[PrC]And from the barrel of his gun came forth lighting and thunder

[Morgan_Scott82]

As you can see from my sig, I'm preparing to run a piratical type play-by-post adventure on the high seas (which I encourage anyone interested to submit a character for), and one of the potential players asked about this class (http://www.privateerpress.com/docs/Gun_Mage_PrivateerPress8-11.pdf) from Privateer Press's Iron Kingdom's setting, since my game will have magic and we're using firearms, I thought it would be a good concept, however I feel the concept is more narrowly focused and therefore better suited to a prestige class, so I submit to you the Arcane Pistoleer.

Arcane Pistoleer

Requirements
Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Firearms), Point Blank Shot, Weapon Focus Pistol
Skills: Craft (Firearms) 8 ranks
Spells: The ability to cast 2nd level arcane spells

HD: d6
Class Skills: , Climb, Concentration, Craft, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (Arcana), Listen, Perform, Profession, Spellcraft, Spot, and Swim.
Skill Points per level: 2+ Int modifier.

Arcane Pistoleer
{table=head]Level|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Spells

1st|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+2|Pistolcast, Bonded Pistols|-

2nd|
+1|
+0|
+3|
+3|-|+1 level of existing spellcasting class

3rd|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+3|Pistoleer's Reserve|+1 level of existing spellcasting class

4th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+4|Bonus Feat|+1 level of existing spellcasting class

5th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+4|-|+1 level of existing spellcasting class

6th|
+4|
+2|
+5|
+5|Channel Spell 3/day|-

7th|
+5|
+2|
+5|
+5|Greater Reserve|+1 level of existing spellcasting class

8th|
+6|
+2|
+6|
+6|Bonus Feat|+1 level of existing spellcasting class

9th|
+6|
+3|
+6|
+6|Channel Spell 4/day|+1 level of existing spellcasting class

10th|
+7|
+3|
+7|
+7|???|+1 level of existing spellcasting class [/table]

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Arcane pistoleer gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Pistolcast (Ex)
Arcane pistoleer seamlessly blend the use of their pistols and powerful spellcasting abililities. An arcane pistoleer can cast a spell with somatic or material components even when holding a pistol in one or both hands. If an arcane pistoleer holds anything other than a pistol, he must still have at least one free hand to cast a spell with somatic or material components. Casting a spell in this ways still provokes an attack of opportunity normally.

Bonded Pistol (Su)
An arcane pistoleer forms a special bond with his pistols. Doing so requires an arcane rite which takes a full day and uses up alchemical materials costing 100 gp, during which the pistol is carved with arcane runes and other symbols of power. The bonded weapon becomes an extension of the arcane pistoleer and while many such mages carry a second, third or even fourth pistol, not all of them can bond to multiple pistols. An arcane pistoleer can only bond to a number of pistols equal to his Charisma ability modifer.
An arcane pistoleer learns to channel is mystic energies through his weapons of choice, and gain other abilities as he advances.

Spells
At each new level of arcane pistoleer, except first and sixth, an arcane pistoleer gains new spells per day (and spells known if he casts spontaneously) as if he had also gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. He does not however gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If the character had more than one arcane spellcasting class before he became and arcane pistoleer, he must decide which class he adds each level of arcane pistoleer for the purpose of determining spells per day.

Bonus Feat
At fourth and eighth level, an arcane pistoleer gains a bonus feat. These feats must be chosen from the following list: any Metamagic feat, Combat Casting, Dodge, Mobility, Improved Initiative, Far Shot, Improved Precise Shot, Precise Shot, Shot on the Run, Quick Draw, Spell Focus (Greater Spell Focus), Spell Penetration (Greater Spell Penetration), Weapon Focus (pistol).

Pistoleer’s Reserve (Sp)
By holding back a portion of his arcane might and meting it out one shot at a time an arcane pistoleer can continue to fight on, even after most of his spells have been extended. As long as the arcane pistoleer has at least one prepared 2nd level spell or spell slot remaining, each attack he makes with his bonded pistols does an additional 1d6 damage. Upon reaching 8th level this extra damage increases to 2d6 as long as he has at least one 4th level spell slot remaining.

