Emphasising Firearms

Okay, I'm building a swashbuckler type game, and I want to emphasise firearms over bows and crossbows. However, for flavour, I'll say that elves find firearms crude, and far prefer the elegance of the bow.

So, here's what I'm going to do:

• Bows and crossbows become Exotic Weapons. Normally, an Exotic Weapon should be measurably better than a non-Exotic, which won't be the case for crossbows. This is a problem only if we want people to continue to use them. We don't care; firearms were historically direct replacements for crossbows in every respect, so there's no harm in rendering crossbows obsolete. (They may continue to be used for assassinations. Try firing a pistol quietly.) Bows remain superior - they allow more than a single shot per round.
  
• Mighty bows are removed. With bows being less prevalent, the construction of Mighty bows has ceased.
  
• Elven racial proficiencies remain the same. Thus, all elves are proficient in all bows except crossbows. This neatly provides their racial identity.
  
• Classes currently proficient with all Simple or all Martial weapons are unchanged - it's just the list of such weapons that's changed. However, a few classes (bard, druid, monk, rogue, wizard) are proficient in specific weapons. The proficiency lists for these classes need changed.
  
• Bards lose the ability to select bow proficiencies. Instead, they may select any one Martial firearm as their extra proficiency.
  
• Druids can't use any of the weapons that have become Exotic, so are unchanged by this emphasis.
  
• Monks are permitted to use crossbows currently. This changes to allow them to use Simple firearms instead. I see Monks in this campaign as being more secular than normal, swashbucklers who happen to usually fight unarmed. They fit well on pirate ships.
  
• Rogues lose proficiency with light and heavy crossbows and all bows. They gain proficiency in all Simple and Martial firearms instead (appropriate by size). They retain proficiency in hand crossbows.
  
• Wizards lose proficiency with crossbows, and gain proficiency with Simple firearms instead.
  
• The Rapid Shot feat applies only to bows. Firearms (and crossbows) require actions for loading, and so cannot benefit from this feat.
  

Having removed the emphasis on bows and crossbows, the next step is to add firearms into the mix. Now, previously firearms have been added as Exotic weapons, with extremely high damage, the potential to ignore armour, and the possibility of misfire. This is fine if firearms are intended to exist on the fringes of the campaign; this set-up will ensure that only Fighters use them, and then only occasionally. However, if firearms are to be emphasised this cannot be done. The rules should be simplified, and they should be Simple and Martial weapons (with the occasional Exotic for fun). Firstly, we need to add ammunition and gunpowder to the list of equipment. Gunpowder is sold in barrels and horns. A barrel contains 400 charges, a horn 50. Each shot of a firearm consumes a single charge. Barrels cost 250 gold, and weigh 16 pounds; horns cost 35 gp, and weigh 2 pounds. Additionally, bullets must be added. These are sold in tens, cost 1gp for 10, and weigh 1 pound for 10. Each shot consumes one bullet, of course. The DMG contains rules for using gunpowder to make explosives; these don't need changed, but they do need told to players. Additionally, gunpowder that gets wet is useless. Gunpowder horns are waterproof in most circumstances, a firearm that gets wet must be dried and then reloaded before it can be used again. However, no more attention needs paid here than is given to bows that get the string wet (which are similarly useless). Then, we need to add the weapons themselves. Here, I really need 4 - replacements for the light and heavy crossbow, the shortbow and the longbow. Additional weapons are welcome, but not necessary. I'm going to settle on six: Belt pistol: A light pistol favoured by bandits. Carbine: A light musket often used by mounted troops. Horse pistol: A heavier pistol for military use. Musket: A heavy musket. Blunderbuss pistol: The pistol form of the blunderbuss. Blunderbuss: A primitive shotgun.

Of these, the first two are Simple weapons, the next two Martial, and the last two Exotic. This allows me to assign the stats and rules needed for the weapons:

Belt Pistol:
Size: Small, Cost: 35 gp, Damage: 1d8, Critical: 20 x3, Range: 40, Weight: 3, Type: Piercing

Firearms cannot be constructed to take advantage of the user's Strength. Therefore, the Strength modifier to damage does not apply when using a belt pistol. Reloading a belt pistol is a move-equivalent action that provokes an attack of opportunity. A character may attempt to fire (but not reload) a belt pistol one-handed without penalty. Additionally, a character may fire a belt pistol in each hand, but suffers the usual penalties (-4/-8 for Medium characters, -6/-10 for Small characters) for doing so. The Two-Weapon Fighting feat does not apply to these penalties, as this reflects skill with melee weapons. The Ambidexterity feat does apply, however, reducing the penalties to -4 with the primary hand and -4 with the secondary hand (or -6/-6 for Small characters).

