Olundarian Firearms
Scrabbling in disparate caves, lost, bewildered, the
early ancestors of man were scarcely differentiated
from the animals that they hunted. Until, one day,
the sparks of the heavens descended; fire, radiant
in its purity and power, revolutionised their society
and made possible millennia of advancement. But
when the massed levies of Christendom grew
too comfortable in their dominance of terrestrial
warfare; when they had dominated a foreign land
and crushed an ancient faith by steel, by steed, and
by fervor; what should descend from the east to
meet them? Cacophony—a bitter, acrid, oriental
smoke, that coursed across the battlefield, and
caused knights to be dismounted and pulped in
the blink of an eye–for the spark of nobility to
be crushed from a thousand paces by iron and
gunpowder. The age of fire had ended; and the age
of the firearm had begun.
Gunpowder, in many ways, is a simple prospect; a
massed assembly of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium
nitrate. However, these three compounds mixed
together have, over the span of the last seven
hundred years in our own world, revolutionised
the practice of warfare, influenced numerous
assassinations, shaped the course of industry, and
so much more besides. While many others have
attempted to implement systems that introduce
gunpowder weapons into 5th Edition Dungeons
& Dragons, I here present my own method—one
that I feel illustrates both the power and unique
properties of the musket in comparison to the
crossbow or the longbow, but also the weaknesses
inherent to early gunpowder weapons that enabled
the latter two to run alongside the former for
hundreds of years. While it contains a number of
place names and terms from my own setting—the
world of Olundar, which I shall flesh out at a later
time—it is designed to be easily separated from
it, and provide both you and your players with a
system that is both easy to use and insert into your
setting, but also represents the multitudes of early
gunpowder weapons.
Firearms
All firearms are martial ranged weapons that deal
piercing damage (unless specified otherwise), and
are available to all classes and subclasses proficient
in them, as well as being capable of selection in
the Weapon Master feat. Fighters, Paladins and
Rangers are all proficient in all types of firearms.
(Depending on their Oath, certain paladins may be
unable to use certain types of firearms, or firearms
at all–this should ultimately be based around
your common sense, and your GM’s discretion.)
The Forge and Tempest cleric domains also gain
proficiency in all firearms, as does the Valour
Bard. Bards, Rogues, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and
Wizards are proficient in pistoles, and grant pistole
proficiency when multi-classed into.
When shooting a firearm, you may add your
Dexterity modifier to your attack roll, but not to your
damage roll—the firearm’s damage will contain a
set modifier, which reflects reliable accuracy and
the average penetrative power of the bullet. This
modifier, however, is doubled on a critical hit. Not
only that, but unlike any other weapon in D&D,
firearms possess the capacity to achieve ‘exploding
damage’, reflecting the sheer power and destructive
innovation innate to their design. Whenever you
roll maximum damage on any dice when wielding
a firearm (for instance, rolling 8 on the 1d8 you
roll when successfully attacking with a flintlock
pistol), you may then roll that dice again, and add
the result of the second roll to your overall damage.
If on this second roll you roll the maximum result
again, you may keep rolling until you do not roll the
maximum result, and all these additional rolls are
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 Firearms
Name Cost Damage Weight Properties
Long guns
Ammunition (range 50/100), heavy, inaccurate,
Handgun 80 gp 1d12 + 1 22 lb.
reload 10, smoky, two-handed
Ammunition (range 95/270), heavy,
Arquebusier 560 gp 1d10 + 9 20 lb.
reload 5, smoky, two-handed
Accurate, ammunition (range 300/440),
Istinggar 640 gp 1d10 + 9 16 lb.
reload 5, smoky, two-handed
Musket 610 gp 1d12 + 6 21 lb. Ammunition (range 250/700), reload 4, smoky, two-handed
Ammunition (range 90/240), one‑hand
Caspillon Horse Carbine 800 gp 1d10 + 8 16 lb.
reload, reload 2, two-handed
Ammunition (range 210, 450), armour‑piercing,
Scheppen Garrison Gun 650 gp 2d10 + 8 28 lb.
heavy, reload 5, special, two-handed
Accurate, ammunition (range 230/470),
Xaphan Hellish Lancer 890 gp 1d12 + 8 18 lb.
