PDA

View Full Version : Ability for class not mentioned, need ideas!



Bago!!!
2008-04-09, 03:53 PM
Hello ladies and gents! Bago here, and after a long time of only reading homebrew, I have something that may need a little homebrewing.

If any of you are familiar with Iron Kingdoms, then you all know of the Pistoleer class, whether you have heard of it or played it I don't know.

But for those of you who don't know or need a refresher, the Pistoleer is a gunslinger who knows how to use his pistols pretty well, gaining something akin to sneak attack, great skills, and numerous bonus feats and abilities that only enhance his gunslinging. To get into the class, you need to have Quick Draw as a feat, proficiency in small arms, Craft (Small Arms) ranks (enables reloading of small guns), Intimidate ranks and the attack bonus of +3.

As for Iron Kingdoms itself, well its a world running on steam powered machines with a little bit of magic, with new races and varied races. There are many types of guns and specific rules. Magic is weaker and dangerous. Technology tends to rule over the place. The setting follows 3rd Edition rules.

This is for a 3.5 campeign that I know one of my players will be a pistoleer. The class is without a doubt sweet! Theres just one problem, the people who published it didn't finish it. There is still one ability that needs to be finished. The ability's name is Lightning Draw. What it was intended to do, I haven't the slightest Idea. What I ask of you people who took the time to read through my bombastic thread, is to come up with an ability like it that has some sort of mechanical value for an ability you gain at level 9.

It could be either your take on the ability Lightening Draw or it could be a completely new ability. Any help would be much appreciated.

-Bago!!!

RTGoodman
2008-04-09, 04:34 PM
Here's a class ability that I made for a homebrew D&D 3.5 Gunslinger PrC that I never got around to posting. I don't know if it'd work, but I thought I'd post it.

Shoot from the Hip (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, Gunslinger is able to draw and fire his weapon or weapons with almost supernatural speed, allowing him to draw or holster up to two revolvers as a free action. Additionally, a Gunslinger can choose to shoot on the draw (as a swift action) and make one attack at his highest Base Attack Bonus, but with a -5 penalty on the attack that applies to every other attack that round. At 7th level, this penalty is reduced -2.


If not that, how about something that lets the Pistoleer make Attacks of Opportunity with a pistol at close range as long as it's holstered first.

Either could sound like a "lightning draw" to me.

Bago!!!
2008-04-09, 06:29 PM
Wow, within an hour? Better than what I hoped for!

rtg.
As creative as the name and the gist of the ability is, quick draw already does that. You can make a free action to draw one or two weapons. And if memory serve, you may make as many free actions as you want. After drawing the weapon, you are able to an attack action following the normal rules, even a full attack action if appropiate feats are taken (aka, two-pistol fighting, improved two-pistol fighting).

The second one sounds like it could work. But what does it mean by close range? Like point blank range or what?

But good job rtg. You thought more deeply about it than I did and brought up something that you made. If you still have this gunslinger class I would like to see it.

RTGoodman
2008-04-09, 07:49 PM
As creative as the name and the gist of the ability is, quick draw already does that. You can make a free action to draw one or two weapons.

But it doesn't let you holster weapons any faster. You still have to take move action that provokes an AoO to sheathe a weapon. This lets you re-holster your pistol as a free action, too, so you can draw, fire, and re-holster all at once. It's more for the cinematic value than anything else, but I figured it's different enough just to write it out as different than Quick Draw.


And if memory serve, you may make as many free actions as you want. After drawing the weapon, you are able to an attack action following the normal rules, even a full attack action if appropiate feats are taken (aka, two-pistol fighting, improved two-pistol fighting).

The Shoot From the Hip is supposed to give an extra shot when you draw your weapon at the same time (sort of like the Samurai, as terrible as it is, gets extra damage if he uses his Iaijutsu to attack on the draw). Basically, you draw both pistols as a free action, spend a swift action to make one shot from the hip, and then can still either unload as a free action or move around and such before making one shot. Of course, there might be some slightly different stuff in Iron Kingdoms that I don't know about (since I don't have any real experience with the setting), but that's how SFtH is supposed to work.


