Firearms

Overview

• Firearms have only recently been introduced to the world of Crescent, courtesy of a top secret Ministry research project in Ferrodyne (where else?). They are therefore expensive and rare.
• The ability to use firearms (hand guns and long guns only) is dependent upon the character possessing the Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Small Arms Feat. This new feat covers the basics of cleaning, reloading, and using firearms.
• The following traditional ranged weapons feats also apply to firearms: Point Blank Shot, Far Shot, Precise Shot, Shot on the Run, Rapid Reload, Sharp-Shooting, Zen Archery.
• Reloading pistols and rifles provokes attacks of opportunity.
• A kit for the cleaning and care of a Firearm will cost 5 GP, and one must be purchased for each type of firearm owned.
• All firearms are of the type 'Ballistic'.
• Crescent firearms are not based on black powder; they actually utilize an ingenious alchemical goo known as blasting jelly. Indeed, the commonly known recipe for black powder (sulfur, charcoal and saltpeter) produces nothing but an inert, dusty pile of smelly pellets. The laws of nature in Crescent don't exactly mirror ours.
• All of the currently available firearms are breach-loading weapons that take a specially made cartridge. This cartridge consists of blasting jelly and a projectile wrapped together in a tight cylinder, usually made of waxed paper. Ammunition is very fragile; it is ruined if it takes even 1 point of damage. It is also sensitive to both heat and oxygen, and any exposure to flames or open air will quite probably destroy it with a quick flash and a small cloud of smoke (often with negative side-effects to bystanders!). However, this ammunition is not sensitive to moisture.

Advantages

Perhaps the greatest advantage of firearms is known as the "Penetrating Power". Because of the superior penetration of bullets, compared to arrows and stones, firearms get to negate some measure of the protection provided by the target's Armor. A firearm can only negate AC bonuses provided by armor (natural or worn), shields, or any similar physical or force protection. It also negates hardness, in the case of striking inanimate objects.

Disadvantages

Perhaps the greatest disadvantage of firearms is the Misfire chance. While for all other purposes, we will not be dealing with critical failures or fumbles, for firearms, there is a chance that a bad roll will cause something bad to happen to your gun. Any roll under the misfire chance, as listed in Sample Firearms, means that something bad has happened. See Mishaps for more details.

Sample Firearms

Weapon	Cost	Cost/Round	Dam.	Critical	Range	Size	Wt.	Pen.	Reload	Misfire
Dueling Pistol	300 GP	7 GP	2d4	19-20 x3	40 ft	Small	3 lb	+2	1 MA	1
Military Pistol	500 GP	10 GP	2d6	19-20 x3	80 ft	Medium	5 lb	+3	1 MA	1-2
Rifle	100 GP	15 GP	2d8	19-20 x3	140 ft	Large	15 lb	+4	1 FR	1-3
Shotgun	1100 GP	15 GP	special	19-20 x3	60 ft	Large	15 lb	+2	1 FR	1-3
Pen. = Penetrating Power; 1 MA = 1 move-equivalent action; 1 FR = 1 full-round action

Firearm Descriptions

Dueling Pistol

This weapon's main virtue is that it is easy to conceal, being only 9" long and fairly lightweight. The tradeoff is short range, low penetration and low damage.

Military Pistol

This is a larger, more powerful pistol typically issued to military officers. It is 1' in length, with a fat barrel. It has much longer range, better penetration and better damage than the dueling pistol.

Military Rifle

A basic military rifle, usually between 3' and 4' in length. It has much longer range, better penetration and better damage than the Military pistol, but takes longer to reload.

Shotgun

A basic shotgun, usually between 3' and 4' in length. It has shorter range, lower penetration and lower damage than the Military Rifle. However, it is capable of doing damage to a spread, something no other firearm can do.

Damage: at any distance up to 10', Shotguns do 2d8 to one target. Past that range, shotguns do 2d6 to the target, and 1d6-1 to anyone standing in adjacent squares to the target. Victims caught in the spread can make a REF save (DC 20) for half damage

Misses are rolled according to the grenade deviation rules.

Related Feats

See Firearms Feats for more information.

Mishaps

Sometimes, things don't go quite right with firearms - they are, after all, a new and developing technology, and they are also made by gnomes.

d20 Roll	Mishap
1	Kaboom! - Weapon explodes, doing full ammo damage to wielder. Weapon is completely destroyed.
2	Crack! - the weapon fires, but the barrel cracks irreparably in doing so. All further attacks with the weapon are at a -4 penalty until repaired by a gunsmith (which takes 1d6 days).
3-4	Backfire - A misloaded charge shoots a burst of flame backwards, causing half the usual damage to the wielder and ruining the cartridge. Weapon must be emptied and reloaded, costing double the usual amount of time to reload.
5	Supercharged - the blasting jelly in the cartridge was perhaps a bit too potent - the round goes off with tremendous force, knocking the wielder on his ass (Balance check DC 15 to remain upright).
6-7	Smokin'! - the blasting jelly in the cartridge was apparently of the wrong blend - a huge amount of thick smoke pours out of the end of the barrel. See smoke bombs for exact effect. The round is wasted, and the weapon must be emptied and reloaded, costing double the usual amount of time.
8-11	Premature Firing - the weapon goes off spontaneously, before it is quite aimed. The round is wasted.
12-16	Dud - the cartridge is a dud, and fails to fire. Weapon must be emptied and reloaded, costing the usual amount of time to reload this weapon
17-19	Jam - the round fails to fire properly and the bullet jams in the muzzle. The weapon is unusable until the jammed slug is forcibly removed, requiring four times the usual loading time for this weapon. Attempting to reload and fire with a slug stuck in the barrel will cause a Kaboom! as listed above.
20	Misfire - Hammer falls, but weapon does not fire. Recock as a free action and fire again next opportunity.