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Polyhedron magazine may 2002, had a nice article on firearms associated with spell jammers, and there was a nice section on them in the back of the 3.5 DMG somewhere. I think it’s very easy to drop  medieval fire arms (flint locks etcetera) into just about any D&D campaign if you like them. This would be an easy add on module just a couple of pages really. A small side bar or a drop in ,in the DMG should cover it.

Mar 31, 2012 -- 11:36PM, SAR101 wrote:

While I prefer to keep guns out of the core of 5e I wouldn't mind them being statted and offered in a module or as a side thing in the DMG. This being said they most definitly should be an exotic weapon or require something along the lines of Firearm Prof. There is no way that the firearms which would be prevelent in a Pirate era, or prior, would be a simple weapon that any commoner can pick up and use effectively. These guns were difficult to load, aim, and reload properly without special training in them.

Just to clarify, I have no problem with guns being an exotic weapon proficiency.  I just don't want to have to take separate exotic weapon proficiencies for each individual pistol, musket, rilfe, or blunderbus the way it worked in both 3e and 4e.  Just make Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Small Arms, and let that be the end of it.

Mar 31, 2012 -- 11:54PM, TheMormegil wrote:

Rules for firearms are cool, but I don't want them in a vacuum. Remember 3.5's modern weapon rules? Those were in a vacuum. No support, classes still needed firearm prof even in a dedicated campaign, there was no thought of balance (as with most everything in 3.5, but eh)... in a word, they were almost unusable without extensive work and houseruling.

I'd rather have a "Skulls & Crossbones" expansion book detailing naval combat, firearms and having class options for those things. Something focused on it, with good rules. And possibly a "Robots & Spaceships" for future stuff, again with good focused rules that cover the trope well. This is part of my idea that all expansion books should serve to fit the needs of a certain type of campaign: sword & sorcery, futuristic, pirates, prehistoric, steampunk... There's tons of material and possible ideas, and I'd rather have a complete set of rules dedicated to something, working well and in a cohesive way, than an add-on that's barely given any thought.

I'm for all of that as well.  I'm a fan of D20 Modern as well as D&D and have purchased D20 Past (with rules for pirates and such) and D20 Future.  Neither of these books were what they could have been, but post-medieval, modern, and future settings could be developed as modules for DDN; and I know I would buy them.  Heck, it might even bring back the fans of D20 Modern, who feel abandoned by WotC.

Apr 1, 2012 -- 2:38AM, Butcha wrote:

I really want to see this in a separate expansion book.

There are a few things in the D&D universe that can make me die a little when I see them. Firearms and spelljammers being two of them.

While I could imagine doing specialized campaigns using both of them, they are so far off compared to the normal setting I use, it is immersionbreaking being reminded that they even exist in normal campaigns. I just don't want to be looking for a rule in the core rulebook in the middle of an adventure to suddenly see a listing of guns or spaceships.

I'm ok with it being in a separate expansion book, but I don't think "It breaks my immersion to see guns presented in an optional module in the back of a core book" is an acceptable argument.  There's going to be a lot of modular options (if it goes the way they have said it would) and you will eventually have to flip through a book that has stuff that you don't want in your game just to get to something that you do want.

Apr 1, 2012 -- 1:09PM, Salla wrote:

Apr 1, 2012 -- 8:47AM, Lugnut171 wrote:

I like firearms, and would like them to be useful, and balanced compared to other weapons.  Hopefully we can finally get that.

I agree, especially the 'useful and balanced' part.  I definitely do not want 'realistic' early firearms that have ridiculous reload times and other stupid drawbacks.

I hope there is an option for realistic, for those who want it, but I really want functional guns that can be fired every round (I want that for crossbows too, btw).  It is my opinion that restricting guns and crossbows to realistic reload times, and giving guns a chance to explode when used, has usually been an attempt to make them impotent options, in the hope that players won't choose to use them, and has almost nothing to do with providing verisimilitude.

Apr 1, 2012 -- 1:02PM, Emerikol wrote:

I'd be against them being in the first book but only because of space.  (Unless they are just an entry and then that'd be ok).   I am certain though that modularity will help you get what you want.  So be hopeful.

Also it's merely an opportunity cost opinion and not any desire by me to prevent you from having the rules. 

You've always been very reasonable about the modularity aspect, so I get where you're coming from.  I'd love to see just a single page with firearm weapons tables and a brief description of each (the one or two sentance thing that other weapons will likely get), that way those of us who want them can use them from the very start; but I'm okay with waiting for a while if they present them more fully in a well-executed setting module.