To be a Gunslinger.

[Yael]

I am planning to run a Musket Master (Yeah) any special tip for this character? I have never built a ranged character nor a gunslinger, so... Yeah... SRD only pliserino?

[Psyren]

Gunslingers are a low-tier class - you can be easily overshadowed by the rest of the party if you're not careful and end up not having fun. What is everyone else playing, how is your group's general optimization level, what level are you starting at, are there any important houserules in play etc.?

[torrasque666]

Gunslingers can hit hard and fast, and from long range, but not much else. Thats my 2cp.

[stack]

I had a bad low level experience playing a musket master. Low level enemies tend not to have a ton of armor (goblins for example get their AC from Dex/size), so touch attacks are nice but not as huge as they are later. You have low damage and troublesome action economy at 1 as a musket master, burning cash for alchemical loads and hoping you don't misfire. Then you roll a 1 for damage, its great (1d12 damage is much less reliable than say 1d8+3 or 2d6+6). You won't be very impressive until you get deadly aim and dex to damage, so if you start at 1 be prepared for a slog. After that, you do damage. That's mostly it.

[Slipperychicken]

Mandatory Feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Deadly Aim, Rapid Reload.

Extra fun feats: WF(Musket)->Snap Shot->Improved Snap Shot, Combat Reflexes. Who says you can't have fun in melee? Inproved Precise Shot is also good, as is the weapon focus/specialization line.

Classes: Musket Master 3 or 5/Trench Fighter 3+. Musket master gives faster reloads and dex to damage (at 5). Trench Fighter gives feats, weapon training bonus, and dex to damage again.

Equipment: +1 Greater Reliable Double-Barreled Musket. Doubles attacks for -4 to hit, never misfires. Also a mount, to let you move up to its speed while full attacking at range for no penalty (yes this is how it works). Far-reaching scope and Seeking enchantment are also good.

[weckar]

The viability of a gunslinger archetype depends on how common guns are, because that directly influences the price of your main combat loadlout, as per RAW, but also dictates whether you require a feat to wield firearms at all. Why do I say this? Because if that feat is NOT necessary (and usually even if it is), a Ranger can often make for a better 'Gunslinger' than the gunslinger.

[gorfnab]

This handbook may be of some use: Gunslinger Handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?213035-PF-The-Gunslinger-s-Handbook)

[AvatarVecna]

Gunslingers can be DPR machines, but are low-tier in most respects. Assuming you haven't decided anything yet, other than the class/archetype...

Attributes

Strength isn't really necessary, outside of the fact that bullets are heavy. Still, by the time you'll be firing enough bullets to need a ton of them on-hand, you'll have magic items that can store things efficiently enough. You probably won't ever need more than a 10 or 12 here.

Dexterity is the most important attribute for you. It boosts Initiative, AC, attack, and damage. Don't neglect this; shoot it into the stratosphere. Seriously, as high as possible.

Constitution is interesting. On the one hand, your HP and Fortitude are decent enough that you don't need too much support, considering your combat style. On the other hand, you're too close to melee usually to afford to neglect this. A 12 is good, and I wouldn't go higher than 14 for optimization reasons.

Intelligence is less than necessary. You don't need skills to support you, and that's all this really helps. Feel free to leave this at 10, or even dump it, unless you want to be really skilled.

Wisdom amps up your Grit, which makes it great for you. It also boosts your one bad save, which is just a bonus. Keep this at least at 12, and higher if you can afford it. Don't neglect Dexterity for this, though.

Charisma is terrible for you, since you're not a Mysterious Stranger. Dump this into the sea.


Races

Humans, as usual, are among the best options available. Gunslingers are feat-starved early on, and the extra feat is extremely useful.

Goblins are the only race I think can really compete with humans for this class. +4 Dex and the Goblin Gunslinger feat make you extremely capable. Of course, if your build is particularly feat-starved, human is better.


Feats

Point Blank Shot is necessary. Musket range increment (the Touch AC range) stops just outside point blank range.

Precise Shot is necessary. You can afford penalties, but that doesn't mean you should take penalties when you don't have to.