armour‑piercing, reload 4, two-handed
Jezzail 750 gp 1d10 + 9 19 lb. Accurate, ammunition (600/1,100), reload 6, two-handed
Ammunition (400/675), armour‑piercing, heavy,
Cettebanghari 1,340 gp 4d6 + 4 29 lb.
reload 4, smoky, special, two-handed
Pistoles
Flintlock 120 gp 1d8 + 5 2 lb. Ammunition (range 40/100), light, reload 4, smoky
Ammunition (range 20/60), inaccurate,
Bolkustani Scatterpistol 340 gp 3d4 + 3 5 lb.
reload 5, smoky, spreading
Ammunition (range 70/190), light, one‑hand
Caspillon Cavalry Flankpistol 460 gp 1d8 + 6 2 lb.
reload, opportune, reload 1
Empress Anne Pistole 540 gp 1d8 + 7 2 lb. Ammunition (range 45/110), light, opportune, reload 2
Ammunition (range 20/40), light, one‑hand
Gambler's Hold 310 gp 1d6 + 3 1/4 lb.
reload, opportune, reload 1, special
Accurate, ammunition (range 100/310),
Duelling Pistol 740–790 gp 1d10 + 6 3 lb.
armour‑piercing, light, reload 3
Shotgunnes
Ammunition (range 30/60), heavy, inaccurate,
Blunderbusse 60 gp 1d10 + 3 24 lb.
reload 6, smoky, spreading, two‑handed
Ammunition (range 40/80), reload 8*,
Coachgun 410 gp 1d12 + 4 21 lb.
special, spreading, two‑handed
Ammunition (range 10/20), armour‑piercing, one‑hand
Coatsweeper 540 gp 1d10 + 5 22 lb.
reload, opportune, light, reload 3, spreading
Accurate, ammunition (range 40/80), armour‑piercing,
The Night's Cacophony 610 gp 1d12 + 3 19 lb.
opportune, reload 4, special, spreading, two-handed
Gunsmith’s tools 40 gp — 5 1/2 lb. —

added to your total and overall damage. All firearms
additionally have the ‘Discharge’ property (seen
below in ‘New Properties’).
If a character elects to gain a firearm as part
of their starting character equipment, they may
begin with either a handgun, a flintlock pistole, or
a blunderbusse, along with twenty shots worth of
regular powder and ten uses of lead or iron shot.
(This equipment option is available to Fighters,
Paladins, and angers, replacing their default ranged
weapon option.) Additionally, all pistoles may be
fired at targets within 5 feet of you without suffering
disadvantage, as is the case for other ranged
weapons (and all other guns).
Note. Even if they somehow gained proficiency
with one, rogues may never use a shotgun for
Sneak Attack.
Conditions and Misfires
Unlike other ranged weapons, the nature of a
firearm’s lock mechanism means that unfortunate
weather or poor circumstances can put a damper
on your violent plans far more easily than it might
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a crossbow or bow. In addition, the mechanical
intricacy of such weapons means that if you fail to
treat them properly, their failure can prove uniquely
annoying. If you roll a natural 1 when shooting a
firearm, your gun is considered to have Misfired.
Clearing a Misfire requires you spend an action
cleaning out the spent powder and burned paper,
before you can load and fire it again. In certain
conditions, the likelihood of your weapon misfiring
increases significantly–most commonly, in rain,
wind, or unsteady conditions. Refer to the following
table for some of the conditions that are most likely
to increase your Misfire Range.
Misfire Range Increases
Increase Conditions
+1 Moderate rain, steady natural wind, one level of
exhaustion, being on uneven ground, being frightened
and having the subject of your fright be visible to you.
+2 Heavy rain, strong or magically produced wind, two
levels of exhaustion, being on wildly uneven ground
(the deck of a ship in a storm), being poisoned.
+3 Torrential rain, levels of wind equivalent to a hurricane,
three levels of exhaustion, suffering from the blinded
condition.
 Adapting to Other Settings
Much of the content in this document is written with the
homebrew setting of Olundar in mind. Presented here is a
brief overview of some of the setting-specific nomenclature: if
you wish to adapt this content to your own setting, you may
wish to replace these Olundarian cultures and locales with
analagous ones from your own world.
