Firearms of The Realms

"Firearms" by Todd Lockwood, © Wizards of the Coast 2001

Firearms Cost Damage Weight Special
Pistol 250 gp 1d10 piercing 3 lb. Firearm (range 50/150)
Blunderbuss 50 gp 1d8 piercing 5 lb. Firearm (range 60/240), two-handed
Arquebus 75 gp 1d8 piercing 7 lb. Firearm (range 80/320), heavy, two-handed
Caliver 150 gp 1d10 piercing 9 lb. Firearm (range 100/400), heavy, two-handed
Musket 500 gp 1d12 piercing 15 lb. Firearm (range 150/600), hooked (13), heavy, two-handed
Handgunne 750 gp 3d6 bludgeoning 15 lb. Firearm (range 80/320), hooked (15), heavy, two-handed

Firearms in the Realms

Firearms are becoming more and more widespread in
Faerûn as Lantanese priests of Gond the Wondermaker are
making and spreading them throughout the Realms.
The Lantanese have mastered matchlock weapons-making,
and can regularly produce high-quality matchlock pistols,
matchlock arquebuses, matchlock calivers, and matchlock
muskets (with gun rests). They can also produce hand match
ribalds for armies, as well as matchlock blunderbusses. All
Lantanese firearms are stamped with the mark of Gond on
the butt or grip of the weapon.
Very large, crude bombards are made and used by the Red
Wizards of Thay, and some of these siege guns are in the
Pirate Isles.
One important development is that firearms are entering
numerous worlds from sources in wildspace. Wheellock
pistols known as “starwheels” are sometimes sold or traded
across Toril by spelljammer crews, or they are stolen from
crews by local thieves. The Lantanese were quick to copy the
design of these "starwheels", and have started producing
them "locally".
Sidebar: Spread of Firearms
The extent of firearms use in any specific Realms
campaign is up to the DM. If the DM chooses to
introduce firearms in his campaign, it should take
at least several years to several decades for the
weapons to become commonly available.
The Forgotten Realms Adventures book gives
the following as the canon/recommended timeline
of the spread of firearms through Faerûn, starting
in the year after the Time of Troubles.
1359 DR: Arquebuses begin to pop up in the
Realms, primarily as curios and magical objects.
Price (if available) is 10 times listed price.
1362 DR: Arquebuses and other similar weapons
become more common (people stop looking at the
player characters strangely when they ask about
them). Well-stocked weapon shops will have some,
but at twice the listed price.
1365 DR: Firearms are available in large stores at
the listed price.

