Best firearms rules?

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

I'm going to be adding firearms to my next campaign, specifically, cannons and wheellock (sp?) pistols and rifles. As the firearms rules in the DMG don't exactly knock me out, I'm trying to distill a good set of rules from a third party product. Unfortunately, I'm a little overwhelmed by the many options at my disposal. D20 Modern, Iron Kingdoms, and Sorcery and Steam just to mention a few that I can think of off the top of my head. Which have you used and what are its strengths and weaknesses?

Basically, I want guns that are not everyday weapons and are justly feared in combat. It's still mostly a sword and bow kind of universe, with personal firearms just beginning to gain popularity thanks to new production techniques.

Just to note, I'll probably be adding class defense bonuses and maybe armor as DR variants from UA.

Thanks in advance.

 

[res]

Check out the Swashbuckling Adventures firearms.

they have a good selection (from muskets to pistols to rifles) with various types (double barreled, revolver etc) If you're looking for full out cannons, you'll have to go to their website for the rules on them as they forgot to put them in the book.

I use the varient rule they have about reloading these wepons too. It requires you to spend 10 rounds to reload a musket/rifle and 7 or 8 to reload a pistol. they have a fair ammount of damage that should make them feared (d10 for the pistols, d12 for the rifles, x3 crit on both) but with the increased reload times, they do not overshadow bows and crossbows.

Finally, they have good jam/missfire rules. Guns will jam on a roll of 1-2 (as I recall) and you roll again to make sure that they don't backfire (deal damage to the wielder)

 

[MDSnowman]

There's a web enhancement for Monte Cook's Chaositech that focuses entirely on more mundane technology, specifically guns, cannons, and the like. I think they'll fit your needs pretty well, even if you don't use the steam powered armor part :\

 

[scourger]

Spellslinger has some interesting rules. Bascially all firearms are ranged touch attacks. Also, there are rules for showdowns making any gunshot in a showdown an automatic critical and coup de grace. More of western flavor but could provide an extra element of danger to your fantasy game if you made them apply anytime a target is denied Dex/defense bonus to AC.

 

[Ghostmoon]

Here is the link to Monte Cook's firearms rules mentioned above:

Harnessing the Natural Laws: Technology in Your Game: http://www.montecook.com/images/Technology.pdf

The only change I made when I implemented them in my campaign was I cranked the damage die down by one degree (as Monte had done in an earlier version of the rules: Technology in Ptolus: http://www.montecook.com/arch_ptolus5.html). I wanted them to be worth exotic weapon feat, but not overwhelming. So far, it has been working very well and I have found the rules to be elegant and simple to implement.