Making my Gunslinger Pop

[whisperwind1]

Hey guys i'm playing a Gunslinger in a game of Skulls & Shackles, and so far he's been pretty fun. But lately i've been feeling like he's a little dull from a mechanical perspective, or at the very least not as awesome as he could be. Shooting a gun is great and all (musket btw, which is viable if i get two of them and a loader), but maybe there's other stuff I can do with him.

http://www.dndsheets.net/view.php?id=69814

Now I know multiclassing is not worth it generally in Pathfinder, but I was hoping for some advice on how to make my guy cooler. Perhaps a prestige class or class combo that really makes him shine. Can you guys help me out here?

I guess if I have any preferences, it'd be the ability to put out alot of damage, and not have to worry about reload time. Also some close combat ability would be nice, preferably one that doesn't use strength.

Much appreciated!

[Arutema]

You want Deadly Aim, which is basically Power Attack for ranged weapons. Ultimate Combat page 146 explicitly says Deadly Aim works with firearms, and you don't care about the penalty to attack rolls it gives you because you're already hitting touch AC.

[grarrrg]

I guess if I have any preferences, it'd be the ability to put out alot of damage, and not have to worry about reload time. Also some close combat ability would be nice, preferably one that doesn't use strength.

You'd need the Musket Master Archetype to drop reload times a notch, then you'd need the Rapid Reload feat to drop them another notch, and finally Alchemical Cartridges to drop them down to a Free Action.
Although any 2 of those 3 will at least get you down to a Move Reload, which at least lets you shoot once per round.


For "low STR close combat", Weapon Finesse + Agile Weapon gets you DEX to-hit and DEX to damage.


Gunslingers are a fairly front-loaded class, once you hit level 5 you are pretty free to branch out if you so choose. Anything in particular you looking for? Skills? Spells? More shooty-goodness?

[whisperwind1]

You'd need the Musket Master Archetype to drop reload times a notch, then you'd need the Rapid Reload feat to drop them another notch, and finally Alchemical Cartridges to drop them down to a Free Action.
Although any 2 of those 3 will at least get you down to a Move Reload, which at least lets you shoot once per round.


For "low STR close combat", Weapon Finesse + Agile Weapon gets you DEX to-hit and DEX to damage.


Gunslingers are a fairly front-loaded class, once you hit level 5 you are pretty free to branch out if you so choose. Anything in particular you looking for? Skills? Spells? More shooty-goodness?

Actually I had a talk with a friend after posting, and he made me realize that I hadn't been taking advantage of many of my class features. For instance i'd basically never used my trick shots aside from Gunslinger's initiative, and never used the Nautical Jargon Buccaneer class feature. I suppose that I never found a use for most of them, but he encouraged me to seek them out, instead of waiting for the DM to serve them up to me. I think maybe that's the main reason why I felt the class was rather bland, I wasn't using half of it lol.

Still, to answer your question, I WOULD like to get more skills and more shooty goodness. Deadly Aim was mentioned and is totally on my list, and the rapid reload thing would be great as well. Although since i'm a Buccaneer at lvl 5, aren't I no longer allowed to be a Musket Master?

[AvatarVecna]

Is your DM open to 3rd party materials? Because if so, the Gunslinger PrC (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-prestige-classes/paizo-fans-united/gunslinger) is an absolute riot to combine with a regular gunslinger of any type. If you thought you were a DPR machine before...

[grarrrg]

Although since i'm a Buccaneer at lvl 5, aren't I no longer allowed to be a Musket Master?

Missed that part. Only skimmed the top page of the character sheet, used to people putting the archetype(s) on the class line "Gunslinger (Buccaneer)".

You are correct, both archetypes trade/alter Gun Training, so they aren't compatible.
Without Musket Master you'll never get Free Action reloads, but Move action is still possible. Since a normal Full-Attack is not an option, then Dead Shot Deed would be the normal alternative, but Buccaneers trade that away.
It's kind of sad when Vital Strike starts looking good...
Would strongly suggest switching to a Pistol once you hit 6 Bab, then you can Free Reload>Full Attack.

If you do switch to a Pistol, keep in mind that you still need a Free Hand, so don't bother with TWF or anything. As far as melee options go though, there is always the Axe-Musket, Dagger-Pistol, and Sword Cane-Pistol.

Buccaneer is flavorful, but is generally a weaker option than most. No Quick-Clear deed for starters, Gun Training is delayed until level _13_...yeah.
If you want DEX to damage anytime soon, you'll want to see if you can go Trench Fighter for 3 levels, or Savage Technologist Barbarian for 5 levels.

[AvatarVecna]

Wait, you're playing a Gunslinger who can't free action reload at level 5, and you haven't been using your other class features? No wonder you're finding it boring, you can't do anything!

[atemu1234]

A Meteor Swarm to the inside of the mouth usually does the trick.

[whisperwind1]

Buccaneer is flavorful, but is generally a weaker option than most. No Quick-Clear deed for starters, Gun Training is delayed until level _13_...yeah.
If you want DEX to damage anytime soon, you'll want to see if you can go Trench Fighter for 3 levels, or Savage Technologist Barbarian for 5 levels.

Yeah we're playing Skulls & Shackles, so its actually been pretty great for RP. Also I get to shoot the ship's guns so that's always nice. Also I could switch to pistol I guess (especially since Buccaneer supports it at lvl 9), but I feel like the musket is my character's trademark. Conceptually the musket is cooler looking than a mere pistol after all. Also it's double-barreled so I can double blast for 2d12 damage.

The DM's a pretty chill fellow, so I'm hoping to add more barrels to make it an organ gun.

[whisperwind1]

Wait, you're playing a Gunslinger who can't free action reload at level 5, and you haven't been using your other class features? No wonder you're finding it boring, you can't do anything!

Lol yeah, now I've started using my other class features and i'm instantly having more fun than before.

[Geddy2112]

I suggest the prestige class Grand Marshall as your next level. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/other-paizo/e-h/grand-marshal Boost to charisma based skills, still gain gunslinger levels to get new deeds, and some very useful combat abilities.

[grarrrg]

Also I could switch to pistol I guess (especially since Buccaneer supports it at lvl 9)

Sword and Pistol feat?
No...just...no.
Not unless you dip Monk so that your "melee weapon" is your Fist.

Still need a free hand to reload.


Despite Paizo continuously publishing things that _look_ like they support TWF+Guns, they really, really don't.