Artificer UA to be released in February

I don't think there is a bunker strong enough to endure the fanbase exploding over this.

 

[NaturalZero]

It's unlikely a musketeer would get to fire his musket more than 6 times in a battle - chances are he would have either won or been overwhelmed long before - especially against enemies with magic missile wands, who would have time for around 4 shots whilst the musketeer was still reloading. Musketeers would carry enough powder and shot for maybe a dozen shots into battle - and that was being optimistic. And there is no way any musket would fire 1000 shots in it's lifetime - it's chamber would wear out or it would catastrophically misfire long before then. 100 shots maybe, if well maintained.

The DnD "musket" is a thing that can be loaded in less than 6 seconds but you're right that in the 5e rules, X number of Magic Missile soldiers definitely outmatches X number of musket adversaries. The cost to damage ratio for arming a group of soldiers is still an issue though, and the DMG musket doesn't have to automatically out perform a specific wand to make it inconceivable as an experimental weapon in a world where people still shoot crossbows.

In the fantasy DnD world of Eberron, with alchemy and metallurgy that can do things 21st century scientists can't, there are no rules for guns wearing out any more than magic wands though. This is a planet where things are made of adamantine, mithril, byeshk, bronzewood, sentria, mournload, crysteel, etc, etc, and we can't really compare the invention of some guy from 16th century Spain to those of magical, alchemical artificers who also whip up floating trains and magic airplanes. The Eberron gun would likely be compared to a real world firearm the way a bound elemental airship is to a Boeing 737; deconstructed and re-imagined with magical functions and construction. The idea that an esoteric artificer with access to physics beyond what a person on Earth can master coming up with a simple way to shoot pieces of metal as a weird military arms experiment seems pretty reasonable.

And without competitive primitive firearms, there is no incentive to develop more advanced versions, even supposing a gunpowder equivalent even exists on Eberron (using a tiny magic fireball as a propellent is much more plausible in the setting). Much more effective to set your artificers working on cheep Firebolt wands or crossbows that fire force bolts.

Primitive guns mostly had issues because of poor metallurgy and chemistry though, which are potentially non-issues here. The Eberron artificer essentially starts out with far more powerful toolkit of tech to make something simple like a tube that contains and explosion and a piece of metal.

I'm totally open to it guns that are powered by magic propulsion too, and that would probably work with the setting even better. As someone mentioned earlier, you could have the thunder cannon just be a spin-off of lightning rail tech. Conductor stones use an EMF to fling a big metal train through space and a small, enclosed conductor stone could fling a bullet like a rail gun.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

But why would you want to use magical fire/electricity to propel a lead ball down an adamantine tube when with the same magic and fewer materials you could simply shoot the fire/lightning directly at the target?! It's adding over-complication to achieve a less effective outcome (since in D&D non-magical bludgeoning damage is less effective than fire/lightning damage).

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Now new generations want fantasy fiction allow amours by alchemical graphene or spider-silk because it is possible in the real life, and machines by living tissues like the gun from restaurant scene in the movie "eXisenZ", or the biopunk tech by the Yuuzhang-Vong from Star Wars legends. .

There is a "taboo" about firearms because many fans don't want melee weapons to be replaced by guns and rifles. If an ordinary motor is possible, then it would be the end of chivalry, replaced by war chariots.

Magic is more powerful, but more expensive. Musketeers can't be replaced by warmages (3.5 Ed class).

 

[doctorbadwolf]

My idea for guns in Eberron was that the ancient Dhakaani Empire had weapons known as "boomsticks" that were guns, but the Goblins lost knowledge of how to make such weapons after the Dhakaani Empire fell.

I don't love boomstick, but otherwise yeah. I'd love to see some goblin tinker-gunslingers who've recreated ancient firearms.

Another alternative I've pondered is fluffing it as a Cantrip strength variant of Thunderwave plus a runically enhanced firing barrel to fire projectiles with pure air pressure. In other words, rather than alchemical gunpowder substitutes you'd be using magically powered airsoft guns strong enough to do actual damage. It would explain why the weapons can't be handed to just anyone, get more powerful as you go up in level, and are easily enhanced with extra magical effects. They'd be a pretty specialized weapon, but so is most of what PCs get up to, and you can just figure most Gunsmiths make their own guns.

Lots of iconic dnd weapons are extremely niche, weirdo weapons. Nothing wrong with that!

NPC Wandslingers can't generally cast spells without a wand. Remember in Eberron PCs are unusual. Its like why there are a lot more magewrights than artificers in the world: PC caster classes are much rarer than NPC Wandslingers, and much less limited.

I've always found that totally unconvincing, and also it doesn't change that wandslingers don't fill the niche of guns, so you still have to do something else if you want that niche filled.

Yep. If a player was dead-set on playing the Gunsmith Artificer, and wasn't willing to adjust it to fit in with the setting, having them be unique would be the way that you could allow them to without dissonance. They're the mad inventor who has developed something completely off the charts, and it will only work for them due to their knowledge of the magic involved.

That always works.

But why would you want to use magical fire/electricity to propel a lead ball down an adamantine tube when with the same magic and fewer materials you could simply shoot the fire/lightning directly at the target?! It's adding over-complication to achieve a less effective outcome (since in D&D non-magical bludgeoning damage is less effective than fire/lightning damage).

Why would you assume that a magical spark or miniscule explosion would require the same magical energy/power as casting lighting bolt or fireball? It would logically be less than a cantrip. It's a weak Shocking Grasp or Firebolt.

 

[gyor]

Last Monday of February

Last Monday of February, yet no sign of it. Disappointing.

 

[vecna00]

Last Monday of February, yet no sign of it. Disappointing.

Crawford mentioned it's still on track for February, it may drop on the last day of February, but February nonetheless.

 

[Vael]

Feb 28th, 11:59 pm

 

[vecna00]

Feb 28th, 11:59 pm

PST*

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

This might be of interest to some: http://keith-baker.com/firearms-in-eberron/

 

[Morrus]

Feb 28th, 11:59 pm

11.59pm in Seattle. Early hours of the morning for the rest of us.