"She does have a name! Vera."

In all seriousness though, Almerin ~ is this a world with guns, or is it a special item for Marius? Firepower changes the scope of quite a few things with our characters.

Does it really change anything? A blunderbuss is effectively like a heavy crossbow with a shorter range. Marius can at most shoot twice per combat anyway. The pistols are more a visual thing than anything else. But if you guys really feel they aren't a good idea, I can get rid of them.

I used to be against firearms in DnD myself, but as long as they're fairly expensive and rare, I don't honestly see them turning the game into something else.

I've been using the blunderbuss in games for a very long time. I think the question is: does the use of gunpowder change the game.

It does.

So therefore Marius will have his two guns, but will have a very hard time finding replacements should one ever get damaged. As long as it is balanced, there should be no difference between an exploding bullet or a magic missile, between a bomb or a fireball. Still, you will find that this is a D&D game set in a world where guns are as rare as magical items.

I don't see guns resulting in any problem, if anything I can see them as bringing another aspect to the role playing spectrum. However, having a machine gun or assault rifle is absurd.

An interesting thing to add to Marius may be that many foes we may encounter may not of seen or even heard of these weapons before. That may mean they are shocked and afraid of these new weapons or utterly fearless against them, as they have not seen a deadly shot from them.

I agree that that they should be extremely rare and stopping in a town and going to a trader and them having new bullets or firing mechanisms would not be common.

as long as its balanced, im fine with guns in a dnd game.

now if you'll excuse me im going to make a sandwich.

400000 gp? Huh?

The stats listed in the DMG say a PC needs to have a Exotic Weapon Proficiency [Firearms] in order to avoid the -4 penalty, the thing only does 1d10 points of damage, and requires a standard action to reload (meaning he'll need the two-weapon fighting or quick draw in order to fire off the guns effectively).

If he has the additional joy of the items being somewhat hard to find... well, I'd definitely say Raven is going for the less "optimized" and the more "stylized" choice.

Wizards on the other hand... they'll break your game.

Indeed. I do have to "waste" two feats for the Pistols, both of which you mentioned above, Ayrn.

I just meant with ideals and the way we looked at the world. Gun powder changed quite a few aspects of our lives, not only with warfare, but also chemistry and literature among other things.

Me personally, I don't mind guns in a D&D game at all. It just changes the aspect a little bit. And if it were just character specific to Marius as opposed to something the world had access to, then you might have a swashbuckler looking at those pistols saying to herself "What is that? It's shiny, makes a loud noise, and kills people. I don't know what it is, BUT I LOVE IT" ^_^

yarharfiddelydebeingapirateisalrightwithme.

since when did pirates NOT have access to ship destroying cannons, what kind of swashbuckler are you if you dont know what a cannon is, or any other weapon that uses gunpowder for that matter.

...Certain I'm alright with them guns. Really, not much of an advantage over a plain old crossbow.

But N-E-ways, who's next? Let's keep the ball rollin'!

*laughs* Subject change!

I've got mine all written out. I figured everyone would read it when Almerin posted the character sheets, but what the heck. If you'd like to read it now, sounds good to me!

---

Annaliese Paola de Zoccolitto, known as Anna
Annaliese hails from the shining City State of Bayris. Or, at least, most of the locals would tell you that it is the pinnacle of free trade and independence. Most of the travelers would tell you it’s the pinnacle of thievery and greed. The Zoccolitto family is a prominent merchant family in Bayris, and Mme Maricela Zoccolitto gave her husband several prodigies to choose from. Anna was daughter number seven of ten in a line of brothers and sisters, and came to realize that she was being groomed for nothing more than a political marriage with a hefty dowry.

The backdrop of Bayris provided Anna with a playground of multilayer buildings and cliffs in which to learn the artful form of adrenaline inducing acrobatics. Anna’s training at home was limited to social graces and a fairly focused language education, instilling her with painfully cultivated social refinement, an odd love of idioms and a tendency to overuse puns and alliterations. Her narrow instruction left her with plenty of time to hone her skills with a rapier while out in the city streets consorting with the colorful locals. Anna’s insatiable desire for action eventually led to her leaving her home in search of that ever romantic idea of adventure.

Unfortunately for Anna, she had grown accustom to certain fineries in her existence. Quickly learning that toting around trunks upon trunks of sundries was not very conducive to a life of adventure; Anna downsized her accessories and grew to love a different sort of luxury: fine drink, fine accommodations, and fine meals. Occasionally she will indulge in a trinket or two, but most of her money is spent lavishly in the bellies of taverns, or in the soaps and perfumes of the bathhouse.

