Depends on the laser pistol, if it is the laser pistol from the DMG, RAW there wouldn't be any issue with it, you'd get the +1 on attack and damage rolls and you wouldn't need amunition, but RAW the infusion wouldn't help with the reload(50) property, so you would have to use an action or bonus action every 50 shots to reload, but wouldn't need amunition.
If the laser pistol isn't the one from the DMG you'd have to ask your DM what you can and can't do.
Note that the Repeating Shot infusion can only be applied to a weapon with the Loading property. The Reload property is a completely different thing and does not interact with the Repeating Shot infusion as written. A DM can waive this and allow Repeating Shot to function on a Reload weapon, but this would be a houserule.
Potentially worth noting for firearm-minded artificers (though unrelated to laser pistols): Haravikk created an excellent table of mundane firearm modifications to accompany his Gunfighter rework of Matt Mercer's Gunslinger, which I've begun using for my own artificer. With only some time, some gold, and the magic bullshit of Repeating Shot, the DMG blackpowder junkers can be made into actual weapons. You can find the Gunfighter and its accompanying gun mod tables in Haravikk's thread here, which can help scratch the itch all proper artificers feel for Making New Shit without having to try and badger your DM into letting you design your own magic items.
My own artificer currently has her DMG blackpowder pistol (i.e. the 30-foot range, 1d10 damage thing) fitted with a Precision Sight and a Drop Loop, both of which were quick and easy modifications she had time to do whilst spending most of her recent monetary windfall on new armor. Next up is a Rifled Barrel, which would give the DMG pistol a reach of 80/240 with the sight, and she can drop it without losing it. Considering adding an Improved Grip option to Haravikk's list (likely giving advantage on checks made to retain the pistol against disarm attempts) simply because the IRL firearm enthusiast in me wants to pay attention to ergonomics. Nevertheless, artificers shouldn't sleep on this, it's excellent homebrew for the gun-users amongst us.
Note that the Repeating Shot infusion can only be applied to a weapon with the Loading property. The Reload property is a completely different thing and does not interact with the Repeating Shot infusion as written. A DM can waive this and allow Repeating Shot to function on a Reload weapon, but this would be a houserule.
Repeating shot ignores the Loading property if a weapon has it. It however does not require a weapon to have the Loading property for it to be applied.
Repeating shot's prerequisites are "a simple or martial weapon with the Ammunition property." A laser pistol qualifies.
The only downside to putting a repeating shot infusion on a laser pistol is that it doesn't ignore the Reload property. The benefit to putting repeating shot on a laser pistol is that a laser pistol's ammo is energy cells which might be an incredibly rare and unreproducable ammunition depending on the setting.
Edit:
Although in retrospect the fact that repeating shot lets you make a ranged weapon attack with an unloaded weapon... strikes me as effectively rendering reloading unnecessary. But that is very much a DM call to make.
A laser pistol does not have the ammunition property, it has the ammunition (firearms) property which is not the same thing. RAW, I do not believe that a laser pistol qualifies for Repeating Shot.
Hm. Good catches. DDB does allow Repeating Shot to be applied to a DMG blackpowder Pistol (i.e. Loading, but Ammo (Firearms)), but it does not allow Repeating Shot to be applied to something with Reload (i.e. any Exandrian firearm). Obviously DDB's implementation of a thing is not in itself evidence of RAW or RAI, but double-checking the wording of the infusion, there's room to argue. Ammunition (Firearms)could be considered a subset of Ammunition and thus qualify for Repeating Shot, but that would have to be a question for J-Craw.
I do know that the Eberron setting itself generally doesn't make use of powder-driven firearms; advances in practical magic are considered to've stunted development of purely physics-driven technology like guns and so they don't really exist in the artificer's original setting. Artificers gain proficiency with them because tech nerds, but the argument could be made persuasively in both directions. Hmm.
Hm. Good catches. DDB does allow Repeating Shot to be applied to a DMG blackpowder Pistol (i.e. Loading, but Ammo (Firearms)), but it does not allow Repeating Shot to be applied to something with Reload (i.e. any Exandrian firearm). Obviously DDB's implementation of a thing is not in itself evidence of RAW or RAI, but double-checking the wording of the infusion, there's room to argue. Ammunition (Firearms)could be considered a subset of Ammunition and thus qualify for Repeating Shot, but that would have to be a question for J-Craw.
I do know that the Eberron setting itself generally doesn't make use of powder-driven firearms; advances in practical magic are considered to've stunted development of purely physics-driven technology like guns and so they don't really exist in the artificer's original setting. Artificers gain proficiency with them because tech nerds, but the argument could be made persuasively in both directions. Hmm.
Per my DMG, you missed a coma. That coma makes a big difference i think. Thanks for the replies. I appreciate it.
The Laser Pistol has the Ammunition and Reload properties. DMG page 268. No Ammunition firearms specification. It is a Martial Weapon.
Repeating Shot infusion from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything has the requirement: “A Simple or Martial weapon with the Ammunition property.”
Both the Laser Pistol and Laser Rifle in the DMG meet those requirements.
Further, second paragraph under repeating shot states:
”If you load no ammunition in the weapon, it produces its own, automatically creating one piece of ammunition when you make a ranged attack.”
All of this indicates these weapons can be used with repeating shot.
If the word ‘load’ is specifically interpreted to mean using the loading property to gain the replenishing magical shot, then only loading weapons would apply to that feature — like muskets and crossbows. This would exclude bows which do not have the loading property. The laser pistol and rifle would fall into a gray area because reload is also a kind of load. But not loading.
