[PEACH] Modern firearms in D&D

[Tiadoppler]

Firearms are a new category of ranged weapons for D&D 5e. No traditional classes start with any firearm proficiencies, and firearm proficiencies are learned somewhat differently from standard weapon proficiencies.

Firearm Ammunition cannot be reused once fired.


Simple Firearms:


Pistol, 2 lbs, Simple One-Handed Firearm

(single) 1d6 Piercing damage, Pistol Ammunition (range 40'/160') Versatile (range 80'/320')

Pistol Caliber Carbine, 7 lbs, Simple Two-Handed Firearm

(single) 1d6 Piercing damage, Pistol Ammunition (range 200'/400')

Lever-Action Rifle, 8 lbs, Simple Two-Handed Firearm

(single) 1d8 Piercing damage, Magnum Ammunition (range 250'/500')

Carbine, 8 lbs, Simple Two-Handed Firearm

(single) 1d10 Piercing damage, Carbine Ammunition (range 500'/1000')

Shotgun, 9 lbs, Simple Two-Handed Firearm, Strength requirement: 11

(single) 2d6 Piercing damage, Shotgun Ammunition (range 150'/300')

Rifle, 11 lbs, Simple Two-Handed Firearm, Strength requirement: 11

(single) 2d8 Piercing damage, Rifle Ammunition (close range disadvantage 75')(range 750'/1500')



Martial Firearms:


Sub-Machine Gun, 7 lbs, Martial Two-Handed Firearm

(single) 1d6 Piercing damage, Pistol Ammunition (range 200'/400')
(automatic) 2d6 Piercing damage, x3 Pistol Ammunition (range 100'/200')
Special: If you have proficiency with Simple Firearms, you are also proficient with the (single) attack of the Sub-Machine Gun.

Magnum Pistol, 3 lbs, Martial One-Handed Firearm

(single) 1d8 Piercing damage, Magnum Ammunition (range 60'/240') Versatile (range 120'/480')

Automatic Carbine, 8 lbs, Martial Two-Handed Firearm

(single) 1d10 Piercing damage, Carbine Ammunition (range 500'/1000')
(automatic) 2d10 Piercing damage, x3 Carbine Ammunition (range 200'/400')
Special: If you have proficiency with Simple Firearms, you are also proficient with the (single) attack of the Automatic Carbine.

Brush Rifle, 10 lbs, Martial Two-Handed Firearm, Strength requirement: 11

(single) 1d12 Piercing damage, Big-Bore Ammunition (range 300'/600')

Precision Rifle, 15 lbs, Martial Two-Handed Firearm, Strength requirement: 11

(single) 2d8 Piercing damage, Rifle Ammunition (close range disadvantage 150')(range 500' + 50' x Intelligence Score / 1000' + 100' x Intelligence Score)

Service Rifle, 11 lbs, Martial Two-Handed Firearm, Strength requirement: 11

(single) 2d8 Piercing damage, Rifle Ammunition (close range disadvantage 75')(range 750'/1500')
(automatic) 4d8 Piercing damage, x3 Rifle Ammunition (close range disadvantage 75')(range 250'/500')
Special: If you have proficiency with Simple Firearms, you are also proficient with the (single) attack of the Service Rifle.
Special: Proficiency in the (automatic) attack of the Service Rifle requires Strength: 15



Exotic Firearms:


Automatic Pistol, 2 lbs, Exotic One-Handed Firearm, Strength requirement: 13

(single) 1d6 Piercing damage, Pistol Ammunition (range 40'/160') Versatile (range 80'/320')
(automatic) 2d6 Piercing damage, x3 Pistol Ammunition (range 20'/80') Versatile (range 60'/240')
Special: If you have proficiency with Pistol, you are also proficient with the (single) attack of the Automatic Pistol.

Squad Automatic Weapon, 20 lbs, Exotic Two-Handed Firearm, Strength requirement: 13

(automatic) 2d10 Piercing damage, x3 Carbine Ammunition (range 500'/1000')

Big-Bore Pistol, 4 lbs, Exotic One-Handed Firearm, Strength requirement: 13

(single) 1d12 Piercing damage, Big-Bore Ammunition (range 60'/240') Versatile (range 120'/480')

Automatic Shotgun, 12 lbs, Exotic Two-Handed Firearm, Strength requirement: 13

(automatic) 4d6 Piercing damage, x3 Shotgun Ammunition (range 150'/300')

Machine Gun, 25 lbs, Exotic Two-Handed Firearm, Strength requirement: 15

(automatic) 4d8 Piercing damage, x3 Rifle Ammunition (close range disadvantage 75')(range 750'/1500')

Anti-Materiel Rifle, 30 lbs, Exotic Two-Handed Firearm, Strength requirement: 15

(single) 4d6 Piercing damage, Anti-Materiel Ammunition (close range disadvantage 300')(range 1000' + 100' x Intelligence Score/2000' + 200' x Intelligence Score)

Heavy Machine Gun, 85 lbs, Exotic Two-Handed Firearm, Strength requirement: 19

(automatic) 8d6 Piercing damage, x3 Anti-Materiel Ammunition (close range disadvantage 150')(range 1500'/3000')

It costs a level 20 Fighter 1200gp to fire his Heavy Machine Gun for six seconds.


Feats:



Simple Firearm Proficiency does not require spending a Feat. Instead you must spend a week practicing with a firearm that uses Simple Firearm Proficiency, expending 200 rounds of ammunition for that firearm in the process. At the end of that week you gain proficiency in all Simple Firearms. In a campaign where firearms are common, the DM may decide that (some or all, based on class/background) players start with Simple Firearm Proficiency.

Martial Firearm Proficiency: Requires Simple Firearm Proficiency. Grants Proficiency in Martial Firearms.

Exotic Firearm Proficiency: Requires Martial Firearm Proficiency. Grants Proficiency in Exotic Firearms.

