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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 5374527" data-attributes="member: 4937">My general rules for firearms.0) It should be noted that the range increments for almost all ranged weapons in the PH are halfed in my campaign world.  Range increments for firearms would be similarly conservative.1) Most 'primitive' firearms (arquebus, muskets, calivers with matchlock or wheellock mechanisms) have a reload time of about 5 rounds, with various feats probably available to lower that down to 3 rounds or so.  Thier damage is roughly equivalent to a crossbow or slightly higher depending on caliber and muzzle velocity, and they have a critical range of 19-20/x3.  Depending on construction they might have minor advantages equivalent to the sort of advantages you'd see with masterwork missile weapons of other sorts.2) Firearms are simple weapons with easy to learn rules of operation.3) Firearms can be fumbled in ways unique to firearms and the consequences with primitive ones tend to be somewhat more extreme than fumbling some other sort of weapon.  But any weapon can be fumbled, it's not a unique problem to firearms.As firearms advance technologically, they begin to exhibit properties bows don't generally have:4) High Penetration: Firearms reduce the armor bonus the target is eligible for.  Flintlocks and the like start producing +1 penetration bonuses.  By the time you get up to modern firearms, you may have penetration bonuses of +6 or more, effectively turning many shots into touch attacks.5) High Accuracy: Firearms are easier to aim.  They get an inherent bonus to hit.  This starts out at +1 with roughly 18th century weapons, and quickly scales up to +3 or so with most weapons post the American civil war.A squad of say Gnoll mercenaries armed with wheellock arquebuses probably inspires no more particular fear and worry to your typical PC party than the same mercenaries armed in a more traditional way (longbows, broadswords, etc.).   But a squad of the same Gnoll mercenaries armed with modern weapons (and really, anything in the last century and a half counts as 'modern' for these purposes) is considerably advantaged and represents far more of a threat than they would otherwise.  Naturally, the presence of weapons equivalent to late 18th century or 19th century technology would change the social and political landscape.   But 15th and probably even 16th century firearms would not IMO necessitate departing from the usual tropes of D&D that much, particularly given the need to accomodate magic.None of that means however that I include firearms in my D&D settings.  There are plenty of other reasons for not wanting to include firearms that have nothing to do with realism.</blockquote>

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