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Message: <blockquote data-quote="W'rkncacnter" data-source="post: 9278941" data-attributes="member: 7033455">this is definitely an interesting solution, and i think it could work. you could even, theoretically, use it to help a bit with the martial/caster divide, by letting martials pick up various firearms as powers as they level up. it'd be kind of weird, though, and much more in line with 4e game design then 5e, but it's a route you could go.from a verisimilitude perspective however, it's a bit bizarre. in reality, it takes about as long to load a (smoothbore) muzzleloader as it does to load a heavy crossbow, and in 5e at least, that happens between turns (or between attacks with crossbow expert - which is personally my biggest problem with that feat!). then there's also the question of what happens when a PC goes full pirate and decides to roll up with a full bandolier of pistols. do you just let that happen, or do you arbitrarily cap how many guns you can fire before a short rest?there's also the problem inherent to this approach, which is that it completely negates the idea of a firearm as a primary weapon. you cannot have a character who mains an arquebus like another character mains a greatsword or longbow or heavy crossbow, because they can only use that arquebus, at most, once per fight (more likely once every other fight), and then they have to swap to something else. that entire aesthetic simply cannot exist with this method. which, depending on the campaign, could be fine...but i don't really think it's great as a universal solution.[SPOILER="i've thought about this question myself for a while but i'm gonna shove that in a spoiler so it's maybe not so distracting"]the solution i've pondered for a while is to give firearms a second damage die and make their damage dice explode, but don't allow ability modifiers to be added to their damage. that does a few things:1. it reduces the gap between skilled and unskilled firearm users (which is a big reason they got as popular as they did to begin with) by removing the ability modifer to damage.2. it keeps firearms about as capable as other ranged weapons by throwing in the second damage die. a 2d4 firearm is about as damaging as a hand crossbow wielded by someone with a +3 dexterity modifier, for instance.3. it somewhat displays the absolute horror show that is terminal ballistics - both by removing the ability modifier to damage (e.g. a bullet overpenetrating a target and causing minimal damage) and by making the damage dice explode (e.g. a bullet not only expanding within the target, but also possibly bouncing off of bones and causing even more damage).1 and 3 help firearms feel unique and (at least somewhat) true to life, while 2 prevents firearms from becoming over-or-underpowered, since they're pretty much always within the expected band of ranged damage anyway (well, aside from the exploding dice, but you could remove that if it really worries you). in turn, because the firearms aren't overpowered, you can sling them around as a primary weapon instead of just as an encounter power. in theory, anyway.[/SPOILER]</blockquote>

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