1

Sidebar: Starwheels
Any firearm that uses bullets as ammunition can be
constructed as a starwheel, using a wheellock
mechanism instead of a matchlock one. A
starwheel firearm costs 50 gp more than a
matchlock one and does not suffer any penalty
when used in the rain.
Only an expert clockmaker, a cleric of Gond, or
an artificer can build or repair a wheellock firearm.
Weapon Descriptions
Pistol. The smallest and most compact firearm, the pistol is
also one of the rarest firearms, as most people not only prefer
firearms with longer range, but the pistol itself requires
greater craftsmanship to craft.
Despite its short range, a pistol is still a formidable
weapon, and is often used as a self-defense weapon. Due to
this, pistol grips often have metal butts that allow them to be
used as effective clubs.
Blunderbuss. The shortest of the long guns, a blunderbuss
only has a barrel around one foot long, sometimes less, which
often ends in a flared muzzle. Most blunderbusses have a full
stock, but some are made with only a pistol grip.
The blunderbuss is the preferred weapon of clerics of
Gond, and is often called a "Gondgun" by others.
Arquebus. A scaled down version of the much larger
musket, the arquebus is the long gun most adventurers are
likely to encounter, as it strikes a good balance between size
and power. An arquebus usually has a full stock, but many
only have a cut-down stock.
Spelljammer crews carry arquebuses as their long gun of
choice.
Caliver. Essentially half-way between a musket and an
arquebus, a caliver has a higher bore and heavier barrel than
the arquebus, but is otherwise identical in design.
Musket. A marskman's gun, a musket has long barrel three
to four feet long and a heavy wooden stock, allowing for
greater accuracy than all other firearms.
A lantanese musket comes with a pivoting fork integrated
into the design, increasing the weapon's cost and weight
accordingly.
Handgunne. The most basic firearm, a handgunne is a
miniature cannon fitted on the end of a long pole. This pole
functions as the weapon's "fork" for the purpose of hooking,
and is integrated into the weapon.
New Weapon Properties
Firearm. A firearm functions as a weapon with the
Ammunition property, except that you can only fire it once
before you must forego one attack or use a bonus action to
reload it. Reloading a firearm requires two hands.
As most firearms ignite their powder with a slow burning
cord match, a firearm also has a 25% chance (1-5 on your
attack roll) of not firing in heavy rain, and a 10% chance (1-2
on your attack roll) of not firing in light rain. A firearm that
does not fire wastes the smokepowder used for that shot, but
does not waste any ammunition.
Any blacksmith could conceivably build or repair a firearm
if given the designs or a specimen to copy.
2
Spread. When attacking a target within half this weapon's
normal range, roll an additional damage die and add it to the
weapon’s damage. When fired at long range, you may apply
the attack roll to an additional creature within 5 feet of the
target. Roll damage against the secondary target separately.
Hooked. A weapon that has the hooked property is
designed to be fired only when hooked onto a special fork (1
gp, 2 lb,) –or over a hard, stationary surface, such as a low
wall. Hooking the weapon requires an action or a bonus
action (the character’s choice). If the character moves after
hooking the weapon, or drops the weapon, the weapon is no
longer considered to be hooked. While a weapon with this
property is not hooked, attack rolls with it are made at
disadvantage unless the character's Strength score is equal
to or higher than the number in brackets.
Ammunition
Ammunition Cost Weight
Bullets (5) 1 gp 1 lb.
Lead Shot (5) 2 gp, 5 sp 1 lb.
Handgunne Ball 3 gp 1 lb.
Bullets. Bullets are lead spheres used for single target
attacks. When loaded with a bullet, a firearm functions as
written.
Lead Shot. Lead shot consists of many tiny lead balls that
are packed into the barrel of the firearm together.
Lead shot can be loaded into any firearm that normally
fires bullets. Loading a firearm with lead shot halves its
Normal and Long Ranges, but imparts the Spread property
on the attack.
Handgunne Balls. Handgunnes shoot heavy lead balls that
are simply smaller versions of cannon balls. The price given
is for 1 ball.
Powder
Besides ammunition, all firearms also require magical
smokepowder to function. A packet contains enough powder
for 5 shots of a firearm, while a keg holds enough powder for
500 shots.
Sidebar: Guns in other Settings
Outside of the Fogotten Realms and Spelljammer,
firearms have a varying degree of presence.
In Greyhawk, gunpowder and smokepowder do
not function. However, the restriction on
