage Technologist.
I've wanted to make a sword and gun style build work since forever. I don't know if this is the right way to do it, but that's why I'm here to explore options. With 5 levels you get DEX-to-damage with guns, and with 3 in UC Rogue you get Dex-to-damage with melee (plus a bonus feat). Also, any Barbarian-specific effect that boosts STR increases DEX instead. That's nice.
It's extremely nice, because your AC is +4 over standard barbarian, and all it takes is a single hit against that much worse AC to bleed off your bonus hitpoints (and probably then some), necessitating the Raging Vitality feat to stave off "barbarian sudden death syndrome" should you ever go unconscious for any reason).
While I personally tend to treat savtech as a dipping class in other martial builds that don't use firearms, it does quite alright on its own (though some of its bits, such as Primal Magnetism, are absolutely worthless). "Sword and Gun" is one of the few archetype cash-outs of Uncanny Dodge that is worth more than what it replaces: you get TWF and the ability to fire your gun without triggering AoOs).
At low levels you could use a weapon that doesn't take up space in your hand - Unarmed Strike, Armor Spikes, Thorn Bracers, a regular old not-spiked Gauntlet. This should leave you with a hand free to reload.I'd use a cestus, as it has a 19-20 threat range applicable to crit-doubling the SavTech's likely sizable numeric damage bonus, and is therefore the best weapon that can be used while leaving your hand "free". As added bonus, you're considered "armed" and hence don't need Improved Unarmed Strike while punching the crap out of things.
You can be a Tiefling with a Prehensile Tail to help retrieve ammo for reloading. Also, we can get scent if we go Tiefling (variant special ability option #53), which is a good utility ability in general. Or we could have claws (1d4 damage). We could also be adopted by Orcs to have a bite attack (1d4 damage).You can gain racial traits, but not "racial alternative" traits (such as Toothy) by being Adopted. No bite for you...at least not that way.
Another good race choice would be Human (when isn't it?).At the point, somewhere around mid-level, when the power-gamer in you realizes that it sorely wishes you were another race at the insanely low cost of being without the worst, least-used feat in your entire build.
Goblin, too, stands out...
Yes; that's absolutely what we're going with. While the charisma/swashbuckler tactics explored by other thread respondents are all worthy, dumping dex (i.e., as in point-buy) lets us shamelessly minmax as we are both wont to do and is ubiquitously expected of us by any GM having heard there's a gunslinger in the party.
== == == == ==
Str- 5
Dex+ 21 (goblin, 17,16,14,10,7,7 20pt array
Con: 14
Int: 10
Wis: 16
Cha- 5 (admit it: you've always craved the challenge of playing a PFS-legal character with two 5s)
Alternative racial trait: Hard Head, Big Teeth (gain bite attack)
Characters traits: Goblin Foolhardiness, Thrill-Seeker
01 barbarian1 [savage technologist], Roll With It
...Thrill Seeker + Roll With It are an incredible get-out-of-melee-free card for goblins, especially valuable at baby levels before dex-to-damage is on-line, and at high level when pounced (and believe you me, Acrobatics-stroking items are on the shopping list past 8th level; we have to beat monster attack bonuses).
02 uRogue1 [core][weapon finesse]
03 uRogue2 [Talent:Combat Trick:Ankle Biter], Piranha Strike
04 barbarian2 [Sword and Gun],[rage power:Beast Totem, Lesser (claws)], DEX>22
Wealth-by-level is 6000gp by 4th, and, due to pants (those horribly useless things our allies keep insisting that we simply must wear) being our only significant expense (courtier's outfit with jewelry, sans shirt, never laundered) until now, we should easily have the 4000gp required of an Agile AoMF. (We'll have to wait another level in PFS due to Fame requirements, but I digress.) I dunno, we're still getting the hang of this whole "money" and "commerce" thing; usually we goblins get everything we need off the very recently dead.
05 barbarian3 [Primal Magnetism], Extra Rage Power (Superstition)
Equipment at 5th: dex belt and Agile AoMF. +1 Haramaki
Attack bonus (claws/bite) at 5th:
4 - BAB
9 - raging dex + belt
1 - small size
-2 - Piranha Strike
= +13 (+14 if Goblin Foolhardiness applicable); damage: d3+13 or d4+13
...Last I checked, those were amazeballs numbers in a 5th level character with up to four potential attacks per round (bite/claw/claw + ankle bite) who hasn't spent a penny on weapons (aside from a non-masterwork crossbow and ammunition, assuming we didn't lift them off corpses), let alone magic.
We've had little reason to use a firearm by this point (we don't even own one), and won't for several more levels.
06 barbarian4 [rage power:Witch Hunter]
07 gunslinger1, Extra Grit
...Savage Technologist grants neither a free gun nor the Grit + Deeds class features. Here we'll pick up both, and put our nice wisdom bonus to use (and we've bought a headband by now).
08 barbarian5 [Crack Shot], (Retrain Beast Totem, Lesser to Fiend Totem, Lesser)
...at 7th/BAB6, with dex-to-damage realized in firearms, we switch from claw/claw/bite activities to bite/firearm/cestus/gore/iterative in melee.
9th....
...where to go from here is the question. uRogue3 [finesse:cestus] saves us a little money (i.e., we wouldn't have to buy Agile for it) at a point where the level is arguably worth a lot more than the money. Otoh, it leads to uRogue4 and another rogue talent as well as Uncanny Dodge (which our barbarian archetype has forfeited). Then again, there's sticking with what's been good to us so far....
09 barbarian6 [rage power: Knockback], Agile Maneuvers
...now we can safely reload our gun without being AoO'd, as well as set up enemy-re-engagement Unexpected Strikes (see below).
10 barbarian7 (Joy! We get DR 1/- ;-p ...why does level 7 always suck?)
11 barbarian8 [rage power: Clear Mind], Extra Rage Power: (Disruptive or Moment of Clarity or Unexpected Strike -- we will want all at some point}
...the tactics here are, and will remain. face-chewer barbarian in an "other green meat" package with additional firearm tricks. Note that your natural-attacks will become "secondary natural weapons" once you start using manufactured weapons, suffering penalties to both attack and damage. In other words, firing a gun and swinging a cestus are probably not even that appealing of options to you unless they offer greater utility versus certain opponents.
Trade out Superstition/WitchHunter/Moment-of-Clarity rage power line-up for any other package that suits your fancy.
Bonus fun: at any odd-numbered level, dip Fighter1, or, for even more snot-nosed hilarity, Sixth Wing Bulwark ("How is this sawed-off runt wearing our colors? Bloody outrageous!") or Knight of Arnisant ("Unbelievable! What has happened to the enlistment standards in my beloved Corps?"), to pick up both Shield Focus and Unhindering Shield simultaneously. With a decently-upgraded buckler strapped in, our AC while stark-naked (no, wait, put on our pants, yes, we must always remember the pants, those terrible itchy pants interfering with our persistent need to scratch) will be 10 or more higher than the average barbarian, causing no end to the problems of opponents who assume that the best way to deal with the "gunslinger" is to get up close & personal with them. (And, with the Cavalier archetype, you're good-to-go picked up Vambraces of the Tactician and Champion's Banner for extra face-chewing action, so you'll want a second level in the dip for a net of two Challenges per day for +8 damage in melee.)