Gun Mage

This archetype focuses on the ability to utilize powerful, yet dangerous ranged weapons and intertwine volatile magics with gunpowder. Through ingenious engineering and mystic dormant aether reservoirs, you become an arcane artillery raining the elements and lead upon your foes. There is nothing safe about matching fire with arcane fire in this path of the physical and mystical. Firearms are inherently unstable devices, especially ones that project magical spells. But this is the necessary steps of innovation for anyone who wishes to harness the world's arcane energies, and bend them to their will.

Spellcasting

When you reach 3rd level, you augment your martial prowess with the ability to cast spells. See Spells Rules for the general rules of spellcasting and the Spells Listing for the sorcerer spell list.

Cantrips

You learn two cantrips of your choice from the sorcerer spell list. You learn an additional sorcerer cantrip of your choice at 10th level.

Spell Slots

The Gun Mage Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your sorcerer spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

For example, if you know the 1st-level spell shield and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast shield using either slot.

Spells Known of 1st-Level and Higher

You know three 1st-level sorcerer spells of your choice, two of which you must choose from the abjuration and evocation spells on the sorcerer spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Gun Mage Spellcasting table shows when you learn more sorcerer spells of 1st level or higher. Each of these spells must be an abjuration or evocation spell of your choice, and must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 7th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

The spells you learn at 8th, 14th, and 20th level can come from any school of magic.

Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the sorcerer spells you know with another spell of your choice from the sorcerer spell list. The new spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots, and it must be an abjuration or evocation spell, unless you’re replacing the spell you gained at 3rd, 8th, 14th, or 20th level from any school of magic.

Spellcasting Ability

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your charisma spells, since you learn your spells through untapped arcane reservoirs of your soul. You use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a sorcerer spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Gun Mage Spellcasting

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.

Gunsmith

Upon choosing this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with Tinker’s Tools. You may use them to craft ammunition at half the cost, repair damaged firearms, or even draft and create new ones (DM’s discretion). Some extremely experimental and intricate firearms are only available through crafting.

Firearm Properties

Firearms are a new and volatile technology, and as such bring their own unique set of weapon properties. Some properties are followed by a number, and this number signifies an element of that property (outlined below). These properties replace the optional ones presented in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Firearms are ranged weapons.

Reload. The weapon can be fired a number of times equal to its Reload score before you must spend 1 attack or 1 action to reload. You must have one free hand to reload a firearm.

Misfire. Whenever you make an attack roll with a firearm, and the dice roll is equal to or lower than the weapon’s Misfire score, the weapon misfires. The attack misses, and the weapon cannot be used again until you spend an action to try and repair it. To repair your firearm, you must make a successful Tinker’s Tools check (DC equal to 8 + misfire score). If your check fails, the weapon is broken and must be mended out of combat at a quarter of the cost of the firearm. Creatures who use a firearm without being proficient increase the weapon’s misfire score by 1.

Explosive. Upon a hit, everything within 5 ft of the target must make a Dexterity saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Dexterity modifier) or suffer 1d8 fire damage. If the weapon misses, the ammunition fails to detonate, or bounces away harmlessly before doing so.

Ammunition

All firearms require ammunition to make an attack, and due to their rare nature, ammunition may be near impossible to find or purchase. However, if materials are gathered, you can craft ammunition yourself using your Tinker’s Tools at half the cost. Each firearm uses its own unique ammunition and is generally sold or crafted in batches listed below next to the price.

Firearms

Name	Cost	Ammo	Damage	Weight	Range	Properties
Palm Pistol	50g	2g (20)	1d8 piercing	1 lb.	(40/160)	Light, reload 1, misfire 1
Pistol	150g	4g (20)	1d10 piercing	3 lb.	(60/240)	Reload 4, misfire 1
Musket	300g	5g (20)	1d12 piercing	10 lb.	(120/480)	Two-handed, reload 1, misfire 2
Pepperbox	250g	4g (20)	1d10 piercing	5 lb.	(80/320)	Reload 6, misfire 2
Blunderbuss	300g	5g (5)	2d8 piercing	10 lb.	(15/60)	Reload 1, misfire 2
Bad News	Crafted	10g (5)	2d12 piercing	25 lb.	(200/800)	Two-handed, misfire 3, explosive
Hand Mortar	Crafted	10g (1)	2d8 fire	10 lb.	(30/60)	Reload 1, misfire 3, explosive

Mage Marksman

When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you learn to perform powerful magics with your gun to boost your volatility towards your enemies.

