Gunslingers
The gunslinger is a very iconic figure in history as well as modern day. From the colonial period up through the revolution and on into the Wild West the Gunslinger has always been a stationary figure seen in many types of garb and with a variety of weapons. There have been some variations on the theme but most of them are for d20 Modern. Gunslingers is one of the few that presents the class for the fantasy world.
Gunslingers is a PDF by Patrick Younts. He has written many good books and he has shown himself to be solid writer. The PDF is produced through Ronin Arts a leader in the PDF field. The PDF is twenty pages but the formatting makes it seem longer then it really is. There are gray borders on all four sides making this PDF a bit of an ink eater. The layout is simple two column with a little bit of a white space problem. There is also very little art in the book and no book marks.
The book starts with a brief explanation on the archetype as well as the series of books, Forgotten Archetypes, it is part of. It then goes right into the Gunslinger core class. There is an optional feat called Awaken Gunpowder. The feat exists so that not everyone can use gunpowder. It does not fully explain why this feat is needed to awaken the spirit of gunpowder so that it works for only certain characters but enough is presented for a DM to fill in the details. I really like this option because it shows with mechanics why gunpowder never catches on in a fantasy game.
The class is pretty good though it does offer some things that a bit different then usual. For instance the character gains a limited version of the Quick Draw feat. It is only usable with pistols and rifles. They also eventually gain weapon Focus that either applies to all rifles or all pistols instead of just one specific weapon type as usual. The class seems pretty good and should be able to keep up with most of the other classes power wise. There area few new feats presented all of them in style with the gunslinger. There are feats that anyone can easily use like Blazing Speed that adds a bonus to both reflex saves and initiative. Then there are feats like Snipers Instinct that only apply to gunpowder weapons. Snipers Instinct increases the critical damage against flat footed opponents. There is also a feat called Nullify Misfire which prevents jamming or a misfire on a natural one. The problem though is there are no rules other then in this feat for what happens on a natural one.
The book goes to some typical variations of the gunslinger. In here they offer some optional class skill changes as well as suggest what feats this type of character benefits from best. It shows a bit of versatility of the class providing differences between a duelist, sniper, Range Rider, and Saint of Gunmen.
The all important table of firearms and their description follows the character types. There are ten different weapons presented. The weapons area bit generic not worrying too much about flint lock or match lock for instance. It is also suggested that not all of the weapons need to exist in the game. Each weapon has its own reload time listed under the weapon. There are single and double barrels options as well damage for both small and medium sizes. There are also six different types of ammunition presented. There is the standard shot and powder as well as wooden bullets that are made for sub dual. There is also fragmentary, incendiary, thunder, and smoke shot as well. There are a couple of types of armor and equipment for the gunslinger presented here.
There is a lot to like from the small PDF. The class is well done, the way to fit it into almost any campaign is good, and the selection of weapons is easily adequate. However, the missing misfire and jamming rules is a significant mistake. There are also no magical versions of the weapons or any discussion or suggestions on magical guns. With the focus on magical items that D&D has I feel this is an area that really needed to be addressed.
