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Firearms Basics v1.0, Page 1 of 2

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New Skills & FeatsIn The Witchfire Trilogy Book I: The Longest Night,

firearms were introduced to the Iron Kingdoms game set-ting, and several new Craft and Profession skills were list-ed. Here is addressed in more detail the actual operationof firearms in combat. Note that Iron Kingdoms firearmsare quite different than their real-world historical coun-terparts—they are not intended to adhere exactly toEarth history. More importantly, they are not intended toreplace bows and crossbows in the game.

The ability to use pistols, rifles and cannon is depen-dent on the character possessing the “Exotic WeaponProficiency” feat. “Small Arms” (meaning handguns andlong guns only) should be added to the list of ExoticWeapons found on PH 99. “Cannon” should be added tothe Exotic Weapons list as well, though a treatment ofthese heavy weapons will have to wait.

Using a pistol or long gun in combat also requires anew skill: “Craft (small arms),” which is a class skill forFighters, Paladins, Rogues and Warriors (DMG 39); it isunavailable to Barbarians. Craft (small arms) allows acharacter to reload a weapon, clear a misfire and clean aweapon to keep it in working order. It does not allowdesign or repair of small arms. Similarly, the reloadingand maintenance of heavy blasting-powder projectileweapons requires Craft (cannoneer), which is an exclusiveskill available to Fighters, Paladins and Warriors. It isconsidered a cross-class skill for Paladins.

Reloading a firearm of any kind always takes at leastone standard action and a successful Craft (small arms orcannoneer) roll. The action details and the DC of the rolldepend on the complexity of the weapon. Pistols andrifles usually require 1 or 2 standard actions to reload,but a more complex weapon such as a cannon could takemany full-round actions to service, perhaps even involv-ing more than one operator. The DC of the reload rollwill usually be 10 or less for small arms, so “taking 10” toreload weapons before or after combat guarantees success.

If the Craft roll succeeds, the weapon will be reloadedafter the necessary actions are spent. If the roll is failed,or if a multi-round reload in progress is disrupted, thereloading process must begin anew. If the roll is failed by5, the reload is fumbled and the ammunition is ruined.Lastly, all reload actions provoke attacks of opportunity.

Open Game ContentThe game rules in this document are released by Privateer Press

as Open Game Content. This includes all new skill and featdescriptions, as well as the sample firearm stats and the rules givenfor reloading them. Artwork and the descriptions of how firearmsand ammunition operate are Privateer Press product identity, andare not Open Game Content as described by the Open GameLicense.

The use of this D20 System game content requires theDungeons & Dragons® 3rd Edition Player’s Handbook, published byWizards of the Coast®. Dungeons & Dragons and Wizards of theCoast are Registered Trademarks of Wizards of the Coast and areused with permission. The D20 System and the D20 System Logoare trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, and are used underthe terms of the D20 System Trademark License.

Soldier withmilitarysidearm

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During reloading, the operator has a few tasks to per-form. First, the breech must be opened. Next, the powderyremnants of the old charge need to be cleaned out. Thenew ammunition needs to be seated firmly in the firingchamber, and the breech needs to be closed. Lastly thespring-loaded firing mechanism must be wound orcocked. All of these steps are covered by one skill roll.

Sample FirearmsFirearms all have at least 2 dice of damage and a crit

rating of 19–20/x3 or better. The reload rating is shownas “2S/DC8,” where 2S is the number of standard actionsrequired and 8 is the DC of the Craft (small arms or can-noneer) skill roll. Weapons that require full-round actionsto reload will display an “F” instead of an “S.”

DMs can make up new weapons easily by varying thesestats. More powerful weapons should have longer and/ormore difficult reloads, as well as more expensive ammuni-tion. Repeating weapons should be very rare. Small Pistol: This weapon’s main virtue is that it is easy to conceal,being only 9 in. long. 400 gp, 2d4 piercing, reload 1S/DC6, crit19–20/x3, range 40 ft., 4 lb.

Military Pistol: This is a larger, more powerful pistol typically issuedto military officers. It is 1 ft. in length, with a fat barrel. 600 gp, 2d6piercing, reload 1S/DC8, crit 19–20/x3, range 80 ft., 5 lb.

Military Rifle: A basic military rifle is usually between 3 and 4 ft. inlength. Rifle regiments are quite rare. 1200 gp, damage 2d8 piercing,reload 2S/DC12, crit 19–20/x3, range 200 ft., 15 lb.

Small Cannon: These stats are typical for the smallest variety of can-non, such as those placed on compact warships. 3000 gp, 2d12 pierc-ing, reload 3F/DC12, crit 19–20/x3, range 150 ft., 200 lb.

AmmunitionSmall arms ammunition consists of blasting powder and

projectile wrapped together into a tight cylinder. To makeammunition, a spellcaster must have the new feat ”CraftBlasting Powder,” which any arcane spellcaster of at least 5thlevel can gain. The process also requires the Alchemy skill,special reagents, expensive equipment and a great deal of

time. A detailed treatment of the process is outside the scopeof this document, but let’s just say it isn’t trivial.

Ammunition costs 6–10 gp for a pistol charge and 8–12gp for a rifle charge. A cannon charge costs 20–50 gpdepending size. Costs for ammunition can vary dramatical-ly depending on the location and demand; at times, ammu-nition may be unavailable at any price, turning guns intoexpensive, lavishly decorated clubs. Ammunition is fragile; itis ruined if it gets wet or if it takes 1 point of physical dam-age. It is also flammable, and any exposure to flame willdestroy it. Alchemical blasting powders burn fiercely, but likemodern gunpowder they will not explode unless they are con-fined. Lastly, since ammunition magical, it can be renderedinert temporarily by dispel magic (PH 196). The ease withwhich it can be suppressed depends on the level of the cre-ator, but in general a dispel check of DC 18 will renderblasting powders inert for 1d4 rounds.

Most ammunition contains a simple lead ball, but thereare other options available. Incendiary, poisoned or evenenchanted projectiles are available for the right price.Cannons fire a much larger projectile, and so there are someespecially fiendish projectile options for the cannoneer tochoose from. Of course, specialty projectiles increase thecost of ammunition dramatically, particularly if they aremagical. ✖

A Word on Feats and Skills“By the book,” a PC needs to have a base attack bonus

of +1 to take the Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat. Thatmeans that there will be a lot of first-level charactersthat can’t pack a pistol, and that may not fit your gam-ing group’s style. If that’s a problem, bend the rules! Oneof the original IK PCs here at Privateer Press was a gog-gle-wearing Sor1 toting a pair of pistols—and if we didit, you can do it too.

So please, bend or break class skill restrictions if youhave a good reason. For example, in the Iron Kingdomswizards get Decipher Script as a class skill and roguesdon’t, because it always seemed to make more sense to usthat way. Likewise, if a barbarian PC with a rifle fits yourcampaign, bend the rules and let him in.

A typical small pistol

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15 COPYRIGHT NOTICEOpen Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of theCoast, Inc.System Rules Document Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast,Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams,based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.Privateer Press Web Documents Copyright 2001 PrivateerPress LLC