Agent: When you take the Attack action and attack with a Pistol, Magnum Pistol, Big-Bore Pistol, or Automatic Pistol you are holding in both hands, you can use a bonus action to make another attack with the same firearm. When you make an Attack action and use it to make only one (single) firearm attack, that attack ignores Resistance to Piercing Damage. In addition, you can easily conceal small firearms beneath your clothing. By spending 1 minute adjusting your clothing over a holstered Pistol, Magnum Pistol, Big-Bore Pistol, or Automatic Pistol, you hide that firearm from view. Spotting this firearm from a distance or discovering this firearm in a physical search requires a check depending on firearm size:

Pistol: DC 25 Wisdom(Perception) to spot, or DC 15 Intelligence(Investigation) for a physical search
Magnum Pistol or Automatic Pistol: DC 20 Wisdom(Perception) to spot, or DC 10 Intelligence(Investigation) for a physical search
Big-Bore Pistol: DC 15 Wisdom(Perception) to spot, or DC 5 Intelligence(Investigation) for a physical search
Other firearms may be concealed under a bulky cloak or jacket. Other firearms require a DC 15 Wisdom(Perception) check to spot from a distance, and are found automatically by any physical search.

Snap Shot: Attacking a target within 5' of you no longer causes you to have disadvantage on ranged weapon attacks. You may ignore close range disadvantage on all firearms.

Gunner: When you make a firearm attack against a target within 30', you may use your Strength modifier instead of your Dexterity modifier for your attack and damage rolls. You gain access to the Suppressing Fire action.

Suppressing Fire: If you are wielding a firearm with an (automatic) attack, you may spend an Action to suppress enemies in a small area. Expend 10 rounds of ammunition from your automatic firearm. Pick a 5' radius zone you can see within range of your automatic firearm. Until you move, you can no longer see that area, or the beginning of your next turn, creatures in that zone have Disadvantage on all attacks. Whenever a creature starts their turn in the zone or enters the zone for the first time, you must make an (automatic) attack against that creature (maximum 1 attack per creature. This attack uses ammunition as usual.). When you use this action, creatures in the zone may drop prone as a reaction.

Marksman: Being prone no longer causes you to have disadvantage on ranged firearm attacks. When you are Prone, and wielding a two-handed firearm, your firearm's range is doubled. In addition, when you are prone, and use a firearm to make a (single) attack against a target more than 600' away, you may use your Intelligence modifier instead of your Dexterity modifier for your attack and damage rolls.



Ammunition, Armor, Grenades, and other items:



Pistol Ammunition, 10gp, 1/30lb.
Wisdom(Perception) required to hear: DC 5 at up to 200', DC 15 at up to 600'

Magnum Ammunition, 20gp, 1/20lb.
Wisdom(Perception) required to hear: DC 5 at up to 400', DC 15 at up to 1200'

Carbine Ammunition, 20gp, 1/30lb.
Wisdom(Perception) required to hear: DC 5 at up to 600', DC 15 at up to 1800'

Big-Bore Ammunition, 25gp, 1/15lb.
Wisdom(Perception) required to hear: DC 5 at up to 800', DC 15 at up to 2400'

Shotgun Ammunition, 25gp, 1/10lb.
Wisdom(Perception) required to hear: DC 5 at up to 1000', DC 15 at up to 3000'

Rifle Ammunition, 35gp, 1/20lb.
Wisdom(Perception) required to hear: DC 5 at up to 1200', DC 15 at up to 3600'

Anti-Materiel Ammunition, 100gp, 1/4lb.
Wisdom(Perception) required to hear: DC 5 at up to 1600', DC 15 at up to 4800'


Specialty ammunition adds different effects to attacks. If you use specialty ammunition for an (automatic) firearm attack, you must use three pieces of that specialty ammunition. You cannot mix ammunition types during an (automatic) attack. Because I don't want to have to write out all the different cases, and it's too complicated to be fun.

Specialty ammunition is a modification of an existing ammunition type. There is no generic "HP Ammunition", instead there are items like "Pistol Ammunition (HP)" or "Rifle Ammunition (AP)".


AP, or Armor-Piercing Ammunition is available for Carbine, Rifle, and Anti-Materiel ammunition types, and has the following effects: When AP ammunition hits a target, it deals less damage (-1 damage for (single) attacks, and -2 damage for (automatic) attacks), but it ignores Resistance to Piercing damage.

HP, or Hollow-Point Ammunition is available for Pistol, Magnum, Carbine, Big-Bore, and Rifle ammunition types, and has the following effects: When HP ammunition hits a target, it deals extra damage (+1 damage for (single) attacks, and +2 damage for (automatic) attacks), but it treats Resistance to Piercing damage as if it were Immunity.

Special situation: If you use the Agent feat's special feature to ignore Resistance to Piercing damage on an attack, HP ammunition does full damage.

Precision Ammunition is available for Carbine, Rifle and Anti-Materiel ammunition types. When Precision ammunition used for a (single) firearm attack, that attack has a +1 on the attack roll.

Slug is a type of Shotgun Ammunition that deals extra damage. Attacks using Slug Ammunition do extra damage (+1 damage for (single) attacks, and +2 damage for (automatic) attacks) and ignore the effects of Wide Choke. Large or smaller creatures struck by Slug Ammunition must make a DC 12 Strength save or fall prone.

Birdshot is a type of Shotgun Ammunition that deals small amount of damage, reliably. Birdshot cannot be used for (automatic) attacks. When you attack with Bird-shot, instead of making an attack roll, use the following effect:

Birdshot Blast: Targets one creature within 150'. The target takes 1d4 Piercing damage (or 2d4, if the target is within 50'), or DC 16 Dexterity save for 1/2 damage.

Stun Shell is a type of Shotgun Ammunition. When Stun Shell hits a target, instead of normal damage, the target takes 1d4 Piercing damage. If the target takes damage from this attack, the target takes an additional 1d4 Lightning damage, and must make a DC 20 Constitution Saving Throw, or be Stunned for thirty seconds. The target may repeat its saving throw at the end of each of its turns to end the effect early.



