In a world ruled by cold steel and powerful magic, like Toril, firearms are not very popular, if known at all. Still, even in such a world there are some inventors and technologists, who devote themselves to the perfection of exotic and obscure gadgets. Many of them are worshipers or even clerics of Gond, though some are also arcanists. These few individuals, who achieve reputation both as skillful gunwielders and talented arcane spellcasters, call themselves spellguns. In combat, they mostly rely on their precision with firearms, supported by defensive magic, rather than throwing fireballs or calling mighty storms upon their foes.

Many spellguns are gnomes, because of this race’s general tendency to build strange devices and develope progressive technologies; a significant part of Gond’s church also consists of gnomish worshipers. Humans, especially those from Lantan, are just as likely to become spellguns as gnomes are. Halflings and elves theoretically make good spellguns due to their general ranged superiority, however, members of these races rarely have to do with smokepowder and firearms.

Hit Die: D6

Base Attack Bonus: +4

Skills: Craft (firearms) 7 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, Spellcraft 5 ranks, Concentration 4 ranks, Disable Device 2 ranks

Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Firearms), Weapon Focus (Firearms), Nimble Fingers

Spells: Ability to cast 2nd level arcane spells, ability to cast prestidigitation

Special: may not have Conjuration and Transmutation as forbidden schools of magic

Class Skills:

The spellguns’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Int), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (architecture and engineering) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Use Magic Device (Cha)

Skillpoints at each level: 2 + Int modifier

All the following are Class Features of the spellgun prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Spellguns gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Spells per Day: At every even-numbered level, a spellgun gains new spells per day and increased caster level as if she had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class she belonged to before adding the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bardic music, bonus metamagic or item creation feats, and so on). If a character had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming a spellgun, she must decide to which class she adds the new level for purposes of determining her caster level and spells per day.

Arcane Reload (Su): A spellgun ist adept at increasing the effectiveness of her firearms by using arcane tricks. She can sacrifice a prepared spell, or loose an unused spell slot, if she casts her spells spontaneously, as a swift action, to reduce the reloading time of a firearm she wields to a move action. Reloading a firearm in this way still provokes an attack of opportunity, sacrificing a spell to do so does not. Level 0 spells cannot be sacrificed for arcane reloading.

Casting Gunwielder (Ex): Due she ist used to cast spells and use firearms without having much time to switch between the both arts, a spellgun may cast spells requiring somatic components, even when she wields a light or small firearm in each hand or a two-handed firearm in both hands. This ability do not function, if both of the spellgun’s hands are occupied by something other than two firearms or a two-handed firearm, such as a usual ranged weapon, a firearm and a melee weapon and so on.
A spellgun may also reload a firearm when holding two of them in her hands, without dropping one to get a hand free. If she holds something else than a firearm in the second hand, she may not make use of this benefit.

Windriding Touch (Ex): A spellgun gains the ability to transfere touch spells via bullets, by casting them into her loaded firearm and then firing the charged projectile at a foe. Upon a successful hit within one range increment of the weapon used, the bullet deals its normal damage (however, the bonus granted by the Magic Glowing ability (see below) does not apply in this case) and unleashes the spell it ist holding onto the targeted creature, as if the creature were touched by the caster. Casting a touch spell into a firearm is treated as a normal spellcasting act. A spell remains in the projectile for a maximum of 3 rounds; when the projectile misses or leaves the area within one range increment of the spellgun, the magical connection between it and the gunwielding caster is lost and the spell energy it holds disappears. A spellgun may use her Windriding Touch ability once per day at 1st level, and an additional time per day for every two levels thereafter (twice per day at 3rd level and so on).

Mystical Gunsmithing (Ex): Spellguns are trained not just in using firearms, but also in creating such devices and smokepowder needed for operating them. At 3rd level, a spellgun gains Craft Magic Arms and Armor as a bonus feat, but may use it in connection with firearms only. (She can still select Craft Magic Arms and Armor as a regular feat, to gain its full benefit.)
In addition, when using Craft (Alchemy) skill to produce smokepowder, a spellgun of 3rd level or higher needs to pay only one quarter of the base price for raw materials (instead on one third), and also adds her spellgun class level as a competence bonus to the skill check.

Bonus feat: At 3rd and 9th level, a spellgun gains a bonus feat, related to her exotic style. She must still meet all requirements for a bonus feat she takes. The list of spellgun’s bonus feats includes following ones:

• Battle Caster (CA)
• Extraordinary Concentration (CAdv)
• Improved Critical
• Improved Precise Shot
• Mobile Spellcasting (CAdv)
• Point Blank Shot
• Power Critical (CW)
• Practiced Spellcaster (CA)
• Precise Shot
• Ranged Disarm (CW)
• Sharp Shooting (CW)
• Shot on the Run.

Magic Glowing (Su): A spellgun's spellpower imbues her firearms with echoes of arcane fires, making them as powerful as wider spread weapons like magic swords or axes. As long as a spellgun of 5th level or higher is in charge of memorized spells or unused spell slots, any firearm in her hand counts as magic for purposes of overcoming an enemy's damage reduction, and deals additional fire damage, equal to the spellgun's highest level spell she can cast at the given moment.

