Firearms of ZEITGEIST
Most armories will include pistols, carbines, shotguns, and muskets, with each nation’s manufactories producing subtle differences. Those who can afford costlier investments carry superior rifled firearms. Additional innovations such as metal cartridge ammunition are known to exist, but they are the domain of specialized gunsmiths, and as yet are only produced in limited quantities, almost never for sale.
Usually only soldiers bother to carry grenades. Most countries have restrictions on civilian use.
Compatibility with the Core Rules
For the specific period of firearm development of ZEITGEIST, we are not using the example firearm mechanics presented in the core rules. These firearms are slightly prone to occasional misfiring, and few people use them as a primary weapon.
For the sake of weapon proficiencies, everyone is proficient with grenades. Any character proficient with a hand crossbow is proficient with a pistol. Likewise a light crossbow is equivalent to a carbine and shotgun, and a heavy crossbow is equivalent to a musket. Effects such as feats that work with crossbows should function the same with firearms, with the exception of Crossbow Expert.
Similarly, if you’re using a starter kit for a character’s equipment, you can swap firearms for their comparable crossbows.
(Note that every class except druids is proficient at least with light crossbows, so everyone but druids are able to use carbines and shotguns.)
Muzzle Loading a Firearm
Reloading involves drawing and tearing open a paper cartridge, which contains firedust and a bullet. The gunner pours firedust down the barrel, then packs in the bullet with a ramrod. The gunner aims and pulls a trigger, which releases the firing hammer. The hammer strikes a firegem set at the back of the barrel, which acts as a percussion cap, producing a spark inside the barrel. The firedust ignites, and the expansion of gases propel the bullet at lethal speed.
A typical firegem percussion cap must be replaced every few dozen shots or else there is a risk the gem will crack and misfire, but the cost is negligible.
Once a firearm is fired, a character must spend an action or bonus action to reload it. Thus you can only ever fire a single shot in a turn, regardless of how many attacks you can normally take with a single action. You might then holster your gun and use other attacks in melee, or perhaps if you don’t mind looking threatening you could carry multiple pistols.
The intention is that a firearm is a great weapon to open up an engagement with, such as by shooting and then moving into melee, but in the heat of battle you might not always have time to reload it.
Common Firearms
These weapons can be acquired easily in almost any small town.
| Weapon | Cost | Damage | Weight | Properties |
| Pistol | 75 gp | 1d10 piercing | 3 lb | Ammunition (range 20/60), muzzle-loading |
| Carbine | 75 gp | 1d12 piercing | 5 lb | Ammunition (range 50/150), muzzle-loading, two-handed |
| Musket | 90 gp | 2d8 piercing | 10 lb | Ammunition (range 60/180), heavy, muzzle-loading, two-handed |
| Shotgun | 75 gp | 1d10 piercing | 6 lb | Ammunition (range 30/90), muzzle-loading, two-handed, scatter |
Advanced Firearms
These weapons are more expensive, and so are usually only available in cities. While a well-heeled gunner will likely want to arm themselves with one, common criminals and soldiers are unlikely to possess these firearms. Arcane fusils – sometimes called lantern blasters – are rare outside of Danor, and are illegal everywhere except Elfaivar.
| Weapon | Cost | Damage | Weight | Properties |
| Grenade | 50 gp | 3d6 bludgeoning* | 1 lb | Thrown (range 20/60), inaccurate |
| Target pistol | 300 gp | 1d10 piercing | 3 lb | Ammunition (range 40/160), muzzle-loading, rifled |
| Rifled carbine | 300 gp | 1d12 piercing | 5 lb | Ammunition (range 80/320), muzzle-loading, two-handed rifled |
| Rifled musket | 315 gp | 2d8 piercing | 10 lb | Ammunition (range 100/420), heavy, muzzle-loading, two-handed rifled |
| Arcane fusil, fire | 300 gp | 1 fire | 3 lb | Trigger charge (range 20/60), burn |
| Arcane fusil, lightning | 300 gp | 1d8 lightning | 3 lb | Trigger charge (range 20/60), shock |
* Grenades do not add your ability score modifier to damage.
