Ultimate Combat | Rules | Mastering Combat | Firearms | Firearm Magic Items

Firearm Magic Items

The following magic items and magic qualities all pertain to firearms. Most grant extra abilities or protections to the firearm user, but others protect creatures from some of the effects of firearms.

Firearm Ammunition Special Ability

The following special ability allows a firearm to be fired with the affected ammunition in environments without air, including underwater.

Dry Load

Aura: faint abjuration
CLl: 3rd
Price: 30 gp per cartridge or 1,500 gp for 50 cartridges
Weight:

Description

This special ability can only be applied to alchemical or metal firearm cartridges. Dry load cartridges can be used to load guns underwater or in other airless environments, such as a vacuum. This ability protects the cartridge's contents as it is being loaded and creates a residual bubble of air that surrounds the firearm, further protecting the ammunition and allowing the firearm with this ammunition to be fired in an airless environment. After the cartridge is loaded, the bubble of air lasts for 3 minutes, or until the firearm is fired, whichever occurs first.

A firearm loaded with this ammunition still takes the –2 penalty on attack rolls when fired underwater for every 5 feet of water the bullet passes through, in addition to the normal penalties to range. When firing a dry load cartridge underwater or in an airless environment, a misfire that results in a firearm explosion occurs normally.

Specific Firearm Ammunition

Several types of magical bullets have been developed to be used with firearms. The following represent just a few of these types.

Burrowing Bullet

Aura: moderate necromancy
CLl: 9th (burrowing bullet) or 13th (greater burrowing bullet)
Price: 1,722 gp (burrowing bullet) or 3,447 gp (greater burrowing bullet)
Weight: &mdash

Description

This +1 firearm bullet deals normal damage, but when it hits a living creature, it burrows into the creature's flesh, causing wracking pain until removed or until the bullet burrows its way out of the creature. While these bullets burrow, the creature is staggered. This effect lasts for 1d3 rounds or until the bullet is removed with a DC 15 Heal check made as a standard action. Greater burrowing bullets take longer to pass though the bodies of living creatures (the staggered effect lasts 1d3+2 rounds) and are harder to remove (DC 20 Heal check as a standard action).

Tracer Bullet

Aura: faint evocation
CLl: 2nd
Price: 100 gp
Weight: &mdash

Description

These +1 firearm bullets deal no damage, but instead cause a pale glow to outline the target, granting the effect of a faerie fire spell and causing the target to take a –2 penalty to AC against ranged attacks. These effects last for 1d4 rounds.

Magic Firearm Special Abilities

The following special abilities are exclusively for firearms.

Lucky

Aura: moderate transmutation
CLl: 8th
Price: +1 bonus
Weight:

Description

This special ability can only be placed on one-handed or two-handed firearms. A lucky firearm has its own magical reservoir of grit. Usually this grit is stored within the marks of an engraving or in a trinket that hangs from the firearm. Often these marks take the form of holy symbols or fetishes, but such a reservoir can take just about any form. This reservoir holds 1 grit point, which is refreshed at the start of each day. Whether or not the wielder of a lucky firearm has any deeds, she can always spend 1 grit point from the lucky firearm to reroll an attack from it that would result in a misfire. When the wielder does so, she must take the second result, even if that attack roll also results in a misfire.

Lucky, Greater

Aura: moderate enchantment
CLl: 12th
Price: +3 bonus
Weight:

Description

This special ability can only be placed on one-handed or two-handed firearms. A greater lucky firearm is nearly identical to a lucky gun, but its reservoir holds 3 grit points instead of 1. A firearm cannot have both this special ability and the lucky special ability.

Reliable

Aura: moderate transmutation
CLl: 8th
Price: +1 bonus
Weight:

Description

This special ability can only be placed on firearms. A reliable firearm is enchanted so that it is less likely to jam than other firearms. This enchantment reduces the misfire value of the affected firearm by 1 (minimum 0). This reduction occurs after any increases are calculated for firing with the broken condition, or for any other effect that might increase the misfire value of a firearm.