Clothing

Kevlar Shirt, Weight 5lbs, Grants resistance to non-magical Piercing damage.
NBC Suit, Weight 40lbs, Grants immunity to Acid and Poison. You automatically succeed any save against catching a new disease. Tear Gas Grenades have no effect on you. This item does not end conditions that were already affecting you before you donned this item. This item loses all beneficial properties the first time you take Slashing or Piercing damage, and can only regain those properties when the item is repaired.

Light Armor

Bullet-Resistant Vest, AC 11+Dex modifier, Weight 10 lbs, Grants resistance to non-magical Piercing damage.
Ballistic Composite Vest, AC 12+Dex modifier, Weight 10 lbs, Grants resistance to non-magical Piercing damage.

Medium Armor

Kevlar Body Armor, AC 13+Dex modifier (max 2), Weight 20 lbs, Grants resistance to non-magical Piercing damage.
Ceramic Tactical Armor, AC 14+Dex modifier (max 2), Weight 30 lbs, Grants resistance to non-magical Piercing damage.
Ballistic Composite Body Armor, AC 15+Dex modifier (max 2), Weight 30 lbs, Grants resistance to non-magical Piercing damage.

Heavy Armor

Flak Jacket, AC 16, Weight 40 lbs, Req. Str 13, Stealth Disadvantage, Grants resistance to non-magical Piercing damage.
Ceramic Plate Carrier, AC 17, Weight 50 lbs, Req. Str 15, Stealth Disadvantage, Grants resistance to non-magical Piercing damage.
Composite Plate Suit, AC 18, Weight 60 lbs, Req. Str 15, Stealth Disadvantage, Grants resistance to non-magical Piercing damage.
EOD Protective Garments, AC 20, Weight 120 lbs, Req. Str 17, Stealth, Acrobatics, Athletics Disadvantage, Disadvantage on attack rolls, Grants resistance to non-magical Bludgeoning, Slashing, and Piercing damage, as well as resistance to Fire, Thunder and Force damage.




Fragmentation Grenade (range 10'xStrength Score)
15' radius burst. 2d8 Piercing, and 2d8 Thunder or DC 16 DEX save for 1/2 damage.

Stick of Dynamite (range 10'xStrength Score)
15' radius burst. 1d8 Fire, and 2d8 Thunder or DC 14 DEX save for 1/2 damage.

Incendiary Grenade (range 10'xStrength Score)
10' radius burst. 4d8 Fire, and 1d8 Thunder or DC 14 DEX save for 1/2 damage.

Tear Gas Grenade (range 10'xStrength Score)
30' radius burst. DC 12 CON save or 1d4 Acid damage and Blinded for 1 minute.

Flashbang Grenade (range 10'xStrength Score)
25' radius burst. DC 10 DEX save or 1d4 Radiant damage, Slowed, Blinded and Deafened for 1 minute.

Stun-Wand. (2 charges) As an Action, you may use this item to make a melee attack against a creature within 5 feet of you, treating the Stun-Wand as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 1 piercing damage. If the target takes damage from this attack, the target takes an additional 1d4 Lightning damage, and must make a DC 18 Constitution Saving Throw, or be Stunned for thirty seconds. The target may repeat its saving throw at the end of each of its turns to end the effect early. 200gp.

Stun-Gun. (2 charges) As an Action, you may use this item to make a ranged attack against a creature within 20 feet of you, treating the Stun-Gun as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 1 piercing damage. If the target takes damage from this attack, the target takes an additional 1d4 Lightning damage, and must make a DC 18 Constitution Saving Throw, or be Stunned for thirty seconds. The target may repeat its saving throw at the end of each of its turns to end the effect early.[/I] 200gp.




Gas Mask. 5lbs, When worn, this item grants you resistance to Acid and Poison damage, and Advantage on saving throws against catching a new disease, but gives you disadvantage on Wisdom(Perception) checks. This item does not end conditions that were already affecting you before you donned this item. Tear Gas Grenades have no effect on you. Donning a Gas Mask takes 30 seconds, but removing one only takes an Action.

Night-Vision Goggles. 3lbs, When worn, this item grants you Darkvision out to a distance of 120' and Sunlight Sensitivity (as written in the PHB page 24 description for Drow): "You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom(Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight". You automatically fail saving throws caused by Flashbang Grenades. Donning or removing Night-Vision Goggles takes an Action.

Suppressor. 2lbs, A suppressor must be designed for a specific ammunition type, and can only be attached to a firearm which uses that ammunition type. When attached to a firearm, shots fired from that firearm are half as loud (the range at which they can be heard is halved). Attaching or detaching a suppressor takes an Action.

Bayonet. 2lbs, A bayonet can be attached to any two-handed firearm. When not attached to a firearm, a bayonet can be used as if it were a dagger. When attached to a two-handed firearm, that firearm gains the ability to be used as a simple two-handed melee weapon that deals 1d8 Piercing damage. If you attempt to attach a bayonet to a one-handed firearm, you feel ashamed of yourself for an hour and gain no mechanical benefit. Attaching or detaching a bayonet takes an Action.

Wide Choke: 0lbs, A Wide Choke can only be attached to a Shotgun, or Automatic Shotgun. An attack using a firearm with a Wide Choke removes the ability score modifier to the damage roll but increases the damage dice of the firearm by 1d6. Attaching or detaching a Wide Choke takes 30 seconds.

A Wide Choke attack with a Shotgun deals 3d6 Piercing damage instead of 2d6 + Modifier Piercing Damage, and a Wide Choke attack with an Automatic Shotgun deals 5d6 Piercing damage instead of 4d6 + Modifier Piercing damage.

Bipod. 5lbs, A Bipod can only be attached to a Precision Rifle, Squad Automatic Weapon, Machine Gun, or Anti-Materiel Rifle. When attached, a Bipod allows the firearm to be Mounted. Attaching or detaching a Bipod takes an Action.

Tripod. 45lbs, A Tripod can only be attached to a Heavy Machine Gun. When attached, a Tripod allows the firearm to be Mounted. Attaching or detaching a Tripod takes 30 seconds.


Mount Firearm special ability: Certain firearms can be Mounted on stable surfaces. If you are prone, and carrying a firearm that can be Mounted, you may Mount the firearm on a stable surface as an Action. This effect ends if you stand up or move, taking the firearm with you, or if the firearm is moved. If you stand up or move, and do not take the firearm with you, the firearm remains Mounted in that location and can be used by others. A Mounted firearm has no Strength requirement for use.



