Sample file A Complete History: Preview Edition ragons and orcs and goblins and fiends. Swords and shields and wands and magic. We've seen it Full Version Contents all, in fantasy setting after fantasy setting. Some Chapter One outlines a fictional history of a fantasy world like to spice up their settings by adding black that developed magical weaponry, commonly called powder weapons, advancing the timeline from runearms or firearms. This history is broken up into four "ambiguous medieval period" to "ambiguous distinct periods, the first of which is available in this Renaissance period" with the introduction of D preview. cannons and flintlock weaponry. The way of the gun can become a mythic art in these worlds, treated with the kind of Chapter Two introduces the actual mechanics and romantic reverence usually afforded to knights in shining descriptions of runearms, spanning the different periods of armor. their technological development. The proto-runearm But not all players are interested in mixing firearms and known as the runelance is available in this preview, as are fantasy. The introduction of black powder weaponry in the the earliest spellstone grenades. real world led to numerous changes to society and warfare, Chapter Three is available in the full version and offers a and not everyone is interested in the ramifications that black variety of new character archetypes for a world of powder has for a fantasy setting. This supplement presents a runearms and other magical technologies. hypothetical progression of magical arms, from an advanced staff called a runelance all the way to muskets and grenades Chapter Four is available in the full version and offers that might look more familiar and accessible to a modern guidelines and variant rules for running a campaign in a reader, all without delving into the complications or tonal world where firearms are commonplace. dissonance brought by black powder. Chapter Five is a short glossary, available in the full version that looks at the origins of real-world terminology for What's in This Preview? weapons and firearms in order to help you better apply This preview contains the first part of Chapter One, giving these terms to your fantasy world. you an idea of the history and lore present in the full version. It includes the rules for the runelance, a new arcane weapon that can fire bolts of magical energy by using expensive charges. It also includes the rules for an unattuned runelance, which can be used by spellcasters as an arcane focus. Using special runestones, a spellcaster can enhance their spells by casting them through the runelance. The full version of this book includes over 50 new runic weapons, including rifles, hand mortars, and grenades, which are all fully compatible with Matthew Mercer's Gunslinger Martial Archetype. The full version of this book also includes seven new archetypes, as well as suggestions for campaign concepts and variant rules. Sample file INTRODUCTION 1 Chapter One: From Runelance to Rifle ver since nations clashed on the battlefield, Fire lances were also useful during attacks on certain they always sought technological structures, as their magical flames quickly ignited dry dominance: the strongest armor, the wooden palisades or thatched roofs. However, in many cases deadliest weapons. In a world of magic, there was still an advantage to using flaming arrows of wizards and other spellcasters always have various types, as the arrows could be fired in an arc, while the the upper hand. One well-trained fire lance had a completely flat trajectory. Espellcaster is a living piece of artillery, reshaping the battlefield to their whims. Even without their Development and Variations most powerful spells, casters can use cantrips, and while no Eventually, as the process of enchanting runelances and cantrip has the range of a longbow, the effects of these spells creating Energy Runes was streamlined, variations on the fire are considerably greater. lance started to come into use. The acid lance, or caustic lance, for example, fired the Acid Splash cantrip, and could Part One: The Runelance be used to target massed groups of soldiers. However, its shorter range made it difficult to deploy except as a last- Changing the Face of War resort defensive weapon. The first step toward a man-portable magic weapon was the Other weapons developed included the ice lance, or frost runelance. Essentially a long staff, broader on one end, the lance, which fired Ray of Frost. This could be used to chill runelance was a specialized arcane focus item, allowing and slow oncoming enemies, and created great discomfort spellcasters to modify spells in new ways. The runelance’s among enemy soldiers. The bone lance, as it was commonly broad end had a divot carved out which allowed for the called, could target a foe with Chill Touch. Necrotic energy insertion of runestones. These runestones augmented the