Channel Spell (Sp)
At 6th level an arcane pistoleer can channel any spell he can cast into his bonded pistol. Using this ability requires a move action and the arcane pistoleer uses up the prepared spell or spell slot just as if he had cast the spell. The channeled spell affects the next target that the arcane pistoleer successfully attacks with his bonded pistol (saving throws and spell resistance still apply). Even if the spell normally effects an area or is a ray, it effects only the target. The spell is discharged from the pistol, which can then hold another spell. An arcane pistoleer can channel spells into only one bonded pistol at a time regardless of how many bonded pistol’s he has. Spells channeled into a pistol ar lost if not used in 8 hours.

???
I still need a capstone ability to close out the class. Any ideas?

The Arcane Pistoleer's Bonded Pistol
Bonded Pistols are more effective in the hands of the arcane pistoleer than they would be in the hands of others. They gain the following abilities as the arcane pistoleer levels up.

Level|Ability

1st-2nd | Arcane Shot: Ray

3rd-4th | Quickdraw

5th-6th | Arcane Shot: Touch

7th-8th | Sighting Link

9th-10th | Call Pistol

Arcane Shot: Ranged Touch
If the master is 3rd level or higher, the bonded pistol can be used to deliver ranged touch spells. When the master casts a ray or other ranged touch spell, the bullet "toucher." (The master must be holding the pistol at the time of casting.) The ranged touch spell can then be delivered as a ranged touch attack. If the attack would also succeed as a normal ranged melee attack, pistol damage is also applied to the attack. As normal, if the master casts another spell, the touch spell dissipates.

Quickdraw
At 3rd level while weilding his bonded pistol(s), the arcane pistoleer is treated to have the quickdraw feat.

Arcane Shot: Touch
If the master is 7th level or higher, the bonded pistol can be used to deliver touch spells at range. This is handled exactly as the Ranged Touch ability.

Sighting Link
Due to the magical nature of the bond that has been forged between the pistol and its master, with a successful Concentration check (DC 15), the master of 7th level or higher can see as if looking out from his pistol’s sights (or the end of the barrel if it has no sights), instead of using his own eyes. This enables the master to aim the pistol without looking, allowing for some spectacular trick shots.

Call Pistol
At 5th level, the arcane pistoleer gains the ability to summon his pistol to his hand. When separated from his pistol, with a successful Concentration check (DC 18) the master can cause his pistol to fly into his hand so long as it is not gripped by another and can be seen by its master. This ability is a free action.


Conclusion
So there it is, what do you think? It still needs a capstone ability and to me it feels abit too powerful, but then again I always err on the side of caution in balancing my own homebrew stuff. Let me know what you think?

[Submergedeagle]

That sounds pretty good to me. Can't think of a cap ability though. I'd be interested in playing in your pirate game though! I'm thinking cross-class between Druid and Pirate :-P

[Renloth]

I like it!

As to a capstone, I keep hearing the phrase "One with the Gun" in my mind.
Something about being unable to be killed completly, unless his guns are destroyed as well? (A bit of soul infused into them?) Or perhaps the ability to increase the damage of his Pistoleer's Reserve by burning a spell slot? (Sort of packing the potential energy of the spell into the bullet, rather than actually casting the spell.

(I'd like to play in this game as well. In fact, I'd kind of want to play one of these...)

Hope that helps!

~Ren

[Kyace]

You might consider making the bonded gun intelligent at level 10, something like a faux familiar.

[Fizban]

So it's like a combination of Daggerspell Mage and Duskblade, but with guns? Sounds good. I'd make the arcane channel work more like the duskblades channeling, but it probably works better as is.

[YPU]

I really like it, certainly are going to go towards this class. Can meet the requirements on level 5, I think.
my sugestion for the capstone power:

Arcane tempest (Sp)
In order to use this power the gun mage must be holding his bonded pistol. The pistol must be loaded. This power takes a full round to use, when you use it you sacrifice a spell of 1st lever or higher. You make an attack at your highest attack bonus plus a additional attack for every spell level of the spell you sacrificed. These shots all are at your highest attack bonus. You need to have the required bullets and powder in order to use this power, these are used just like spell components. All these attacks deal normal damage plus any damage from pistoleer’s reserve, if used. You can use this power as often as you like, but your total level of spells can not be more then your effective caster level divided by two, rounded down, per day. Example: a level 14 caster level could in total sacrifice 6 levels of spells, devided between any number of uses, but no more then 6 because you must sacrifice at least one spell level.