• Bolkustan is a collective of dwarven mercantile and
manufacturing centres, located high in the Ardannas
Mountains. The Scatterpistol thus proves useful for
travelling caravans, providing a large quantity of shot and
noise to deter the large mountain beasts they come across
on the path.
• The Glorious Republique of Caspillon is a large, dominant
empire in the centre of Caspillon, renowned for its
equestrian tradition and the strength of its cavalry. Thus,
innovations in firearms are often made with cavalry in
mind, and both the Carbine and Flankpistol are made with
portability and ease of reloading in mind.
• The Empress Anne Pistole is named for a former Empress of
Caspillon—deified as part of the Republique's state religion,
The Round, she had a prominent love of hunting, and thus
many big game hunters carry such a gun as a backup.
• The Scheppen Garrison Gun was first forged in the rapidly
industrialising Confederation of Talmar, who utilised early
models in order to snipe off prominent leaders of zealous
warbands and deter raiding parties during The Age of
Barbarism. The design has since proliferated throughout the
numerous walled cities of the continent, and is commonly
used to deter large companies of bandits, besieging forces,
and zealous warbands.
• The Hellish Lancer, the highest evolution of the musket form
in contemporary society, came about as a result of numerous
devilish nobles being sucked to The Base Plane as a result of
the literal power vacuum created by the death of Asmodeus
as part of the Sundering of the Heavens. The gun's power,
accuracy and penetrative capability are matched only by its
cost—devilish traits, one and all.
• Palandris, the site of the vast majority of flashpowder in the
known world, is a bizarre continent, the land mass of which
changes seemingly on the distant, strange whims of a truly
odd creature. Thus, finding flashpowder has proven greatly
difficult, and many Olundarian nations scrabble to attain
a power base in the foreign land and achieve a monopoly
over the stuff.
• Frÿisain are large, bull-headed people from the continent of
Palandris, with a monopoly over flashpowder and a form of
aggressive paganism that asserts their superiority over all
other races. Negotiations with them are interesting.
These conditions do not stack; you only consider
the highest. For instance, if you were standing in
an area of moderate rain and you were poisoned,
you gain +2 to your Misfire Range, meaning your
firearm would misfire on a natural roll of 1, 2 or 3.
The only way to increase your Misfire Range beyond
4 is if you have four or more levels of exhaustion,
at which point the Misfire Range becomes equal
to your levels of exhaustion regardless of other
circumstances.
Ammunition
In order to fire a firearm, you must have both
powder and shot that are applicable to your weapon.
Shot is required for pistoles and long guns; pellets
are required for shotguns. Stone shot is much
more commonly available than any other shot, but
when firing with stone shot, you ignore any damage
increase that might come as the result of a critical
hit. The same is true when firing with cut powder—
if you are firing with both cut powder and stone
shot, you both ignore critical hit bonuses and may
not add your gun’s modifier to your damage roll. Of
all the weapons, firearms prove the easiest to make
silver ammunition for, and thus, although expensive,
such ammunition is also listed.
Ammunition
Type Cost Weight
Silver shot (5) 3 gp 1/2 lb.
Stone shot (20) 1 gp 4 lb.
Lead/iron shot (10) 1 gp 1/2 lb.
Pellets (10) 2 gp 1/2 lb.
Powder, uncut (20) 4 gp 1/4 lb.
Powder, cut (20) 1 gp 1/4 lb.
Of course, the vast majority of individuals simply
cast their own bullets instead. Casting your own
bullets requires proficiency in either Smith’s Tools
or Gunsmith’s Tools, and requires actually having
the relevant tools to hand, along with a sufficient
quantity of metal that you wish to cast them from.