smokepowder is only true on Oerth itself, and it
functions as normal elsewhere in Greyspace.
In Dragonlance, tinker gnomes do create some
primitive firearms, but due to the reputation of
gnomish artifice, firearms are not widespread, and
are limited to only handgunnes and arquebuses.
In Mystara, smokepowder and firearms are only
manufactured in the region known as the Savage
Coast. All firearms from the Savage coast are
wheellock.
In Eberron, firearms are non-existant. As the
pinnacle of a setting with industrialized magic,
people have no need for firearms.
 Siege Equipment
Sidebar: Magical Firearms Besides Cannons (DMG, pg 255) employed by the wizards of
No magical versions of firearms have currently Thay and the pirates of the Pirate Isles, the world of Faerûn
appeared in the Realms, but given the tendency of is also home to organ guns, AKA ribalds.
artificers to play around with the latest toys, it is
only a matter of time before the vicious musket or Ribald
the +1 blunderbuss appears on the scene. They will Large object
be very rare, more likely found in the king's armory
than in a dragon's lair or the tomb of an ancient
Armor Class: 19
lich.
Hit Points: 75
Damage Immunities: poison, psychic
Ribalds fire a volley of lead shot from a series of linked
Explosives barrels arrayed in an arc. Rather than being used to destroy
fortifications, ribalds are used as anti-personnel weapons,
Explosives Cost Weight Damage riddling enemy armies with holes.
Shou Rocket 150 gp 1 lb. 3d6 fire Before it can be fired, the ribald must be loaded. It takes
one action to load half of the weapon's barrels, and one action
Grenade 150 gp 1 lb. 3d6 piercing to fire it.
Smokepowder, keg 250 gp 20 lb. 7d6 fire Ribald Volley. The ribald fires a volley of shots in a 60-foot
cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15
Smokepowder, packet 10 gp 1/2 lb. 1d6 fire Dexterity saving throw, taking 44 (8d10) piercing damage on
Foeshredder 250 gp 1 lb. 3d6 piercing a failed save if all of the weapon's barrels are loaded, or 22
(4d10) piercing damage if only half the weapon's barrels are
Smokebomb 250 gp 1 lb. loaded. A creature takes half as much damage on a successful
save.
Shou Rocket. Explosive rockets used as portable (if
somewhat inaccurate) siege or support weapons in the Shou
Empire of Kara-Tur; Shou rockets are fired off of a reusable
wooden sled (4 lbs, 5 sp) that aims the weapon.
As an action, a character can light the rocket and aim it a
point up to 60 feet away. The rocket flies towards the chosen
point and each creature within 5 feet of that point must
succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 fire
damage.
Grenade. A grenade is a ball-sized iron spheres packed
with gunpowder and fitted with a slow-burning wick. As an
action, a creature can light a grenade and throw it at a point
up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point
must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d6
piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on
a successful one.
Smokepowder. Smokepowder functions as Gunpowder
does, as detailed on page 267 of the Dungeon Master's
Guide, except as follows: Smokepowder is an Uncommon
wondrous item, it explodes if set on fire, dropped, or
otherwise handled roughly, it deals the listed damage in a 20- Ribaldequin, Leonardo daVinci, Public Domain
foot radius when it explodes, setting fire to an ounce of it
causes a small explosion rather than a slow burn, and casting
dispel magic on it renders it permanently inert.
Foeshredder. A foeshredder is a specialized grenade with Sidebar: Fuses and Grenade Bundles
an attached handle, allowing it to be thrown twice as far. A
foeshredder functions identically to a grenade except that it An explosive can be rigged with a longer fuse to
can be thrown up to 120 feet away. explode after a set amount of time, usually 1 to 6
rounds. Roll initiative for the explosive. After the
Smokebomb. A smokebomb consists of a wooden tube set number of rounds goes by, the explosive
filled with alchemical compounds and smokepowder. As an explodes on that initiative.
action, a creature can light a smokebomb and throw it at a A character can bind additional grenades to the
point up to 60 feet away. One round after a smokebomb head of a foeshredder to effectively create a heavy
lands, it emits a cloud of smoke that creates a heavily explosive charge. Each grenade attached to the
obscured area in a 20-foot radius. A moderate wind (at least foeshredder increases the damage by 1d6 (to a
10 miles per hour) disperses the smoke in 4 rounds; a strong maximum of 10d6), and the burst radius by 5 feet
wind (20 or more miles per hour) disperses it in 1 round. (to a maximum of 20 feet).