Deadly Aim is necessary. Your damage improves, and while your attack penalty goes down, you can always afford the penalty. It's worth it.

Rapid Reload is necessary...but then, you get it for free for muskets. Combine this with the Fast Musket deed and you can get multiple shots a round with free action reloads. If you want it in another weapon, you'll need another version of this feat.

Far Shot takes away penalties. It's not as useful as the 3.5 Far Shot, but it's still useful.

Weapon Focus is good. You're already focused on a specific weapon, this just helps it be better.

Improved Precise Shot is good. Concealment sucks.

Improved Initiative is good. Going first means the enemy dies quicker.

Improved Critical is good. You're already focused on a specific weapon, this just helps it be better.

Critical Focus is good. It sucks to get a Crit Threat, only to just barely miss the confirmation. Plus, it opens the way for the critical feats, such as Blinding Critical, Crippling Critical, Staggering Critical, and Stunning Critical (my suggestions).

Quick Draw is good, because Gunslinger's Initiative deed.

Iron Will is good; it shores up your bad save a bit.

Extra Grit is always good, especially so for a low-Wis Gunslinger.

Ricochet Shot Deed is good for going around cover.

Signature Deed, once you can get it, is great for either Deadeye (which extends your Touch AC range) or Steady Aim (which does something similar, especially at high levels).


Multiclassing

Rogue is good for a few levels, if you can reliably get Sneak Attack at ranged. I'd stop after 3 or 4 levels, though.

Fighter is good for the Trench Fighter archetype, but only if your DM doesn't mind you getting double Dex mod to damage.

Alchemist is good for flavor, for some decent potions (if you've got the Int for it), and the mutagens.

[NightbringerGGZ]

I am planning to run a Musket Master (Yeah) any special tip for this character? I have never built a ranged character nor a gunslinger, so... Yeah... SRD only pliserino?

Since you've never built a ranged character, here's some basic advice. First you'll want to make sure you pick up the feats Point Blank Shot followed by Precise Shot. Point Blank Shot won't be as useful to you since you'll be trying to stay at an extended range, but it is a requirement for many of the ranged feats you actually want. Precise Shot is required to remove a pretty stiff penalty you would normally have whenever you fire into melee combat. After that, you'll want to pick up Deadly Aim for an optional damage boost and eventually Rapid Shot. Those are the primary feats that are important to ranged builds.

As a Gunslinger, it is important to know which of the rules variants your GM is using for firearms. Please ask him and let us know, as it'll affect some of our advice. Going with what is standard for PF adventure paths and PFS though, reloading a Musket (or another 2-Handed gun) is a usually a Full-Round action. You get the Rapid Reload for free at first level (As a Musket Master) which reduces that reload speed to a Standard Action. At level 3 you get a class feature that reduces the speed down to a Move Action. You will want to pay the extra gold for "Alchemical Cartridges" which increase your misfire rate by 1 but also bump down the reload speed by another step. That would be a Move Action at first level and a Free Action at third. Note that you'll need your reload action to be a free action by the time you start getting multiple attacks per round.

I'm also going to warn you that past level 5, there are very few great abilities that you'll pick up as a Musket Master. It would be too your advantage to start multi-classing at that point. We can provide more advice on that front if you can provide some information on what type of character you want to put together.

Finally, if you aren't married to going with a Musket Master build, there are several fun concepts that use a gun and will provide a more versatile character. Just let us know what you would like to be able to do with this character.

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

Ask your DM if he agrees with James Jacobs (http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2l7ns&page=385?Ask-James-Jacobs-ALL-your-Questions-Here#19247) regarding ability-based bonuses, or with what the rules actually say (untyped bonuses from different sources stack).

Did he agree with what the rules actually say? If so, take 3 levels of Trench Fighter (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/fighter/archetypes/paizo---fighter-archetypes/trench-fighter), then finish off with Gunslinger, for double dex to damage.

If the DM agrees with JJ, then he's raining on a T5 parade (apparently it's not T4), so farts to him.

Either way, you'll be good at shooting things, and that's about it. I play with a gunslinger, and he does about 2-3 times the damage of the melee guy in the party, but that's all he does.