Way of the Gunblade (Gunslinger)

The Gunslinger

An elf sits silently in the trees waiting for his target. He holds his breath as the cultist is bringing the knife to the prisoner's neck. The trigger squeeze feels weightless as the shot rings out. The slug flies through the air and meets its mark right between the eyes of the cultist. He falls to the ground before he can complete the sacrifice.

Three thieves stumble out of a wizard’s tower with sacks full of loot. They turn right into a sheriff and two deputies. They draw their weapons but the sheriff is too fast. Before they can blink, three shots ring out. Two of the thieves see their daggers fly from their hands while the third looks down to see a hole in his chest.

A dwarf gunman overlooks a field where an undead horde is advancing on the gates. He mutters an incantation and runes on the barrel of his blunderbuss start to glow a flaming red. He takes aim and a fireball launches from the barrel of his gun. Decimating the horde below. 

 A New Weapon For A Civilized Age

The Gunslinger is a patient warrior. They will often stay at the back of a battle, carefully selecting the right target and time to strike. While most are trained in the use of basic weapons, the Gunslinger is at their most deadly when their signature weapons. While a gunfighter can use any firearm with ease, some will specialize in long range firearms, choosing to fight from the shadows. Others will chose to use their speed and agility with one or two smaller firearms to decimate their enemies. Still some have found a way to challenge arcane power through their weapons augmenting an already awesome power. The gunfighter can make a significant impact on the battlefield, as long as their weapons do not malfunction.

Distrust and Respect

While nearly anyone could pick up a gun and fire it, the Gunslingers spend much of their lives honing their skill with their weapon.A unique trait to a Gunslinger is the at they must know how to maintain their weapon. Most Gunslingers even craft their own weapons as firearms are a new inventions and difficult to find. 

Many gunslingers can be found in service. Cities large enough to stand a military will employ small units marksman and to carry out reconnaissance and sap due the their expertise in explosives. Some can also be found presiding as sheriff over many smaller towns. There is still a general mistrust toward any that wield a firearm due to the damage the are capable of.

Creating a Gunslinger

The Gunslinger is a group of archetypes that use the Fighter class with some adjustments. Note: The Eldritch Knight also works well as a gunslinger build. When creating a Gunfighter, think about where your character comes from as well as how they learned to of firearms. Talk with your DM to about a appropriate origin for firearms in the world. Has your Gunslinger invented the first gun, or are guns an important part of defense in the society? For a Gunslinger, where you obtained your weapons can be just as important as which weapons you choose to use. What lead you to become an adventurer? Are you a lawman hunting down a dangerous criminal? Are you an operative sent on a special mission from the local Lord? Perhaps you are an inventor on a path of vengeance. 

Quick Build

You can make a Gunslinger quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Dexterity your highest ability score, Your next-highest score should be Wisdom if you plan to follow the Way of the Lawman or Way of the Marksman, or Intelligence if you plan to follow the way of the Gunmage. Second, choose the Soldier or Folk Hero background.

Options for Fighting Styles

You adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again. 

• Long Gun: You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with a 2-handed firearm.
• Two-Weapon Fighting: When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack. 
• Dueling: When you are wielding a single one handed firearm and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
• Defense: While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

The gunblade is a unique fighter that combines the discipline of gunplay with swordsmanship. Often seen in close quarters, these fighters can often end a battle before the enemy has even started to fight. Most gunfighters will use their skills to create truly unique weapons as well, thus the name gunblade.

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 Gunsmith's Tools (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.

Penetration. Upon a hit, if the damage reduces the target to 0 hp, the ammunition will pass through the target and hit an additional target. The hit will use the initial attack roll to determine if the attack hits the additional target. Any attacks after the initial will deal half of the initial attacks damage. The ammunition can continue to travel in this manner until it hits a target and does not reduce the target to 0 hp or it has reach the maximum range of the firearm. (regular range, not extended range unless another skill or feat allows you to ignore disadvantage on attacks up to the weapon's maximum range. 

Scatter. An attack is made against each creature within a 30ft cone. These attacks are simultaneous. If an affected creature is adjacent to you, they suffer double damage on a hit. 2 pieces of ammunition are used when making this type of attack. This attack cannot be affected by any of your shot enhancing features.

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	150g	2g (20)	1d6 piercing	1 lb.	(5/50)	Light, reload 1, misfire 1
Pistol	100g	4g (20)	1d8 piercing	3 lb.	(30/90)	Reload 4, misfire 1
Rifle	400g	5g (20)	1d10 piercing	10 lb.	(50/400)	Two-handed, reload 1, misfire 1
Blunderbuss (hand)	250g	4g (20)	1d6 piercing	5 lb.	(5/25)	Reload 2, Heavy, Scatter, Misfire 1
Blunderbuss	400g	5g (5)	2d6 piercing	10 lb.	(10/50)	Two-handed, Reload 2, Scatter, Misfire, 2
Marksman Rifle	Crafted	10g (5)	2d8 piercing	25 lb.	(50/800)	Two-handed, heavy, Reload 1, Penetration, Misfire 2
Bomb	Crafted	10g (1)	2d8 fire	10 lb.	(30/60)	Explosive, Misfire 2

Point Blank

Starting when you choose this specialty at 3rd level, when making a ranged attack while you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature, you do not have disadvantage on the attack roll.

Gun and Blade

At 7th level, you have perfected using a gun and blade harmoniously in battle. You gain the following effects when wielding a gun and a melee weapon: 

• You gain a +1 bonus to AC while you are wielding a gun and a melee weapon or a gunblade.
• You can use two-weapon fighting even when the one-handed weapons you are wielding aren’t light.
• You can draw stow two one-handed weapons when you would normally be able to draw or stow only one. 

If you have already gained this feature from the Dual Wielder feat, you may take another feat in its place.

Ultimate Gunblade

At 10th level, you have finished construction of your perfect weapon, the gunblade. Select one melee weapon and one firearm that you have combined into a single instrument of destruction. When making an attack with this weapon, you can choose to use either the firearm or the melee option for each attack. The new weapon has the following properties:

• The resulting weapon has the finesse property
• The weapon is considered two handed
• Should multiple two-handed weapons be combined, they gain the heavy property (you may not combine two weapons with the heavy property)
• The weapon still functions as two one handed weapons for the purposes of determining the number of attacks. 
• All benefits gained from fighting styles and feats affecting two weapons still apply to this weapon.
• You gain the Two-weapon fighting style, if you already have this fighting style, you may select an additional fighting style.

Lightning Reload

Starting at 15th level, you can reload any firearm as a bonus action.

Fury of the Gunblade

Beginning at 15th level, you learn to channel your anger into your weapons attacks. Your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 18-20. Additionally, when you hit with two consecutive attacks, you can use your third attack to force any creature within 5 feet of you up to 30 feet away from you. This movement does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

Speed of the Gunblade

At 18th level, you have unlocked a new level of power. You are able to move faster than previously thought possible. When you activate this power, you take the effects of the Haste spell. When this effect ends, your movement and actions are not restricted. You are able to use this ability a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1). You regain all uses of this ability after completing a long rest.