Carbine:
Size: Medium, Cost: 50 gp, Damage: 1d10, Critical: 20 x3, Range: 100, Weight: 8, Type: Piercing

Firearms cannot be constructed to take advantage of the user's Strength. Therefore, the Strength modifier to damage does not apply when using a carbine. Reloading a carbine is a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity. A Medium size character may attempt to fire (but not reload) a carbine one-handed, but suffers a -4 penalty to hit by doing so. Additionally, a Medium size character may fire a carbine in each hand, but suffers the usual penalties (-6/-10) for doing so, in addition to the penalty above. The Two-Weapon Fighting feat does not apply to these penalties, as this reflects skill with melee weapons. The Ambidexterity feat does apply, however, reducing the penalties to -6 with the primary hand and -6 with the secondary hand (in addition to the -4 given above).

Horse Pistol:
Size: Small, Cost: 50 gp, Damage: 1d10, Critical: 20 x3, Range: 50, Weight: 4, Type: Piercing

Firearms cannot be constructed to take advantage of the user's Strength. Therefore, the Strength modifier to damage does not apply when using a horse pistol. Reloading a horse pistol is a move-equivalent action that provokes an attack of opportunity. A character may attempt to fire (but not reload) a horse pistol one-handed without penalty. Additionally, a character may fire a horse pistol in each hand, but suffers the usual penalties (-4/-8 for Medium characters, -6/-10 for Small characters) for doing so. The Two-Weapon Fighting feat does not apply to these penalties, as this reflects skill with melee weapons. The Ambidexterity feat does apply, however, reducing the penalties to -4 with the primary hand and -4 with the secondary hand (or -6/-6 for Small characters).

Musket:
Size: Medium, Cost: 75 gp, Damage: 1d12, Critical: 20 x3, Range: 150, Weight: 12, Type: Piercing

Firearms cannot be constructed to take advantage of the user's Strength. Therefore, the Strength modifier to damage does not apply when using a musket. Reloading a musket is a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity. A Medium size character may attempt to fire (but not reload) a musket one-handed, but suffers a -4 penalty to hit by doing so. Additionally, a Medium size character may fire a musket in each hand, but suffers the usual penalties (-6/-10) for doing so, in addition to the penalty above. The Two-Weapon Fighting feat does not apply to these penalties, as this reflects skill with melee weapons. The Ambidexterity feat does apply, however, reducing the penalties to -6 with the primary hand and -6 with the secondary hand (in addition to the -4 given above).

Blunderbuss Pistol:
Size: Small, Cost: 80 gp, Damage: 1d6, Critical: 20 x5, Range: 30, Weight: 10, Type: Piercing

Firearms cannot be constructed to take advantage of the user's Strength. Therefore, the Strength modifier to damage does not apply when using a blunderbuss pistol. Reloading a blunderbuss pistol is a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity. The blunderbuss pistol requires a gunpowder charge, but does not require a bullet - it can be loaded with stones, nails, coins, or even gravel.

A blunderbuss pistol is effective only to a single range increment. Beyond this range the shot has spread so far as to be useless.

A character may attempt to fire (but not reload) a blunderbuss pistol one-handed without penalty. Additionally, a character may fire a blunderbuss pistol in each hand, but suffers the usual penalties (-4/-8 for Medium characters, -6/-10 for Small characters) for doing so. The Two-Weapon Fighting feat does not apply to these penalties, as this reflects skill with melee weapons. The Ambidexterity feat does apply, however, reducing the penalties to -4 with the primary hand and -4 with the secondary hand (or -6/-6 for Small characters).

Blunderbuss:
Size: Medium, Cost: 55 gp, Damage: 1d8, Critical: 20 x5, Range: 30, Weight: 12, Type: Piercing

Firearms cannot be constructed to take advantage of the user's Strength. Therefore, the Strength modifier to damage does not apply when using a blunderbuss. Reloading a blunderbuss is a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity. The blunderbuss requires a gunpowder charge, but does not require a bullet - it can be loaded with stones, nails, coins, or even gravel.

A blunderbuss is effective only to a single range increment. Beyond this range the shot has spread so far as to be useless.

A Medium size character may attempt to fire (but not reload) a blunderbuss one-handed, but suffers a -4 penalty to hit by doing so. Additionally, a Medium size character may fire a blunderbuss in each hand, but suffers the usual penalties (-6/-10) for doing so, in addition to the penalty above. The Two-Weapon Fighting feat does not apply to these penalties, as this reflects skill with melee weapons. The Ambidexterity feat does apply, however, reducing the penalties to -6 with the primary hand and -6 with the secondary hand (in addition to the -4 given above).

And that's it. One might consider adding a feat that offsets the penalties for using a pistol in each hand, one that allows a character to use a pistol in one hand, and a melee weapon in the other, and a feat that allows the wielder to fire a pistol in melee combat without drawing an attack of opportunity. If these are desired, they can be found in "d20 Modern" or "Ultramodern Firearms".