Simple Melee Weapons
| Weapon | Cost | Damage | Weight | Properties |
| Short bayonet | 5 gp | 1d4 piercing | 2 lb | Finesse, light |
| Standard bayonet | 10 gp | 1d6 piercing | 3 lb | Versatile (1d8) |
| Long bayonet | 15 gp | 1d8 piercing | 4 lb | Heavy, reach, two-handed |
Ammunition and Explosives
| Item | Price | Weight |
| Ammunition, bullets and firedust (20 shots) | 1 gp | 2 lb |
| Firedust, cask | 20 gp | 20 lb |
Weapon Descriptions
Pistol. A muzzle-loaded one-handed firearm with a firegem percussion cap. They fire lead ball ammunition.
Carbine. Like a pistol, but with a stock and barrel, with a total length of three to four feet.
Grenade. This heavy metal hand-thrown explosive resembles a somewhat rounded dodecahedron. Small firegem percussion caps at its vertices ignite the firedust inside when they are struck with sufficient force, which sends shards of metal in all directions. Sometimes these caps do not ignite at first impact, so grenades hold the risk of bouncing and exploding somewhere other than their intended target. Grenades are destroyed after use.
Musket. The extended barrel of this firearm, bringing it to a total length of over five and a half feet, is an attempt to grant long range accuracy.
Rifled Carbine. Effectively just a carbine which has had the last few inches of the barrel rifled. These weapons use different ammunition – the Latimer bullet, which is more conical. The bullet’s hollow flared tail expands from the force of the ignited firegems, forcing the edges of the bullet against the spiral grooves of the inside of the barrel, imparting a spin that stabilizes the bullet and enhances accuracy at range.
Rifled Musket. This design is similar to the modern conception of a rifle, with a total length of three-and-a-half to four feet long, and a barrel that is fully rifled.
Shotgun. This smoothbore weapon fires pellets that spread out, striking a roughly 5-foot radius at a range of 90 feet. It is not particularly effective at distance, but can be devastating point-blank.
Target Pistol. A pistol with a rifled barrel.
Arcane Fusils. A few gunsmiths have learned to integrate planarite into their weapon designs, though these weapons are forbidden by international treaty. They resemble normal pistols, but the inside of their barrels are lined with planarite, and most are exquisitely decorated along their handles.
Bayonets. These weapons are affixed to a firearm. Short bayonets affix to pistols, standard affix to carbines or shotguns, and long affix to muskets. These hybrid weapons function as two distinct weapons, and each would need to be enchanted separately. Their main benefit is to allow a wielder to switch between ranged and melee attacks without having to draw a new weapon.
Some firearms integrate a bladed weapon into their designs, such as a dagger with a pistol that fires along the crosspiece. This functions identical to a bayonet, except it cannot be removed.
The Narrator can rule whether other combinations are feasible. A shotgun/axe that does d8 slashing damage could theoretically work, but a whip/musket is ridiculous. (Some groups might like ridiculous, though.)
New Weapon Traits
Inaccurate. Grenades do not add your ability score modifier to damage.
When you throw a grenade, choose a creature or an unoccupied 5-ft. space. (If the creature occupies more than one 5-ft. space, choose one of the squares it occupies.) Make an attack roll against AC 10. If the attack misses, the grenade veers off course, missing by 5 ft. in a random direction, or 10 ft. if the target area was at long range. Each creature in a 5-ft. radius of where the grenade lands must succeed a DC 12 Dexterity save or else take 3d6 bludgeoning damage.
If you targeted a creature and the attack roll is a critical hit, the grenade directly strikes that creature. The grenade does double damage to that creature without allowing a save. Other creatures in the area are affected normally.
Muzzle-Loading. After each shot, it takes an action or bonus action to reload the weapon.
Sometimes irregular packing of a barrel causes the weapon not to function properly. Whenever you roll a natural 1 on an attack roll with a firearm, the gun misfires – nothing happens, and the gun remains loaded. Clearing the barrel requires an action, and makes the gun safe to use. You can continue using the misfired gun without clearing the barrel, but attacks with the weapon have disadvantage , and if you roll a second natural 1, the weapon has a mishap and explodes. It is destroyed and deals its base damage die to you (e.g., 2d8 with a musket).
