My first fan supplement

[cynthialee]

there are a number of similar weapons in armories and museums in Europe
mainly mace and gun combinations. The majority I have seen were expensive weapons made for a noble or royal. These were very rare due to the need for very stout materials and high quality craftsmanship. Hit someone with a low quality mace/gun and you break it. So they are all very stout.
One very old version I saw once was a simple affair without a lock or serpentine. Just a touch hole and a mace head. So one would have to touch it off like a cannon. I imagine it was made by a local smith with modest skills and some extra metal.

[cynthialee]

Old Polish Weapon

Modern Fantasy concept weapon

These guns also would fit into a 'dawn of gunpowder setting.'


Black Powder is my thing.

[Daedalus]

While I agree gunpowder is nothing to screw with and it absolutely changed the nature of warfare I was not attempting to create a historically accurate set of rules regarding firearms. I wanted a set of rules that was quick, simple, and felt like firearms. I wanted to add excitement and a bit of chance in return for the small potential of greater damage.

It's not about respecting historic accuracy in a setting with Chaos Warriors, Gargoyles, and Elves. It's about mythology and legend with a pseudo-historic feel.

That being said, I genuinely appreciate the insight and analytics of my work - it really shows passion and dedication to HQ.

I think your rules achieved your aims quite well. A Hero concept that receives pages of attention demonstrates its worth to the community. Great contribution. Did you get to play-test it? The blow-up misfire looks nasty.

If you want to keep this rule in some form, you might consider altering the rules for Black Powder or the Handgunner's ability. For example, you could...

• ...
• ...set the chance of a misfire equal to the result of another roll (i.e., roll one or two dice before attacking, and count a misfire if you get a Walrus). The upside to this method is the ability to reduce the misfire rate of a weapon without also reducing its power. The downside, however, is that you have to roll dice twice to attack with a Black Powder weapon instead of just once. Under this rule, a Handgunner with a Musket has an expected damage of 1.67 if you roll one die before firing, or 1.39 if you roll two dice before firing.
• ...

I like the idea of separating the misfire roll, but agree rolling twice is a drag. How about rolling a red die instead that fizzles on a 1? It can be thrown simultaneously with the combat dice of a black powder weapon. I'd even count a 6 as a bonus automatic hit to give the weapons a bit more punch as compensation.

@cythialee-
I'm amazed to hear you hunt with a musket--that's passion! I like the combo pistols and am reminded of museum collection that impressed me as a kid. I think a combo pistol would make a fine artifact with one shot per Quest.

[Teldurn]

We were able to playtest the Handgunner for the first time last Tuesday. We also came across possibly the most improbable of scenarios. Out of the dozen or so turns he got, only two or three rolls managed to not have any black shields. It was truly a bad set of luck, so we are hopeful the next game will turn out a more effective class with better rolls.

Honestly, even if the misfire rule were changed to a 1 on a red die, the probability end up the same: one face on a d6, or about 16.7%.

[cynthialee]

Require more than 1 Black Shield then.
If the gun is a 2 Dice weapon, make it require 2 Black Shields to miserably fail.

When guns were introduced to the battle field in the form of the individual weapon, many issues with miss-fires were already understood and dealt with. You do not issue a weapon to a soldier that fails every 6th go.
Even with a simple touch hole ignition requiring a match touching it off they go off most of the time. (a cigarette works great, but it blows your smoke to kingdom come from back gassing from the port hole.
Which brings me to an issue you may consider in alternant....
When a match cord or other ember is touched to a touch hole of such a gun, it is often blown out from this outgassing. Maybe when you roll a Black Shield you need to take an action to relight your match to be able to fire the gun, next time it is called on. This would be an extra action on top of the loading action. (In the case of Flintlocks, an adjustment to the flint may be needed. A wheel lock may need a new pyrite.)

[cynthialee]

I think the biggest balance issue is already in play for firearms of the muzzle loading variety. It takes actions to prepare to fire.

Now if we were talking case-less hypersonic armor piercing rounds fired from a fully automatic firearms platform then there would be some balance issues.

