How would you make a cowboy?

[Dinjaren]

I want to role play a displaced cowboy in 5e, knowing that the game master has already made it clear that there are no fire arms.
I’m leaning towards Buster Scruggs as model, but am open to ideas.

How would y’all do it?

Would you mimic a firearm? Use a bow? Crossbow? Knives?
What would be your class progression and why?

As of right now I’m leaning towards a bard-lock. Go primary bard, but dip into warlock to get Eldritch Blast, using a bent stick as a pistol (wand of the warmage).

[SociopathFriend]

Honestly so far as I'm concerned- any magic-user can be a cowboy once the bent-stick focus is on the table.

However the tropes of self-reliance and a certain willingness to play by different rules did lead me to decide on Warlock for my own cowboy class. Grab a Land Vehicle Proficiency from your Background and you're set.

Though it does warrant mentioning that a cowboy is a mentality as much as it is a fighting style. You can have a cowboy monk that hits the same plot beats but punches the crap out of people instead of shooting them.

It worked in Shanghai Noon.

[Amnestic]

Drakewarden Ranger: Your horse might be a bit weird lookin', but she's a tough ol' mule!

If Paladin wasn't so melee focused, I think Oath of the Ancients would feel pretty good for it.

[Ortho]

I want to role play a displaced cowboy in 5e, knowing that the game master has already made it clear that there are no fire arms.
I’m leaning towards Buster Scruggs as model, but am open to ideas.

How would y’all do it?

Would you mimic a firearm? Use a bow? Crossbow? Knives?
What would be your class progression and why?

As of right now I’m leaning towards a bard-lock. Go primary bard, but dip into warlock to get Eldritch Blast, using a bent stick as a pistol (wand of the warmage).

Conceptually, I think a ranger is the closest you can get. Pick up Crossbow Expert for the style points and start shootin' like you would with a gun.

[PallyBass]

IMO a time displaced cowboy should be a Fighter to reflect their lack of magical abilities. Grab the feats Crossbow Expert & Sharpshooter to reflect your skill with aiming firearms and grab the Alert feat to emphasize your ability with your "quickdraw trigger finger". Battlemaster is an excellent subclass choice to give you "trick shots" in the form of the battlemaster superiority dice.

[DarknessEternal]

I would act like a cowboy. All I'd need is a horse.

Mechanics don't matter.

[Kvess]

I wanted a cowboy character, so I made a Battlemaster Fighter with the crossbow expert and sharpshooter feats. You get to make a ton of attacks and nudge battles in your favour with trick shots, and you could even take the animal handling skill if you want to ride a horse.

Fun maneuvers for trick shots include disarming attack, distracting strike, goading attack, and trip attack, while commander's strike and rally could also be thematic.

[DragonBaneDM]

I would go Ranger here! My last big gunslinger-archetype character was a Ranger with a smattering of Rogue.

Also, I know he leans slightly pop-DnD, but Pointy Hat has some relevance here at the 16 minute mark (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ltt9MIj5UDw&ab_channel=PointyHat).

[RogueJK]

Small race
Tasha's Beastmaster Ranger
Horse-shaped Beast of the Land companion mount
Crossbow Expert feat
Hand Crossbow for a quick-draw/rapid fire "pistol"
Heavy Crossbow for longer-ranged "rifle"
Net reflavored as a "lasso"
Bandoleer of crossbow bolts
Duster jacket
Chaps
Wide-brimmed hat
Slow drawl, ya'll

[KorvinStarmast]

IMO a time displaced cowboy should be a Fighter to reflect their lack of magical abilities. Grab the feats Crossbow Expert & Sharpshooter to reflect your skill with aiming firearms and grab the Alert feat to emphasize your ability with your "quickdraw trigger finger". Battlemaster is an excellent subclass choice to give you "trick shots" in the form of the battlemaster superiority dice. I had forgotten Alert (if the campaign lasts that long) but this was where I was headed. So stealing this. :smallsmile:

[GooeyChewie]

Small race
Tasha's Beastmaster Ranger
Horse-shaped Beast of the Land companion mount
Crossbow Expert feat
Hand Crossbow for a quick-draw/rapid fire "pistol"
Heavy Crossbow for longer-ranged "rifle"
Bandoleer of crossbow bolts
Net reflavored as a Lasso
Wide-brimmed hat
Slow drawl, ya'll

Pretty much this. And since you are small, call yourself Little Jimmy Dickens, wear rhinestone and take Entertainer as your background.

[Psyren]

Small race
Tasha's Beastmaster Ranger
Horse-shaped Beast of the Land companion mount
Crossbow Expert feat
Hand Crossbow for a quick-draw/rapid fire "pistol"
Heavy Crossbow for longer-ranged "rifle"
Net reflavored as a "lasso"
Bandoleer of crossbow bolts
Duster jacket
Chaps
Wide-brimmed hat
Slow drawl, ya'll

This except I'd probably skip XBE and stick with the "rifle" while my "trained warpony" gets in on the action.

[Dame_Mechanus]

Male Minotaur seems straightforward enough.

...wait, that wasn't what you meant at all.

[TMac9000]

OK, let’s start with the core competencies of your classic cattle-wrangling range hand.

You need animal handling. I mean, that’s the JOB. It’s equally valuable for wrangling cattle and handling your horse. You need survival. The Chisholm Trail ain’t got truck stops yet. Beyond that … whoever suggested bard as a base class has a good point, especially if you want to lean into the Roy Rogers type. Also: cowboys really did sing. A lot. They thought it calmed the herd, and helped long night watches pass.

Outsider as a background is a pretty good fit. You get survival out of that and some good bennies on top of that.

Crossbow expert/hand crossbow would be nice, replacing your lost, lamented Peacemaker.