Basic Fantasy RPG Forums

Inspired by movies like The Patriot and Pirates of the Caribbean, I'd thought I'd try bringing black powder firearms to Basic Fantasy.

Comments and critiques welcome.

Release 2 (Feb. 21, 2015)
• Optional Rules — Armor penetration, Called shots, Deadly firearms*, Firearm inaccuracy, Pistol-whips and Rifle-butts, Ranged sneak attacks, and Volley fire. * Deadly firearms is a collection of four optional rules that try to emulate the lethality of firearms by different methods.
• New specialist — Mountain man.
• Monsters — Goblin grenadier and Hobgoblin musketeer (w/ notes on hobgoblins sharpshooters).

Release 1 (Feb. 19, 2015)
• Basic rules — character proficiency and reload times
• Optional rules — foul weather, misfires and malfunctions, open-ended damage, black powder weapons and stealth
• New general equipment, new weapons — including non-firearms and unique firearms like combination pistols [pistol-axe, pistol-sword, etc.]
• Black powder siege engines
• New specialists — cannon crew, gunsmith
• New mercenaries — dragoon cavalry, grenadier, marine, musketeer, raider, skirmisher
• New spells & magic items
• New monsters — three black powder golems, black powder-using iron orcs and their bear-riding cavalry, and several mercenaries and pirates

Black powder? BLACK POWDER!? In my fantasy world? Never! You hear me? Never!!!
Hehe. Just kidding folks. Heck, even Tolkien had what I presume was black powder at Helm's Deep. Move along now nothing to see.

Nice. I am thinking this supplement is going to play a part in a setting that I have been working on recently. I think it will fit nicely, perhaps in its entirety... and I like that!

I know the open-ended damage is an old rule but it gives low die weapons a higher chance of open ending their damage.

Some other ideas or changes (some that I've seen in other games or that I can think right now)

-Bigger attack penalties for range for reflecting weapon inaccuracy
-Limited armor effectiveness such as ignoring metal armors (reducing the AC to a set value)
-Extra damage based on attack roll or on a second die to give all weapons the same chance of higher damage, like 1 in 6 chances (good for subclasses and special abilities) or you could give a different chance per weapon outside of its damage dice.

Black powder weapons makes natural 1 fun for the DM

Dimirag wrote:I know the open-ended damage is an old rule but it gives low die weapons a higher chance of open ending their damage.

This is true.

Perhaps one rolls a second die every time damage is rolled for the chance of an extra die of damage.
Or a mechanism of "if one rolls 4 over the needed number "to hit" a second die is given" or something similar?? a third die given if one rolls 6 over, etc.
It makes the squishy, no armor folks more susceptible to extra damage than the well armored or high level types (that have better AC). Likewise, the expert marksman (for example a high level Fighter utilizing weapon specialization, etc) becomes scary as he hits those vitals with greater ease.

Just thoughts. And another reiteration that I like what you have done here!

If the attack roll total exceeds the target's AC plus 5, roll again and add. If it exceeds the AC by 10, roll twice and add, and so on for 15, 20, etc.

Haven't done the math, but it makes firearms relatively equal in their odds of "exploding" damage (as opposed to just exploding...)

Using the attack roll works for attacks, the "roll over AC+4 gives a better effect" is the critical rule I use.
If a GM want's to give less impact on the attacker's skill a possible rule is to allow a consecutive attack roll, similar to the "confirmation roll" of some critical hits rules. This means that even the less skilled could reach high levels of damage.

But, what about of weapons that don't require an attack roll?
Both of the above rules could be implement in an alternate way when confronted by saving throws.

But I'm inclined towards the use of an external roll just to use one rule for this kind of damage.

That would make a Dwarven Dynamiter (a class I always joke about) could have the chance of exploding damage with both guns and bombs.

I don't know if you thought about this or not, but black powder weapons can be used as bludgeoning weapons. They can also have a bayonette attached to the end, which adds stabbing damage as well.

Well if it doesn't work out you can always write up a rule for nukes. They tend to clear away a lot of troubling little details that get in the way. Trinity Site nuke damage: 100,000,000(1d100+99).