Optional or Work-In-Progress items:


1750s
Musket, 12lbs, Loading(special), Simple Two-Handed Weapon, Strength requirement: 11

1d12 Piercing damage, Lead Ball and Black Powder (range 75'/300')
Special: The Black Powder Musket takes two Actions to reload.

Muzzle-Loading Rifle, 12lbs, Loading(special), Martial Two-Handed Weapon, Strength requirement: 11

1d12 Piercing damage, Lead Ball and Black Powder (range 150'/300')
Special: The Black Powder Rifle takes three Actions to reload.

Black Powder Pistol, 3 lbs, Loading(special), Simple One-Handed Weapon

1d6 Piercing damage, Lead Ball and Black Powder (range 30'/60')
Special: The Black Powder Pistol takes two Actions to reload.

1820s
Black Powder Revolver, 3 lbs, Loading(special), Martial One-Handed Weapon

1d6 Piercing damage, Lead Ball and Black Powder (range 30'/60')
Special: The Black Powder Revolver can hold up to six shots at a time. Reloading one shot takes two Actions.

1840s
Breech-Loading Rifle, 12 lbs, Loading, Simple Two-Handed Firearm, Strength requirement: 11

1d12 Piercing damage, Frontier Rifle Ammunition (close range disadvantage 75') (range 300'/600')

1870s
Break-Action Shotgun, 7 lbs, Loading, Simple Two-Handed Firearm, Strength requirement: 11

2d6 Piercing damage, Shotgun Ammunition (range 150'/300')

Single Action Revolver, 3 lbs, Loading (special), Martial One-Handed Firearm

1d6 Piercing damage, Frontier Pistol Ammunition (range 40'/160') Versatile (range 80'/320')
Special: The Single Action Revolver can hold up to six shots at a time. Reloading all six shots takes one Action.

Frontier Carbine, 8 lbs, Loading (special), Simple Two-Handed Firearm

1d6 Piercing damage, Frontier Pistol Ammunition (range 200'/400')
Special: The Single Action Carbine can hold up to eight shots at a time. Reloading all eight shots takes one Action.

1940s
Early Automatic Carbine, 8lbs, Martial Two-Handed Firearm

(single) 1d8 Piercing damage, Early Carbine Ammunition (range 200'/400')
(automatic) 2d8 Piercing damage, x3 Early Carbine Ammunition (range 100'/200')
Represents some late WWII automatic small arms. The immediate predecessor to Carbines and Automatic Carbines.

[Tiadoppler]

Notes and edits:


This is a rough chassis for adding modern firearms to an existing, traditional D&D campaign. My players want to know what it'd be like to take their characters up against realistic modern weapons (At least modern small-arms. There's some interest in doing Warlock vs. Main Battle Tank, but we'll see), then get the chance to return the favor. An antagonist in my campaign has been grabbing stuff from Earth for their Army of EVILtm. Existing firearm stats (published and homebrew) are usually well-balanced with other D&D weapons. More specifically, they do somewhat unrealistically low damage at absurdly short range. I want a firearm system which

> doesn't require a new set of in-combat rules (I'm skipping rules for reloading, because I choose to assume that that would be handled by a free Object Interaction, and can therefore be handwaved in general)
> does provide a somewhat more accurate representation of the lethality and effectiveness of modern firearms (when compared to medieval crossbows or thrown darts)
> doesn't completely and instantly render PC-preferred weapons, skills and classes obsolete
> does allow PCs (with traditional character classes and backgrounds) to potentially pursue firearms as a new tactical option, at a cost
> doesn't go into too much depth about real-world-specific weapons
> does provide a diverse set of general firearm categories in a fairly understandable way

Firearms and ammunition cannot be produced in the setting of my campaign, so they are both rare and costly. They are only imported from Earth by a certain evil deity's army. The only source for firearms and their ammunition is looting enemies who were using them in the first place. I'm hoping that that will make them rare enough to offset the great power they provide.

Firearms will start appearing, very rarely, at level 12, but won't show up regularly until level 16. Variant carry weight is enforced in my campaign.



This is a very, very, VERY (VERY) rough estimate of what firearms from this homebrew should be common, depending on what year it is on Earth. For Historical Firearms, see the corresponding section above.

World War 1 era (1900s to 1925 or so):

Shotgun
Rifle

Pistol

Heavy Machine Gun


World War 2 era (1925 to 1950s):

Shotgun
Rifle
Pistol Caliber Carbine
Actually, on further thought, for a WWII game, I'd use a custom firearm to represent the M1 Carbine. See: Early Automatic Carbine in the Historical Firearms section above.

Pistol
Sub-Machine Gun
Precision Rifle For a WWII game, I might give the Precision Rifle the Loading property. They were not rapid-fire weapons back then.

Machine Gun
Heavy Machine Gun


The Service Rifle's era is 1950s to 1970s. While it continued to be used after that, it was usually not standard issue. Instead, the standard firearm became the Automatic Carbine, and longer range use was delegated to the Precision Rifle.
Anti-Materiel Rifles, Big-Bore Pistols and Automatic Shotguns are some of the newest firearms represented on this list. Including those types of firearms places the era pretty firmly into the 1990s and later, because of the metallurgy and precision manufacturing required for these items.



These items are not suitable for most typical D&D campaigns. If your campaign does have a reason to encounter modern technology, these items can be used. If there's only very limited exposure to firearms in your campaign, or you want your campaign to keep its focus on traditional D&D classes and weapons, I'd suggest using only Simple Firearms, or Simple and Martial Firearms. Exotic Firearms add unbalanced levels of ranged damage, and should be approached with caution.



