I am starting up a new campaign in a setting where firearms have largely taken over as the standard weapons. D&D is designed to be balanced for a setting where swords, bows, and armor are the de facto tools of war, and firearms typically only work in small doses. I have already run a one-shot but I had no opportunity to check my attempts at balancing features, as we ran out of time for combat encounters. My big concerns are armor class (especially for non-casters, as I have deemed that magical armor is effective against bullets) and non-ranged builds, as at least one player is planning on playing a melee-based class. Please give me any suggestions you have.
I haven't got much experience with involving guns with dnd, but it bears noting that firearms completely changed the way in which people fought. A pistol could blow through armour which would deflect a blow from an axe or a sword. Subsequently, plate armour became less common, which in turn meant that smaller blades became more effective. Rapiers weren't widely employed at the same time as battleaxes and broadswords, they came from a different time.
What sort of firearms are you considering? Whilst black-powder firearms were effective, if a warrior with a sword charges at you and you draw your pistol and miss, there won't be time for a second shot. cartridge weapons (EG revolvers, shotguns etc.) would be more effective but again, would need time to reload.
I think that the balancing factors I would include in things would be:
1: Reload time. for black powder weapons, the reload would probably be based off of a dexterity check system, where you can expend an action to reload, and roll dexterity. Once you've rolled enough of these to total, say, 25, the weapon is reloaded. For revolver weapons, I would have it that an action puts 2 bullets in the gun. Speed loaders could be bought, and would need to be primed for use, which would also take time.
2: Armour piercing. This is simply a +3 to hit rolls.
3: Bullet Armour. In a world with guns, there will be people making armour to defend against them. +3 to AC against guns, cancelling out their bonus.
4: Sound. Guns are loud! no sneaking up if you've got a gun!
5: Maintenance. This depends on how in-depth your games go. crossbows are fairly simple mechanisms, and they are the most complex of normal weaponry. Crossbows can get wet without failing, guns can't. Crossbows can keep working without regular cleaning, guns can't so much.
6: Quality & Price. An expensive gun might work very well, but a cheap knockoff, made from bad iron? That might crack at any moment. Different guns might last longer.
7: Possibly - low damage? It's fairly well established that small-arms will deal with a commoner more often than not, but that just means they can deal 4 damage regularly. When confronted wit ha bear, no amount of .22 calibre shots are going to stop it. Now replace "Bear" with "adventurer", which we know means more than 4 health*, and you might find that these people who are so much more than commoners actually stand out in how little small guns seem to affect them.
8: Calibres. .22 caliber would be d4 damage, then go up through the dice for higher damage. cannons and such would do huge damage, but would also have a penalty for shooting anything smaller than "large".
All told though, dnd was never really meant for dealing with firearms. You might be better off talking to your melee player and discussing the fact that this game will be largely ranged, and that running at someone with a sword will get you shot.
I find the issue with guns in Dnd is that once there is an efficient way to kill people from a range, why would you ever need a melee weapon. Bringing a sword to a gunfight is a great way to get killed. Depending on the advancement of the weapon having melee weapons would be completely worthless.
If you are playing a setting with lots of guns it would be worth a google search for how to do that (There are plenty of people who have written things and made videos about a more technologically advanced setting). Read up on Eberron. I would even suggest giving your melee characters a ranged option that is viable for them (maybe like a gun/sword combination). Another good way would be to build the combat with having the ranged weapons in mind. Provide lots of places for cover, remind the players that going prone give ranged attacks disadvantage, that sort of thing.
The easiest way is just to re-skin existing ranged weapons, eg, a longbow is now a rifle. If you don’t want to to that, there are rules for guns. There’s the critical role gunslinger stuff, which I suppose is technically homebrew, but its here.
And to keep it interesting for melee folks, keep encounters at short distances. Guns are devestating if you have to run a hundred yards across an open field. But from 10 feet around a corner, the guy with the sword gets much more scary.
Another alternative is to use a different system. D&D is balanced around swords and bows. There’s lots of other games that are designed with guns in mind.
People make way too big a deal about firearms. Literally just call a heavy crossbow a musket, a light crossbow a carbine, and a hand crossbow a pistol. You don’t need to rethink how the entire combat system works.
Just assume that if weapons are more advanced, armor is too. Maybe plate is, as a matter of course, reinforced with especially strong materials or arcane treatments so that it can withstand the increased kinetic energy of a lead ball.
