Good afternoon gamers!
I am currently playing in a Rappan Athuk game. One character has already fallen to the super dungeon and I'm on my second. Seeing on how this place is a grinder for PC's I thought it would be a good idea to start building my next replacement character should the worst befall my current character.
With that being said I have a couple of questions about the character concept I'm currently building. The character is a Tiefling Cavalier in the Order of the Seal. This reference, this order is called to protect a specific object, a place, or a secret. In this case the place he has been ordered to protect is Rappan Athuk itself, or in actuality he has been ordered to find a team to go into Rappan Athuk, discover what source of evil is drawing all of the little baddies to it and destroy that source. Failing that he has been ordered to find a way to seal the dungeon so it can no longer be a threat to anyone. Basically these are some really impossible goals, but as he is a Tiefling and perhaps not as trusted as other members of his order it gives me a good reason to send another character to this death trap. Now that we have the backstory out of the way here are my questions:
1) Are there any rules that I can be pointed to that describe the dangers of using firearms underground? There may not be, but I just figured I would ask, I imagine a lot of this is going to be common sense type stuff (how sound travels underground, loud noises causing cave ins, and those sorts of things).
2) Can the "Gifted Firearm" ever be upgraded. I can't seem to find any reference to if it is possible or what would be required. I could just elect to pay the masterwork weapon price and then later the price for enchantment, but I'd like to be sure I was doing it within the rules. Alternatively I could have the Gunsmithing feat apply to the character the same way it applies to a Gunslinger which more or less seems to the first option, but it makes no mention of anyone being able to do that other than a pure Gunslinger. It may be possible that the "Gifted Firearm" can not be upgraded but I was just curious.
3) Are there any feats that allow you to take additional Gunslinger Deeds? I know that Amateur Gunslinger allows you to take one 1st level Deed, but I was unsure if there were any feats that allowed you to expand this feature for the Luring Cavalier/Musketeer. Once again the option may not be out there. The main reason I am asking on this one is to determine if Extra Grit would be worthwhile.
4) What feats would you recommend? Just the ranged combat feats (kind of a no-brainer), but are there any other feats that you would recommend that lie outside of the Point Blank Shot tree?
Disclaimer: I've read a few earlier threads that answered some of these questions but not all of them, and I do know that it seems a bit more cost effective to multiclass Cavalier and Gunslinger, but I would like to see what could be made without multi-classing if possible. Thanks in advance for your help!
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Disclaimer: I've read a few earlier threads that answered some of these questions but not all of them, and I do know that it seems a bit more cost effective to multiclass Cavalier and Gunslinger
That's something of an understatement. The Musketeer Cavalier has an overwhelming feat load that means it will struggle to function at low levels, trades off way too many class features for what it gets and is very flat as a result, and doesn't get any special bonuses to firearm damage so its damage output falls behind the curve and it struggles to keep up at higher levels. It's just a straight-up underpowered archetype. I would sooner recommend you go single-class Gunslinger and just RP the cavalier order stuff, this archetype is that bad.
One important thing to note is that even though the Musketeer Cavalier implies that it uses a Musket, it actually doesn't get the necessary class features to reload Muskets as a free action and thus cannot full attack with them (by the time you get the 14th level challenge bonus you'll need at least 3 free reloads per round, so getting one free reload when you issue a challenge doesn't come close to cutting it). This is a pretty critical flaw that locks you into pistols at low levels. Once you can afford the upgrading, getting a Shadowshooting musket is an option, although it's difficult to transition between pistols and muskets with this archetype.
1) Are there any rules that I can be pointed to that describe the dangers of using firearms underground? There may not be, but I just figured I would ask, I imagine a lot of this is going to be common sense type stuff (how sound travels underground, loud noises causing cave ins, and those sorts of things).
Standard perception rules apply, and that's about it. There are no special rules for the sound of firearms.
2) Can the "Gifted Firearm" ever be upgraded. I can't seem to find any reference to if it is possible or what would be required. I could just elect to pay the masterwork weapon price and then later the price for enchantment, but I'd like to be sure I was doing it within the rules. Alternatively I could have the Gunsmithing feat apply to the character the same way it applies to a Gunslinger which more or less seems to the first option, but it makes no mention of anyone being able to do that other than a pure Gunslinger. It may be possible that the "Gifted Firearm" can not be upgraded but I was just curious.
A friendly wizard with the Masterwork Transformation spell could make the firearm masterework, and Craft Magical Arms and Armor can be used to enchant it from there. This archetype is very much dependent on a friendly spellcaster to upgrade its firearm.
3) Are there any feats that allow you to take additional Gunslinger Deeds? I know that Amateur Gunslinger allows you to take one 1st level Deed, but I was unsure if there were any feats that allowed you to expand this feature for the Luring Cavalier/Musketeer. Once again the option may not be out there. The main reason I am asking on this one is to determine if Extra Grit would be worthwhile.
It's just Amateur Gunslinger.
4) What feats would you recommend? Just the ranged combat feats (kind of a no-brainer), but are there any other feats that you would recommend that lie outside of the Point Blank Shot tree?
You already get Rapid Reload and Gunsmithing as bonus feats, but besides that every firearm user Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, and Deadly Aim. Since you don't get Quick Clear as a class feature, the Amateur Gunslinger feat is necessary to get access to that. That's five feats, which will keep you busy up to the 9th level. By the time you're looking at another feat you already qualify for Improved Precise Shot, so it's not until 13th level that you're looking at discretionary feats.
Unless your party is already very high level, you probably won't need to even think about other feats for a long time.
Thanks Dasrak. You've confirmed a lot of stuff that I already knew and gave me a few additional things to consider. I like the theme of the character put perhaps it would be better to RP the character's mission like you stated, and use either a different class or archetype that isn't so counterintuitive in regards to its' combat abilities.
are you fully set on luring/musketeer cavalier? the Dune Drifter Cavalier is a great alternative for a gun toting build. (note: they confirmed that challenge works with dune drifter, though only guns)
1) the loud noise would cause the GM to roll for random encounter (forget what page its on) any loud noise have a chance of attracting monsters.
2)your right, it doesn't seem to mention upgrading it.though the dune drifter "have gun" mentions its identical to gunslinger class feature.
3)there are feats that give deed like abilities (no name, named bullet,Ricochet Shot to name a few) dune drifter actually gets amateur gunslinger and a good amount of deeds at set levels. (16 deeds i think)
4) I've heard good things about empty quiver style. also extra grit helps any class that has amateur gunslinger.
special note: this might take a lot of feats but....since your a tiefling, take the tail racial trait and get another pistol when you can, take two weapon fighting feats and then devastate your foes with double challenge damage while reloading you pistols with the aid of your tail.