Musketeer Paragon Class (PEACH)

[Grimgrin]

Musketeer
You, boy, are arrogant, hot tempered and entirely too bold. I like that. Reminds me of me.

Prerequisites: Range class, Precision Fighting Style
As a musketeer you are a warrior that scorns the use of armor in order to maintain your agility, manueverability, and flexibility. Your chief weapons are your paired sword and dagger and your musket. You are famed for your loyalty to your cause, your clever banter, and your precision fighting style. You can load, aim, and fire a flintlock musket with unmatch speed. You are no slouch with a sword either, and have developed various techniques utilizing a sword and dagger in combination.

Musketeer Path Features
Musketry Action (11th Level): You can spend an action point to immediately clean a jammed musket, or reroll a missed ranged attack with a musket instead of gaining an extra action.
Crack Shot (11th Level): Reduce the ranged attack penalty against a foe behind cover or concealment by two
Award for Marksmanship (16th Level): When you score a critical hit with a musket, you regain one use of a ranger encounter power you have already used during the encounter.

Musketeer Exploits
Main-Guache Musketeer Attack 11
You use your off-hand weapon to open your opponent's guard for a quick thrust of your primary weapon.
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Encounter * Martial
Standard Action Melee
Requirements: You must be weilding a pair of weapons (usually a rapier and a dagger).
Target: One creature
Attack: Dexterity+2 vs. AC
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Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity Bonus damage

All for One and One for All Musketeer Utility 12
As a comrade falters you spring into action in retaliation _______________________
Daily * Martial
Immediate Reaction Personal
Trigger: An ally is reduced to 0 hit points or less
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Effect: You gain an action point that you must use before the end of your next turn.

Agonizing Wound Musketeer Attack 20
You wound your foe in a difficult to reach vital area that weakens it greatly. _______________________
Daily * Martial
Standard Action Melee or Ranged
Target: One creature
Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex
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Hit: 4[W] damage plus "weakened" until the end of your next turn.
Miss: Half damage and the target is not "weakened".


New Ranger Fighting Technique
Precision Fighting Technique: You specialize in inflicting the most damage with each attack. You gain "Lethal Hunter" as a bonus feat.

NEW WEAPON
Musket Simple, Prof:+2, Damage: 1d10, Range:20/40, Cost:55gp, W:5lb, Group:Firearm, Properties: Armor Piercing (Reduce any armor bonus by 1), High Crit, Load Standard, Misfire: On an attack roll of 1 the weapon jams and requires 1d4 standard actions to clear.

 

[Craith]

Nicely written, a few comments:

Musketry (11th AP-feature) does exactly nothing ... since loading is a standard action, and you already get one of those from the AP - either reduce it to the rerolling part, or swap it with Crack Shot. Crack Shot adds +3 to AP attacks, Musketry reduces reload to move action.

Armor Piercing is way to strong. This makes a Musket the equivalent of a +5/1d10 High Crit Weapon against enemies wearing armor (all NPCs). Or only against PCs (since NPCs don't explicitely have an armor bonus to AC any more). Reduce that to a -1 or replace it with "reduces resist values against attacks delivered with a musket by 5 - there is only few monsters with resist weapon, but this would also apply to magic weapons, which might do lightning damage ...

3rd comment: Agonizing Wound has unclear wording. Either write the duration of the weakened effect to the Hit or add the Weakened condition to the Effect and remove it from the Hit. The second alternative sounds unlikely, since how does it hinder you, if it didnt hurt you. I would suggest
Hit: 4[W] + Str damage (melee) or 4[W] + Dex damage (ranged). The target is weakened until the end of your next turn.
Miss: half damage and target is not weakened.

 

[the Jester]

Looks pretty good, though I agree that muskets, as you have written them, are way over the top.

But please, PLEASE stop with the PEACH! It is not appropriate here- we examine and critique everything honestly.

 

[Grimgrin]

Musketry (11th AP-feature) does exactly nothing ... since loading is a standard action, and you already get one of those from the AP - either reduce it to the rerolling part, or swap it with Crack Shot. Crack Shot adds +3 to AP attacks, Musketry reduces reload to move action.