caused wounds to fester and linger, and the spectral, skeletal magic channeled through the lance. The most common runes hands generated by the spell were devastating to enemy were: morale. Double Rune, which duplicated the channeled spell Far Rune, which increased the spell's distance Limitations of the Runelance Piercing Rune, which made the spell harder to resist One challenge of the runelance is that the attuned version Power Rune, which strengthened the spell's effect had no trigger mechanism. While a spellcaster using a Time Rune, which enhanced the spell's duration runelance as an arcane focus could cast a spell through it as an act of will, a non-spellcaster wielding a fire lance did not The next technological leap was a specially-crafted have that luxury. After loading the lance with an Energy runelance, comprised of exotic wood and treated with Rune, the lancer had only a moment to aim and fire before magically-resonant oils. These runelances were enchanted, the weapon discharged of its own volition. attuned to a single spell. With a new type of runestone, an As a result, these weapons were commonly operated by Energy Rune, a non-spellcaster could, for the first time, two-person teams: one person to hold and aim the weapon launch a single cantrip by wielding the lance. Each shot and the other to load it. required its own Energy Rune stone, which meant that firing these weapons was costly, and ammunition was time- consuming and expensive to create. Energy Rune stones The Thunder Grenade came to be known simply as charges. While working on perfecting man-portable magical weaponry, Since the runelance could only accept a single rune, this another discovery was made. Certain cantrips lend meant that non-spellcasters were limited to the “default” themselves to being used in a manner akin to longbows or versions of cantrips. As one of the common cantrips in use crossbows, but others, such as Sword Burst and was Fire Bolt, these became commonly known as fire lances, Thunderclap, create effects that surround the caster. fire canes, or fire staffs. Artificers and generals alike were interested in bringing these types of spells to the battlefield, in hopes of decimating The Fire Lance in War massed armies and shattering city walls with thundering blows. Fire lances were generally used defensively, fired as a last line of defense before armies charged a gate or wall. Common armor in use at the time provided a measure of protection aSamplegainst the piercing of arrows and the chopping of file blades, but was poorly suited to defend against bursts of searing magical flame. In addition, the chaos created by gouts of fire was disruptive to enemy morale, and fire lances could be used in conjunction with flammable pitch to quickly spread fire across a battlefield. CHAPTER ONE | PREVIEW 2 The first spellstones were created through a labor-intensive and expensive process that allowed for the enchantment of a catapult or trebuchet stone. Enchanted ballista bolts soon followed. Eventually, around the same time that magewrights and artificers were perfecting the runelance, they were able to create finely-crafted runestones, akin to the Energy Rune stones of the fire lance, that could be used by themselves. They were not perfectly stable, and were dangerous to store in large quantities, but these thunder bombs were powerful and excellent for causing confusion in enemy ranks and even disrupting cavalry charges. The first stable runestones that held Thunderclap spells shattered upon impact, releasing the spell and peppering the area with tiny stone fragments. These fragments reminded soldiers of the seeds of a fruit, such as a pomegranate, and so the handheld bombs gained the nickname “grenades.” Sample file CHAPTER ONE | PREVIEW 3 Chapter Two: The Runearm in Play cross the ages, these magical marvels known as Explosive runearms evolved to fill a variety of roles for A runearm with the explosive property deals damage to the adventurers creeping through dungeons, target and has a “splash damage” effect to squares in a radius hunters stalking through the woods, and around the target. A weapon will indicate its splash damage soldiers facing off on the battlefield. The and effect radius in the parentheses after the explosive following pages introduce all the rules and property. Creatures in the splash damage area can attempt a Amechanics you need to introduce these Dexterity saving throw to avoid taking damage. powerful weapons into your game. The rules in this chapter Grenades deal no initial damage to a struck target but are based on, and are compatible with, the rules presented in create an explosive burst that affects all targets in range. Matthew Mercer's Gunslinger Martial Archetype. Firing Modes A weapon with the firing modes property can alter the area of Weapon Properties its effect, most commonly by rotating a glyph-covered ring New weapon properties are described below.