Prone condition with a firearm.


Gunslinger Class


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Using the hit the dirt reaction you end up prone.

A-2 on attack rolls for being prone with a either the arquebus or the musket doesn't make much sense.

Lying down and shooting is the most stable platform for long guns.

Would be better if it either negated that -2 or even gave a +2. Especially with the arquebus.


That depends on how you are laying really. Which ever way you land, it takes a bit to really get into a stable firing position for a rifle. If you are sprawled out on the ground from throwing yourself out of harms way, it stands to reason you wouldn't be in the most stable firing position.


Totally fair. But I hate the idea of somebody shooting at a gunslinger with a longbow, they throw themselves out of harm’s way, roll, dice, whatever, then end up lying on the ground with a gun in their hand and an archer some 60 feet away and they have take a -2 instead of being totally stable? Can’t say I’m good at adjusting rules or a rules guru in general as I’m still new to PF2E but some sort of bonus for going prone with a long rifle would make sense to me.


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Prone is great for aimed shooting at long range, but is it good for shooting the guy that's 10 feet away and running around you? Or the guy right next to you when you need to aim way up?

You could take a page out of the unbalanced rules and allow negating the penalty with an interact action if you feel really strongly about it.


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I could see a class feature that lets a Way of the Sniper Gunslinger spend an action to count as setting their rifle on a Tripod when prone, and negate the penalty to attack rolls from Prone itself. A single action feels fair for that, and it would help them not have to spend an action every round to "aim".

Edit: Perhaps the action could give the weapon Volley 30 or what have you, meaning it's less accurate close in, but negates the prone penalty and count as "braced" until the prone condition ends.


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How about this: once the tripod gets its own item listing, put in the description that, for ranged attacks, it eliminates the circumstance penalty penalty imposed by the unsteady weapon trait and by the prone condition.

Alternatively, if you want the tripod to remain exclusively for standing attack use, introduce the bipod (which I'd actually prefer over a tripod): attached to a 2-handed firearm or crossbow, a bipod can be deployed with an Interact action while the wielder is prone or is able to braced the bipod against a suitable elevated surface deemed appropriate by the GM. Once deployed, the bipod eliminates the circumstance penalty from the prone condition and the unsteady weapon trait that would otherwise be imposed on the attached weapon's attacks. The bipod is no longer deployed when the wielder Stands from prone or loses access to an appropriate surface to brace on, such as by moving away.

Paizo could also add that this imposes volley 30 ft if that is desired. If so, I'd suggest that it should also ignore the penalty for the 2nd range increment, but I'd personally avoid these last two options for simplicity's sake.

From here, Paizo could introduce special actions or feats that 'grant you the affect of using a deployed tripod [or bipod] until the beginning of your next turn,' or what have you.


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We are in luck, the bipod - which seems to be a quick deploy tripod and probably has a line for prone - is already in the first draft stage. I also remember a dev saying something about prone and the attack penalty, but I can't find it :/


We really need to import the Prone Shooter feat from PF1e! :D

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