D&D’s combat is abstract enough that guns don’t need to “feel different.” This is a system where bows, crossbows, greatswords, and daggers all “feel” exactly the same. Guns need be no different. The distinctions are entirely aesthetic.
I agree. The concern over damage and hitting the target is no different than any other ranged dex weapon (if they are using official guns at least) so the issue of AC isn't something that really needs to be changed at all.
I was more so interested in a thematic way to justify using melee weapons in a world that has been overtaken by guns and how to enable that sort of play mechanically. Hence my suggestion about the inclusion of cover and use of going prone. These things would benefit both ranged and melee fighters but would give a very doge and weave fell. Or they could become juggernauts and just walk through and take the bullets that are unable to stop them. I was making them aware of mechanics they may not have otherwise been aware of.
I find the issue with guns in Dnd is that once there is an efficient way to kill people from a range, why would you ever need a melee weapon. Bringing a sword to a gunfight is a great way to get killed. Depending on the advancement of the weapon having melee weapons would be completely worthless.
If you are playing a setting with lots of guns it would be worth a google search for how to do that (There are plenty of people who have written things and made videos about a more technologically advanced setting). Read up on Eberron. I would even suggest giving your melee characters a ranged option that is viable for them (maybe like a gun/sword combination). Another good way would be to build the combat with having the ranged weapons in mind. Provide lots of places for cover, remind the players that going prone give ranged attacks disadvantage, that sort of thing.
There is a lot of good advice here. I would add that looking at how Warhammer 40k balances melee and ranged combat would be worth a consideration. In general, W40k tables tend to have lots of cover options to facilitate melee vs ranged. Things like jet packs (maybe not applicable to your situation) help, but other means of traversal (teleportation) could be applicable. Another idea is shields, he it physical, magical or some kind of energy shield that needs to recharge.
Hopefully your party understands that you may need to alter things to suit the scenario and will be willing to work with you for suggestions and constructive criticism. I find that this goes a long way to making it fun and reasonable for everyone involved.
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Thank you all for the advice so far. I'll keep working on a system, and the thing about being prone was something I already knew, but I hadn't really thought of that. So again, thanks to all. If anyone has any more suggestions, please keep them coming.
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I am starting up a new campaign in a setting where firearms have largely taken over as the standard weapons. D&D is designed to be balanced for a setting where swords, bows, and armor are the de facto tools of war, and firearms typically only work in small doses. I have already run a one-shot but I had no opportunity to check my attempts at balancing features, as we ran out of time for combat encounters. My big concerns are armor class (especially for non-casters, as I have deemed that magical armor is effective against bullets) and non-ranged builds, as at least one player is planning on playing a melee-based class. Please give me any suggestions you have.
I haven't got much experience with involving guns with dnd, but it bears noting that firearms completely changed the way in which people fought. A pistol could blow through armour which would deflect a blow from an axe or a sword. Subsequently, plate armour became less common, which in turn meant that smaller blades became more effective. Rapiers weren't widely employed at the same time as battleaxes and broadswords, they came from a different time.
What sort of firearms are you considering? Whilst black-powder firearms were effective, if a warrior with a sword charges at you and you draw your pistol and miss, there won't be time for a second shot. cartridge weapons (EG revolvers, shotguns etc.) would be more effective but again, would need time to reload.
I think that the balancing factors I would include in things would be:
1: Reload time. for black powder weapons, the reload would probably be based off of a dexterity check system, where you can expend an action to reload, and roll dexterity. Once you've rolled enough of these to total, say, 25, the weapon is reloaded. For revolver weapons, I would have it that an action puts 2 bullets in the gun. Speed loaders could be bought, and would need to be primed for use, which would also take time.
2: Armour piercing. This is simply a +3 to hit rolls.
3: Bullet Armour. In a world with guns, there will be people making armour to defend against them. +3 to AC against guns, cancelling out their bonus.
4: Sound. Guns are loud! no sneaking up if you've got a gun!
5: Maintenance. This depends on how in-depth your games go. crossbows are fairly simple mechanisms, and they are the most complex of normal weaponry. Crossbows can get wet without failing, guns can't. Crossbows can keep working without regular cleaning, guns can't so much.
6: Quality & Price. An expensive gun might work very well, but a cheap knockoff, made from bad iron? That might crack at any moment. Different guns might last longer.
