Dark Fantasy Ideas

[JulianLW]

I think you should check out GURPS Infinite Worlds: Nightreign. One of the best GURPS publications in a while, in my opinion.

[Flowergarden]

If you want firearm with faster reload you can just ask artificer for self reloading rifle golem. It would probably let you aim at the same time. Or break the aesthetic. I don't even know how golems work in the setting.

As for revolver... They would be a malfunctioning nightmare on this TL. Better just add barrels I suppose, yes, a bit on the heavier side, at least it would be somewhat reliable. Better less shots than no shots, as my grampa said.

[ericthered]

Barbarians...I kind of like the idea of berserkers with firearms. Not sure how best to handle that mechanically, but I see screaming Cherokee on horseback.

Very strong characters might want to carry huge guns that never appeared in our world.

Only in infinite worlds... perhaps you mean Comanche?

TL4 actually produced a fair number of stupidly large guns. Look at the Wall gun in low tech page 93.

I don't think either of those really captures the beserker though. Cavalry tactics are too tactical, and the big gunner doesn't feel like the best use of beserk. For me the iconic TL4 beserker is Blackbeard the pirate, shot five times and slashed 20 before he went down. The giant pirate with a cutlass and thirty something pistols stashed on his body... that's a beserker.

On the other hand, playing the beserker template without the beserk disadvantage might be workable.

Originally Posted by Greg 1

Scouts are tricky.

In real TL 4, scouts will take muskets over bows if they can get them, as loud as muskets are.

On the other hand, maybe stealth is more important in DF than battles or hunting. Also, scouts in DF can be better with their bows than any RL archer

Through TL4, the bow continues to be used heavily. Its just not used heavily by Europeans, because it takes a lot of training to use effectively. The gun's advantage is first that its shocking to interact with if you haven't seen it before (which comes up a lot in colonial actions), and that you can give one to any dweeb and he can kill the knight, samurai, Janissary, or other assorted dedicated life-long warrior who you've spent years training. He's not the equal of the life-long warrior, but he has a chance, unlike previous eras.

I'd guess the scout sticks with the bow. At least for TL4. In TL5 he becomes a sneaky marksman with a riffle and really nice range.

Originally Posted by Varyon

If instead you want to be able to fire more often, consider a breechloader...

Another option is a revolver ...

Finally, there's something like the Kalthoff Repeater ...

These are all TL 5. In fact they are high TL 5. Which if that's what the OP wants, is fine, but lets not call it TL4. Or even normal for the majority of TL5.

Thinking of the iconic warriors and conflicts of TL4 might help:

• Pirates
• Conquistadors
• Swashbucklers
• Pike and Shot
• Japanese Warring states period
• Qing Conquest of China

[Greg 1]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Through TL4, the bow continues to be used heavily. Its just not used heavily by Europeans, because it takes a lot of training to use effectively.

Isn't it pretty much just used for hunting on horseback by people who can get access for firearms?

[Flowergarden]

Originally Posted by Greg 1

Isn't it pretty much just used for hunting on horseback by people who can get access for firearms?

In Feudal Japan they use muskets and bows simultaneously (I mean archers and musketeers).

[stranger38]

Originally Posted by Varyon

I don't have any of the Monster Hunters books, but from my understanding a lot of that is hunting monsters who are able to hide in urban environments. That doesn't sound right for your setting, where it sounds like the monsters are likely to be out in the wilderness (or perhaps in ancient ruins, abandoned villages, and the like).

You mention the world is beautiful. Do you want your monsters to be part of that - beautiful but deadly animals - or are they more a rejection of that - twisted and ugly beasts? Will your monsters all be animal-like, or will there be some human*-like ones in the mix (goblins, undead, etc)? The fact you're wanting to incorporate Corruption implies at least some of the "monsters" may well be terminally-corrupted former humans*.

*Here I'm using "human" as a generic term for the non-monster sapient races - dwarves, elves, men, halflings, and whatever else lacks Social Stigma: Monster or similar.

Our monsters will be a plethora of things. My side of things tend to the "rejection" part.

The pig that was fed too much human flesh and became something else.

The soldier who killed too much and became a slasher.

But of course the smart but evil "normal" animal (like those tsavo lions)

[stranger38]

Originally Posted by Greg 1

Scouts are tricky.

In real TL 4, scouts will take muskets over bows if they can get them, as loud as muskets are.

On the other hand, maybe stealth is more important in DF than battles or hunting. Also, scouts in DF can be better with their bows than any RL archer.

Barbarians...I kind of like the idea of berserkers with firearms. Not sure how best to handle that mechanically, but I see screaming Cherokee on horseback.

Very strong characters might want to carry huge guns that never appeared in our world.

The scouts in this world of course choose guns over bows and crossbow, but to keep them relevant, they are still being used because of the stealth factor.

Barbarians i keep the mountain of a man type. no guns. big axes, big clubs, enough HP to tank some pistol shots

[stranger38]

Originally Posted by johndallman

Monster Hunters witches are very capable, but they are built on 400 points, not the 250 of DF characters. For 250 points, Incantation Magic, or a really well-optimised conventional magician is likely to work better.

There is a Musketeer template for DF in Pyramid #3/36 Dungeon Fantasy, and they are very skilled, with Gunslinger, Guns (Musket) at a basic 19, and a wide array of Gun-Fu perks available. There's also a handy list of weapons in the article. The great difficulty of TL4 firearms is reloading time, which is 15 to 40 seconds, an eternity in GURPS combat.

I've played a TL4-5 swashbuckler in fantasy-like settings, and reloading has never seemed worth attempting. Pistols are for softening up opponents, and you Fast-Draw them, fire at short range without an Aim, and drop them. Next turn, do that with your next pistol, or Fast-Draw your sword. This seems a bit complicated for berserkers - remember that Berserk is a [-15] disadvantage.

That is exactly the idea. guns are dangerous, but the reload time makes melee and muscled-powered range weapons relevant.

and barbarians tend to be those backwater brutes from ages past. Good ones are Conan. Bad ones are cannibalistic inbread monsters barely human.

[stranger38]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

For some inspiration, maybe check out Robert E. Howard's character, Solomon Kane.
He's (basically) a TL4 monster-hunter.

It is one of my inspirations for this campaign