Roguish Archetype: Gunsmoke Trickster

“Where blades fail and shadows waver, I end them with a single crack of truth.”

Long before the age of blackpowder and spellrifles, there existed a fringe school of assassins and tacticians who wielded secret weapons—guns. These weapons, born of alchemical brass and arcane circuitry, were never commonplace. Most were destroyed, banned, or forgotten. But some rogues have rediscovered the craft, pairing their deadly precision with firearms built or salvaged through illicit partnerships with Artificers, or through long-lost schematics.

An Arcflare Operative is a tactician, saboteur, and marksman who sees every moment of battle as a puzzle to be solved with timing, clever positioning, and firepower.

Gunbound Initiate

You gain proficiency with firearms (DM-defined or see Dungeon Master’s Guide), and gain access to one of the following types of firearm upon choosing this archetype:

Gun Archetypes (Choose 1)

You craft or acquire one firearm from the following list. You may craft a new one during a long rest by expending 50 gp of materials and spending 4 hours in focused work (using Tinker's Tools).

• Black Powder Repeater

  • Counts as a martial ranged weapon (1d8 piercing, range 80/240, reload [6], light, two-handed).

  • On a hit, the target has disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its turn.

• Arcane Lance

  • Counts as a martial ranged weapon (1d6 force, range 60/180, reload [4], finesse, light).

  • This firearm is powered by magical energy. On a hit, you can cause it to arc lightning between two creatures within 10 feet of each other. The second creature takes lightning damage equal to your Intelligence modifier (min 1).

• Hybrid Flechette Launcher

  • Martial ranged weapon (2d4 piercing, range 30/90, reload [3], light, misfire [2]).

  • When you hit, you can push the target 5 feet away from you or pull it 5 feet toward you (your choice).

Reload indicates how many shots can be fired before an action (or bonus action if you’re proficient with Tinker’s Tools) is needed to reload.
Misfire [X] means if your attack roll is equal to or below the number in brackets, the weapon jams and must be cleared with an action.

Trickshot Precision

You can use Sneak Attack with a firearm if:

• The attack uses a finesse or ranged firearm.

• You have advantage on the attack roll, or an ally is within 5 feet of the target (normal Sneak Attack rules).

• You are not attacking with disadvantage.

Additionally, when you hit with Sneak Attack using a firearm, you may choose to apply one of the following effects (once per turn):

• Pinning Shot: The target’s speed is reduced by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.

• Disarming Shot: The target makes a Strength saving throw (DC = 8 + your Dex mod + proficiency bonus) or drops one item it is holding.

Arcane Lance

 

• Counts as a martial ranged weapon (1d6 force, range 60/180, reload [4], finesse, light).

• This firearm is powered by magical energy. On a hit, you can cause it to arc lightning between two creatures within 10 feet of each other. The second creature takes lightning damage equal to your Intelligence modifier (min 1).

 

Black Powder Repeater

 

• Black Powder Repeater

  • Counts as a martial ranged weapon (1d8 piercing, range 80/240, reload [6], light, two-handed).

  • On a hit, the target has disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its turn.

 

Hybrid Flechette Launcher

Hybrid Flechette Launcher

• Martial ranged weapon (2d4 piercing, range 30/90, reload [3], light, misfire [2]).

• When you hit, you can push the target 5 feet away from you or pull it 5 feet toward you (your choice).

Operative’s Instinct

You've honed your focus under fire. You gain the following benefits:

• When you take the Dodge or Hide action, you can make a single firearm attack as a bonus action.

• Your reload time can be bypassed with a bonus action instead of a full action.

• You have advantage on saving throws made to avoid being disarmed or interrupted while reloading or aiming.

Custom Caliber

You enhance or reinvent your firearm through experimentation or arcane help. Choose one upgrade:

• Overcharge Core (Arcane Lance only): Add your Intelligence modifier to the damage of each Arcane Lance shot.

• Repeating Cylinder (Black Powder Repeater only): Remove the reload property; on a critical hit, you can make one additional attack as part of the same action.

• Scatterfield Rounds (Flechette Launcher only): When you hit two creatures within 10 feet of each other with the same attack (via a wide burst or shrapnel ricochet), you deal Sneak Attack to both.

Overcharge Core

Overcharge Core (Arcane Lance only): Add your Intelligence modifier to the damage of each Arcane Lance shot.

Repeating Cylinder

Repeating Cylinder (Black Powder Repeater only): Remove the reload property; on a critical hit, you can make one additional attack as part of the same action.

Scatterfield Rounds

Scatterfield Rounds (Flechette Launcher only): When you hit two creatures within 10 feet of each other with the same attack (via a wide burst or shrapnel ricochet), you deal Sneak Attack to both.

Bullet Time

You move like clockwork through chaos. You gain the following:

• When you roll initiative and are not surprised, you can immediately make a firearm attack.

• Once per turn when you hit a creature with a firearm attack, you can immediately take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action as a free action.