3
 Additional Rules
These following rules are meant to aid a Dungeon Master
intent on running a game featuring firearms, and are
supplemental to the main document.
Firearm Proficiency
Normally no class is proficient with firearms. However, if you
wish firearms to be common enough that characters in your
game can be proficient with them from the start, then they
can be divided as follows:
Simple Weapons: Blunderbuss, arquebus, and caliver.
Martial Weapons: Pistol, musket, and handgunne.
Firearm Rarity
If you wish to keep firearms as rare and mysterious as magic
items, you can use the following chart to determine the cost
and availability of firearms and related items.
Missing with Explosives
If you want an element of risk to the use of explosives, treat
them as improvised Ranged Weapons with a range of 30/90
ft. and which require an attack roll to throw accurately.
If the target is a square with a creature in it, use the
creature's AC. If the target is a square with an object in it,
such as a table, use the "Object Armor Class" rules on page
246 of the DMG. If the target is an empty square, treat it as
having an AC of 10.
If a character misses the attack roll, the explosive rolls,
bounces, or otherwise ends up in a different square than the
target's.
First, roll a d8. The result determines the direction in
which the explosive misses.
d8 Direction d8 Direction
1 North 5 South

Rarity Item 2 North-East 6 South-West

Common Blunderbuss, Arquebus, Ammunition 3 East 7 West

Uncommon Pistol, Caliver, Musket, Explosives 4 South-East 8 North-West

Rare Handgunne Once the direction is determined, roll 1d4 (or 2d4 if the target
was within long range). The result is the number of squares
As magic items are meant to be acquiredd sparingly, in the determined direction by which the explosive misses its
Smokepowder should be available in large enough quantities mark.
that it can keep your party supplied for a while.
Even if you wish firearms to be rare, actual ammunition Magic Items
should be easily obtainable, as making it is not difficult. So you wish to ignore the Magical Firearms sidebar? Great!
Random Firearms Here's some new magical firearms and item you can use to
populate your treasure hordes and merchant inventories.
If you ever need to randomly generate a firearm or selection
of firearms, such as when creating a treasure hoard or filling Combination Weapon
out a shop's inventory, you can use the following table. Weapon (any melee), common
Table: Random Firearm Table This melee weapon has a wheellock mechanism carefully
d20 Firearm % Chance built into it, and is created in such a way that it's perfectly
1 Starwheel Pistol 5%
balanced to be used as both a melee weapon and as a pistol.
This magic weapon can be used either as normal, or it can
2 Starwheel Arquebus 5% be used as a starwheel pistol, without the need to switch
3-4 Matchlock Handgunne 10 %
weapons. The pistol mechanism must still be reloaded after
every shot.
5-6 Matchlock Musket 10 % Combination Weapons that can be used as starwheel
7-8 Matchlock Pistol 10 % arquebuses also exist, but these are always built out of melee
weapons with long hafts, such as halberds or pikes.
9-11 Matchlock Caliver 15 %
12-15 Matchlock Blunderbuss 20 %
Twin-Fire Firearm
Weapon (any firearm that deals piercing damage), common
16-20 Matchlock Arquebus 25 %
This magic starwheel firearm has two parallel barrels, either
This table attempts to conform to the rarity and side by side or one over the other. Each barrel has its own
distribution of firearms in the Realms, with the common trigger and finely crafted wheellock mechanism, far more
arquebus and blunderbuss being the most likely rolls, and the complex and intricate that that on a normal starwheel.
starwheel pistols and arquebuses used by spelljammer crews Each barrel can be fired separately, or both can be fired at
being the least likely rolls. the same time, allowing you to perform two attacks instead of
one. These attacks must both target the same creature and
your range is halved for them.
Each barrel can be reloaded separately, or both barrels can
be reloaded as an action.