Dropped the reloading part as redundant. I didn't full explain jaming/misfire. When you roll a "1" on your attack roll your firearm misfires/jams and requires 1d4 standard actions to clear. That was another weakenes intended to balance the powerful armor penetration ability.

Armor Piercing is way to strong. This makes a Musket the equivalent of a +5/1d10 High Crit Weapon against enemies wearing armor (all NPCs). Or only against PCs (since NPCs don't explicitely have an armor bonus to AC any more). Reduce that to a -1 or replace it with "reduces resist values against attacks delivered with a musket by 5 - there is only few monsters with resist weapon, but this would also apply to magic weapons, which might do lightning damage ...

Changed it to "-1 armor bonus". With the "-3 armor bonus" I was trying to compensate for the musket's long reloading time, but your right that its too much of a bonus. Your "reduce weapon resistance" is a good idea, but how does that work with creatures that take half damage from ranged weapons such as the Lamia and Larva Mage?

3rd comment: Agonizing Wound has unclear wording. Either write the duration of the weakened effect to the Hit or add the Weakened condition to the Effect and remove it from the Hit. The second alternative sounds unlikely, since how does it hinder you, if it didnt hurt you. I would suggest
Hit: 4[W] + Str damage (melee) or 4[W] + Dex damage (ranged). The target is weakened until the end of your next turn.
Miss: half damage and target is not weakened.

Took your suggestion

P.S.: THX for responding so completely. Obviously one wants constructive critisism, but more often than not that is not what's given if you get any feedback at all. What I mean by PEACH was that I wanted help with my design.

 

[Warrior147]

The musket is ridiculously unbalanced for the following reasons.

1. The musket should be a military weapon, not a simple weapon, as a musket takes considerable skill to load and fire.

2. Although "load standard" is realistic for a musket, it wreaks havoc with the 4e mechanics. Anyone wielding a musket would only be able to attack once every two rounds, which is pathetic for a weapon dealing 1d10 damage, even a simple weapon. I would change it to "load minor".

 

[Garthanos]

I think the point of load standard is that they almost always drop the thing after firing it once... and yes I agree it should be military (later guns are easier to use than swords the original ones were a pain)

 

[BobTheNob]

The musket is ridiculously unbalanced for the following reasons.

1. The musket should be a military weapon, not a simple weapon, as a musket takes considerable skill to load and fire.

2. Although "load standard" is realistic for a musket, it wreaks havoc with the 4e mechanics. Anyone wielding a musket would only be able to attack once every two rounds, which is pathetic for a weapon dealing 1d10 damage, even a simple weapon. I would change it to "load minor".

On point one. Whether a weapon is simple or military should be ased on its performance as a weapon. This "Jam" mechanic would prove a nasty offset. The amount of times a 1 is rolled in the course of a night can be remarkably frequent.

Fluff wise, early guns were less accurate and lower performance than a bow. So why did they replace the bow? Because any old peasant could be given a gun, tought to load point and shoot, whereas effective use of a bow took years of training (hence why the English insisted the peasantry trained with bows there entire lives, cause thats what it took to create and effective bowman). So, historicly (fluff wise)...guns are simple weapons!

On point 2, I wopuld agre with Load minor. Load Standard just doesnt fit in my eyes.

 

[Daniel D. Fox]

Here are my recommendations, based on current weapon selection within the game as to balance these weapons. Ignore the historical, real world equivalents; otherwise, you'd have practically useless weapons that no one would dare take.


Pistol (use Superior Crossbow in DDi application; houserule)
superior one-handed ranged weapon (firearm)

+3 proficiency bonus
1d10 damage
20/40 range
Load minor property, Misfire



Musket (use Greatbow in DDi application; houserule)
superior two-handed ranged weapon (firearm)

+2 proficiency bonus
1d12 damage
25/50 range
Load minor property, Misfire


Property Misfire: If you are not trained in the usage of this weapon, anytime you roll a natural 1 you must spend a move action to fix the weapon.