(It might be a good idea to make an Intelligence
(Investigation) check ahead of time, to detect
any impurities or problems in the metal, before
willy‑nilly shoving it into a mould.) A great many
soldiers, especially in the beginnings of gunpowder
usage, cast their own bullets—doing so is, in effect,
the process of just making a small metal ball, and
so is much more time and resource-efficient than
trying to fletch and make your own arrows. If you
do cast bullets, you can craft them with the only
real costs involved being your time, the coal, the
tools, and the metal—however, doing so puts the
quality of the bullets into your own hands, rather
than assuming they are of a shootable quality by
default, as is the case with bullets you buy. Having
a particularly bad roll when casting would allow
your DM to justify attacks made with that bullet to
suffer disadvantage; a d20 attack roll of 1 might
mean you damage your gun when trying to fire so
obviously shoddy a bullet. However, most of the
time, your proficiency in the Tools alone would
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 justify you being able to tell a bad bullet from a
good one. Reference the following table below for a
breakdown on the requisite time involved, and DC
required, for casting or making different bullet types.
(Note that all of these types require either Smith’s
or Gunsmith’s Tools, apart from Stone Shot, which
requires Mason’s Tools.)
Casting Ammunition
Type DC for casting Time to make 5 shots
Stone shot 10 3 hours
Pellets 13 1 hour
Lead/iron shot 15 2 hours
Buck and ball 17 3 hours
Silver shot 20 4 hours
Buck and Ball
Buck and Ball consists of a small quantity of
buckshot, held in the same cartridge as a musket
ball. It, in effect, allows rifles to function as slightly
ineffective shotguns. Buck and Ball may only be
used in a long gun, and using it halves the long
gun’s effective and maximum ranges; however, it
also grants said gun the Spreading property.
Fine Powder and Shot
Unlike with arrows and crossbow bolts, where
a +1 piece of ammunition will likely either be
magical or mastercrafted, flashpowder can prove
itself superior (or inferior) based upon the relative
quality and sourcing. The ‘average’ powder, as is
listed prior, is still mostly flashpowder, but will
likely be cut and intermingled with saltpeter, coal,
graphite, or other substances to change its colour
for certain markets, increase its longevity, render
it more water-resistant, or any number of other
matters. Pure, uncut Palandrian flashpowder, when
fired, grants +1 to your weapon’s attack and damage
rolls, and the bullets naturally have enough surface
area to enable all forms of enchantment. Naturally,
pure Palandrian flashpowder of any form costs
significantly more in Olundar than any other kind
of powder, owing to frÿisain monopolisation and
trade influence; you may find it cheaper if you shop
on Palandris itself. Of course, magical powder, shot,
and guns all exist, of varying kinds and properties—
but these shall need to be discovered as the games
progress. (The guns themselves are treated as
normal ranged weapons, and thus can be found
with enchantments ranging from +1 to +3. However,
as the technology for firearms has existed for far
less time than the art of bow-making or crossbow
manufacture, the number of these weapons your
players find should be significantly reduced.)
Do note also that, despite them being ammunition,
poison cannot be applied to bullets.
New Properties
Many firearms have special properties related to
their use, described here.
Accurate. Within its effective range, this firearm
is capable of staggering pinpoint accuracy. As long
as you are firing within the weapon’s effective range,
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unless your opponent is behind any form of cover,
you always have advantage when making ranged
weapon attacks against targets within half the
weapon’s effective range (rounded down).
Armour Piercing. The rounds this weapon fires
are engineered, either by velocity or shaping, to
pierce substantially thick plate. When firing this
weapon, you make shots against targets wearing
medium or heavy armour at advantage, and it also
ignores any resistances granted by armour.
Discharge. The loud discharge of a controlled
explosion, in a world where gunpowder, although
on the rise, is still a new and feared innovation, is
often more than sufficient to turn back advancing
foes who are unused to being around such weapons.
Whenever you fire a gun, all opponents within 50
feet who are not immune to the frightened condition
must make a Wisdom saving throw, against a DC
equal to 8 + the firearm’s damage. (Even if you do
not hit anything, you must roll the damage dice
to determine this DC.) Those that fail become
frightened of you, and will take the Dash action on
each of their turns in order to move as far away
from you as possible. Once the target succeeds on
their saving throw, they cannot be frightened by the
Discharge property for another 24 hours. Note that
enemies that are proficient in more than one type of
firearm make their saving throw against this feature
with advantage. At your GM’s discretion, those who
are particularly unused to firearms (such as forest
folk, animals, or remote villagers) might be forced to
make theirs at disadvantage. Similarly, at your GM’s
discretion, those who make their career around
firearms (musketeers, drilled soldiers, gunsmiths,
etc) may not be affected by this feature at all. Those
that are frightened by this feature may repeat their
saving throw at the end of each of their turns, and
are no longer frightened on a success—once they
have moved more than 400 feet away from you, they
are also no longer frightened. If you are setting your
campaign in a period of Olundar approximately
400–600 years after the Sundering, the ubiquity of
firearms means this feature no longer applies.
