d20Modern - martial artist and gunslinger Q

[Plane Sailing]

Checking through the SRD there are a couple of things that surprise me about the Martial Artist and Gunslinger prestige classes.

Point 1: Martial Artists get 1d8 hp, Gunslingers get 1d10.

This surprises me - I would have expected the situation to be reversed, since Martial Artists are the ones who are particularly training themselves to avoid and ignore hard knocks.

Can anyone suggest a good rationale for the current arrangement?

Point 2: Martial Artists get good Ref ST, Gunslingers get good Ref AND Will ST.

This also surprised me. I can't think of any rationale for Gunslingers to get a good Will save, and conversely the mental discipline which is core to so many martial arts suggests that they should be the ones to get a good will save out of the two.

Once again, can anyone suggest a good rationale for this arrangement?

Looking at the classes side by side it doesn't seem that the Martial Artist has significantly better class abilities than the Gunslinger... I'll post this question on the official WotC boards too, but I'd be interested in opinions of those looking at the real book right now!

Cheers

 

[Plane Sailing]

re point 2

Okay, I've just discovered that I misread gunslinger, so it gets Ave Ref and Will (not good) (and doesn't get as good a BAB progression as the martial artist).

Mind you, I think I'd still have thought that the saves should have been swapped between the two.

Cheers

 

[shadowlight]

At the Chicago gameday last weekend, the d20 Modern game had a Martial Artist (me) and a Gunslinger. Though I'm not really answering your question, I thought that the two classes were pretty balanced.

The martial artist had two attacks per round while the gunslinger only had one (we were 7th level characters), the Flying Kick special ability coupled with a few feats ended up doing more damage than a gun (but only to one opponent), and when the gunslinger doesn't have his weapon he's pretty much out of luck (while the martial artist obviously always has his weapons on him).

I'm guessing that the higher hit die is for balance (due to the issues above), but I'm at a loss for the in-game rationale...

Also, I bought the book last Thursday and am more impressed every day with the rules set. DEFINITELY pick this one up!!

- Shadowlight -

 

[Ranger REG]

Checking through the SRD there are a couple of things that surprise me about the Martial Artist and Gunslinger prestige classes.

Point 1: Martial Artists get 1d8 hp, Gunslingers get 1d10.

This surprises me - I would have expected the situation to be reversed, since Martial Artists are the ones who are particularly training themselves to avoid and ignore hard knocks.

Can anyone suggest a good rationale for the current arrangement?

All I know is that gun battle is much more lethal than fighting hand-to-hand, and I'm not just talking about one round fired, but autofire, burst, and strafe. You gotta give gunslinger a fighting chance in a crossfire.

 

[Hollywood]

Re: Re: d20Modern - martial artist and gunslinger Q

You gotta give gunslinger a fighting chance in a crossfire.

Why? Thats plain stupid. Guns are deadly, if a "gunslinger" gets caught in a cross-fire, its his own damn fault and should pay the consequences. He shouldn't get more hitpoints just because his choosen weapons do more damage. Thats just a crutch for poor tatical situation control and/or role-playing.

Also, I bought the book last Thursday and am more impressed every day with the rules set. DEFINITELY pick this one up!!

Yes, because it makes so much intuitive sense that a Strong Hero knows how to Handle Animals well, but a Smart Hero does not.

 

[Ranger REG]

But a gunslinger has experience in being in the firearms cross-fire, whereas a martial artist may not.

Forgive me if my rationale sounds so stupid. Change the rules to reflect the flavor of your game.

Your Campaign, Your Rules.