Pact Weapon: Firearms (V1.1)
This modification to the Pact of the Blade for warlocks is to give players access to firearms and a few unique invocations in regard to their use.
Firearms referenced in this document are from Matt Mercer's Gunslinger subclass, which can be found here. Additionally, changes to existing mechanics will be bolded and in italics to have them more apparent.
Pact of the Blade
You can use your action or bonus action to create a pact weapon in your empty hand. Additionally, if you choose to dismiss your pact weapon, you must use an action or a bonus action.
If you dismiss a weapon while it still has ammunition loaded into it, the remaining ammo is placed into a free hand.
Firearm Properties
Firearms summoned through your Pact of the Blade feature still retain the unique features of the firearm; however, they are slightly altered.
Reload: The weapon can be fired a number of times equal to its reload before you must spend 1 attack or 1 action to reload. You must have one free hand to reload a firearm.
Ammunition
Characters still need to buy ammunition. You may gain access to ranged weapons via certain warlock features, but they do not provide ammunition.
Misfire: Whenever you make an attack role with a firearm, and the die roll is equal to or lower than the weapon's Misfire score, the weapon misfires. The attack misses, and the weapon cannot be used again until you spend an action to try and repair it. To repair your firearm, you must make a successful Charisma Check (DC equal to 8 + the misfire score). If your check fails, the weapon is broken. To fix a broken firearm, you must dismiss the weapon for a number of rounds equal to the weapon's Misfire score. Creatures who use a firearm without being proficient increase the weapon's Misfire score by 1.
Explosive: Upon a hit, everything within 5ft of the target must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or suffer 1d8 fire damage. If the weapon misses, the ammunition fails to detonate or bounces away harmlessly before doing so.
Invocations
To allow for further use of firearms as pact weapons aside from bonding to one, these invocations have been added to the invocation list.
Eldritch Ammo
Prerequisite: Pact of the Blade Feature
Weapons you summon with your Pact of the Blade feature no longer require ammunition and ignore the Loading property. If a weapon has the Reload property, you must use 1 action or 1 attack to fill the weapon with ammo.
Eldritch Firearm
Prerequisite: Pact of the Blade Feature
You can use any weapon you summon with your Pact of the Blade feature as a spellcasting focus for your warlock spells.
In addition, you gain access to a limited amount of firearms you are able to conjure as your pact weapon, based on your warlock level.
| Level | Weapons |
|---|---|
| 3rd | Palm Pistol, Pistol |
| 5th | Musket |
| 9th | Pepperbox, Blunderbuss |
| 12th | Bad News, Hand Mortar |
Heightened Repairs
Prerequisite: 9th level, Pact of the Blade Feature
Firearms summoned with your Pact of the Blade feature can be repaired using a bonus action.
In addition, weapons that are broken have their round timer reduced by 1 (minimum 1 round).
Improved Reload
Prerequisite: 15th level, Pact of the Blade Feature
You can reload firearms summoned with your Pact of the Blade feature with a bonus action.
Invocation Interactions
The Improved Reload invocation does alter the Eldritch Ammo invocation. If both are taken and you are using Eldritch Ammo to load your firearms, it takes either 1 action, 1 attack, or 1 bonus action.
Patron's Munitions
Prerequisite: 5th level, Pact of the Blade Feature
As a bonus action, your patron gifts you three bullets that you can use to load your current firearm you have summoned with your Pact of the Blade feature. When you use this feature, you can have any number of these bullets appear loaded in your firearm, provided there is space; otherwise, they appear in your hand.
These bullets have a +1 to hit and damage and have special properties based on your patron:
Archfey: Targets hit by these bullets are outlined in faerie fire, granting advantage to hit them until the start of your next turn.
Fiend: Targets hit by these bullets take an additional 2d8 fire damage.
Great Old One: Targets hit by these bullets have disadvantage on their attack rolls and on saving throws against your warlock spells until the end of your next turn.
Undying: Targets hit by these bullets take no damage and are stabilized. If they are conscious, they take damage and you regain hit points equal to half the damage dealt (minimum 1).
Celestial: Targets hit by these bullets take no damage and are healed for 3d8 + your Charisma modifier.
Hexblade: Targets hit by these bullets are treated as though they are under the effects of your Hexblade's Curse. You may only recover hit points from a single bullet per use of this invocation.
These bullets last for 1 minute or until fired from your firearm. Once you use this invocation, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest or expend a warlock spell slot, gaining a number of bullets equal to the spell's level.
Splitting Weapons
Prerequisite: Pact of the Blade Feature
When you choose to summon a pact weapon on your turn and it has the Light property, you can choose to summon a copy of it if you have another free hand. This copy disappears if you are no longer holding it at the end of a turn, if you summon a different pact weapon, if you dismiss it as a free action, or if you die. You may resummon this copy to your free hand as an action or a bonus action if you are still wielding the other light pact weapon.
In addition, when you engage in two weapon fighting with both of these pact weapons, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
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Changes from 1.0
Heightened Repairs
- Level requirement now 9, up from 7
Improved Reload
- Level requirement now 15, up from 9
- Now affects the Eldritch Ammo invocation