Inaccurate. The sheer heft or unfortunate
mechanical nature of this firearm mean that you
cannot hope to fire it with any hope of accuracy,
unless you take your time. Unless you have spent
your main action on the round before steadying and
aiming this weapon, you will make this roll with
disadvantage. Unless it is through magical means,
this disadvantage cannot be negated via gained
advantage, as it is inherent to the weapon.
One-Hand Reload. Some element of this
weapon’s construction—usually the chamber,
flashpan, or stock—allows it to be easily flipped,
manipulated, and reloaded with a single hand. If you
are holding something in your other hand–i.e, reins,
a shield, a secondary weapon–its reload time is as
written. If you use a second hand, the gun’s reload
time is reduced by 1.
Opportune. An element of this gun’s
construction—most usually, the hammer or trigger
loop—makes it easy to draw and fire quickly in close
proximity, in response to a flanking or withdrawing
foe. Even if you are not holding this gun, providing
that it is loaded, you may fire it as part of an
opportunity attack. When firing in this way, you do
not have disadvantage on the weapon attack.
Reload. This property refers to the number of
rounds required to return the gun to a firing state,
by resupplying powder, shot, and resetting the
mechanism. Reloading a weapon is considered
to take an action—and you must make the Reload
action on a number of turns equal to the weapon’s
Reload quality before the weapon is considered
fireable again. Do note that you may sheathe the
gun and make the Reload action on later turns
after making other actions—you are not required to
make all the Reload stages all at once. A number of
subclass features and feats, most notably the Gun
Expert feat (detailed below), have aspects that can
help you reduce or minimise the Reload property of
your proficient firearms.
Smoky. The crude construction of this weapon’s
flash-pan means that the usually manageable
amount of black powder diffusion puffs up in a
distracting way whenever this gun is fired. The 5 by
5 ft. space you take up, as well as the space directly
in front of you, becomes filled with smoke—all
ranged attacks both you make out of this area and
that others make into it are made at disadvantage.
This smoke dissipates after 1 round, or until strong
winds blow upon it–whichever happens sooner.
Spreading. When you fire this gun at an opponent,
it will also hit whichever targets are in the squares
directly to the left and right of them. The same
attack roll applies for all (potentially) three targets.
Special Weapons
Weapons with special rules are described here.
Cettebanghari. This gun, forged by Jeravadist
monks in the Path of the Highest Stance, functions
in effect as a portable cannon, complete with a
breech-loading system to aid in faster reloading. It
gun requires a Strength of 13 or higher in order for
it to be fired.
Gambler’s Hold. Owing to the conveniently
small size of this well-machined firearm, you have
advantage on Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) checks
made to hide it on your person.
Coachgun. This weapon is usually made of very
dark oak, forged from a good quality iron, and
is commonly the steady long arm of coachmen
or horse-riding deliverers and messengers who
negotiate treacherous passages of land. Similarly,
it has also become the oft-used weapon of the
highwaymen who waylay them, and passing
travellers. The coachgun’s dual barrels are
separated by a flint mechanism that allows just
one barrel to be reloaded and fired at a time; when
firing the gun, you may choose to fire either one
barrel, or both barrels. If you fire both, you make
a single attack roll, but, if that attack hits, it deals
2d12 + 8 damage to the target. Both barrels have a
reload time of 4; thus, the listed Reload time reflects
loading both.
Scheppen Garrison Gun. This gun, being a
heavy-bore musket designed for static defence,
requires a Strength of 13 or higher for you to fire
it while standing. It has no Strength requirement if
you fire it while prone.
The Night’s Cacophony. Whenever this weapon
fires, it leaves a 15-foot cone of smoke in the
direction you fired towards. This area is considered
heavily obscured.
