How would you build around the gunner feat?

[Rfkannen]

If you wanted to play someone with a gun, using the gunner feat, what would you build? What builds do you think take the most advantage of the properties of 5e guns?

[ender241]

If you wanted to play someone with a gun, using the gunner feat, what would you build? What builds do you think take the most advantage of the properties of 5e guns?

I think the best options would be:
1. Samurai Fighter, something like this:
https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24854070&postcount=799
2. Battlemaster Fighter, similar to above but not as tied to Elf and can use precision attack to offset the SS penalty
3. Battlesmith Artificer, again, similar to above, though the Gunner feat is arguably not as strong on an Artificer since they already get firearm proficiency and can get around the "loading" limitation with the repeating shot infusion. Dex also isn't as important for a Battlesmith since they use Int for attacks.

[Polyphemus]

I'd guess it kind of depends on the gun, with the lower-end arquebuses and such you'd probably treat like any build you'd make around a Heavy Crossbow, but the mid-to-higher end guns do enough damage I would think your best bet would just go straight Fighter, try and get off as many attacks per round with them as you can?

Either that or take advantage of that Take Aim Cunning Action they gave the Rogue in Tasha's and try and maximize your dice per shot as a sniper.

That's just some broad spitballing, of course, I'm not terribly good at optimizing, and I'm positive there's a crazy amount of potential in an intricately planned multi-class I'm just not thinking of that'll make me go, "Oh, that's brilliant!" as soon as someone posts it.

[stoutstien]

Depends on the firearms in question but fighters, rangers,monks and artificers can all get decent leverage out of the Renaissance options.

[RogueJK]

Volo's Kobold
Tasha's Beast Master Ranger
STR 8
DEX 15+2
CON 14
INT 10
WIS 14
CHA 10
ASIs: Gunner (+1 DEX for 18) at Level 4, Sharpshooter at Level 8, +2 DEX or WIS at 12
Archery fighting style
Musket and Light Armor
Beast of the Sky Primal Companion

Unlike the pet of a Drakewarden or Battle Smith, who act after their master's turn, a Beast Master Ranger's companion shares a turn with their Ranger. So on your turn, you use your BA to send your Beast of the Sky to attack an enemy. Beast of the Sky flies down next to an enemy with part of their 60' fly speed and makes their attack. You then use the Attack Action to make your two Sharpshooter attacks with your Musket, with your attacks being at Advantage from your racial Pack Tactics due to having an ally (your Primal Companion) within 5' of the enemy. This Advantage plus the +2 from Archery Fighting Style means you're still likely to hit even with the -5 SS penalty, for 1d12+14 on each of your two attacks, plus potentially an additional 1d4+3+Proficiecy from the Primal Companion's attack. Then, before the end of your turn, your Beast of the Sky uses the remainder of their movement to fly up and away from the enemy without triggering an Opportunity Attack thanks to Flyby Attack.

Rinse and repeat, with the Kobold Ranger hanging out at a ways away from the enemies sniping them with their musket and Sharpshooter, while the Beast of the Sky circles overhead and swoops in for hit-and-run attacks, granting Advantage. Plus, if you happen to be in direct sunlight, your Advantage from Pack Tactics counteracts the Disadvantage from Sunlight Sensitivity, so it's just a straight roll.

This is basically like the souped-up version of the Owl Familiar Help Action, since it gives you Advantage on all of your attacks not just the first one, plus the Beast of the Sky gets an attack too for a bit of additional damage on your turn, and unlike a Familiar the Primal Companion can actually take some hits and keep kicking.


And if you happen to be heading into somewhere that you'll be fighting in closer quarters, like an underground dungeon, you can alternately resummon your Primal Companion as a Beast of the Land after a long rest, which you can ride since it's Medium and you're Small. Then just ride up next to an enemy and blast them at point-blank range with your Sharpshooter musket attacks (still with Pack Tactics' Advantage), while your mount mauls them to pieces.

[Kane0]

Obviously I slide around the battlefield firing point blank into the enemy, preferably with bayonet affixed just in case.

Edit: so mechanically that would be a swashbuckler rogue with the athlete feat or something.

[ImproperJustice]

If your more interested in guns than the feat, the aforementioned Battlesmith w/ the repeating shot
Infusion and piercer is pretty solid and can do so many other things than just shoot.

Champion, Battlemaster, and Samurai are all good chasis for the feat, plus piercer and maybe another supplemental feat. Lucky and Mobile both come to mind.

[Leon]

I'd find some art that inspired me and work out what the class and such that the image seemed to be and roll with it.

[Sorinth]

Personally I'd go Kensei Sharpshooter. Focused Aim and/or Deft Strike so that you can Ki-Fueled Attack. Maybe grab Fighter 1-3 somewhere along the way.

[Witty Username]

The primary advantage of gunner is that it is a just better version of a heavy crossbow build, because it uses a half-feat and has higher dice damage.
Now, what are the advantages of effectively a heavy crossbow over a hand crossbow. Well, range and no bonus action use.
I would recommend Ranger, Rogue and Monk builds are the primary benefactors for a gunner build. Rogue less so, since they have less issues with the loading property in the first place.
Goblin Samurai fighter, fight with advantage or not at all.

[Chaos Jackal]

Witty Username's got it. The primary advantage, as well as disadvantage, of firearms is the lack of a way to use them with a bonus action attack.

So, what you want is a way to take advantage of that free bonus action. A Samurai's Fighting Spirit. A rogue's Cunning Action (including Steady Aim). A Battle Smith's Steel Defender (you don't really need Gunner thanks to native firearm proficiency and Repeating Shot). A ranger throwing some spells in the mix. Hex, hunter's mark, divine favor from feats or the class itself. Stuff like that.

I was actually looking at my bog-standard Vhuman CBE SS Battle Master yesterday and tweaking it for firearms instead, and that was ultimately what I worked on. If you don't have a bonus action readily available, why not stick to the hand crossbow or make a Samurai with Gunner instead? I ended up sticking Quick Toss there for an extra dagger or the occasional net, and I was given suggestions for Magic Initiate/Fey Touched, though those might come in later.

One more thing to keep in mind is that Gunner, being a half-feat, can open up easier synergies with Piercer, Elven Accuracy and the like, helping your stat allocation as well as the rounding out and/or maximizing of your Dex.

[JVitor]

I’m planning a hunter build for Curse of Strahd starting with a Pistol. A Vuman Ranger Gloomstalker/Fighter Battlemaster with a dip in Twilight Cleric (follower of the Clerics of Gond). Gunner for the Vuman feat and Sharpshooter asap. Piercer around 12thlvl. A Heavycrossbow for a 2nd longer range weapon and a rapier.

[sithlordnergal]

Honestly, any build that uses a Heavy Crossbow or Longbow works with a gun. Fighter/Rogue, Bard/Rogue, Pure Fighter, Rangers, even Bladesinger can work well.