Unexpected Multiplication (Sp): Experienced spellguns discover a way to conjure duplicates of bullets already shot at a foe. At 5th level, a spellgun gains the ability to enchant a single firearm she wields to produce multiple projectiles during her next attack after the activation of this power, which must occur not later than in the second round thereafter. Otherwise the ununsed magic fades harmlessly away. The number of additional bullets created in this way is equal to the spellgun's highest arcane caster level divided by four. A separate attack roll needs to be made for each bullet, which deals normal damage upon a successful hit. However, precision damage, like damage from a sneak attack, may be applied only to the first hit. This ability is usable once per day at 5th level and twice per day at 9th level.

Improved Arcane Reload (Su): Upon attaining the 7th level in this prestige class, a spellgun learns to utilize higher-level spells more effectively, when using her Arcane Reload ability. When sacrificing a spell or spell slot reload her firearm with the Arcane Reload ability, a spellgun of at least 7th level gains a pool of free reloadings equal to the level of the spell or spell slot sacrificed. Each free reloading may be used to reload a firearm as a free action (which does not provoke an attack of opportunity). The number of attacks a spellgun may make in a single round when using Impoved Arcane Reload is limited by her base attack bonus. When attacking and using the Unexpected Multiplication ability, a spellgun may not make any other attacks in that round that were otherwise possible due to available free reloadings. A spellgun may not have more free reloadings than her class level in her pool at a given moment. Unused free reloadings last for three rounds (including the activation round), then the magical energy usable to accelerate the reloading process fades.

Audiarde is an orphant who spent her whole life on a shipdeck, instructed by a kind-hearted ship mage. However, she had never been as charitable as her mentor, so she left him (at peace, still) as she felt herself grown-up. Without her wise tutor, she joined a pirate crew, where she now serves as a mage and a ranged warrior at the same time. Though, Audiarde feels herself free and important for the crew she now belongs to.

Audiarde de Malemort: Female human swashbuckler 1 / fighter 2 / diviner 3 / spellgun 3; CR 9; Medium humanoid (human); HD 3d10+3d4+3d6+9; hp 48; Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; AC 21 (with mage armor and shield), touch 13, flat-footed 18 (with mage armor and shield); Base Atk +7; Grp +9; Atk +10 melee (1d6/18-20, rapier) or +12 ranged (1d10+1/x3, +1 pistol) or +12 ranged (1d12/x3, masterwork musket); Full Atk. +10/+5 melee (1d6/18-20, rapier) or +12 ranged (1d10+1/x3, +1 pistol) or +12 ranged (1d12/x3, masterwork musket); SA spells, windriding touch 2/day; SQ arcane reload, casting gunwielder, familiar, mystical funsmithing; AL CN; SV Fort +8, Ref +8, Wil +4; Str 10, Dex 17 (15 without gloves of Dexterity +2), Con 12, Int 18 (16 without headband of Intellect +2), Wis 8, Cha 13.

Skills and Feats: Balance +10, Bluff +8, Concentration +13, Craft (firearms) +11, Diplomacy +10, Disable Device +8, Intimidate +3, Jump +2, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Sense Motive +3, Spellcraft +14 (+16 to learn divination spells), Spot +4, Tumble +10; Combat Expertise¹, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (firearms), Nimble Fingers, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Ranged Disarm¹, Scribe Scroll¹, Sense Weakness, Weapon Finesse¹, Weapon Focus (firearms)¹.

Languages: Common, Chondathan; Damaran, Elven, Gnome, Orc.

Arcane Reload (Su): Audiarde may sacrifice a prepared spell of 1st level or higher as a swift action to reduce the reloading time of any firearm she uses to a move action, which, however, still provokes an attack of opportunity.

Casting Gunwielder (Ex): Audiarde can cast spells including somatic components even when wielding two firearms at the same time. She can also reload a firearm when holding another firearm in the other hand.

Mystical Gunsmithing (Ex): Audiarde can create magical firearms, as if she possed the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat.

Windriding Touch (Ex): Twice per day, Audiarde may deliver a touch spell via bullet launched through a firearm she wields, within one range increment of the weapon used. If she does not shot the enchanted bullet within 3 rounds, the spell is lost.

Wizard Spells Prepared (5/5/4; caster level 4th; prohibited school enchantment): 0 - dancing lights, detect magic, prestidigidation, read magic (2); 1st - Kaupaer’s skittish nerves, mage armor, shield, true strike (2); 2nd - cat’s grace (2), ghoul touch (DC 16), see invisibility.

Spellbook: as above plus 0 - all othes except daze; 1st - ray of enfeeblement.

Posessions: cloak of resistance +1, +1 Pistol, masterwork Musket, rapier, gloves of Dexterity +2, headband of Intellect +2, hempen rope, spellbook, ink, inkpen, parchment (5 pcs.)

¹ Bonus feat

© Aeringa Voino