Another mechanism that comes to mind for a HQ rule is that firearms of the type we are discussing may not be effectively loaded while in combat. Thus if you are in the same room or corridor as a monster...you can not reload as you are technically engaged in combat. It would be pretty hard to load a musket with a goblin pack swinging swords and maces in your general vicinity. Melee becomes the only option once the pre-load has been used.

[Teldurn]

We were playing with the rules that one Black Shield is a misfire whereby the gun requires cleaning (and two Black Shields is a blowup). The cleaning was the action, sometimes taking the place of the move action. So for several turns in a row, this is how it would play out:

Shoot (roll ) with whatever else was on the dice = misfire
Spend remainder of turn cleaning gun
Next turn, try to shoot again and roll another
Spend remainder of turn cleaning gun

So we considered increasing the misfire to a minimum of two Black Shields for a misfire and three for the gun to explode. On the other hand, it was so astronomically improbable to keep rolling over and over again like that. Without deciding anything just yet, we will give it another shot at the next game in a couple days and see how it goes. Mathematically, it should not have misfired all THAT often. It was truly just a bad run of the program's random number generator. It happens. Hopefully it won't happen again.

[StratosVX]

Nice to see you've returned Teldurn.

[cynthialee]

I will now delve into the realm of woo and the highly unbelievable...

The Dice Gods have a sense of humor. They also like to see the highly improbable happen.
I believe that there is a force, entity or energy that takes an interest in the games we play and they will alter the dice rolls to make up the most wonderful and improbable stories. Sometimes they bless us, other times they curse us.

Let me tell you the story of Father Karaway Handsbane and how he gained his moniker of 'Handsbane":