Arcane Spell Shots. You learn two arcane spell shots immediately upon 3rd level, which are detailed under “Arcane Spell Shots” below. Each use of a arcane spell shot must be declared before the attack roll is made. You can use only one arcane spell shot per attack and do not come at the expense of additional firearm bullets.

You learn an additional arcane spell shot of your choice at 10th and 18th level.

Spell Shells. You gain a number of spell shells equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1). You regain 1 expended spell shell point each time you roll a 20 on the d20 roll for an attack with a firearm, or deal a killing blow with a firearm to a creature of significant threat (DM’s discretion). You regain all expended spell shells after a short or long rest.

Arcane Gunner. When utilizing spells, your gun becomes a focus for casting, which means not every spell requires bullets to be expended (i.e. buff/utility or spells that do not deal damage), but damage spells can only be projected toward enemies by being imbued to the gun's physical bullets. Spells are fired from your gun using spell attack rolls and your Charisma modifier. However if the gun is utilized to make a physical weapon attack, you utilize the Dex modifier and roll with the stats of the gun, not your spell attack. The gun can not be replaced by a component bag unlike other magic casters, as Gun Mages can not freely tap into their dormant aether reservoirs. When the gun has reached its assigned reload gun value and has no more bullets. Damage dealing spells can not be cast until the gun has been reloaded with your action.

The bullets of the weapon become enchanted when casting and will be expended 1 bullet per spell you cast, spell level does not increase the number of bullets expended. However you can imbue any damage dealing spell into the bullet, forgoing whether the spell requires touch, a melee required attack, or generates an AoE, as long as the duration of the spell is instantaneous or 1 round.

Arcane Spell Shots

These Arcane Spell Shots are available immediately at level 3.

Lead Rain

When you make an AoE firearm spell cast against creatures, you can expend 1 spell shell to overload your bullet forcing it to rain down on multiple targets within 15 ft of the spell cast, regardless of the spells full range. The initial attack gains a +1 to the firearm’s misfire score. You make a firearm attack roll with disadvantage against every creature within the range of the area. Only the initial attack can misfire.

Loaded for Armor

When you make a firearm spell attack against a creature, you can expend one or more spell shell points to enhance the shot by also preserving the projectile of the attack. For each spell shell expended, the attack gains a +2 to the firearm’s misfire score. If the attack hits, you can roll one additional weapon damage die per spell shell point spent when determining the damage. This does not expend additional bullets from the gun.

Golden Touch

Upon reaching 7th level, you have an intuition for fixing a jammed gun. As a bonus action, you can a roll d4 and add it to the repair check of a misfired (but not broken) firearm.

Caustic Overload

Starting at 10th level, you can expend a spell shell on a firearm spell cast,  and make a spell's element overload the enemy and create a 10ft square of difficult terrain, centered around the target. Any target that ends or begins their turn in this square will must make a CON save or take 2d8 damage from the harsh elemental effects.

By 15th level the square becomes 20ft and by 18th level the square is 30ft

Transmuted Ammunition

When you reach 15th level, as a bonus action you can convert spell slots to replenish the ammo into your gun. 1 spell slot for every 2 bullets, additional bullets are discarded if they exceede the maximum ammo of the weapon.

Keen Eye

At 18th level, following your first spell attack on a target, any of your additional attacks, physical or magical on this target. Will done be with advantage, or make this target save at disadvantage against your spells/attacks.

This trait resets anytime you attack a different target and can only ever be on 1 target at any given time..

Delayed Spell Trigger

At 18th level, when you make a physical attack with your gun against a creature, you can expend 1 spell shell, and at the start of your next turn, you can cast any single target attack spell that will automatically hit at any spell level you choose to cast at. As long as the spell's duration is 1 round or Instantaneous. Requires to be used on the following turn from the assigned physical attack or the ability will fade. Also requires concentration until the spell is detonated even if not a concentration spell, but not line of sight and bypasses cover.

Casting this spell does not require the use of an additional physical bullet as it manifests in the previously utilized bullet to initiate this ability.