Spellslinger: Shootouts & Sorcerery on the Wild Frontier
A single bead of sweat breaks out on the halfing's brow as the noonday sun beats down on her, and her fingers flex inches from her gun holster. This damn gnomish revolver had better not crap out on me again. A sudden a flash of movement, a thunderous bang and a plume of sandy dust is thrown into the air. "Damn humans think they own the place," she mutters.
The dwarf spits on the dusty floor of the backroom at the Sandy Homonculus, fists up, circling his opponent warily, while a rabid crowd shouts and jeers. One last fight, he thinks to himself. Then that mithril claim is mine. The half-orc opposite suddenly charges and the dwarf braces for impact. But his opponent has made a mistake, telegraphing his next move, and the dwarf ducks easily, bringing his clenched fist up to meet the half-orc's jaw almost faster than the eye can see.
Holding her breath, the elven ranger tracks an gnoll warband through the scope of her bolt-action elven longbarrel. She carefully studies their warpaint, the particular feathers in their headbands and the weapons they carry. Red Teeth tribe, she thinks to herself. Headed for Sandstone. She mutters a brief incantation and squeezes the trigger. A gnoll is blown away in a violent spray of red but before he even hits the ground, the elf has cracked the bolt action of her sniper rifle to reload, and fires off another shot.
An end to the old ways
Beneath its pocked, shattered moon, the old world is dying. Tearing itself apart. Humanity had been alone for too long, and when the Third Age began almost two centuries ago, the realms were unable to cope. "Monsters! Abberations!" the puritans had cried when little babies had begun being born with sharply pointed ears, or green skin and fangs, or stunted, stocky builds and full beards at birth. "They must not be suffered to live!"
But those children who hadn't been put to the sword, or left for the wolves, grew up to be lithe elves, or volatile orcs, or hardy dwarves. And then suddenly, humanity wasn't alone anymore. The races of ancient mythology had become undeniable fact.
Unlike humans, who could almost be defined by their individuality, it turned out that the mythical races were much more homogenous. Elves all tended to be beautiful yet cold, graceful yet aloof, and undeniable abilities in magic and the natural world. Dwarves all shared the same short stature and thick beards, the same foul sense of humour and love of ale, the same ability for metallurgy and stonework. This caused them to both feel badly out of place in the humano-centric world, and to share a strong desire to band together.
A few short years later, the secrets of the arcane had finally been unlocked, and not long after that the Gods had started talking. Soon after, ancient, long dormant powers began taking an interest in the world again.
Blood and Sand
Ironically, the return of magic to the world - bringing with it, amongst other things, the enterprising gnomish race - had ushered in a new wave of technology, far in excess of anything the world had seen before. Fine, mechanical inventions. Steam engines. Gunpowder. Not only did this mean that the old world could rip itself to pieces faster than anyone had thought possible, it meant that previously inaccessible parts of the world were now suddenly open to all comers.
And so it was that the new world, a brave and dangerous frontier, came to be colonised, gnomish rail driving the way and the rest of the world struggling to keep up. But the frontier had never been empty, and those who were there already did not welcome newcomers with open arms.
Races on the Frontier
The frontier is home to an unprecedented mixture of races - whereas human culture harks back to a time when the old world was relatively peaceful, the álloi have only known persecution and hatred, and so flocked south in droves. Although humans still outnumber non-humans, the gap has closed significantly.
Primarily, settlements are mixed in terms of race, usually with a majority of humans, a secondary enclave of elves or dwarves, and a smattering of other races. The clean slate that Eanna represents has meant that many groups have effectively reset human-mythic relations, and previously unthinkable levels of cooperation have been achieved.
In some settlements, however, human founders have enforced a strict policy of xenophoba, seeking to reclaim the simpler the times of the Second Age. Some have even outlawed the practice of magic or the worship of the new gods. These policies inevitably go unmentioned when gnome-driven trains pass through bearing foodstuffs and trade goods, or when there is a water shortage and divine or druidic magic is required to fill the reservoirs.
Likewise, in the mold of Leithandor and Kal'Ein, there are some settlements that house only a minority of humans, such as Kal'Vrettan, the dwarven citadel, or some of the southern outposts set up by those elves who are determined to live truly away from civilisation.
Most of the inhabitants of the new world emigrated here from the old realms, but there is a generation who were born in Eanna, knowing nothing but life on the frontier.