10.12.18: decreased damage slightly across the board.
10.12.18: rebalanced cost vs damage. Reset Pistols to use 1d6, reduced Carbine (1d10) and Shotgun (2d6) damage to be more in line with other existing D&D weapons. Rifles (2d8) and Anti-Materiel Firearms (4d6) were also reduced to match up with the new Carbine and Shotgun values.
10.12.18: Audible distances with DCs
10.12.18: Typo in Pistol stats fixed, added some WIP items.
10.13.18: Moved some WIP items into the proper categories. Began adding item descriptions.
10.13.18: Added Magnum and (Stupidly Powerful Magnum) ammo types, as well as Magnum Pistol and Lever-Action Rifle.
10.13.18: Separated all firearms into Common (standard-issue military firearms) and Uncommon (weird, specialty, old-fashioned, or civilian firearms)
10.13.18: Modified Precision Rifle and Anti-Materiel Rifle to use Intelligence Score to increase range.
10.13.18: Adjusted Rifle range, Added Service Rifle.
10.13.18: Added Stun-Gun and Stun-Wand (generic versions of a taser, I guess)
10.15.18: Adjusted Armor-Piercing Ammunition types, added an Armor-Piercing effect to weapons that use Anti-Materiel Ammunition.
10.16.18: Added Hollow-Point Ammunition types, and specialty ammunition prices.
10.16.18: Format adjustment, added ammunition weights.
10.20.18: Added Trapdoor Gun, Body Armors.
10.20.18: Renamed Trapdoor Gun -> Breech-Loader (more generic)
10.20.18: Added lousy firearms-by-era guide
10.20.18: Added some muzzle-loader Black Powder weapons to the WIP section. Should be okay to represent many 1750's to 1850s weapons.
10.21.18: Adjusted Martial Firearm Proficiency Feat to give three proficiencies. Ideally, it should grant proficiency in 1/3-1/2 of Martial Firearms in the setting. If you have fewer, it should be adjusted back down to two or even one.
10.21.18: Added additional Body Armor types, began formatting improvements.
10.21.18: Vast formatting and organizational improvements.
10.21.18: Removed Breech-Loader Big-Bore. Too weird/esoteric. Moved Break-Action Shotgun to Historical Firearms.
10.21.18: First draft of feats!
10.21.18: Expanded Historical Firearms. Re-added Breech-Loading Rifle in Historical Firearms with it's own ammunition type.
10.22.18: Clarified Sniper feat wording.
10.22.18: Added close range disadvantage to Machine Gun and Heavy Machine Gun (This makes the Snap Shot feat more valuable, and models how difficult it is to quickly move and aim a heavy firearm at a close-range target)
10.23.18: Edited the Sniper and Snap Shot feats to encourage non-Dexterity-based firearm characters
10.23.18: Mushed together Recoil Control and Concealed Carry into a single "pistol-themed" feat: Agent
10.24.18: After much internal debate, I've moved Pistol to the Simple Firearms section for balance purposes. Decreased volume of Pistol Ammunition (to represent sub-sonic cartridges typical of pistols)
10.24.18: Added Accessories section, and NBC Suit (Clothing) to armor.
10.24.18: Added rough draft of Firearm Mounting rules to Accessories. Now weaklings can pretend to use Heavy Machine Guns.
10.26.18: Reduced grenade DCs, reduced gas mask and night vision goggles weight
10.26.18: Added Strength requirement to Shotguns (I've been meaning to do that for a while), reduced Grenade damage
10.26.18: Reduced Short Range Disadvantage distances, edited Historical Firearms section to include Strength Requirements and Close Range Disadvantage where appropriate
10.26.18: Fixed typos in Anti-Materiel firearms
10.27.18: Added Open Choke modification for Shotguns and Automatic Shotguns, added the ability for (single) attacks to bypass Piercing Damage Resistance when only one attack is made in an Action, to the Agent feat.
10.27.18: Added Specialty Ammunition types to Ammunition category
10.28.18: Added Precision ammunition to Ammunition category
11.01.18: Added Stick of Dynamite to grenades
11.02.18: Modified two-handed firearm ranges, and marksman feat, to give Marksman a distinct purpose from Sharpshooter, and more accurately represent the difficulty of aiming while standing
11.04.18: Increased Carbine and Rifle ranges slightly, changed Marksman wording.
11.06.18: Began drafting vehicle rules
11.12.18: Stopped drafting vehicle rules for a while, to rest my head.

[Nifft]

It costs a level 20 Fighter 1200gp to fire his Heavy Machine Gun for six seconds.

This is awesome.

Not sure how balanced it is, but it's quite plausible insofar as modern arms require modern economic scale.

Since D&D is a magical world -- could the Fighter just hook up a huge gold-piece-sized funnel and have hirelings shovel in 1.2k gp each turn?

-- -- --

Regarding reloads, not sure I like waiving that. Having one PC cover you while you re-load seems like a cool feature which rewards team play. Having weapons which are slightly over the power curve until the magazine runs out means the PCs might behave like real-world swashbucklers / early firearms users -- shoot until empty, then stab with sword. There's also the idea that the DM can use reload time to give the PCs an opening against EVIL™ enemy soldiers.

Shotguns being easy to fire might be balanced by having them only shoot twice before you need to find something else to do in combat, for example.

Other than that, I generally like what I'm seeing.

[Tiadoppler]

Thanks for the feedback!


Not sure how balanced it is, but it's quite plausible insofar as modern arms require modern economic scale.

Since D&D is a magical world -- could the Fighter just hook up a huge gold-piece-sized funnel and have hirelings shovel in 1.2k gp each turn?

Actually, that was just an estimate based on the idea of firing 12 (Fighter 20 = 4 attacks x 3 ammunition each) extraordinarily rare black market anti-materiel rounds (I originally estimated 100gp each). The Army of EVILTM is getting them from Earth, where the price is closer to $3-$4 each (not including overnight shipping through an interplanar portal). It's possible there could be some sort of GP->ammunition Fabrication spell or artifact, but only if a spellcaster was also proficient in crafting modern ammunition. It'd be tricky and probably not part of this campaign.



Regarding reloads, not sure I like waiving that. Having one PC cover you while you re-load seems like a cool feature which rewards team play. Having weapons which are slightly over the power curve until the magazine runs out means the PCs might behave like real-world swashbucklers / early firearms users -- shoot until empty, then stab with sword. There's also the idea that the DM can use reload time to give the PCs an opening against EVIL™ enemy soldiers.