4

N-Shot Pistol
Weapon (starwheel pistol), uncommon
This starwheel pistol has 1d4+2 barrels arrayed in a
revolving pattern. When you fire this weapon, the pistol
cycles to the next loaded barrel and aligns it to the firing
mechanism, allowing it to be fired once for every loaded
barrel, without the need to reload in-between shots.
Each barrel can be reloaded separately as normal, or all
barrels can be reloaded as an action.
The number of barrels determines what this type of pistol
is called, such as 4-Shot Pistol or 6-Shot pistol.
Assassin Firearm
Weapon (any firearm that deals piercing damage), rare
This firearm is made of blued steel and ebony wood, and
handling it seems to produce no sound, not even when it
brushes against other objects.
You have a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with
this magic weapon. Additionally, attacks made with this
magical firearm produce no visible flash or audible noise.
Dragon Pistol
Weapon (pistol), rare (requires attunement)
This matchlock pistol has a flared muzzle decorated to look
like a dragon's gaping maw, and the rest of the barrel is
covered in small scales.
When you load this magic weapon with lead shot, its
normal and long ranges are not halved.
Whenever you make an attack with this magic weapon, all
creatures within 5 ft. of where it strikes must make a DC 12
Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 fire damage.
Quipper Pistol
Weapon (starwheel pistol), rare (requires attunement)
This pistol is designed to to vaguely resemble a quipper fish.
Its barrel is covered in scales and stylized fins, and ends in a
fanged maw resembling a quipper's.
Whenever you make an attack with this magic weapon and
fire lead shot, the weapon unleashes repeated volleys of
pellets. Instead of making an attack roll against the target's
AC, the target must make a Dexterity saving throw against a
DC of 8 + your attack bonus. On a failed saving throw the
target takes 2d10 points of damage, plus your dexterity
modifier, or half as much on a successful one.
Targets at long range have advantage on this saving throw.
Repeating Arquebus
Weapon (starwheel arquebus), rare
This arquebus has two hollow tubes inside the stock. One
tube can be filled with seven attacks worth of smokepowder
and the other with seven loads of ammunition (bullet or shot),
in addition to the smokepowder and bullet that can be loaded
down the barrel.
If you lower this magic weapon after making an attack with
it, the clockwork mechanism inside of it rotates the chamber
to align with the powder tube, allowing it to fill with powder,
before aligning with the second tube, allowing it load
ammunition.
When you then raise the firearm, the chamber aligns itself
with the barrel, allowing you to fire the loaded ammunition
without the need to reload.
Each bullet and powder charger can be loaded separately
as normal, or all eight can be loaded as an action.
If you load the ammunition tube with a mixture of bullets
and lead shot, the firearm will load them into the chamber in
the same order in which they were loaded into the tube.
Spellsniper Musket
Weapon (starwheel musket), rare (requires attunement by an
artificer, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard)
This wheellock musket is made of a stark white, smooth
material, similar to ivory, and etched with intricate, arcane
patterns.
As an action, you can use this weapon to perform a
spellstrike. A spellstrike is similar to a ranged weapon attack,
except that you cast a single offensive cantrip as part of the
attack. This cantrip must be one that has a casting time of 1
action, deals damage to one or more targets, and has a range
greater than 10 feet.
If the attack hits, the target takes both the damage of the
musket and the damage of the cantrip, even if the cantrip
would normally require a saving throw to harm a target.
If the cantrip normally harms multiple targets, then the
spellstrike only harms the target of the musket attack.
A spellsniper musket counts as an arcane focus, and you
can provide somatic components for spellcasting even while
holding it with two hands.
The Firebrand
Weapon (starwheel pistol), legendary (requires attunement)
A great weapon of unknown origin, some say this pistol was
crafted by Gond himself, while those on other worlds
attribute it to any number of other gods, such as Murlynd,
Hephaestus, or even Reorx.
The Firebrand appears much as a 6-shot Pistol, except that
it has a revolving six-shot chamber connected to a single
barrel. The chamber is loaded with six empty brass
cartridges.
The weapon also magically loads each cartridge with
powder and a bullet when the trigger is squeezed. The
weapon then rotates the chamber to the next empty cartridge.
As a result, you never need to reload the Firebrand and it
does not require ammunition.
However, should you desire, you can swing the weapon's
chamber open and remove the cartridges to manually load
