4e Enlightenment Firearms

[Vercingex]

Hi, I have just made some homebrew firearms for a campaign I'm making, and would welcome some input.

Military Weapons-

Two-handed
Weapon Prof Damage Range Price Weight Group Properties

Bayonet +2 1d6 - 5 gp 2 lb Spear* -

Superior Weapons

One-Handed
Weapon Prof. Damage Range Price Weight Group Properties

Derringer** +2 1d8 3/6 50 gp ½ lb. Firearm Load move, Off-hand

Pistol +2 1d10 5/10 100 gp 2 lb. Firearm Load move, Off-Hand

Two-handed
Weapon Prof Damage Range Price Weight Group Properties

Carbine +2 1d12 10/20 150 gp 4 lb Firearm Load move, Small

Musket +2 1d12 15/30 200 gp 6 lb. Firearm Load move

Longrifle +2 1d12 20/40 500 gp 8 lb Firearm Load standard

Blunderbuss +3 1d12 5/10 200 gp 6 lb Firearm Load move

Improvised Weapons-

Pistol whip- one-handed- 1d4
Rifle Butt- two-handed- 1d6

*When attached to a carbine, rifle, long rifle, or blunderbuss. Treat as light blade when held in hand.

**A derringer can be concealed with a successful thievery check (PHB 189)


What I am most concerned about is reload times. While in real life a musket might take 15 seconds to reload, in DnD no player can afford the 3 1/2 rounds. There doesn't even seem to be full-round actions in 4e. Move action reload seems to be the best compromise between accuracy and in-game utility. I want firearms to be powerful enough to be a threat, without eclipsing other weapons (including bows).

Again, any advice, suggestions, critcism etc. would be welcome. Thank you in advance.

[Shadow_Elf]

I want firearms to be powerful enough to be a threat, without eclipsing other weapons (including bows).


You may not be eclipsing bows with these, but you are sort of eclipsing crossbows IMHO. Also, Blunderbuss is so expensive that just buying it as a level 1 magic item is way more worth it than buying, say, a +1 longsword.
+1 longsword you save 15 gp
+1 Blunderbuss you save 200 gp
Some modification may be in order.

[Vercingex]

Blunderbuss is so expensive that just buying it as a level 1 magic item is way more worth it than buying, say, a +1 longsword.
+1 longsword you save 15 gp
+1 Blunderbuss you save 200 gp
Some modification may be in order.

*double checks prices*

Oops, still in 3.5e magic item price mindset. Okay, how's this-

Derringer- 30 gp
Pistol-50 gp
Carbine-75 gp
Blunderbuss + musket- 100 gp
Longrifle- 150 gp.

Still expensive, but hopefully not so much that people jump to magic items.

And I agree- with the exception of loading times, crossbows are eclipsed by firearms. However, since as a DM I would give large Stealth penalties for anybody firing these weapons, they're superior weapons, and since you can't move, shoot, and reload in a round, I think the crossbow may still have a niche with stealthy, mobile rogueish types.

Thank you very much for your input.

[Spiryt]

You may not be eclipsing bows with these, but you are sort of eclipsing crossbows IMHO.

Crossbows are always eclipsed in D&D, and it probably won't change.

I've seen 4e weapons once, but I remember that this time crossbows aren't better thatn bows in any aspect. Am I right?

[Athistaur]

I would suggest to make them a once per encounter use. It fits better with the feel of the weapons and how they were used in small scale battles. People had 2-3 loaded pistols, fired each of those and then went into melee.

Maybe you could up the damage a bit to make up for the limited use. But i think this way it would be a nice supplement to the given ranged weapons rather then to be plain better.

[Vercingex]

I would suggest to make them a once per encounter use. It fits better with the feel of the weapons and how they were used in small scale battles. People had 2-3 loaded pistols, fired each of those and then went into melee.

Maybe you could up the damage a bit to make up for the limited use. But i think this way it would be a nice supplement to the given ranged weapons rather then to be plain better.

I was thinking that making them reload standard might have the same effect in-game (I can't imagine any player spending a standard action just reloading) while still giving the option (plus, it rewards coordination on the part of anybody using them- one group reloading while the other shoots).

Increased damage values would look something like this-
Derringer-1d10
Pistol-2d6
Musket, Longrifle, Blunderbuss- 2d8.

*edit* in the end, I think I might have to just go ahead and invent full-round actions. Longrifles should take longer to reload than muskets. Or all guns (with the possible exception of derringers) should take a full round, and longrifles should take 2 full rounds. I'm not sure.

Thank you.