Hexslinger

The Hexslinger is my own personal twist on the Gunslinger/Renegade Fighter subclass. It incorporates elements of other classes and subclasses (namely Arcane Archer), as well as fringe crafting elements from the Artificer class with gunsmithing and ammo crafting. The goal is to pull ideas from these existing classes to create something wholly unique: a gunslinging witch. 

Firearm Proficiency

Starting when you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with firearms, allowing you to add your proficiency bonus to attacks made with firearms.

Arcane Shot

Upon choosing this archetype at 3rd level, you learn to unleash magical effects into your shots. When you gain this feature, you learn three Arcane Shot options of your choice. Once per turn when you fire a round from your firearm as part of the Attack action, you can apply one of your Arcane Shot options to the attack. You decide to use the option when the shot hits. You have three uses of this ability, and you regain all expended uses of it when you finish a short or long rest.

Arcane Shot Options

The Arcane Shot feature lets you choose options for it at certain levels. They are all magical effects, and each one is associated with one of the schools of magic.

If an option requires a saving throw, your Arcane Shot save DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier.

Gravity Shot

You weave transmutation magic into the shot, manipulating the very air around your opponent. The gravity around your target increases and becomes heavier until the start of your next turn. Each creature in the 10-foot radius of the target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 2d6 force damage, and its speed is halved until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much damage and suffers no reduction to its speed.

Until the start of your next turn, any object that isn't being worn or carried in the sphere requires a successful Strength check against your spell save DC to pick up or move.

Maddening Shot

You weave enchantment magic into your shot, bending others to your will. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become charmed by you for three rounds. It must use its action before moving on each of its turns to make a melee attack against a creature other than itself that you mentally choose. The target can act normally on its turn if you choose no creature or if none are within its reach.

Phantasmal Shot

You weave illusion magic into your shot, twisting the senses of your opponent. The target must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, you create a phantasmal object, creature, or other visible phenomenon of your choice that is no larger than a 10-foot cube and that is perceivable only to the target for three rounds. The phantasm includes sound, temperature, and other stimuli, also evident only to the creature.

While a target is affected by the spell, the target treats the phantasm as if it were real. The target rationalizes any illogical outcomes from interacting with the phantasm. For example, a target attempting to walk across a phantasmal bridge that spans a chasm falls once it steps onto the bridge. If the target survives the fall, it still believes that the bridge exists and comes up with some other explanation for its fall; it was pushed, it slipped, or a strong wind might have knocked it off. An affected target is so convinced of the phantasm’s reality that it can even take damage from the illusion. A phantasm created to appear as a creature can attack the target. Similarly, a phantasm created to appear as fire, a pool of acid, or lava can burn the target. Each round on your turn, the phantasm can deal 1d6 psychic damage to the target if it is in the phantasm’s area or within 5 feet of the phantasm, provided that the illusion is of a creature or hazard that could logically deal damage, such as by attacking. The target perceives the damage as a type appropriate to the illusion.

Reanimate

You weave necromantic magic into your shot, granting it power over life and death. Choose one creature that has died within 10 feet of the target in the last minute (10 rounds). That creature is reanimated and receives HP equal to the damage dealt + your proficiency bonus. The creature takes its turn after you and has advantage on attack rolls against your original target, and disintegrates after three rounds.

Ricochet

You weave divination magic into your shot, guiding the round towards your enemies. Choose three creatures within 15 feet of the target to make a dexterity saving throw. The creatures take full damage from the attack on a failed save or half as much on a successful one.

Thunder Shot

You weave evocation magic into your shot, granting it the power of thunder itself. You deal an additional 2d6 thunder damage to the target, and it must succeed on a strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet away from you and knocked prone.

Warding Shot

You weave abjuration magic into your shot, weakening your opponents and strengthening your allies. All friendly creatures within a 10-foot radius of the target receive a bonus to their AC equal to your proficiency bonus until the start of your next turn, and all hostile creatures have their AC reduced by the same amount for the duration.

Warp Shot

You weave conjuration magic into your shot, warping space itself. The creature must make a constitution saving throw or be moved to an unoccupied space you can see within range (90 feet). The next attack made against that creature has advantage.

Gunsmith

3rd-level Hexslinger feature

Nobody knows firearms quite like you do. You gain proficiency with Tinker’s Tools and may use them to craft elemental ammunition and upgrades for your guns, or with enough time and resources, create new ones.

Ammo Crafting

Standard Ammo

Ammo crafting is a system unique to the Hexslinger subclass. It requires three resources: lead, primer, and powder. These resources can be purchased from blacksmiths (or wherever else the DM decides they may be acquired). The rarity of these resources are assigned a point value of 0.25-1, the sum total of which determines the total attack and damage modifier (rounded down). No checks are required to craft standard ammunition.

See the the below table for more information.