7: Possibly - low damage? It's fairly well established that small-arms will deal with a commoner more often than not, but that just means they can deal 4 damage regularly. When confronted wit ha bear, no amount of .22 calibre shots are going to stop it. Now replace "Bear" with "adventurer", which we know means more than 4 health*, and you might find that these people who are so much more than commoners actually stand out in how little small guns seem to affect them.
8: Calibres. .22 caliber would be d4 damage, then go up through the dice for higher damage. cannons and such would do huge damage, but would also have a penalty for shooting anything smaller than "large".
All told though, dnd was never really meant for dealing with firearms. You might be better off talking to your melee player and discussing the fact that this game will be largely ranged, and that running at someone with a sword will get you shot.
*wizards excepted
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I find the issue with guns in Dnd is that once there is an efficient way to kill people from a range, why would you ever need a melee weapon. Bringing a sword to a gunfight is a great way to get killed. Depending on the advancement of the weapon having melee weapons would be completely worthless.
If you are playing a setting with lots of guns it would be worth a google search for how to do that (There are plenty of people who have written things and made videos about a more technologically advanced setting). Read up on Eberron. I would even suggest giving your melee characters a ranged option that is viable for them (maybe like a gun/sword combination). Another good way would be to build the combat with having the ranged weapons in mind. Provide lots of places for cover, remind the players that going prone give ranged attacks disadvantage, that sort of thing.
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"Play the game however you want to play the game. After all, your fun doesn't threaten my fun."
The easiest way is just to re-skin existing ranged weapons, eg, a longbow is now a rifle. If you don’t want to to that, there are rules for guns. There’s the critical role gunslinger stuff, which I suppose is technically homebrew, but its here.
And to keep it interesting for melee folks, keep encounters at short distances. Guns are devestating if you have to run a hundred yards across an open field. But from 10 feet around a corner, the guy with the sword gets much more scary.
Another alternative is to use a different system. D&D is balanced around swords and bows. There’s lots of other games that are designed with guns in mind.
People make way too big a deal about firearms. Literally just call a heavy crossbow a musket, a light crossbow a carbine, and a hand crossbow a pistol. You don’t need to rethink how the entire combat system works.
Just assume that if weapons are more advanced, armor is too. Maybe plate is, as a matter of course, reinforced with especially strong materials or arcane treatments so that it can withstand the increased kinetic energy of a lead ball.
D&D’s combat is abstract enough that guns don’t need to “feel different.” This is a system where bows, crossbows, greatswords, and daggers all “feel” exactly the same. Guns need be no different. The distinctions are entirely aesthetic.
I agree. The concern over damage and hitting the target is no different than any other ranged dex weapon (if they are using official guns at least) so the issue of AC isn't something that really needs to be changed at all.
I was more so interested in a thematic way to justify using melee weapons in a world that has been overtaken by guns and how to enable that sort of play mechanically. Hence my suggestion about the inclusion of cover and use of going prone. These things would benefit both ranged and melee fighters but would give a very doge and weave fell. Or they could become juggernauts and just walk through and take the bullets that are unable to stop them. I was making them aware of mechanics they may not have otherwise been aware of.
Buyers Guide for D&D Beyond - Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You - How/What is Toggled Content?
Everything you need to know about Homebrew - Homebrew FAQ - Digital Book on D&D Beyond Vs Physical Books
Can't find the content you are supposed to have access to? Read this FAQ.
"Play the game however you want to play the game. After all, your fun doesn't threaten my fun."
There is a lot of good advice here. I would add that looking at how Warhammer 40k balances melee and ranged combat would be worth a consideration. In general, W40k tables tend to have lots of cover options to facilitate melee vs ranged. Things like jet packs (maybe not applicable to your situation) help, but other means of traversal (teleportation) could be applicable. Another idea is shields, he it physical, magical or some kind of energy shield that needs to recharge.
Hopefully your party understands that you may need to alter things to suit the scenario and will be willing to work with you for suggestions and constructive criticism. I find that this goes a long way to making it fun and reasonable for everyone involved.
That's the way it goes, but don't forget, it goes the other way too.
Thank you all for the advice so far. I'll keep working on a system, and the thing about being prone was something I already knew, but I hadn't really thought of that. So again, thanks to all. If anyone has any more suggestions, please keep them coming.