Gunblades in D&D

[G3N3R3L GHOST]

So...Final Fantasy 8 is one of my favorite games of all time. If you were to "make" a gunblade in D&D how would you do so? And please done say a crossbow with a bayonet. I am talking about a two handed melee weapon with the ability to "shoot" high powered shots in addition to its hack and slash abilities.

A cool imagining of mine would be to run one enemy through with the blade portion of the weapon then use the gun to shoot down an enemy standing behind the first enemy. Picture it with me...Yeah awesome haha

[Hadessniper]

A somewhat easy way to work it is to enchant a bastard sword with a spell trigger for a refluffed Scorching Ray. I would require it to deal 50 damage as a sword before recharging the spell and I would also limit it to 3 charges a day.

[Zaq]

A somewhat easy way to work it is to enchant a bastard sword with a spell trigger for a refluffed Hideous Laughter. I would require it to deal 50 damage as a sword before recharging the spell and I would also limit it to 3 charges a day.

Fixed that for you.

(What, can YOU look at one of those things without laughing? No, neither can I—and neither can your foes.)

[Hadessniper]

Fixed that for you.

(What, can YOU look at one of those things without laughing? No, neither can I—and neither can your foes.)

Hey it's his fantasy world let him play it out the way he wants. But no I couldn't.

[~Nye~]

Hehe
Well, I've made it before, in terms of damage it's pretty powerful. The campaign I'm running it with is quite high powered with the use of guns in it already. my gunblade does d10 damage, and 2d6 shot damage. In terms of the shot timer that is a problem for me, I don't want to make it too powerful. I was thinking of making it a one handed weapon and making it do d8+2d6 damage.

But on ff8 you need to time the trigger pull, so I wanted to come up with a cool trigger mechanic, I was thinking of doing 40% chance to shoot a target, and that shot chance increases by 2% for every character level. so a level 1 character would have 42% chance to shoot. mechanically, it might seem a bit harsh, but thinking about it, you're swinging a 2hander that does strength and half damage.

My Gunblade character in my campaign is a samurai that does Iajutsu strikes.

[G3N3R3L GHOST]

Hey it's his fantasy world let him play it out the way he wants. But no I couldn't.

It's just one of my favorite parts of one my favorite RPG's of all time. I wouldn't imagine it would be too funny if you were on the business end of such things. That is a pretty good idea for the firing portion of the blade though. I was thinking either that or somehow imbue the weapon with an elemental who can then make some sort of attack as well.

[woodenbandman]

statwise: Keen Flaming Burst Longsword.

Flavor as needed.

[nyarlathotep]

Make it a sword version of a spikard (Magic of Eberron). Put explosive on the crossbow part.

[Terazul]

statwise: Keen Flaming Burst Longsword.

Flavor as needed.

Basically. Gunblades don't actually shoot anything; You just pull the trigger at the right time to cause the blade to resonate and deal more damage. ie; Crits.

[dgnslyr]

Basically. Gunblades don't actually shoot anything; You just pull the trigger at the right time to cause the blade to resonate and deal more damage. ie; Crits.

What he said. If you think of it this way, it's a tad less ridiculous.

A Keen Flaming Burst Longsword (or Scimitar, if you want to take advantage of Keen and Flaming Burst more) would do quite well. Fluff as desired.

[AslanCross]

Make it a sword version of a spikard (Magic of Eberron). Put explosive on the crossbow part.

Actually, I'd think the Alchemy Blade from the same book is closer, but yes, the Spikard (and the more ridiculous hammer) did remind me of the Gunblade.

The Gunblade doesn't really shoot anything though, so I'd think that the keen flaming burst sword does pretty much the same thing; maybe it could have a limited, on-call ability to trigger a crit (maybe a threatened crit) limited by the ammunition in the weapon.

Revolver would only get six shots until reloaded; blades like Punishment would probably get about 12 (or however many shots similar actual guns get). No idea how many Lionheart would get. I was under the impression that it was actually an energy weapon (hence the need for Pulse Ammo in its construction).

[Another_Poet]

statwise: Keen Flaming Burst Longsword.

Flavor as needed.

I third this.

