The long years of isolation imposed by the Second Galactic War left the Verge in anarchy. In most systems, anyone who wants to wield power must do so by fielding his or her own private army. This is especially true in Tendril, Grith, and Lucullus, where the Rule of Gross Firepower applies: The person with the biggest guns makes the rules. Even criminal gangs, smuggler rings, and privately held companies have fallen into the habit of arming dozens or hundreds of fighters to watch out for their own interests. In this climate, Combat Specs with the skills necessary to employ heavy weapons are prized commodities. Gunners might serve in the military or a stellar nation or a Verge system, or they might work as mercenaries tor a private organization. Accepting employment with an organization means that a hero must fulfill certain duties in exchange for a paycheck and a place to stay.

In the Verge: Thousands of Austrin-Ontis mercenaries and gunslingers, demobilized since the end of GW2, have streamed into the Verge seeking work—especially to the battle-torn Hammer's Star system.

The Gunslinger knows everything there is to know about handguns of all types. Whereas the Martial Artist develops her body into a perfect weapon, the Gunslinger trains his mind and body to work in concert with his handguns. His pistols become an extension of him. The Gunslinger can be a mercenary or a modern-day knight, defending the weak and the innocent with a pair of blazing pistols in-stead of a sword and shield.

Select this advanced class if you want your character to excel with handguns or other ranged weapons.

The fastest path into this advanced class is from the Fast hero basic class, though other paths are possible.

To qualify to become a Gunslinger, a character must fulfill the following criteria.

Base Attack Bonus: +2

Skills: Sleight of Hand 6 ranks, Tumble 6 ranks

Feat: Personal Firearms Proficiency

The following information pertains to the Gunslinger advanced class.

Hit Die: 1d10

Action Points: 6 + one-half character level, rounded down, every time the Gunslinger attains a new level in this class.

The Gunslinger’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are:

Bluff (Cha), Demolitions (Int), Drive (Dex), Escape Artist (Dex), Gamble (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Investigate (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Tumble (Dex)

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

The following features pertain to the Gunslinger advanced class.

At 1st level, a Gunslinger gains the ability to make a ranged attack with a Medium-size or smaller firearm while in a threatened area without provoking an attack of opportunity.

At 2nd level, a Gunslinger gains the Weapon Focus class feature, providing the benefit of the feat with the same name. The Gunslinger must choose a specific personal firearm.

The gunslinger adds +1 to all attack rolls you make using the selected personal firearm.

At 3rd, 6th, and 9th level, the Gunslinger gets a bonus feat. The bonus feat must be selected from the following list, and the Gunslinger must meet all the prerequisites of the feat to select it.

Advanced Firearms Proficiency, Advanced Two-Weapon Fighting, Burst Fire, Dead Aim, Double Tap, Far Shot, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Quick Reload, Shot on the Run, Skip Shot, Strafe, Two-Weapon Fighting

Starting at 4th level, the Gunslinger gains an additional +2 cover bonus to Defense and an additional +2 cover bonus on Reflex saves whenever he or she has one-quarter, one-half, three-quarters, or nine-tenths cover.

Starting at 5th level, a Gunslinger can make a flurry of ranged attacks with a personal firearm at the expense of accuracy. With a lightning shot, the Gunslinger may make one extra ranged attack with a personal firearm in a round at his or her highest base attack bonus. This attack and each other attack made in the round take a –2 penalty. This ability can only be used when taking the full attack action. The penalty applies to all attacks for one full round, including attacks of opportunity.

At 7th level, if the Gunslinger uses a personal firearm to attack a target, the cover bonus to the target’s Defense for one-quarter, one-half, three-quarters, or nine-tenths cover is reduced by 2.

At 8th level, a Gunslinger receives a +1 competence bonus on attack rolls made with the firearm selected for the Weapon Focus ability at 2nd level. This bonus stacks with the earlier bonus.

At 10th level, a Gunslinger becomes so adept at using the firearm to which he or she has applied Weapon Focus and Greater Weapon Focus that the gunslinger’s attacks with that firearm can deal extra damage. With a successful attack, before damage is rolled, the gunslinger can spend 1 action point to deal +3d6 points of damage.

2nd +1 +0 +2 +2 Weapon focus +1 +0 3rd +2 +1 +2 +2 Bonus feat +2 +1 4th +3 +1 +2 +2 Defensive position +2 +1 5th +3 +1 +3 +3 Lightning shot +3 +1 6th +4 +2 +3 +3 Bonus feat +3 +2 7th +5 +2 +4 +4 Sharp-shooting +4 +2 8th +6 +2 +4 +4 Greater weapon focus +4 +2 9th +6 +3 +4 +4 Bonus feat +5 +3 10th +7 +3 +5 +5 Bullseye +5 +3