He's PALADIN!

[Suteinu]

In Dragon #306, there's a paladin feat called Secret of the Firebrands, a Greyhawk-setting feat for paladins of Murlynd. It allows the paladin to use and create "Renaissance weapons and Renaissance grenadelike weapons from the DMG," as well as having the contacts to make purchaces of such from Murlynd's underground market. Now, all this is well and good, but the picture is truely inspiring: a guy in miss-matched halfplate with a bladed blunderbuss-pistol in hand.

I'd like to make this guy, starting at 1st level, for a hopefully up-comming Greyhawk game. I'm thinking Cloistered Cleric 1, Rogue X, or something suitably skilled or tinkerish to begin with, followed by at least Pal 2, the requisite for the feat. Aside from that, I'm not sure how to build. I see him as having grown-up bookish, and now he wants to serve Murlynd and Heironeus by really seeing the world and making his own stories. He has a swashbuckling attitude and a confidence based on a combination of faith, logic, and luck. `Course, that's all easily played; how do I build him?

[Fouredged Sword]

Well, sounds like a PRC paladin, as 2 levels of that is a great option over 2 levels of normal paladin. With cleric and rogue levels, you are looking at level 6 before you can enter.

So
cleric 4 / rogue 2 / PRC paladin X.

[Xuldarinar]

Personally i'd go archivist instead of cloistered cleric, but thats just me. Shame it makes the PrC paladin require another dip somewhere to pick up turning.

With some adaptation, if permitted, i'd say after the paladin levels convert the shining blade of heironeous and become a "shining gun of heironeous". But, that requires some tweaks and I'm guessing you'd want to use content as is.

Artificer, factotum, or generic expert could work for the skilled/tinker type you are looking for.

If it weren't for theme, and maybe sometime i'd do this, i'd mix that feat with bone knight or bone collector to make a bone pistols and musket, and bombs.

[(Un)Inspired]

Personally i'd go archivist instead of cloistered cleric, but thats just me. Shame it makes the PrC paladin require another dip somewhere to pick up turning.

With some adaptation, if permitted, i'd say after the paladin levels convert the shining blade of heironeous and become a "shining gun of heironeous". But, that requires some tweaks and I'm guessing you'd want to use content as is.

Artificer, factotum, or generic expert could work for the skilled/tinker type you are looking for.

If it weren't for theme, and maybe sometime i'd do this, i'd mix that feat with bone knight or bone collector to make a bone pistols and musket, and bombs.

This is the first recommendation fro Shining Blade of Heironeous I've ever seen.