Modifications
Bayonet. A blade attached to the end of either a
long gun or a shotgun, the bayonet allows you to
attack someone as if you were holding either a
dagger (2 gp) or a shortsword (11 gp) without taking
any penalty or needing to drop the gun. If you are
wielding a bayonet and you take the Dash action,
you may also make an attack with the bayonet as a
bonus action.
Double-Barrel. Both long guns and pistoles
can be modified to add another barrel (with the
exception of the Scatterpistol, as it technically fires
pellets and not bullets.) Doing so doubles the cost
and the Reload property, but it allows another round
of equal power to be fired before needing to reload.
Alternately, when firing a gun with both barrels
loaded, you may choose to fire both barrels at the
same time—make the same attack roll, but if it hits,
double the attack’s damage.
Ever-Lantern. A small box attached to the side
of a long gun or shotgun, the ever-lantern consists
of a series of glass lenses that have been enchanted
with a continual flame spell. A true ever-lantern
costs between 1,500 and 3,200 gp, depending on
quality, and provides bright light in a cone for 80
feet, and dim light in a cone for 40 feet beyond that.
You may open or close the box the lenses are stored
in as a bonus action, covering or exposing the light
as is needed. For a 50% increase in cost, you can
have a tighter-lens version of this lantern, which
functions much as laser pointers do in our own
word—creating a precise beam of coloured light that
is useless as a source of light, but allows you to fire
with advantage so long as your target is within half
of your weapon’s effective range.
Numerous mundane ‘ever-lanterns’ also exist,
which are oil-fuelled, cost 12 gp, and function much
as a bullseye lantern does (see page 152 of the
Player’s Handbook.)
Fergussian Breech. A Falrian innovation, this
alternate means of loading the long gun, instead of
placing the powder and shot in through the barrel
and ramming it into position, involves unscrewing
the trigger, winding it down a screw thread, loading
in the powder and shot through the top, and then
screwing the trigger in place again. Along with
allowing you to reload the long gun in a prone
position (guns without this feature can only be
reloaded whilst standing), this feature also reduces
the weapon’s reload property to one quarter of what
OLUNDARIAN FIREARMS
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 it was. Long guns with this modification cost 50%
more than their usual cost. Only long guns may
benefit from this modification.
Rifling. A series of helical grooves carved into
the barrel, the addition of rifling—although highly
labour-intensive and thus expensive—enables
much greater accuracy at a variety of ranges. Guns
with this modification double their effective and
maximum ranges. Guns with basic rifling (which
provides only the range extension) cost twice that
of the regular gun—however, if you are willing to
spend three times the cost of the gun, you may fit it
with advanced rifling, which also grants the gun the
Accurate quality (if it doesn’t have it already).
Scope. A largely gnomish innovation, the scope
(in effect, a telescope with crosshairs added)
doubles both the effective and maximum range of
the gun. A scope costs roughly 2,000 gp (assuming
you can find someone who even makes them.)
Shotgunnes cannot have scopes attached to them
(or rather, they can, but gain no benefit.)
Shooting Stick. Very commonly just a stick with
a crook in the top that can also be used to add some
rural chic to a rambling outfit, a solid shooting stick
can be ‘deployed’ (i.e., stuck in the ground) with
relative ease, and the benefits it has to shooting
a long gun can be remarkable. On your turn, you
may spend 10 feet of your movement to plant the
stick firmly on the ground. If you do so and do not
move before taking your next shot with a long gun,
said shot gains a +1 bonus to attack and damage.
After shooting, you may freely move again, without
needing to spend extra movement to ‘un-stick’
yourself. A shooting stick costs nothing if you build
it yourself, and maybe at most 8 copper pieces if you
shop around for a nice one.
Wheellock. Not so much a modification as an
older and more expensive way of doing things,
the wheellock method relies on an internal gear
mechanism to align and spark the flint necessary to
ignite the priming powder. Because of this, it adds
2 to the Reload property (the extra time needed to
wind up the mechanism)—however, owing to the
finer quality of craft and tighter fit of parts, it adds
+1 to the gun’s attack rolls, and rain of any severity
does not increase your Misfire Range. Wheellock
guns cost 50% more than the cost of a flintlock
version of the same gun. (All guns are assumed to
be flintlock or matchlock.)