Humans
Adaptable and determined
Humans on the frontier hail from a huge range of backgrounds, from the farmers and fishers of the gentle eastern shores, to the nomadic barbarian tribes of the northern steppes, to the politicking nobles and city dwellers of the civilisations that crowd the circle sea. This level of diversity is represented on the frontier as well, where humans can be found in any occupation or lifestyle.
Since the return of the álloi, it has become clear that humans' real strength is their adaptability and breadth of knowledge. Able to thrive and survive under nearly any circumstances, they have been the most successful at colonising Eanna and pushing back the boundaries of the Frontier.
Willing to try anything
Not only that, but humans are willing to entirely change tack if what they are doing isn't working. Dwarves may have superior stonework and metallurgy skills, and gnomes may be able to come up with the finest, most intricate mechanical contraptions the world has ever seen, and elves may be more in tune with the natural world than any other races - but only a human could dabble in each of these areas with any success.
Playing a human on the frontier
If your character is a human, carefully consider the following.
- Have you travelled south from the realms, or were you born on the frontier?
- What is your occupation? Do you have any previous occupations that you've since moved on from?
- What is your view of the álloi? Have you had any particularly positive or negative experiences with them?
- How do you feel about magic, and the return of the divine? How have these factors affected your life?
Elves
The face of the Third Age
One of the most numerous of the álloi races, opinions on elves in the Realms was heavily divided. Some saw them as uncanny-valley, near-human imitations, to be feared and shunned. Others saw them as improvements on the human design, more graceful, and with a closer connection to the world and to magic. In either case, elves frequently found themselves subject to a range of strong emotions not entirely based on fact. It was no surprise, therefore, that when the route south into Eanna was opened up, much of the early wave of pilgrams was made up of elves, particularly those who had not made it to the Elven city of Leithandor.
Having now broken out of the heavily humano-centric north realms, those elves who had gone south found themselves with a unique opportunity - the chance to define themselves in a land only just finding its own feet. Able to follow their own natural tendencies in a way never before seen, many elves felt the pull of the land and a yearning to be closer to nature.
Forging a new identity
In contrast to humans, who seemed to have almost no common traits across the realms, elves share both an affinity for magic, and a desire to be closer to the natural world. They are also much more comfortable with solitude than the other races, and it is not uncommon to hear of a group of only a dozen or so elves setting off into the wilds to form a new settlement, each with their own abodes separated by miles of empty land. Such isolation would be all but unthinkable to anyone but an elf.
One of the more curious artifacts of the move south was that, given room to breathe and to grow as a people absent the crushing weight of human culture, distinct lineages of elves began to emerge, each with their own drives and preferences. This was even more prominent amongst the nativeborn, the first generation of elves to be born on the frontier. As the elves grew more into themselves, they broadly split into those elves with a greater affinity for the natural world, and those with a greater affinity for magic.
Wood Elves
The most common of the two major strands of elves, wood elves, or the róven galadrim as they call themselves, have skin colours ranging from a light green, to deep copper and olive. Extremely uncomfortable in large cities, wood elves were among the earliest agitators for a new elven city, and formed the bulk of those who left to found Leithandor.
On the frontier, wood elves feel most at home out in the plains, or trekking through the desert. They tend to live in tiny settlements of only a few dozen elves, naming their newfound clan homes after nearby natural phenomena. However, they occasionally dwell in the larger settlements scattered across Eanna, working as trackers or herdsmen.
High Elves
The feui galadrim, or high elf, do not feel the same aversion to civilisations that wood elves do, but suffered more in the human cities of the realms due to their similarity to the human race. Having pale skin, rather than the more exotic colours of their wood elf cousins, but eyes of pure white with no pupils, high elves were in the unfortunate situation of being both more similar to humans, but also more alien. When their affinity with magic began apparent, tensions only increased.
In the south, the feui galadrim are found either in larger settlements, or travelling on the gnomish rail, working as diviners, hedge wizards, and other newly-found but suddenly essential occupations.
Half-Elves
It wasn't long into the third age that it was discovered that humans and elves were compatible, and it wasn't long after that that it became common knowledge. Viewed by elves as 'too human', and by humans as 'too elf', half-elves have not had an easy time in the world, and sometimes struggle to understand their own identities. However, they share their human parent's adaptability, and their elven parent's affinity for nature and magic, and easily find themselves useful on the frontier.