Magical guns never misfire or have mishaps.
Rifled. Rifling extends the range a firearm can accurately hit a target. You can spend an action to aim down the weapon’s sight, and choose a creature you can see. Until you stop aiming, quadruple the weapon’s short and long ranges for the purpose of attacking that target.
Each turn thereafter you can spend an action or bonus action to continue aiming at the same target or switch to another target you can see. If you move or take damage, your aim is ruined and you have to start over again.
Scatter. If you are wielding a shotgun and have advantage on an attack roll and both rolls hit the target, the weapon deals an extra 1d10 damage. If you have disadvantage, if one attack roll hits but the other misses, the target takes 1d4 damage. This graze damage is not increased by anything else (not ability modifiers, feats, smite spells, sneak attack, etc.), though resistances and vulnerabilities still apply.
Trigger Charge. An arcane fusil requires no ammunition, but you cannot simply shoot it by pulling the trigger. The planarite takes a moment to gather the necessary energy. To charge the fusil, you spend a bonus action and pull back a firing hammer. At the start of your next turn, the fusil is charged, and can be used for a single attack.
The shot of an arcane fusil is either a pellet of flame that engulfs a target hit, or a shaft of crackling lightning.
Once fired, you cannot charge a fusil again on the same turn. It can only be fired every other turn.
If you charge a fusil but do not fire it on your next turn, the weapon suffers a misfire. Similar to a muzzle-loading weapon, you can clear the barrel by spending an action, but until you do the weapon has disadvantage on attacks. If you suffer a second misfire without clearing the barrel, the fusil explodes and deals its base damage die to you.
Burn. The fire fusil only deals a base of 1 fire damage, but the target also catches on fire. It takes 1d10 fire damage at the start of each of its turns, and can end this damage by using its action to extinguish the flames.
Shock. When you attack a creature wearing metal armor with a lightning fusil, you have advantage on the attack roll.
Firearm Enhancements
Gunsmiths can craft these items. Such custom work is in high demand, however, and finding a gunsmith capable of crafting these is as difficult as locating an uncommon or rare magic item. The price can be similarly exorbitant.
Alchemical launchers, sniper scopes, and suppressors can be retrofitted onto existing weapons. Ammunition cartridges and reinforced barrels can only be added when a weapon is crafted, not retrofitted.
Alchemical Launcher. As an action, you can load one grenade or similar item such as alchemist fire or holy water into this underslung launcher. You can use the item as if it were in your hand. If the item normally requires a ranged attack, it uses your gun’s attack bonus and range.
Ammunition Cartridge. For a pistol, a revolver cylinder lets you fire six shots before you need to reload. For a carbine, musket, or shotgun, a stripper clip instead holds five rounds. Replacing a cartridge requires an action or bonus action.
Reinforced Barrel. You’ve modified your barrel to fire heavier rounds. If your Narrator uses the alternate rules of attacks hitting cover, if you hit cover you deal half the weapon’s damage to its target, unless the attack fails to damage the cover.
You can also attack a creature with total
cover
; you take a -5 penalty to your
attack roll
(and probably have
disadvantage
since you likely cannot see it), and if you hit you deal half damage.
These rounds usually only work through less than a foot of wood or dirt, a few inches of stone, or a half-inch of metal.
Cover-piercing ammunition costs twice as much as normal ammunition.
Sniper Scope. This enhancement is only effective on rifled weapons. You can aim down this finely-tuned telescopic sight without needing to spend an action. However, you are considered blind except against creatures in a direct line from you to your target. The blindness lasts until your next turn.
Suppressor. Your shots are relatively quiet. If you are hidden when you attack, you remain hidden from creatures more than 50 feet from you. A creature struck does, however, know the direction the shot came from.
| Item | Price | Weight |
| Alchemical launcher | 1,000 gp | 5 lb |
| Ammunition cartridge | 1,000 gp | 1 lb |
| Reinforced barrel | 500 gp | 1 lb |
| Sniper scope | 1,000 gp | 2 lb |
| Suppressor | 500 gp | 1 lb |