[Tengu_temp]

Playable version:
Exotic weapon. Blade: two-handed, 1d10, crit 19-20 x2, Gun: as light crossbow.

Realistic version:
Exotic weapon. Two handed, 1d12, crit x3, -2 to attack rolls due to the unwieldy grip.

[Agrippa]

If it looked anything like one of these two I might allow it. When I figure the stats out of course.

[Rainbownaga]

Personally I like the way they did it in Parasite Eve 2 (the video game)

It was a 6-chambered (or was it four, i can't remember) shotgun that did about half the normal damage with half the normal range. It could also be used effectively as a melee weapon, but when combined it did a huge amount of damage.

For d&d I'd treat it as a single barreled hybrid of bastard sword and renaissance pistol. Exotic weapon proficiency. -4 penalty to attack as a pistol, once per round you may choose to pull the trigger as part of the attack and if the attack hits the pistol automatically hits (no additional action) and crits (3d10 bonus damage plus enhancements) pistol and sword can/must be enchanted separately.

It's basically adding two weak exotic weapons to make a bizzare but useful one.

[Dsurion]

I've always liked the FF8 gunblades for being such ridiculous weapons

I'd have to agree with the whole War spikard/Spear spikard thing. I don't think you're going to get a better representation of the reverberation effect of using a gunblade. I'd probably have Squall's Revolver essentially have the stats of a bastard sword, and have Seifer's Hyperion be either a shortsword or longsword. I don't recall it's exact length, but I remember it used a pistol-grip, and then just allow both to use the "spikard" ability. Just refluff it as working as they do in FF8.

[TheMeMan]

Playable version:
Exotic weapon. Blade: two-handed, 1d10, crit 19-20 x2, Gun: as light crossbow.

Realistic version:
Exotic weapon. Two handed, 1d12, crit x3, -2 to attack rolls due to the unwieldy grip.

Frankly, to reign in the complete ridiculousness of the weapon, you would have to factor in having to actually clean the bloody thing every day as all those bodily fluids would gunk up the works, creating the possibility of failure.

So...

Something along the lines of a cumulative 10% failure chance each day that one does not clean the gun. Cleaning said gun takes 1 hour.

Failure would mean an explosion, say 10 ft. radius blast that deals 4d6 damage, and the gun is destroyed.

That's what I would do, at least.

[Rainbownaga]

Playable version:
Exotic weapon. Blade: two-handed, 1d10, crit 19-20 x2, Gun: as light crossbow.

Realistic version:
Exotic weapon. Two handed, 1d12, crit x3, -2 to attack rolls due to the unwieldy grip.

How is it 2-handed? The sword only has a pistol grip.

(Realistically it would be, but theoretically it should at least be one-handable)

[Coidzor]

It's basically a flaming burst sword that only does the fire damage when it crits, or rather, when the trigger is pulled which depends upon timing/chance and doesn't depend upon ammo as such.

So, in order to fit it's going to have to be altered in some way, maybe by having it take ammo that acts as a burst of elemental energy that activates as a swift or free action as part of a blow before it connects, as a 10% chance to activate the fiery burst seems a bit low. Maybe with Keen added on it'd be a closer approximation, since it'd be a 20% chance which isn't too far from the percentage chance of hitting most level appropriate enemies that have good AC for their CR.

But even that's fairly imprecise. Still, it is less work than determining the cost and how much damage is appropriate for the ammo and what elements/effects are kosher though.

[Tengu_temp]

How is it 2-handed? The sword only has a pistol grip.

(Realistically it would be, but theoretically it should at least be one-handable)

It's a rather big gun, and Squall wields it two-handed in combat. Do note that in real life, pistols are usually fired with two hands as well.

[AslanCross]

How is it 2-handed? The sword only has a pistol grip.

(Realistically it would be, but theoretically it should at least be one-handable)

While yes, it can be held in one hand, Squall slashes with it two-handed. At least Squall's weapon has the grip on roughly the same axis as the blade, unlike Seifer's. (Seifer uses it exclusively one-handed)

[stainboy]

I'd call Squall's gunblade a bastard sword/pistol, using the Renaissance weapons from the DMG. The gunblade doesn't have its own proficiency feats. It works off of bastard sword proficiency in melee, and EWP: Firearms at range. That explains why Squall swings the thing two-handed and Seifer swings one-handed: Squall never took EWP: Bastard Sword. (Or Squall's strength is at least 14, and since he has his offhand free anyway he wants the 1.5x Strength on damage.)