It's a tricky decision, and I've thought a lot about it. With D&D scale encounters, I think it's simply unlikely that the PCs will end up using an entire magazine in most combats. Sure, a max-level Fighter might fire 4 3-round bursts every six seconds, but they're the outlier. A rogue firing once a round would likely take 10-30 rounds (1-3 minutes) to empty their first magazine. A wizard with a shotgun might only fire once or twice in an entire battle. Basically, while it does make lots of sense to account for reloading, it's too much bookkeeping for too little benefit to the game (in my opinion).



Shotguns being easy to fire might be balanced by having them only shoot twice before you need to find something else to do in combat, for example.

Eh. I'm trying to think of what firearms an cruel deity of evil would bring back from a shopping trip to Earth, and double-barrel shotguns didn't make the list. I've considered statting up a bunch more esoteric firearms in case the PCs go to Earth or meet a Genuine Earthling, but that's for the future. The "Shotgun" firearm represents a generic 12 gauge pump-action shotgun loaded with buckshot, so it should have a capacity of 6-8 shells, and be balanced by its relatively short range (compared to other firearms).

[Man_Over_Game]

These are pretty good!

I've tried to do something similar at one point, but I never got a chance to utilize it in an actual game. I ended up making the semi-automatic or full-auto attacks be treated as "burst limit" specific to each gun that allowed you to roll multiple attacks rather than a larger damage die.

So it'd be something like: 1d10 Piercing Damage. Burst limit 3. Ammunition, Loading.

To explain, you choose up to the Burst Limit as to how rapid your fire is, and you make that many ranged attacks, with a penalty to each of those attacks equal to the number of shots you chose (the burst). So if you picked 2 shots (out of a possible burst limit of 3), you made two standard ranged attacks with a -2 each. Characters with Extra Attack instead got a +1 on their to-hit when burst firing for each extra attack (so a Fighter with 3 extra attacks could potentially shoot 3 bullets with no loss of accuracy, or 4 shots for a -1 to hit).

I liked the idea of bursting for additional damage but at the cost of accuracy and ammunition, although yours does make it a bit simpler. Thought I'd bring it up in case it gives you any ideas.

[Tiadoppler]

These are pretty good!

I've tried to do something similar at one point, but I never got a chance to utilize it in an actual game. I ended up making the semi-automatic or full-auto attacks be treated as "burst limit" specific to each gun that allowed you to roll multiple attacks rather than a larger damage die.

So it'd be something like: 1d10 Piercing Damage. Burst limit 3. Ammunition, Loading.

To explain, you choose up to the Burst Limit as to how rapid your fire is, and you make that many ranged attacks, with a penalty to each of those attacks equal to the number of shots you chose (the burst). So if you picked 2 shots (out of a possible burst limit of 3), you made two standard ranged attacks with a -2 each. Characters with Extra Attack instead got a +1 on their to-hit when burst firing for each extra attack (so a Fighter with 3 extra attacks could potentially shoot 3 bullets with no loss of accuracy, or 4 shots for a -1 to hit).

I liked the idea of bursting for additional damage but at the cost of accuracy and ammunition, although yours does make it a bit simpler. Thought I'd bring it up in case it gives you any ideas.


I like how well your burst fire scales. The PCs really have a lot more control over their attacks that way. Having a set number (3 shots) for automatic fire makes the numbers and decisions very simple and low-stress for the player, and rules-light was what I was going for.



There are two ways that I try to make automatic fire less efficient (with regards to accuracy and ammunition):

First, automatic fire deals double damage, but uses triple ammunition. Essentially, it assumes that you're likely to miss with one of the three shots, even if your burst is pretty well on-target.

Second, automatic fire has reduced range compared to single shots. That means that at long range, you're likely to have disadvantage on an automatic burst, even when your weapon can attack without penalty in single shot mode. Certain Exotic Firearms (machine guns) are designed strictly for automatic fire, so they have sights and recoil absorption that makes long-range automatic fire viable, but Martial Firearms (sub-machine guns and automatic carbines) do not have that luxury.


So: Single shots for long range, or if you're running low on ammunition. Burst fire for short range, or if you've got ammo to burn.

[Tiadoppler]

Edit: I've settled on calling this category "Big-Bore"


I'm looking for some advice on naming:

There's a new ammunition type I'm adding to this system, which is supposed to represent high-caliber pistol cartridges, like .50 AE, .454 Casull, .500 Magnum etc. These are used in the largest of the wrist-breaking revolvers and pistols, and are also seen in lever action rifles. Right now, I'm using the placeholder name: Stupidly Powerful Ammunition. What names would you suggest?

[Nifft]

I'm looking for some advice on naming:

There's a new ammunition type I'm adding to this system, which is supposed to represent high-caliber pistol cartridges, like .50 AE, .454 Casull, .500 Magnum etc. These are used in the largest of the wrist-breaking revolvers and pistols, and are also seen in lever action rifles. Right now, I'm using the placeholder name: Stupidly Powerful Ammunition. What names would you suggest?

Bigshot (like buckshot but much bigger)

STS ("Shoots Through Schools") - really means Special Threat Suppression, since it's intended for use vs. fantasy monsters

PFS ("Pretty F***n' Strong" / "Plenty F***n' Shooty") - really means Penetration for Sidearm, since it pierces fantasy armor & tough scales

[Tiadoppler]

Bigshot (like buckshot but much bigger)

...it's intended for use vs. fantasy monsters

...Penetration for Sidearm, since it pierces fantasy armor & tough scales

The issue is: the calibers in question are none of these things. They aren't shotguns firing buckshot. These firearms are real-world items (used frequently for hunting in forested areas, or defense against large animals), but they don't have an easily-defined or -named category (other than "damn, my wrist hurts now").

On Earth, in my campaign, (and in the real world, afaik) people do not know about magic/dragons/evil deities creating undead monstrosities/etc, so it would be somewhat immersion-breaking to categorize a whole section of these firearms as "anti-monster weapons"

I may stick with Stupidly Powerful Ammo, or call it Large Bore, or something similar.