Playing an elf on the frontier
If your character is an elf, carefully consider the following.
- Were you born on the frontier, or did you know a life in the realms? Might you even be a forerunner, one of the original elves, approaching your one hundred and twentieth year?
- How do you feel about humans, and the other races? Have you had any particularly positive or negative experiences with them?
- How do you see your future on the frontier? A fresh chance for the elven race, or a harsh wasteland to be tolerated as an escape from the realms?
Dwarves
Dwarves!
Mountain Dwarves
Other dwarves!
Hill Dwarves
More other dwarves!
House Rules & Character Options
Gameplay Rules
Death Saving Throws
Death saving throws are made into the DM's cupped hands. Results are only revealed at the end of a long rest, after a critical success, or after three failures.
Inspiration
Every player begins each session with a single inspiration token. You can additionally gain inspiration tokens by acting in a characterful manner, or by adding something new or special to the game - a piece of lore, a new plothook, an interesting NPC, etc. You can hold up to three inspiration tokens at once.
You can spend inspiration tokens in two ways:
- To make a roll with advantage
- To interrupt an opponent's turn
Powerful Crits
Critical hits deal maximum damage, plus one additional die roll. For example, on a critical hit, if you would normally roll 1d8+4 for damage, you now roll 12+1d8.
Rest Length
The environment on the Frontier is not amenable to rest and recuperation. Long rests take seven days to complete, can only take place in safe locations, such as towns and established camps, and restore all spent hit dice and exhaustion levels. This time can be spent on downtime activities. Short rests take one hour.
Silver Standard
Folk on the Frontier aren't as wealthy as those in the realms. Gold coins are rarely seen, and flashing them about in public is a good way to find a knife in the back.
Instead, Eanna works on the Silver Standard, where one gold is worth a hundred silver, and a silver is worth a hundred copper. This means that one gold piece is therefore worth ten thousand copper pieces, rather than the realms standard of 100 copper pieces.
In mechanical terms, this doesn't mean that anything costs any more or less, but it prevents copper and silver from just being pointless junk currencies.
A listing of new prices for weapons, armour, adventuring gear, and other items is provided in .
Silver Standard Currency Conversion
| Coin | Copper | Silver | Gold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper (cp) | 1 | 1/100 | 1/10,000 |
| Silver (sp) | 100 | 1 | 1/100 |
| Gold (gp) | 10,000 | 100 | 1 |
Firearms
With advanced technology comes gunpowder. Firearms are more powerful than regular weapons, but are also unreliable. Firearms available are listed at the bottom of the page.
Properties
Although Firearms are ranged weapons, they do not benefit from the Archery fighting style. Any weapon with the Firearm property has the below features.
Loading All firearms use ammuniation and require loading, per the Loading rules in the PHB, pg. 147. Some firearms only require loading after a certain number of shots. This is noted as Loading (6), for example.
Exploding Damage Firearms are powerful technology. When you roll the maximum result on a damage die, you may roll that die again. If this is also the maximum result, you may continue rolling until you get a non-maximum result.
High Crit Firearms can pierce the most vulnerable spots on a person. Firearms critically hit on a roll of 19 or 20.
Misfire As an unpredictable, new technology, firearms occasionally misfire and jam. This occurs when an attack roll returns a result equal to or lower than a firearm's misfire score. A misfire is an automatic miss, and any firearm that has misfired cannot be used until an action has been spent unblocking the jam.
Showdowns
Sometimes on the frontier, the only way to settle a dispute is with hot lead. This is traditionally done using pistols or revolvers, at high noon, in a public location. It is considered poor form to interfere with a showdown.
In order to contest a showdown, two combatants must first roll for initiative. Attack rolls during showdowns are made with advantage, and all hits are critical hits.
Firearms
| Name | Cost | Damage | Size | Properties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pistol | 150 sp | 1d6 piercing | S | Ammunition (range 30/90), firearm (misfire 2), light, loading |
| Revolver | 250 sp | 1d8 piercing | S | Ammunition (range 30/90), firearm (misfire 1), light, loading (6) |
| Hunting Rifle | 50 gp | 1d10 piercing | L | Ammunition (range 80/240), firearm (misfire 2), heavy, loading, two-handed |
| Elven Longbarrel | 90 gp | 1d10 piercing | L | Ammunition (range 120/360), firearm (misfire 1), heavy, loading (3), two-handed |