Reliable, Greater

Aura: moderate enchantment
CLl: 12th
Price: +3 bonus
Weight:

Description

This special ability can only be placed on one-handed or two-handed firearms. A greater reliable firearm is enchanted so as to be less likely to jam than other firearms. It reduces the misfire value of the affected firearm by 4 (minimum 0). This reduction occurs after any increases are calculated for firing with the broken condition, or for any other effect that might increase the misfire value of a firearm. A firearm with greater reliable cannot have the reliable special ability.

Wondrous Items

The following wondrous items either enhance firearms or protect against them.

Amulet of Bullet Protection

Aura: faint abjuration
CLl: 5th
Price: 1,500 gp (+1), 6,000 gp (+2), 13,500 gp (+3), 24,000 gp (+4), or 37,500 gp (+5)
Weight: &mdash

Description

This amulet, usually crafted from the splintered remains of spent firearm bullets shaped into a rough holy symbol or clover, grants the wearer a luck bonus to AC against firearm attacks that target touch AC.

Dry Load Powder Horn

Aura: faint conjuration
CLl: 3rd
Price: 2,000 gp
Weight: 1 lb.

Description

This magical powder horn holds 20 doses of black powder. Furthermore, when a firearm is loaded with black powder directly from this horn, the horn creates a small pocket of air that envelops the gun and allows that shot to be fired underwater or in an area lacking air, such as a vacuum. Once the gun is loaded with powder from the dry load powder horn, it retains the pocket of air for 10 minutes or until the firearm is fired, whichever comes first.

Firing a firearm that has been loaded from this horn underwater still incurs the –2 penalty on attack rolls for every 5 feet of water the bullet passes through, in addition to the normal penalties to range. When a shot loaded from a dry load powder horn results in a firearm explosion while underwater or in an airless environment, that explosion occurs normally.

Far-Reaching Sight

Aura: faint divination
CLl: 3rd
Price: 4,000 gp
Weight: 1 lb.

Description

This sight can be attached to a single two-handed firearm. When this is done, the sight becomes part of the weapon, but can be removed from that weapon with a full-round action. A firearm wielder can choose to spend a full-round action to make a single shot with a firearm that has this sight. When she does, she can resolve the attack against the touch AC of her target regardless of the range increment.

Figurine of Wondrous Power

Aura: moderate transmutation
CLl: 11th
Price:
Weight:

Description

This figure of wondrous power uses the same general rules for all magic items of this type.

This statuette of a spider with stubby legs can be used once per day for 1 minute. When activated, the figurine spouts longer, segmented legs, and scampers about the activator, picking lint off robes, chiseling grime from armor, or otherwise grooming its activator. If commanded to do so as a free action, it perches on the muzzle of a one-handed or two-handed firearm barrel and, after the firearm is fired, travels down the barrel and cleans out the firearm. Each time the slate spider cleans a firearm, the next shot the firearm fires has no chance of misfiring.

When animated, a slate spider has 1 hit point and is considered an attended object. An animated slate spider will never willingly leave space of its animator.

Oil of Silence

Aura: faint illusion
CLl: 5th
Price: 250 gp
Weight: &mdash

Description

When applied to a one-handed or two-handed firearm, this strange grayish oil renders that firearm silent for 1 hour. Five vials of oil of silence can be used in conjunction to silence a Large firearm siege engine, and 10 can be used to silence a Huge firearm siege engine. The oil does not work on firearm siege engines that are larger than Huge.

See Invisibility Sight

Aura: moderate divination
CLl: 8th
Price: 12,000 gp
Weight: 1 lb.

Description

This sight can be attached to a single two-handed firearm. When this is done, the sight becomes part of the weapon, but can be removed from that weapon with a full-round action. A firearm wielder using a firearm that has this sight can choose to spend a full-round action to either locate an invisible creature within line of sight or make a single shot that ignores the invisibility of a creature that she knows is in the area.