Do gunpowder weapons have a place in d&d?

[gamecat]

A lot of my players love ff8 (i wanna use a gunblade, i wanna use a gunblade!) and I want an opinion!

 

[Deadguy]

In brief, D&D can accommodate Gunpowder and Gunpowder weapons. They need some careful balancing so players don't get too carried away with the idea of shooting all opposition and blowing up every tricky foe's castle.

But they might not fit with the feel of a specific campaign. Regardless of the true historical development of gunpowder, its use carries with it definite flavour consequences for a game: gunpowder is 'modern' and 'innovative' and may even cause difficulties for some in relation to magic.

Me? In my current Shattered World campaign, I plan to take the Pcs to a continent where gunpowder is a growing tool, and its existence on the battlefield is reshaping the local kingdoms.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Depends on the campaign. In the 1500s the Turks under Suleiman invaded Europe past Austria using gunmen called Jannisarries (the majority of Turkish troops still used bows and arrows). The Europeans were in fear of them, but then they discovered the Turks weren't really good at besieging fortresses.

Since DnD made gunpowder weapons do crazy amounts of damage, yet have trouble penetrating armor, I'd say you (the DM) has to design your own weapons. Make them really expensive too.

 

[wolfpunk]

In my campaign I have a few different types of firearms. The run of the mill human type which is to impractical and expensive to use, and so no one does. Not once, ever in my campaign. Which is fine by me.

The next version I have is the dwarven masterwork firearm. These firearms are legendary. In fact, only six pistols remain intact in the known world. As it is, I have each one in the hands of a npc that I have fully detailed out statwise, history, etc. The only way to get one is to kill them or steal it, etc. No one has done that yet either.

The last ones are the gnomish ones, minorly magical, they would be great if there wasnt such a high chance of you hurting yourself. However, if you can get them to work, they have great abilities.

I like limited amounts of firearms in a d&d campaign.

 

[kreynolds]

Gunpowder weapons have appeared in some of my games, but in very limited ways. Some pirates are known to use them to siege other ships. Handheld firearms are a completely different story. They are manufactured only in Lantan. Aquiring once is extremely difficult, not to mention getting off the island with one.

However, something I find truly interesting is that magic is still preferred over firearms. Furthermore, there really is no difference between a rifle and a heavy crossbow. Same damage, same reload time.

In short, you may see firearms in my games, but they really aren't better than anything else. However, a compound bow, NOW THAT'S FIREPOWER!

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

Do gunpowder weapons have a place in d&d?

The question should be;

Do gunpowder weapons have a place in my campaign?

You are the only one that can answer this question.

If the weapons you have in mind are similar to the early matchlock rifles, they'll just add some color. If they are similar to late renaissance rifles and pistols, they'll become a viable choice of weapon for an adventurer and will revolution mass warfare. If they are similar to assault rifles and automatic pistols, they'll change the very nature of even the small scale skirmishes in which the PCs are involved for the most part.

 

[mzsylver]

A lot of my players love ff8 (i wanna use a gunblade, i wanna use a gunblade!) and I want an opinion!

*shiver* ff8...

why square... why...

 

[novyet]

My campaign world uses firearms pretty extensively, but I did have to design my own, since I wanted firearms to be an option, but not an overpowering one. Most pistols do anywhere from 1d6 to 1d8, and rifles 1d8 to 1d12 all depending on caliber, not a whole lot different than crossbows or bows.

 

[Rashak Mani]

There was a neat book, fiction, about some anti-slaver heroes. Dont remember title... but written by Joel Rosenberg. They had a lot of gunpowder and it seemed to add rather than subtract from the story. Its a very specific example...but valid.


Gamewise I think the guns arent very good actually...

 

[simonski]

Gunpowder weapons have appeared in some of my games, but in very limited ways. Some pirates are known to use them to siege other ships. Handheld firearms are a completely different story. They are manufactured only in Lantan. Aquiring once is extremely difficult, not to mention getting off the island with one.

However, something I find truly interesting is that magic is still preferred over firearms. Furthermore, there really is no difference between a rifle and a heavy crossbow. Same damage, same reload time.

In short, you may see firearms in my games, but they really aren't better than anything else. However, a compound bow, NOW THAT'S FIREPOWER!

LOL, what a coincidence, I also have Gunpowder weapons from Lantan in my Forgotten Realms campagin. Each one with a signature/stamp of GOND on it. It uses complex alchemic powder though and kinda sucks. But they scare people BOOM.

Although Lantan in my campaign is forbidden to trade with other islands and other countries because their Gunpowder weapons once was sold to some people that in turn sold them to orcs, which caused a catastrophy when they stormed and besieged/burnt down an entire elven island... but thats besides the point