[Tiadoppler]

Jamming and malfunctions in modern firearms.

Generally, I would not bother using a failure table when including present-day firearms in D&D. I'm not saying that failures don't occur, but the rate of failure is so low that it's usually negligible when the firearm is kept in good condition and not fired hundreds or thousands of times in a row. While this does happen in real-world-scale combat regularly, in the scale of D&D encounters it's probably an unnecessary level of bookkeeping (if I was a Ranger, my favored enemy would be "Unnecessary Bookkeeping").



Firearm Repair Kit: 250gp
Includes the assorted springs, pins, punches, hammers, mallets, small screwdrivers, oils, greases and cleaning solvents needed to keep modern firearms running better than clockwork.
Intelligence(Firearm Repair Kit) DC 5: 15 minutes. Maintain a firearm in current condition. Should be done daily.
Intelligence(Firearm Repair Kit) DC 15: One hour. Fix a Mechanical Failure.
Intelligence(Firearm Repair Kit) DC 20: Two hours. Set the Condition of a damaged (but not destroyed) firearm to Good (30/30)
Intelligence(Firearm Repair Kit) DC 25: Four hours. Set the Condition of a destroyed firearm to Good (30/30)

Firearm Repair Kit proficiency can be gained similar to other toolset proficiencies, by spending a certain amount of money and time in study.


There are two types of firearm failures:

Jam: A Jammed firearm cannot be fired until the Jam is cleared. Clearing a Jam can be done using an Action, or a successful DC 20 Dexterity(Sleight of Hand) check on a Bonus Action.

(Optional:) Identifying a Jammed firearm (for example, a rifle found on the ground after a battle) is a DC 5 Intelligence(Investigation) check. If someone attempts to fire a Jammed firearm, the firearm explodes, dealing 1d4 Piercing damage to creatures within 5' (DC 15 DEX save for 1/2 damage), and the firearm is destroyed.


Mechanical Failure: A firearm with a Mechanical Failure cannot be fired, until repaired using a Firearm Repair Kit.



What condition is your firearm in? A firearm has 30HP, resistance to non-magical Bludgeoning, Piercing and Slashing damage, and immunity to Poison and Psychic damage.

Things that can damage firearms include:
immersion in water (especially salt water)
immersion in mud or sand
firing a thousand rounds without maintenance
being targeted specifically by an enemy attack (treat the firearm has having AC 20)


Good (25-30 / 30 HP) = 1/8000 chance of Mechanical Failure, 4/8000 chance of Jam.
When you roll an attack with this firearm and suffer a Critical Failure, roll a second d20. If the second d20 results in a 1, roll a third d20.
If that third d20 is a 1, your firearm suffers a Mechanical Failure
If that third d20 is a 2-5, your firearm suffers a Jam


Bad (10-24 / 30 HP) = 1/400 chance of Mechanical Failure, 4/400 chance of Jam.
When you roll an attack with this firearm and suffer a Critical Failure, roll a second d20.
If that second d20 is a 1, your firearm suffers a Mechanical Failure
If that second d20 is a 2-5, your firearm suffers a Jam


Terrible (1-9 / 30 HP) = 1/20 chance of Mechanical Failure, 1/20 chance of Jam.
When you roll an attack with this firearm and get a natural 1, your firearm suffers a Mechanical Failure
When you roll an attack with this firearm and get a natural 2, your firearm suffers a Jam


Destroyed (0/30 HP) = cannot be fired.



If you really want to use a firearm failure table, but don't want to bother tracking weapon condition, I suggest assuming that firearms are in Good condition at all times.

[Tiadoppler]

Feats I'm thinking of adding:

A Pistol feat, allowing a pistol wielded in two hands to be fired as a bonus action.

A Rifle feat, reducing the Close-Range Disadvantage distance.

A Machine-Gun feat, allowing some small AoE attack (5' radius, probably).

Perhaps a Crossbow Expert type feat that can remove Loading from Trapdoor Guns and Break-Action Shotguns would be good.

Also, some way to ignore long range disadvantage on Precision Rifles and Anti-Materiel rifles, when you're prone, and you do not move that turn. Perhaps it costs 30' of movement?




Anyone have any good firearm feat ideas? Any good ways of phrasing the effects I'm looking for?

[Tiadoppler]

The best close-range firearm user is

Strength-based with decent Constitution (for HP), wearing heavy armor, wielding an automatic weapon, probably a Champion Fighter.
They use Martial and Exotic firearm proficiency to gain access to the heaviest and most powerful firearms
They take Gunner and Snap Shot feats to gain excellent melee-range attacks at short range, using STR for their ranged attacks.
They dominate the 0' - 30' range


The best long-range firearm user is

Intelligence-based, with decent Dexterity (as backup), uses a bipod and a Precision Rifle or Anti-Materiel Rifle, probably an Assassin Rogue.
They use Martial, and possibly Exotic firearm proficiency to gain access to the longest-range firearms
They take the Marksman feat for the benefits to prone attacks, and possibly Agent for concealing their weapons
They dominate the 600' + range, and are the only characters capable of attacking beyond 4800'


The best over-all mid-range and versatile firearm user is

Dexterity-based, uses light armor, and carries just about any firearm they qualify for.
They probably use Martial firearm proficiency, at least eventually.
They dominate the 30' - 600' range, and are generally quite effective from 0' or 5' - 1800' (depending on feats and strategies)



Other strategies:

Emplaced Automatic Weapons:
1. Take a DEX based character, give them the Marksman feat and Exotic Firearm Proficiency
2. Carry a Machine Gun or Heavy Machine Gun into place and set it up.
3. ???
4. Profit!


Early-game Strength characters (especially vHumans) should take the Gunner feat, and a Shotgun for a ranged 2d6 attack.

Other early-game characters should probably use Carbines for the versatility, unless all combat is done at Shotgun ranges. Rifles are good at longer range, but are penalized severely at short-range until the Snap Shot feat is unlocked.

