Firearms
Guns are not strangers to fantasy. Heroes like Burroughs's John Carter or Howard's Solomon Kane carried pistols alongside their swords, and it's hard to imagine a pirate ship without cannons blazing. This section presents an anachronistic collection of hand-held black powder weapons — from traditional sword-and-sorcery flintlocks to more advanced firearms closer to the technology of the Old West. A firearm remains an ominous and terrible weapon in the hands of a skilled gunman.
Firearms in Your Campaign
Choose a rarity level before introducing firearms. Ammunition prices and the Gunslinger's Gunsmithing feat assume Emerging Guns — Golarion's default.
Firearms don't exist in this campaign. Simply don't allow the rules that follow. The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game plays perfectly well without them.
Early firearms exist but are treated like magic items — things of wonder and mystery, not mass-produced. Advanced firearms, the Gunslinger class, the Amateur Gunslinger feat, and firearm archetypes do not exist. Only NPCs may take the Gunsmithing feat.
Firearms become more common — mass-produced by guilds or dwarven clans. Early firearms are relatively rare; adventurers who want guns must take the Gunsmithing feat to make them feasible. Advanced firearms may exist only as rare, high-level treasure. Ammunition prices in this chapter use this rarity.
Early firearms are readily available. All firearms are martial weapons rather than exotic. Early firearms and ammunition cost 25% of the listed prices; advanced firearms still cost full price and remain rare.
Guns are commonplace. All firearms are simple weapons. Early firearms are antiques; advanced guns are widespread. All firearms and ammunition cost 10% of listed prices. The Gunslinger loses the Gunsmith class feature and instead gains Gun Training at 1st level.
Firearm Rules
Firearms work differently from other ranged projectile weapons. Unless otherwise noted, all rules below apply to both early and advanced firearms.
Firearm Proficiency
The Exotic Weapon Proficiency (firearms) feat allows you to use all firearms without penalty. A nonproficient character takes the standard −4 penalty on attack rolls with firearms, and a nonproficient character who loads a firearm increases all misfire values by 4 for the shots he loads.
Even though the Exotic Weapon Proficiency (firearms) feat grants you proficiency with all firearms, anytime you take a feat that modifies a single type of weapon (such as Weapon Focus or Rapid Reload), you must still pick one specific type of firearm for that feat to affect.
All firearms are part of the same weapon group for the purposes of the fighter's weapon training class feature.
Capacity
A firearm's capacity is the number of shots it can hold at one time. When making a full-attack action, you may fire a firearm as many times in a round as you have attacks, up to this limit, unless you can reload the weapon as a swift or free action while making a full-attack action. In early firearms, capacity often indicates the number of barrels; in advanced firearms, it typically indicates the number of chambers.
Range and Penetration
Armor, whether manufactured or natural, provides little protection against the force of a bullet at short range.
Attack rolls within the first range increment resolve against the target's touch AC, but are not considered touch attacks for feats like Deadly Aim. At higher increments, attacks resolve normally (cumulative −2 per increment). Early firearms have a maximum range of 5 range increments.
Attack rolls within the first five range increments resolve against touch AC (still not a touch attack for feat purposes). At higher increments, attacks resolve normally. Advanced firearms have a maximum range of 10 range increments.
Loading a Firearm
You need at least one free hand to load one-handed and two-handed firearms. Loading any firearm provokes attacks of opportunity. The Rapid Reload feat reduces loading time for one-handed and two-handed firearms (not siege firearms).
- Each barrel loaded separately
- One-handed: standard action per barrel
- Two-handed: full-round action per barrel
- Siege firearm: 3 full-round actions (2 if 2 people loading)
Move action to load a one-handed or two-handed advanced firearm to its full capacity.
Misfires
If the natural result of your attack roll falls within a firearm's misfire value, that shot misses — even if you would have otherwise hit. When a firearm misfires, it gains the broken condition. While broken, it suffers normal broken weapon penalties and its misfire value increases by 4 (or by 2 if the wielder has gun training in that firearm type).
If an early firearm with the broken condition misfires again, it explodes. Nonmagical firearms are destroyed; magical firearms are wrecked (require make whole or Gunsmithing to restore).
When a gun explodes, pick one corner of your square — the explosion creates a burst from that point. Each creature within the burst (including the wielder) takes damage as if hit by the weapon. DC 12 Reflex save halves this damage.
Advanced firearms can misfire, but when they do they only gain the broken condition. A further misfire does not cause them to explode.
Ammunition
Firearm ammunition takes two forms: black powder + shot (bullets or pellets), or cartridges. Unlike other ammunition, firearm ammunition is destroyed when used and has no chance of retrieval on a miss. No part of a cartridge can be reused. Firearm ammunition cannot be treated with poison unless you are using a pitted bullet.
Additional Rules
Like light weapons and hand crossbows, one-handed firearms are easy to conceal. Some smaller firearms (like the coat pistol) grant bonuses to Sleight of Hand checks to conceal the weapon.
A cumulative −2 penalty applies per size category of difference between your size and the firearm's size. Size never affects the number of hands needed to fire, except for siege firearms — Large or larger creatures can fire one size smaller as a two-handed weapon with a −4 penalty.
You can use a one-handed or two-handed firearm without penalty while carrying a buckler.
Firearms, like crossbows, can be fired while their wielders are prone.
Black powder becomes useless when exposed to water, but powder horns and cartridges protect it. You cannot normally load an early firearm underwater or fire any firearm underwater without magical aid.
The Deflect Arrows and Snatch Arrows feats can be used to deflect bullets, but not pellets from a scatter weapon. Neither feat can deflect siege firearm attacks.