The second one sounds like it could work. But what does it mean by close range? Like point blank range or what?

Well, I was thinking something like, whenever someone runs up to you to whack you with something (or does something that would provoke an AoO), you can pull your gun fast and give him a belly full of lead. Of course, you'd have to add a clause to the ability that says the Pistoleer is always considered armed for the purpose of threatening squares, since you can't make AoOs if you don't threaten an area (and you don't threaten with normal ranged weapons anyway).


I may try to edit the Gunslinger PrC at some point and post it here, but I doubt it would be before the weekend. I'm glad you sound interested, though!

Kyace
2008-04-09, 08:58 PM
I'll take my hand at it:

Lightening Draw:
You can draw your weapon so fast that men dare not take their eyes off of you for a second or risk being shot.

As a swift action you may declare a 30' cone as being threatened by your pistol. For the next round, you may make Attack of Opportunities in that cone with your pistol. Your pistol need not be in your hand but must be somewhere you could draw it as a free action, such as a holster. You still need a feat such as Combat Reflexes to make more than one Attack of Opportunity and your ranged attacks still provoke Attacks of Opportunities against anyone who threatens you.

Bago!!!
2008-04-10, 02:13 PM
rtg, I can kinda see where your coming from, but reholsting is only done if your out of combat, usually. Besides, drawing a weapon as a move action or sheathing doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity, or so I believe.

I think i may have forgot about how to describe the gun technology, so I'll do the best I can. Gun technology in Iron Kingdoms is slightly better than flintlocks. Except for a few exceptions and modifications, you have one shot before you need to reload, which takes a number of standard actions, depending on the gun itself. Most pistols require one standard action to reload, but require two hands to reload. Some pistols need two standard actions to reload. Most can only hold a single bullet in a barrel at a time.

I see and know what your saying, but how much of an area around you?


Kyace, I look at this and I think its really neat. My friend who is the biggest fan of pistoleers loves it, but he wonders why it isn't in an arc, like this.

Area of Effect: +
Black Space: _
Person: O

Cone 15:
___O___
___+___
__+++__
__+++__
Arc:
___O___
__+++__
_+++++_
+++++++
Dunno if the arc is exactly like that, or if I have the cone right either, oh well. Personally, I don't care for the arc and think the cone is simpler.

Kiren
2008-04-10, 02:30 PM
Lightning draw is either a ellectrically charged bullet or more likely getting your gun readied as a free action, so you may take out the gun quickly and shoot

Kiren
2008-04-10, 02:36 PM
Lightning draw is either a ellectrically charged bullet or more likely getting your gun readied as a free action, so you may take out the gun quickly and shoot

Kyace
2008-04-10, 04:01 PM
A cone-shaped spell shoots away from you in a quarter-circle in the direction you designate. It starts from any corner of your square and widens out as it goes. Most cones are either bursts or emanations (see above), and thus won’t go around corners.

Below are two examples of cones in d20, one angled diagonally and on angled straight up.
http://www.steelsqwire.com/images/Diagonal-Cone-Package-Web.jpg

http://www.steelsqwire.com/images/Straight-Cone-Package-Web.jpg

I'm glad he and you like it, I tried to model it both on how a glaive/reach weapon build usually work mechanically and how the western duels in movies felt.

Bago!!!
2008-04-10, 05:36 PM
Kiren,

THough it would seem like that, there are some things that I am fairly certain that would say otherwise. Lightning bullets are not for the Pistoleer, only for the Gunmage (they shoot spells out of their guns???). There might be a special Mechanik (A cheaper version of spell Enchantments, without any risks).

Also, the quick draw feat basically covers that with its free action draw and the whole two-pistol fighting. I even looked up the rules to make sure I was right, quick draw is what lets you make a full attack action with throwing weapons, so it should make sense.


Kyace,

Thank you for showing me that. Now I have a better idea of the area effect. Looks like it makes more sense than an arc shape

Kyace
2008-04-10, 05:54 PM
No worries, I had to see the cone templates in the back of the DMG before it clicked for me.