If you want to stab somebody and then pull the trigger for extra damage, or run through one target and then cleave into a shot against another target, make feats for that. Here's an attempt at it as a combat style feat (spoilered for length).

Spoiler

Show

Gunblade Expert [Combat Style]
Prerequisites: Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Bastard Sword or proficiency in all martial weapons, Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Firearms, Power Attack, Cleave

You have learned to combine melee attacks with shots from your gunblade. A fighter may select Gunblade Expert as one of her fighter bonus feats.

Gunblade Thrust: To use Gunblade Thrust you must make an attack during a round in which you have declared at least a -3 attack penalty from Power Attack. Your attack deals piercing damage instead of its normal damage type (slashing).
Thrust Shot: To use Thrust Shot, you must make an attack as part of a full attack action immediately following a successful Gunblade Thrust against the same target. Make the attack using your gunblade's ranged attack. The attack suffers no attack roll penalty from Power Attack but adds your Power Attack bonus to damage. A Thrust Shot does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Gunblade Cleave: When you make an attack granted by the Cleave feat, you may choose to attack with your gunblade's ranged attack against any target outside of your threatened area but within 30'.

[GodGoblin]

Have you looked into the Vulcarian Thunderclub? (Spelling may be wrong) Its a greatclub with an explosive shotgun thing in the end. Maybe change it into a sword and you got a big gunsword

[Yuki Akuma]

Fun Fact: Gunblades are not purely from the realm of fantasy. They are actual weapons.

They used the explosive charge to make the blade resonate. They weren't particularly effective.

I'd say 1d8 damage, 19-20 crit range, x3 crit. Maybe a special ability that lets them prompt a critical threat on any roll, restricted by ammunition.

Also: gunblades are not ranged weapons. Any time Squall uses his gunblade at range he's casting a freaking spell.

[Fox Box Socks]

I don't understand why realism is even entering into this discussion. Getting into an honest to god sword fight with a gunblade is a fantastic way to shatter your wrist.

My vote goes to reflavoring the keen flaming burst longsword.

[Sipex]

I've statted up something quickly for 4th edition which might do the trick.

Gunblade +(1,2,3,4,5,6) - (Lv 6,11,16,21,26,30)
Your sword is affixed with a firing mechanism which allows you to deal extra damage at close range.
Weapon: Any heavy blade Crit: +1d8 per plus
Daily Power (free):
As part of an attack make a second attack roll versus Reflex against the same target. This attack roll benefits from all the same bonuses as the blade.
Attack: Dex vs Reflex
Hit: 1d8 + Dexterity Modifier damage
(2d8 + DEX @ lvl 16/21, 3d8 + DEX @ lvl 26/30)
Effect: On a critical hit this attack deals full damage but no additional critical damage.

It's a bit overpowered but otherwise it would just be a flaming burst weapon without a damage type attached.

edit: This is due to the poster not specifying plus it sounded like a fun project

[Zen Monkey]

They actually existed in 2E. I think it was in Ravenloft. They were based on a failed French design of a rapier with a pistol grip. Once the target was stabbed, you pull the trigger to fire a shot point-blank for extra damage. You might be able to find them with a search of 2E firearms rules.

[grimbold]

you may want to use the DM handbooks pistol for the gun bit
page 145 i believe

[Tengu_temp]

Also: gunblades are not ranged weapons. Any time Squall uses his gunblade at range he's casting a freaking spell.

Actually, Lightning from FF13 uses a gunblade as well, and it's both a melee and a ranged weapon. It's a different design, more high-tech and clearly one-handed, but still a gunblade.

[Sipex]

Oh yeah, that kind of gunblade would be much more entertaining to use. You'd have an weapon which could swap forms as (for D&D 4) a minor action.

I don't know what it would translate to in D&D 3.5 terms though. Transform at the start of an attack as a swift action? (ie: If you're firing the gun, as part of the attack you change it to a gun and vice-versa)