Rune Gunner (Spellgunner):

Since their inception, the men and women known across Ea as ‘Spellgunners’ have tried to correct their reputations.  They take great pride in the fact that ‘none’ of them have any sort of spellcasting abilities, either Arcane /or/ Divine.  Similarly their so called ‘Spell Guns’ have no spells in their construction, nor do they channels spells when used.  They /are/ magical in nature, but this magic comes not from spellcasting, but from knowledge.

When the world was young, Reos taught the Dwarves to craft items of potency using rare materials and special symbols.  Without spellcasters, the dwarves became the first Master Craftsman, their magic armor and weapons sought out far and wide.  It’s a tradition that has carried down over the millennia, forging runes into the creation of items to produce magical effects.

The loose fraternity of ‘Rune Gunners’ follows this tradition, bending it to the creation of magic firearms.  But Rune Gunners are more than craftsmen; their skill extends to every aspect of firearms, from creation to use.  They are selected from men and women who create their own guns, then practice with them until they are faster and more accurate than normal men.

An apprentice Rune Gunner must have must have mastered the art of preparing an item for enchantment without using spells.  The apprentice is then taught to craft Magic Guns, and other Weapons and Armor if he has the skills.  He is then taught the true secret of the Rune Gun, that through a spiritual connection he crafts through himself and his gun, he can enchant it in ways normally impossible without spells, and perform magical tricks that would be impossible otherwise.

But being a Rune Gunner is more than simple crafting a magical weapon.  A Rune Gunner’s mastery of firearms must pass into use.  As his studies progress, the Rune Gunner learns a variety of ‘Tricks’ with his Gun, from clever ricochets to shots that stun rather than kill.  Some of these tricks can be learned by anyone willing to dedicate themselves (Feats) while others resemble the ‘Tricks’ used by Rogues. 

Flash Runes – It is unknown when the Rune Gunners learned/developed Flash Runes, special enchantments that allow them to teleport their guns, bullets or even themselves across the battlefield.

Hit Dice: 1d10

Requirements:

To qualify for a Rune Gunner, a character must fufill all the following criteria.

Base Attack Bonus: +5

Feats: Lightning Reload, Weapon Focus (Firearm)

Skills: Craft/Firearms +5

Class Skills:

The Rune Gunner’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Diplomacy (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Perception (Wis), Ride (Dex), Slight of Hand (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Stealth (Dex)

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier

Level    BaB    Fort/Refl/Will    Special

1         +1     +0 / +1 / +0      Craft Magic Guns, Smooth Loading       Rune Gun +1

2         +2     +1 / +1 / +1      Gunfighting, Flash Draw                +1 Ability

3         +3     +1 / +2 / +1      Gun Trick                                        

4         +4     +1 / +2 / +1      Flash Jump                             Rune Gun +2

5         +5     +2 / +3 / +2      Gun Trick                              +1 Ability

6         +6     +2 / +3 / +2      Flash Shot, Rune Crafting                                  

7         +7     +2 / +4 / +2      Gun Trick                              Rune Gun +3

8         +8     +3 / +4 / +3      Trick Mastery                          +1 Ability

9         +9     +3 / +5 / +3      Gun Trick                              Rune Gun +4

10       +10     +3 / +5 / +3      Flash Storm                            +1 Ability

Class Features:

Craft Magic Guns – At level 1 the Rune Gunner can create magical guns.  This ability functions as Craft Magic Arms and Armor as if the character had Master Craftsman for his Craft/Firearms skill.

Smooth Loading (ex) – A Rune Gunner gains Master Reload as a Bonus Feat.  If the Gunner already has this Feat, he may choose one from the list of Bonus Feats below.

Rune Gun (su) – At level one, the Rune Gunner crafts his personal weapon, binding it to himself in its creation.  The Rune Gun functions as a Magic Weapon that grows as the Gunner does.  The Rune Gunner does not require spells for this weapon to gain additional magical abilities.  See the table for the Bonus and Increase in Additional abilities. A Gunner can exchange an increase in Bonus for an Additional Ability, but once the choice is made it can not be undone.  Ability increases can not be exchanged for Bonuses. The creation and improvement of the Rune Gun costs 1/10th the normal creation cost for a similar level Magic Weapon (100gp at 1^st, instead of 1000gp). 