The purchase of Wynn, Anna’s roan Clydesdale, initially came out of necessity. Not wanting to walk hundreds of miles by foot, she bought the then called ‘Salts’ from a farmer just outside of Bayris. For a few extra coins, the man not only sold her the horse’s tack, but also gave her a few basics on saddling and riding. After close to a year with Wynn, Anna has begun to dote on the mare nearly as much as herself. Apples, frequent rubdowns, and the best lodgings that she can manage are regular expenditures that Anna has no problem fulfilling. She speaks to Wynn regularly, treating her more like a beloved pet rather than an ordinary mount. It is only through her pure agility that Anna is able to mount the tall horse at all.

In combat, Anna prefers the brash yet “sideways” approach, as she calls it. Flanking is her specialty, though she often tangles with foes toe to toe. Her reckless nature puts her immediately into any fray, and with her extensive rapier training, attempts to cause the most mayhem through disarms, tripping, and any other underhanded moves she can manage.

Desirable is a word that her father often used when describing his seventh child and Anna has exploited that fact to the fullest. Her training has lead her to being the ‘face’ in most situations, not only describing the pretty one that it presents, but also her ability to negotiate, charm, and generally use her wiles to get what she wants for her and her party members. Somewhat self serving, Anna has grown accustomed to traveling with the group and extending their needs into her own. In the time that they have traveled together, she has stopped the high class façade initially presented, and now shows her true nature: live fast, die young, and leave a color coordinated corpse.

Anna stands at what she would consider a modest five foot six. Her long coffee colored hair is usually bound in a thick braid, and large dark brown eyes dominate her freckled face. Anna’s figure is slight and lanky. It appears that she wears no armor, her day to day garb being a pair of black leggings, knee high soft soled boots, and a tight fitting scarlet tunic that exposes all of her neck and much of her shoulders. For those in the know, this is actually her glamoured armor, giving her not only protection but also the ability to wear it in nearly every situation. She claims that her dinner party dress will fit effortlessly over the whole thing, but no one has seen her in her finery yet. A signet ring dominates one hand, showing the Zoccolitto coat of arms, and she hides a pair of daggers in sheaths worked into her boots.

Awesome, awesome, and more awesome!

"Live fast, die young, and leave behind a color-coordinated corpse," and I died a little bit.

First a small Joke:

Do you know what difference between a Viking and a Pirate is??

About 400 years and the shape of the ship.

and now for something totaly different: Arvin's backround:
My name is Arvin, I’m the third son of a noble family. My noble parents wanted a second son just in case. I was eight when my younger sister came along…my world came crashing down. I was no longer the baby and my parents doted on her. I tried to play along with the family but I hated what had happened. I started rebelling about six months later. After a couple of years even the neighbors started to notice and I became an embarrassment. My parents couldn’t send me away and they couldn’t control me. That all came to an end shortly after my twelfth birthday; one night in the grip of a nightmare I blew-out the side wall of the manor house and that was that. My Lord Father finally had the excuse he needed to bundle me up and send me on my way. Oh my mother wept, or rather she hid her eyes and pretended to weep, as I lashed my few belongings to the saddle of my horse, Rain, but she was just as happy to be rid of me as father.

They sent along one of their eldest arms-men, to make sure I arrived safely of course. He and I spent many nights together on the road and that’s when I first heard about my grandfather. The arms-man and I were sitting around the fire one night and after a few flagons he got into a story-telling mode. He told me of riding into battles with my fore-father. He also spoke of the rare occasions when my fore-father would have some kind of ‘fit’ come over him in the middle of battle. These ‘fits’ would usually have grandpa speaking in some weird language and then gesturing at the enemy in front of him who would then promptly burst into flame or have lightning dance through their ranks. Afterward, my grandfather never could remember what he’d said or done and since it always seemed to work in their favor the arms-men never spread the tales. I guess he was the first mage in the family, not that it mattered where the magic came from…I was cursed with it.

We arrived at the mage-school, bid one another farewell, and parted ways. Learning to become a proper mage took me several years. When I left the school behind I decided that it was time to call for a familiar. I set out to an appropriate place and sent out my call. The animal that responded to my call was not at all what I was expecting…it was a male dog. I named him Casanova, or Cass for short, because he managed to charm me into keeping him.
Personality : To the casual observer Arvin seems to be introverted tending to only express affection toward his dog, and well…it’s true. After having his family give him the boot and the mage school send him packing only months after ‘graduation,’ Arvin is more than a little paranoid. The wizard mutters, a lot, and often even seems to argue with himself on occasion. He doesn’t make attachments or likes to think so. The people he does become attached to he gives a “hard time.”
Battle Tactics: Arvin always tries his best to stay out of the way during a fight. He usually tries to find a place to cast his spells from without endangering the party and will keep Cass close to him. If all else fails Arvin is the emergency escape plan and will teleport the party to safety.

Also, quite awesome!