Bows and laser weapons could still be used with the infusion under this interpretation, but wouldn’t get the magical free ammo.
My opinion is that the word load in the above paragraph is general and would apply to arrows for bows and laser weapon beams. However, we might need specific clarification from a game designer to clear up a set of seeming ambiguities.
If my gnome artificer found a laser pistol, would would be the issues with infusing it with the repeating weapon infusion?
Depends on the laser pistol, if it is the laser pistol from the DMG, RAW there wouldn't be any issue with it, you'd get the +1 on attack and damage rolls and you wouldn't need amunition, but RAW the infusion wouldn't help with the reload(50) property, so you would have to use an action or bonus action every 50 shots to reload, but wouldn't need amunition.
If the laser pistol isn't the one from the DMG you'd have to ask your DM what you can and can't do.
Note that the Repeating Shot infusion can only be applied to a weapon with the Loading property. The Reload property is a completely different thing and does not interact with the Repeating Shot infusion as written. A DM can waive this and allow Repeating Shot to function on a Reload weapon, but this would be a houserule.
Potentially worth noting for firearm-minded artificers (though unrelated to laser pistols): Haravikk created an excellent table of mundane firearm modifications to accompany his Gunfighter rework of Matt Mercer's Gunslinger, which I've begun using for my own artificer. With only some time, some gold, and the magic bullshit of Repeating Shot, the DMG blackpowder junkers can be made into actual weapons. You can find the Gunfighter and its accompanying gun mod tables in Haravikk's thread here, which can help scratch the itch all proper artificers feel for Making New Shit without having to try and badger your DM into letting you design your own magic items.
My own artificer currently has her DMG blackpowder pistol (i.e. the 30-foot range, 1d10 damage thing) fitted with a Precision Sight and a Drop Loop, both of which were quick and easy modifications she had time to do whilst spending most of her recent monetary windfall on new armor. Next up is a Rifled Barrel, which would give the DMG pistol a reach of 80/240 with the sight, and she can drop it without losing it. Considering adding an Improved Grip option to Haravikk's list (likely giving advantage on checks made to retain the pistol against disarm attempts) simply because the IRL firearm enthusiast in me wants to pay attention to ergonomics. Nevertheless, artificers shouldn't sleep on this, it's excellent homebrew for the gun-users amongst us.
Please do not contact or message me.
Repeating shot ignores the Loading property if a weapon has it. It however does not require a weapon to have the Loading property for it to be applied.
Repeating shot's prerequisites are "a simple or martial weapon with the Ammunition property." A laser pistol qualifies.
The only downside to putting a repeating shot infusion on a laser pistol is that it doesn't ignore the Reload property. The benefit to putting repeating shot on a laser pistol is that a laser pistol's ammo is energy cells which might be an incredibly rare and unreproducable ammunition depending on the setting.
Edit:
Although in retrospect the fact that repeating shot lets you make a ranged weapon attack with an unloaded weapon... strikes me as effectively rendering reloading unnecessary. But that is very much a DM call to make.
A laser pistol does not have the ammunition property, it has the ammunition (firearms) property which is not the same thing. RAW, I do not believe that a laser pistol qualifies for Repeating Shot.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
As if some aspects of 5e weren't annoying enough now we have two technically different weapon properties with the same dang name.
That's fantastic. Great job, Wizards.
Hm. Good catches. DDB does allow Repeating Shot to be applied to a DMG blackpowder Pistol (i.e. Loading, but Ammo (Firearms)), but it does not allow Repeating Shot to be applied to something with Reload (i.e. any Exandrian firearm). Obviously DDB's implementation of a thing is not in itself evidence of RAW or RAI, but double-checking the wording of the infusion, there's room to argue. Ammunition (Firearms) could be considered a subset of Ammunition and thus qualify for Repeating Shot, but that would have to be a question for J-Craw.
I do know that the Eberron setting itself generally doesn't make use of powder-driven firearms; advances in practical magic are considered to've stunted development of purely physics-driven technology like guns and so they don't really exist in the artificer's original setting. Artificers gain proficiency with them because tech nerds, but the argument could be made persuasively in both directions. Hmm.
Please do not contact or message me.
Per my DMG, you missed a coma. That coma makes a big difference i think. Thanks for the replies. I appreciate it.
The Laser Pistol has the Ammunition and Reload properties. DMG page 268. No Ammunition firearms specification. It is a Martial Weapon.
Repeating Shot infusion from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything has the requirement: “A Simple or Martial weapon with the Ammunition property.”
Both the Laser Pistol and Laser Rifle in the DMG meet those requirements.
Further, second paragraph under repeating shot states:
”If you load no ammunition in the weapon, it produces its own, automatically creating one piece of ammunition when you make a ranged attack.”
All of this indicates these weapons can be used with repeating shot.
If the word ‘load’ is specifically interpreted to mean using the loading property to gain the replenishing magical shot, then only loading weapons would apply to that feature — like muskets and crossbows. This would exclude bows which do not have the loading property. The laser pistol and rifle would fall into a gray area because reload is also a kind of load. But not loading.
Bows and laser weapons could still be used with the infusion under this interpretation, but wouldn’t get the magical free ammo.
My opinion is that the word load in the above paragraph is general and would apply to arrows for bows and laser weapon beams. However, we might need specific clarification from a game designer to clear up a set of seeming ambiguities.
thank you for answering my question