Gunfighter (ex) – At level 2 the Rune Gunner becomes comfortable with the ebb and flow of melee combat, able to use positioning and practiced maneuvers to utilize his weapons within sword reach of an opponent.  The Gunner can reload in melee without provoking an attack of opportunity.  The Gunner can also shoot in melee without provoking an attack of opportunity, as long as his target is one of the opponents he is in melee with.

Flash Draw (su) - At Level 2 the Rune Gunner can summon his Rune Gun to his hand as a move action.  This ability has a range of 100’ per Class Level.  If the gun is held by another person, they can make a will save (DC 10+Class Level+Int Mod) to keep negate this ability.  If the Rune Gunner has the Quick Draw feat this ability can be used as a Swift Action.

Gun Tricks: At Level 3, 5, 7 and 9 the Rune Gunner can choose one feat from the following list.  Ranged Disarm, Ranged Sunder, Dazzling Display, Quick Draw, Improved Initiative and all Critical Feats.  Critical Feats may be taken as if the character has Critical Focus.  These tricks only apply when using a Firearm.  His Gunner levels apply to Fighter, Rogue or Ranger levels when taking Fighter Only Feats, Rogue Tricks or Combat Mastery Abilities.

Flash Jump (su) - At Level 4 the Rune Gunner gains the ability to teleport as if by means of a dimension door spell as a Standard Action. The limitation is that the magical transport must be to a spot that the Gunner can see and point his Rune Gun at. A Rune Gunner can jump up to a total of 40 feet each day in this way; this may be a single jump of 40 feet or four jumps of 10 feet each. Every two levels higher than 4th, the distance a Rune Gunner can jump each day doubles (80 feet at 6th, 160 feet at 8th, and 320 feet at 10th). This amount can be split among many jumps, but each one, no matter how small, counts as a 10-foot increment.

Flash Shot (su) - At 6th level, a Rune Gunner can fire once per day at a target known to him within range.  The shot travels to the target in a straight path, teleporting past any non-magical barrier or wall in its way. (Any magical barrier stops the Bullet.) This ability negates cover, concealment, armor, and shield modifiers, but otherwise the attack is rolled normally. Using this ability is a standard action (and shooting the Rune Gun is part of the action). A Rune Gunner can use this ability once per day at 6th level, and one additional time per day for every two levels beyond 6th, to a maximum of three times per day at 10th level.

Rune Crafting: At level 6, the Rune Gunner’s understanding of crafting magical guns without spells increases to the level where he starts to be able to ignore spell requirements.  The Gunner can ignore one Spell requirement for a magic gun with a Spell level less than or equal to his Class Level.

Trick Master (ex) – At level 8 the Rune Gunner can sacrifice speed and damage to perform gun tricks with ease.  As a Standard Attack action the Gunner may declare which feat listed under Gun Tricks he is using.  The attack is rolled normally.  On a successful hit the Gunner deals damage equal to his weapon bonus, then applies the effects of the Feat. (Example, a level 8 gunner can do 2d4+5.  He declares he is using the Critcal Blindd Feat for Trick Master.  On a successful hit he deals 5 damage and blinds the target per the Feat.) 

If the attack is a Critical Hit, deal full Critical Hit damage and apply the Feat used, but do not add in a Critical Feat unless the Gunner had the Critical Mastery feat, which applies a different Critical Feat.  (In the above example the Gunner does 6d6+15 damage plus blind.  If the Gunner had been using Ranged Disarm, he would do 6d6+15 damage and the disarm, but would not be able to apply his Critical Blind feat as well unless he had Critical Mastery.)

Flash Storm (su) - At Level 10 the Rune Gunner’s Flash Jump abilities grow to the point where he can trigger them in rapid succession as long as he focuses on a single target.  As part of a full round attack action the gunner can teleport 20 feet before each shot, firing from a different location each time.  The gunner need not be on a solid surface during these shots.  After the final attack, the Gunner may teleport another 20 feet.  He must end the round on solid footing.  The target of the Gun Storm is treated as flatfooted for this attack, and looses the AC from his shield (if any).  The distances teleported during this attack are subtracted from the totals available to his Flash Jump ability (Minimum 100’).