Cannoneer and/or Witch Hunter

[ekarney]

I'm going to be playing in a new campaign soon, after DMing for over a year now and the DM is placing in a semi-industrialised world of around the 1800s, meaning he's opened up the firearms from Dragon 221 to us. He's also allowed crossbow feats to apply to firearms, since they lack support in 3.5.

So my first though was Field Guns and I'm just wondering how I can work a field gun or similar into a viable build.

Alternatively, if that's not viable I was contemplating having a pistol in one hand, maybe of the grenade variety and a sword/cutlass in the other, would that just be a TWF feat chain or do I need to look into it deeper?

Other DragonMag is on the table with DM permission, no full casters allowed or similar. PF content is also allowed despite it being a 3.5 game.

Edit: Despite PF material being allowed, I'd like to keep it as 3.5like as possible so I can use it in other campaigns should I feel the need to.

[Nihilarian]

What's the Field Gun do?

Versatile Combatant from Drow of the Underdark would help with the second idea. You won't be able to take ITWF or GTWF with it but you can use Rapid Shot as long as you can get the reload action down to free. There's an auto loading enchantment in, I wanna say, Heroes of Battle? I'd probably look into a fairly simple Daring Outlaw or Swift Hunter build for this

Also, are you aware that Pathfinder has rules for guns, a class specifically designed around the use of guns, magic items, spells and feats made with guns in mind and several archetypes that are designed around the use of guns?

[ekarney]

What's the Field Gun do?

Versatile Combatant from Drow of the Underdark would help with the second idea. You won't be able to take ITWF or GTWF with it but you can use Rapid Shot as long as you can get the reload action down to free. There's an auto loading enchantment in, I wanna say, Heroes of Battle? I'd probably look into a fairly simple Daring Outlaw or Swift Hunter build for this

Also, are you aware that Pathfinder has rules for guns, a class specifically designed around the use of guns, magic items, spells and feats made with guns in mind and several archetypes that are designed around the use of guns?

Yeah I know about PF's rules for guns and whatnot but I'm trying to keep it as 3.5 as possible in case I want/need to adapt it.

The field gun is a siege weapon that forces a reflex save for half damage against everything in a 500ft line. It's a medium object, takes a full round and professions check to set the fuse, another full round and profession check to load the powder, a a full round action and strength check to load the cannonball, and a standard action to fire
However it says multiple crew members can do multiple things in the same round. So 3 crew members could have it ready to fire in one round.

I know I could use aptitude enhancement and hand crossbow focus to get reloading time down to a free action, it's just getting the free hand to do so whilst there's a sword in the other. Although I might have a look, I do have a penchant for all things Drowy after the campaign I've been DMing

[TheifofZ]

The field gun is a siege weapon that forces a reflex save for half damage against everything in a 500ft line. It's a medium object, takes a full round and professions check to set the fuse, another full round and profession check to load the powder, a a full round action and strength check to load the cannonball, and a standard action to fire
However it says multiple crew members can do multiple things in the same round. So 3 crew members could have it ready to fire in one round.


You didn't mention the damage this deals, but I can easily see any DM saying no to this. As well, if it's a Siege weapon that means it's a 5'*5' square, not something someone could carry.
If you can use it, I'd suggest leadership and paying for a cart, everlasting feedbags, and two horses to pull it around for you.

If you need a free hand, getting a permanent Unseen Servant wouldn't be bad. Other options include growing extra arms or picking a race that has them..

[ekarney]

Yeah, I wasn't sure about copyright/piracy/whatever and whatnot, I think the fact that at fastest it can only fire once every second turn unless I can somehow get all those full round actions down to move actions...

How would I "grow about" growing extra arms? (if you'll excuse to pun), we have a relatively limited race selection so growing them might be my only option, since apparently magic is going to be a pain to use and acquire.