them with powder and ammunition. Loading a single
cartridge requires you forego one attack or use a bonus
action, but all cartridges can be loaded as a single action.
A cartridge manually loaded with ammunition does not
magically load powder and a bullet when the pistol cycles to
that cartridge, but does so for any empty cartridges.
You have a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with
this magic pistol, and it deals 2d8 points of damage, rather
than 1d10.
Additionally, you can use a bonus action to attack with the
pistol on each of your turns, you do not add your Dexterity
modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that
modifier is negative.
5
Magic Ammunition
Baldrick Bullet
Weapon, uncommon (cursed)
You have a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with
this magic bullet.
Curse. When someone makes an attack with this magic
bullet, the bullet flies in an arc and attempts to harm the user
instead of the target. Compare the attack roll to the user's
own AC rather than that of their target. If the attack exceeds
their AC, they are hit by the attack instead of the target. If it
does not, the bullet still attempts to hit them, but they
narrowly avoid being harmed by it.
This magic bullet appears to be a normal +1 bullet when
examined. This bullet is not rendered non-magical after use,
only a remove curse spell can render it non-magical.
Illumination Bullet
Weapon, uncommon
This magic bullet causes the target to glow like a torch for 10
rounds (1 minute).
If fired into the air, it slowly falls back down to the ground
whilst emitting light like a torch. It descents at a rate of 60 ft.
per turn, down from the firearm's maximum range, and stops
glowing after 10 rounds (1 minute).
Once fired, the bullet is rendered non-magical.
Explosive Bullet
Weapon, rare
This magic bullet explodes in a great ball of fire on impact.
Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere around the point
where it strikes must make a DC 15 Dexterity save. Each
affected creature takes 6d6 fire damage on a failed save, or
half on a success. The fire spreads around corners and
ignites flammable objects that aren't being worn or carried.
Once detonated, the bullet is destroyed.
Poisonous Bullet
Weapon, rare
A creature struck by this magic bullet must succeed on a DC
15 Constitution saving throw or take 2d10 poison damage
and become poisoned for 1 minute.
After dealing its poison damage, the bullet is rendered non-
magical.
Named Bullet
Weapon, very rare
A named bullet is a magic bullet meant to slay a particular
person and only that person. A named bullet functions as an
arrow of slaying with a very focused target (a single, specific
creature). Additionally, a named bullet has advantage on
attack rolls made against its intended target.
After dealing additional damage to its intended target, the
bullet is rendered non-magical.
Wondrous Items
Efficient Bandolier
Wondrous Item, uncommon
Each of this bandolier’s eight pouches connects to an
extradimensional space that allows the bandolier to hold
numerous items while never weighing more than 2 pounds.
Each compartment can hold up to 60 bullets, 60 loads of
shot, 6 pouches of smokepowder, two one-handed firearms,
or one two-handed firearm each.
You can draw any item the bandolier contains as if doing so
from a regular pouch.
Lens of Distance
Wondrous Item, uncommon
This simple glass lens allows the user to see better at longer
ranges. On its own it functions as a spyglass, but when it is
attached to a firearm it doubles the normal and long ranges
of the firearm. Attaching the lens is an action, while
detaching it can be done as a bonus action.
The lens has an illusory dot in the center, with an illusory
number next to it. The number shows the distance, in feet,
between the lens and whatever the dot is overlayed over.
Spyglass of Seeing
Wondrous Item, rare (requires attunement)
This small tube filled with many alchemical lenses functions
as a Lens of Distance, even when used by a character not
attuned to it.
If a character attunes to, then that character can also use it
as a Gem of Seeing.
Amulet of Bullet Protection
Wondrous Item, rare (requires attunement)
This magic amulet has 7 charges. While wearing it, you can
expend 1 or more charge to cast one of the following spells:
blur (2 charges), mirror image (2 charges), shield (1 charge),
or protection from normal missiles (3 charges).
The amulet regains 1d6+1 expended charges daily at
dawn.
New Spell
Protection from Normal Missiles
3rd-level abjuration
(Artificer, Ranger, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Conc. Up to 1 hour
Touch a willing creature. They have resistance to non-magical
bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from ranged
weapons (but not siege weapons).
 
This document was lovingly created
using GM Binder.

If you would like to support the GM Binder developers,

WWW.GMBINDER.COM consider joining our Patreon community.