[Oramac]

Bayonet. 2lbs, A bayonet can be attached to any two-handed firearm. When not attached to a firearm, a bayonet can be used as if it were a dagger. When attached to a two-handed firearm, that firearm gains the ability to be used as a simple two-handed melee weapon that deals 1d8 Piercing damage. If you attempt to attach a bayonet to a one-handed firearm, you feel ashamed of yourself for an hour and gain no mechanical benefit. Attaching or detaching a bayonet takes an Action.

I seriously LOL'd at this part. :D

========================

Overall, I think you've got some really solid rules there. I love that you added the Versatile property to most of the pistols. That's a valid idea that I hadn't ever thought of.

I do think the Short Range Disadvantage is maybe a bit too restrictive. Outside of things like muskets or WW2 era battle rifles (M1 Garand, for instance), firing a rifle in close quarters really isn't all that hard. If you want to keep the short range DA, I'd make one more specialty firearm: the Short-Barreled Rifle. It would largely function the same as the Automatic Rifle, but with a shorter standard/max range and no disadvantage due to short range.

Also, I love the flavor, but the damage dealt by the grenades is probably way too high, IMO.

Great options! I think you hit the mark pretty close with these.

[Tiadoppler]

I seriously LOL'd at this part. :D

:P



I do think the Short Range Disadvantage is maybe a bit too restrictive. Outside of things like muskets or WW2 era battle rifles (M1 Garand, for instance), firing a rifle in close quarters really isn't all that hard. If you want to keep the short range DA, I'd make one more specialty firearm: the Short-Barreled Rifle. It would largely function the same as the Automatic Rifle, but with a shorter standard/max range and no disadvantage due to short range.

It's meant to combo with the Snap Shot feat, which reflects significant practice aiming quickly at close range. Snap Shot eliminates Short Range Disadvantage entirely. Basically, I didn't want any Simple firearm to be The Best. The 4 common one all have specific roles for game balance:
Pistol is the weak one, but can be used one-handed.
Carbine is the jack-of-all-trades, pretty good for almost any situation. Great for a character who's new to firearms.
Shotgun is the short-range powerhouse that can't handle long range.
Rifle is the long-range powerhouse that can't handle short range. If you want to handle short range with it, it costs a feat.

I could see reducing the Rifle's Short Range Disadvantage to 25 yards (75'). Most D&D combat happens in that range, so it'd still be relevant.



Also, I love the flavor, but the damage dealt by the grenades is probably way too high, IMO.

Umm. Yeah. I agree. I'm going to reduce them a bit (I'm thinking even split between Piercing and Thunder for the Fragmentation grenade, and Lots of Fire and a bit of Thunder for the Incendiary grenade)

[Oramac]

Sorry it took me a bit to respond here. Been a busy few days.

Anyway...


It's meant to combo with the Snap Shot feat, which reflects significant practice aiming quickly at close range. Snap Shot eliminates Short Range Disadvantage entirely. Basically, I didn't want any Simple firearm to be The Best. The 4 common one all have specific roles for game balance:
Pistol is the weak one, but can be used one-handed.
Carbine is the jack-of-all-trades, pretty good for almost any situation. Great for a character who's new to firearms.
Shotgun is the short-range powerhouse that can't handle long range.
Rifle is the long-range powerhouse that can't handle short range. If you want to handle short range with it, it costs a feat.

I could see reducing the Rifle's Short Range Disadvantage to 25 yards (75'). Most D&D combat happens in that range, so it'd still be relevant.

I generally agree here. Realistically, the Crossbow Expert Feat already removes DA for being w/in 5 feet of an enemy, so Snap Shot only really helps to remove a penalty that's new with these rules. I can see your logic, and you're not wrong. I'm just personally not a fan. But I didn't write the rules.


Umm. Yeah. I agree. I'm going to reduce them a bit (I'm thinking even split between Piercing and Thunder for the Fragmentation grenade, and Lots of Fire and a bit of Thunder for the Incendiary grenade)

I'd think that sounds right. If you wanted to scale the damage, you could even make variations of the grenades. For example: a Class I Frag Grenade may only do 2d6 Piercing and 2d6 Thunder damage, and cost [high gold cost for tier 1], while a Class II Frag Grenade is 3d6 each, and [high gold cost for tier 2 play] (or something to that effect).

[Tiadoppler]

I generally agree here. Realistically, the Crossbow Expert Feat already removes DA for being w/in 5 feet of an enemy, so Snap Shot only really helps to remove a penalty that's new with these rules.

I see Snap Shot as a replacement for Crossbow Expert: Someone who wants to specialize in close-range shooting with modern firearms wouldn't take lots of time learning to quickly load a crossbow. Ideally, a character in a game with modern firearms would choose Snap Shot over Crossbow Expert, because it's more relevant to their choice of weapon.

Crossbow Expert removes a penalty from crossbows, and lets you fire at melee range.
Snap Shot removes a penalty from firearms, and lets you fire at melee range.

If you're in a traditional D&D campaign which suddenly encounters firearms mid-campaign, I'd suggest that a DM offer the option of retraining Crossbow Expert to Snap Shot during a level up, or possibly add the effects of Snap Shot to Crossbow Expert. I didn't want to edit pre-existing D&D feats for this homebrew, but that could be the best choice for another DM's campaign.



Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to give Sharpshooter and Marksman their own distinct purposes. Marksman's ribbon ability for removing long-range disadvantage is strictly worse than Sharpshooter's ability, so I've been planning to change Marksman to increase range by a certain amount (+ xxx'/+ yyy'), or possibly double the range. I may reduce firearms' standard ranges at the same time to reflect the difficulty of firing while standing/moving. It's a balance issue, and I also want the rules to stay as simple as possible.




I'd think that sounds right. If you wanted to scale the damage, you could even make variations of the grenades. For example: a Class I Frag Grenade may only do 2d6 Piercing and 2d6 Thunder damage, and cost [high gold cost for tier 1], while a Class II Frag Grenade is 3d6 each, and [high gold cost for tier 2 play] (or something to that effect).

I can do that, and I also intend to start going into grenade launchers and larger vehicle weapons sooner or later.