[Khoran]

I really like it, certainly are going to go towards this class. Can meat the requirements on level 5, I think.
my sugestion for the capstone power:

Arcane tempest (Sp)
In order to use this power the gun mage must be holding his bonded pistol. The pistol must be loaded. This power takes a full round to use, when you use it you sacrifice a spell of 1st lever or higher. You make an attack at your highest attack bonus plus a additional attack for every spell level of the spell you sacrificed. These shots all are at your highest attack bonus. You need to have the required bullets and powder in order to use this power, these are used just like spell components. All these attacks deal normal damage plus any damage from pistoleer’s reserve, if used. You can use this power as often as you like, but your total level of spells can not be more then your effective caster level divided by two, rounded down, per day. Example: a level 14 caster level could in total sacrifice 6 levels of spells, devided between any number of uses, but no more then 6 because you must sacrifice at least one spell level.
Do you by chance play Warmachine?

Anyways, this looks like a fun Prestige Class. I might look into using it for a setting I am working on. Would you mind terribly if I did?

[YPU]

Do you by chance play Warmachine?

Where you think I got the name, my favored unit.
Ow, and morgan, Sorry for all the trouble, I realize I have thus far requested two variant classes and one third party class.

[Matthew]

This looks like an interesting Prestige Class (Magic Guns have always appealed to me in a weird kind of way), but meeting the Base Attack Bonus Prerequisite for this Prestige Class is very difficult. The earliest I can see entering this Class is as a Wizard 3/Fighter 3 and for that I might as well wait to be Sorcerer 8. Seems a bit harsh. The Craft Prerequisite seems to suggest this Class is enterable as Something 5, but I don't see how that's possible.

[Edit] Oh wait, I could get there as a Bard 4/Fighter 1.

[Fizban]

When the master casts a ray or other ranged touch spell, the bullet "toucher."
Editing error, fix: When the pistoleer casts a ray or other spell that requires a ranged touch attack, he may designate the bullet in his bonded pistol as the toucher.

Also, you should define the limits of the sighting link more clearly. Right now it gives no concrete benefits, but a clever player can exploit it for more than it should be worth.

And when are you going to give us a capstone already? :smalltongue:

[Morgan_Scott82]

This looks like an interesting Prestige Class (Magic Guns have always appealed to me in a weird kind of way), but meeting the Base Attack Bonus Prerequisite for this Prestige Class is very difficult. The earliest I can see entering this Class is as a Wizard 3/Fighter 3 and for that I might as well wait to be Sorcerer 8. Seems a bit harsh. The Craft Prerequisite seems to suggest this Class is enterable as Something 5, but I don't see how that's possible.

[Edit] Oh wait, I could get there as a Bard 4/Fighter 1.

You're right, I had the BAB in there before I added the craft prerequisite as a method of limiting the class to a 6th level entry, consider it gone.

I'm still thinking about a capstone. YPUs suggestion was ok, but I really dislike the idea of a flintlock pistol that can fire multiple times a round, so I'm looking for something else.

One option I was considering was some sort of 'metamagic shot' ability that allowed you to apply metamagic to spells cast using the arcane shot ability of the Arcane Pistoleer's bonded pistol.

Also the sighting link was a copy/paste from the class on the privateer press website. Drat, foiled by my own laziness once again! I'll put in some work on it when I get some time.

[Korias]

Nice, class, I cant see anything wrong with it.

However, As a capstone, I would make the pistol inteligent, as well as give it a spell like ability 3/day.

[Poppatomus]

Cool Class. As capstone's go how about this:

That One Shot The Pistolier has acheived so sublime a link between his own energies and that of his weapon that transition is almost seemless. As a free action, the pistolier may channel the energy of one of his spells into the gun affecting the next shot it takes. By sacraficing a spell slot the pistolier can add an insight bonus equal to the level of the slot sacraficed to any attack or damage roll made by the pistol.

This must be announced before the shot is made. Up to six bonuses may be applied to any given shot, a max of three applied to attack and three applied to damage, but the stacked effect requires the sacrafice of an additional spell slot for each existing identical bonus. (so if one wished to add +18 to an attack roll, one would need to sacrafice three ninth level spell slots, for +27 six spell slots. If one wished to add +9 to attack and +9 to damage it would only cost 2 ninth level slots.)

This ability can be used twice per day and may be used even if the pistol is already charged with a spell effect.

Just an idea.

[YPU]

Hm, the idea behind my capstone suggestion was that a gunmage eventually learns to turn the biggest downside to fire arms (the reload time) away by using a complicated form of minor teleportation. I do why you wouldn’t want guns to fire rapidly. I’m not even asking if you can rapid reload with fire arms because 3 seconds for a pistol is freakishly quick.