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Gunsmiths’ Tools
Gunsmiths’ Tools are a newly added form of
artisan’s tools, which can aid in allowing the
experimentative tinkerers who make this newly
emerging form of warfare their speciality to alter
and repair guns of any kind. As specified earlier in
this document, Gunsmiths’ Tools can be used to
cast shot, but they also have a number of other uses.
Components. Gunsmiths’ Tools include a
wooden carrying case, several jars of specialist
oil, numerous screws, cleaning rods and cloths,
and other tools for carving wood handles or
inlaying filigree.
Arcana and History. Although magical guns
are a somewhat rarer sight than other varieties of
weapon, a comprehensive understanding of their
function allows you to determine the magical from
the eccentric, as well as establishing historical
provenance, place of origin, and numerous other
aspects of any piece you happen to gain access to.
Investigation. You glean numerous observations
about the owner of a gun from the gun itself; its
condition, accessories, pattern of reloading, etc.
You can similarly gain a great deal of information
from crime scenes where a firearm was involved
owing to your knowledge of them; the distance of
the shooter from the victim, the calibre of bullet, the
powder load and type, etc.
Repair. With access to your tools, you can
restore 10 hit points to a damaged firearm for each
hour of work.
Gunsmiths’ Tools
Activity DC
Clean and maintain a gun; add a simple accessory to a 10
simple gun
Fully repair a damaged gun; add a simple accessory to a 15
complicated gun, or vice versa
Restore a broken gun to operation; add a complicated 20
accessory to a complicated gun
Gun Expert Feat
While the technology of flashpowder weapons
may be relatively new to Olundar itself, its
popularity and spread on the neighbouring
continent of Palandris—a bizarre and ever-shifting
landscape that is the source of the vast majority
of flashpowder in the known world—means that
there are a wide variety of tutors and wandering
mercenaries available in Olundar to enable those
who have a fascination with the new method of
warfare to learn how to use it most effectively. This
feat thus reflects your mastery of guns to a higher
level than your martial contemporaries—or, at least,
your capacity to mitigate the worst of their failures.
• The reload time of all gunpowder weapons you
handle is reduced by a number equal to your
proficiency modifier (minimum of 2). If this
reduces a weapon’s reload time either to or below
0, then the weapon is merely considered a loading
weapon for you. If it reduces it to below 0 and
you have the Extra Attack feature, you may attack
using the same gun twice on your turn–but only
ever a maximum of twice on a single turn. If this
would ever cause the firearm’s Reload property to
become -5, you may attack as many times with it
on your turn as you are able to.
• Only conditions that would cause your Misfire
Range to be increased by +3 or more will increase
your Misfire Range.
• You may clear Misfires using either a bonus action
or an action.
• If you have one or more loaded pistols on your
person and you fire a gun on your turn, you may
draw and fire a pistol as a free action at the end of
your turn.
• Opportunity attacks you make with pistols can be
made with advantage.
Fighter Subclass: Musketeer
The cause of chivalry, the grace of élan, and the
continuous existence of the old guard has come
increasingly to be called into question in the
flame and thunder of gunpowder’s introduction to
Olundarian warfare. However, a combination of
potent domestic magic and a trade monopoly by its
continent of origin have prevented as widespread
an effect on the surface of conventional warfare
as might otherwise be expected. In the hands of
regular soldiers, the pike or longbow still proves
far more cost-effective and easy to teach; and, the
pragmatic nature of the firearm’s continual inability
to perform under poor conditions, the technical
training required in its repair, and the laborious
process involved in reloading, lead the vast majority
of militias, armed forces, and private mercenary
companies to abandon the firearm as a tool of
warfare. A relatively competent battlefield mage
or cleric can achieve superior results to a typical
gunman, with the advantage of greater versatility
and supportive benefits to surrounding infantry.