	Common	Uncommon	Rare	Very Rare
Lead	0.25	0.5	0.75	1
Primer	0.25	0.5	0.75	1
Powder	0.25	0.5	0.75	1
Total	0.75	1.5	2.25	3
Modifier	0	+1	+2	+3

Different rarities can be mixed and matched to create higher grade ammunition. For example, you can use one uncommon resource (0.5) with two commons (0.25 x 2) to create a sum total of 1.

Elemental Ammo

Elemental ammo is created by coating standard ammunition in Elemental Oils, which are created with alchemy reagents and an herbalism kit. Reagents can be purchased from alchemist shops, foraging, or harvested from slain monsters.

• Both Foraging and Harvesting requires a successful Intelligence (Nature or Arcana) check to identify the resource and a Wisdom (Survival) check to determine the rarity and quantity of resources gathered.
• Foraging may be done be done during travel, or in dungeons if it makes sense for them to exist there (DM discretion)
• Harvesting may only be done to slain creatures.

See the below tables for DC’s on both checks

Check #1 (Nature or Arcana)

DC	5-12	13-19	20+
Rarity	Uncommon	Rare	Very Rare

Check #2 (Survival)

DC	5-9	10-14	15-19	20+
Uncommon	3	4	5	6
Rare	2	3	4	5
Very Rare	1	2	3	4

 

Note: A critical success will result in double the maximum amount of possible resources gathered. The following rarity modifiers apply to the second check:

• Uncommon (+2)

• Rare (+1)

Check #3 (Herbalism kit)

The gathered resources may be used with a herbalism kit during a short rest. The quality of the oil depends on the rarity of resources used. Two resources of the same rarity are required to craft one oil of that quality. Resources of higher rarities are worth two of the rarity beneath them.

• For example: one rare is worth two uncommons, and one very rare is worth two rares or four uncommons. This means that you can spend one rare resource to craft 4x common oil or 2x uncommon oil.

See the below table for damage information.

Rarity	Uncommon	Rare	Very Rare
Hit Die	1d4	1d6	1d8

Experimenting with Multiple Effects

You can choose to mix and match resources of different elements to create oils that contain multiple effects. Crafting these requires a successful check with your herbalism kit.

The DC formula for this check is equal to 8 + the number of hit die being added + the sum of each hit die x 0.45 (rounded up).

• For example, if you are attempting to craft an oil that adds two uncommon effects (2d6), the the DC will be 8 + 2 (10) + (12 x 0.45) (15.4) rounded up (16).

You may add additional resources to the pot for a modifier that will help you succeed on higher DC’s. The resources must be added in pairs of two (just like the base crafting cost), and the modifier depends on two factors: the quality of the highest hit die in the oil you are trying to create (from the previous table), and the rarity of the resources you are adding. Adding resources of higher rarities to lower quality oil grants a greater modifier than the inverse.

See the below table for details on the modifiers

Rarity	Uncommon	Rare	Very Rare
Uncommon x2	+1	+0	+0
Rare x2	+2	+1	+0
Very Rare x2	+3	+2	+1

Note: The modifier scales with the number of resources added. For example, adding 4 rare resources to an uncommon oil will grant a +4 modifier instead of a +2.

Handloader

3rd-level Hexslinger feature

You always carry the right tools for the job, especially when that job is filling your opponents with lead. Your ammo box contains non-magical, experimental ammo types that consume Munitions Points (MP). These specialized rounds change the properties of your weapon such as effective range and damage dealt. You have 3 MP to start, and gain one additional when you reach higher levels (for a total of 11). You regain all expended points when you finish a long rest. 

Curving Shot

At 7th level, you learn how to direct an errant shot toward a new target. When you make an attack roll with your firearm and miss, you can use a bonus action to reroll the attack roll against a different target within 60 feet of the original target.

Quickdraw

When you reach 7th level, you add your proficiency bonus to your initiative. You can also stow a firearm, then draw another firearm as a single object interaction on your turn.

When you’re hit with an attack, you can use your reaction to perform a counter-attack. You can use this ability twice and regain all expended charges at the end of a short or long rest.

Standoff

At 10th level, your mastery of the quickdraw allows you to quickly dispatch several foes at once. Choose 6 targets you can see within range to make a dexterity throw. On a failed save, they take 3d8 piercing damage and their AC is reduced by a number equal to your proficiency bonus until the end of your next turn. You cannot use this ability again until the next dawn.

At 18th level, this feature is improved. The number of targets you choose increases to 12 and the saving throw is made with disadvantage. The damage on a failed save increases to 6d8 and the AC reduction equals double your proficiency bonus. If you have a free hand and an available firearm, you draw it as part of this action and add another 2d8 per target. You cannot use this ability again until the next dawn.

Locked and Loaded

You've gotten your handloading techniques down to a science. Starting at level 15, you regain half your expended munitions points when you finish a short rest.