Arik (NPC of ultimate male virility and awesomeness) rightful heir to the throne of the city has returned to the city his father ruled during a time of famine with the fresh carcass of a huge dragon. He gave the food to the people. Father Karaway approached Arik and they bonded. The priest appreciated the fact that Arik was concerned with the peoples welfare. He explained to the noble man that one dragon would not feed the city longer than 3 days. Arik agreed and the two were involved in plans to form hunting parties for the city. As the two were talking, the city guard approached Arik and said the Mayor and town counsel wished to reward him and confer with him.
Arik left with the guards, in spite of the warning from the priest it was a set up.
24 hours pass and there is no word from Arik and the local city hall (Arik's fathers castle) was closed to anyone not conducting city business.
Well Father Karaway conferred with his friends (the other Player Characters) and the priest informed them he would go to the Keep to pay his fine for improperly parking his horse 2 days prior. When inside the keep he would seek to gain information about Arik.
Inside the keep the priest is given the run around, he pays his fine and he has to leave.
As he was being escorted to the front gate he makes his first attack. Now keep in mind that Father Karaway is being played in a AD&D 1st edition campaign and he has a lowly 8 Strength. The priest grabs both of the guards from behind and bashes their noggins together. A natural 20 was rolled! The guards both fail Constitution checks to avoid passing out. (DM's call, worked for me...by the way I am playing Father Karaway.) Father Karaway immediately makes for the dungeon and encounters a guard who challenges the priest. The first time ever in his life Father Karaway tells a lie. He tells the guard that a man is dying further in the dungeon. He tells the guard he has received a psionic message he is needed as a healer. The guard refuses to allow the priest to pass so the priest makes an attack on the guard with his holy water sprinkler/mace. As this guard is only a working guy and not a crooked town father Karaway attempts to hit the guards sword hand. Natural 20! The guard goes to the ground in shock with a broken arm and the priest casts his curse spell at the guard. "That arm shall not heal unless you gain 'Absolution' you gainsayer of a priest on a holy mission". {My brother the DM is in shock by now.} The priest then grabbed the guards keys and goes deeper into the jails. Next he comes to a guard holding fat at the next door. Now the priest is pissed (and the players heart is racing) he immediately says to the guard, "Stand aside I am a priest on a mission and will not be impeded." The guard answers, "Nay good sir, I can not. My post must be manned." The priest immediately rolls to hit the guards hand and the roll is a 19! In my brothers game that means a +1 to damage, it is a soft crit. Next roll is the damage roll. 8+1 9 Hit points. This is just over 1/4 of the guards hit points on the called shot...his hand is also broken. The guards keys are taken and the priest pushes the guard to the side and continues. The next door is the door to the dungeons. Of course the guard is there and there is another exchange between the priest and the guard. The guard will not yield and the dice are rolled again as the priest attempts another disarming blow. Natural 20! Roll out damage X2 as per my brothers rule. The damage roll was over 50% of the guards Hit Points. In my brothers game...that is a Constitution check. The guard fails and passes out from the pain. Keys are grabbed and the priest enters the dungeon. He yells out as loud as he can "ARIK! CAN YOU HEAR ME? ARE YOU HERE?" Next the sound of chains rattle furiously. The priest follows the sounds and finds a cell holding Arik. He is beaten, chained to the walls and has a stirge on his face sucking out his life force. The priest grabs the stirge and smashes it against the wall and surveys the situation. He puts his mace to the job as a lever and attempts to break the chains. Now the DM smiles...he has the priest and they both know it, "Make a 4 Dice Check against your Strength." he says with an evil grin. The priest has an 8 Strength, it is a well known flaw of the character at the table. Father Karaway has never passed a ST check with 3 dice, much less 4!
The dice are rolled and three 1's and a 3 are rolled!!! The chains break!
The Priest casts his best healing spell on Arik and it is enough to get him away from deaths door, but he is still so roughed up he passes out when he stands up.
The priest grabs Arik in a fireman's carry and starts running.
About halfway to the front gate the priest is encountered by a pack of 3 guards. Father Karaway takes his initiative to heal Arik with his last healing spell and he slaps his spare war hammer into Ariks hands "If you will live, fight". Best thing ever...!!! Arik Pwns...he is a level 15 Warrior and this is a level 7-9 dungeon. The two of them fight the guards to the death and the exhaustion is too much for Arik and he losses consciousness again. Back with the fireman's hold and a dash to the front gate. When the priest arrives at the drawbridge it is being raised. He sees the mechanism to reverse the direction of the draw bridge and immediately grabs it an heaves. The DM smiles again "This mechanism is designed to be manned by two soldiers. Make a 5 dice check against your Strength." At this point it seems futile, but the dice are rolled again...four 1's, and a 4. This is exactly low enough to pass the test. It is pretty much a critical in the impossibility of the roll.
The priest runs out of the castle and there is a mob assembled outside the keep demanding Arik. Well as soon as the Priest gets to the mob he passes Arik off to the Druid and he turns around mace in hand and advances on the 5 guards that are running across the bridge. The priest covered in blood says to the guards "I have the will of the gods and the people on my side today. Back Off!"
Unbeknownst to the priest his party and the mob behind him were all angered and armed and looking like they would back the priest if it came to a fight.
The guards went back to the keep and this turn of events served as the back story to one of the best campaigns I ever played.
Father Karaway became known as Father Handsbane across the land as the tale of his exploits made it across the lands. He was respected by the local constabulatory as he did not kill them when he had a chance to disarm them.
There never was another string of incredible luck like that with the heroes again, but just about every time from that day forward when the priest would attempt a disarming roll the lowest roll ever made was a failing 15, most often the roll would be an 18+. Now in my game circle, the tale of Father Karaway is one of those epic unbelievable situations that make me wonder. No one rolls that many crits in a row. But the entire time the priest was doing his thing, every one at the table was rooting me on. They were not playing themselves due to the situation of the priest going solo, but when Arik was in the hands of the people, there was a rousing cheer. Even my brother the DM was astonished and congratulated me. 1 Priest had single handedly changed the entire course of events in the game.

Time and time again I have seen impossible rolls made by the person in the right.
When my spouse becomes righteously indignant at an NPC or monster, I know the crits are right around the corner. And sure enough they are.
When the players have engaged in shady activities I have seen them botch rolls that should have been pro forma easy sauce rolls.

I believe in the Dice Gods.

[Teldurn]

That is definitely one of the best stories I have read in a long time. It's not as good as the epic tale of Old Man Henderson. But then again, nothing can ever be that astounding, I think.

Old Man Henderson was a character in a game of Trail of Cthulhu, whose player just went completely freakin' nuclear on the GM. The end result became the stuff legends are made of.

You have to read all the way down to the end, to the Gallery.