However, those few among soldiers of fortune or
a noble house’s guards that do prove themselves
to excel with these rare and potent weapons are
as gold or diamonds themselves to those in need
of firepower–and, often, successful contracts will
involve true musketeers being paid as such. You
would do well to consider how your character
achieved their training–perhaps they were a noble’s
seventh son, too detached to live without profession
but too respected to take up blade or bow; perhaps
you were a nimble urchin of the streets, adopted
by a prominent inventor, and taught the required
quick actions of the form; or perhaps you were a
simple pikeman of the line, who one day found in
his enemy’s hands a complex and foreign weapon
he intuitively took to like no other.
Powder-Charged Mind
At 3rd level, you gain proficiency in Gunsmith’s
Tools and Tinker’s Tools.
In addition, you may choose to gain fluency and
proficiency from a number of languages or skills
equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1).
Braced For The Line
At 3rd level, the Reload property of all firearms you
handle is reduced by an amount equal to either your
Dexterity or Intelligence modifier (your choice).
In addition, choose one of the following benefits:
Pistoleer. As a reaction to an enemy moving
within 15 feet of you, if you have a loaded pistol on
your person, you may draw and fire it at said enemy.
Doing so requires you to also have relevant supplies
of powder and shot, if the gun is not already loaded–
if it isn’t loaded, you load it as part of the reaction.
Rifleman. You reduce the Reload property of any
long gun you wield by an amount equal to your
proficiency bonus, as well as your Dexterity/
Intelligence modifier. If you already have the Gun
Expert feat (or gain it later), you instead may add
your Dexterity modifier to the damage of any attacks
you make with a long gun.
Shotgunner. If you make an attack using a
shotgun against a target within 15 feet of you, you
automatically push the target back 5 feet, so long as
they are not Size Large or Larger. In addition, they
must also make a Strength saving throw against
a DC equal to 8+ your Dexterity modifier+ your
proficiency bonus. On a failure, they are pushed
back a further 5 feet, and fall prone.
Quick-Draw
At 7th level, you may add your Intelligence modifier
to your initiative rolls. If you rolled either the highest
or second-highest initiative, you may automatically
draw and fire a loaded pistol you have on your
person at the top of the combat round, even if you
would normally be surprised.
Nimble-Finger
At 10th level, you may reduce the Reload property
of all guns that you wield by an amount equal to
either your Dexterity or Intelligence modifier (the
one you didn’t choose at 3rd level). If this feature, or
a mixture of your subclass features and something
else like the Gun Expert feat, would reduce the
Reload property of any gun you wield to -3, you no
longer consider that gun a loading weapon, and
you may instead attack with it on your turn as many
times as you can.
Master Of Terrain And Sight
At 15th level, you have learned to utilise the world
and its intricately random outcroppings to your
advantage. If you fire down at a target from a higher
altitude, your firearm’s effective and total ranges are
OLUNDARIAN FIREARMS
7
 both increased by 5 feet for every 30 feet you are
above sea level.
In addition, targets cannot avoid that which they
cannot predict. If you fire at a target from outside
your firearm’s effective range, you may add your
Intelligence modifier to your weapon’s attack roll.
Bringer of Change, Symbol of Tradition’s
Demise
At 18th level, your attacks with firearms, regardless
of whether the firearm, shot, or powder is
magical or not, ignore any and all resistances to
piercing damage.
In addition, if you hit an opponent with a gunshot
that does more than its average damage, you may
force your opponent to make a Constitution saving
throw against a DC equal to 8+ your proficiency
modifier+ your Dexterity modifier. If they fail,
their movement speed is halved and they have
OLUNDARIAN FIREARMS
8
disadvantage on attack rolls until the end of their
next turn. Furthermore, if they were concentrating
on a spell, they make their Concentration check to
maintain it against your gunshot at disadvantage.
Credits
This document was written by Alasdair Goudie, and typeset
by Ben Woodley using InDesign templates by Nathanaël Roux
(https://www.barkalotdesigns.com).
Dungeons & Dragons, D&D and all other Wizards
of the Coast product names, and their respective logos
are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and
other countries.
All illustrations used are public domain:
• Eugène Delacroix, La liberté guidant le peuple
• Alex de Andreis, Cavalier in an Interior Holding a Musket
• John Trumbull, The Death of General Montgomery in the
Attack on Quebec, December 31, 1775
• Aert Schouman, Resting Hunter with Musket and
Partridge by a Tree