I’ve decided that I want to really capture the idea of firearms as being slow but powerful. Looking to history again, a characteristic feature of early firearms, particularly muskets, was that they took a long time to load. The DMG provides firearms that slide into the system easily and don’t change things that much, which is a reasonable approach, but I want to push things more aggressively and emphasize the transformative nature of firearms. Specifically, I want my players to feel like the game plays differently for having firearms in it. However, in my game I want firearms to stand out. It’s a neat feel to have skilled bow users firing off many precise shots a round while musket users blast just once a round for a bit more damage if they manage to hit. Modeling firearms off of crossbows is also reasonable, since early firearms were similarly oriented towards lower-skilled users. D&D is by no means attempting to be deeply realistic, but I do think this was a clever way to get at the feel of crossbows being a weapon for less-skilled warriors. Bows required somewhat more skill and specialized training to use effectively than a crossbow, but were very deadly when used correctly. This is actually a reasonably historically informed result. Crossbows and firearms are therefore most useful to characters who are less skilled in martial combat. Loading has a large effect, however, on characters who get multiple attacks starting at level 5.
For characters without access to multiple attacks, the restriction has no effect. What it does is that it prevents you from attacking with it multiple times per round. The loading mechanic has interesting implications in 5e. Both the pistol and the musket are given significantly worse range increments than bows or crossbows, making them much more likely to miss at longer ranges than the similar crossbows. However, unlike the light crossbow, it is a martial weapon, so it is reasonable to expect it to be superior in certain ways. It does more damage than the light crossbow, and is also one-handed, while the light crossbow is two-handed. The pistol is less clearly analogous to any specific preexisting weapon. The musket is a two-handed loading weapon that hits for 1d12 damage, making it slightly better than the heavy crossbow, a two-handed loading weapon that hits for 1d10. They essentially make muskets slightly better heavy crossbows. The D&D 5e Dungeon Master’s Guide offers some stats for muskets and early pistols, and their take is definitely worth looking at.
5e dmg guns full#
The world will be one full of fairly developed muskets and cannon. I would classify the technology level of the world I’m planning to be roughly “early-modern,” specifically around middle 18th-century levels. I plan on having firearms as a prominent feature of a D&D campaign I’m currently planning, and I’ve been thinking about how I want them to work.
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