Teldurn wrote:Does your math account for the extra die that the Handgunner gets to apply?
It does. The wording on the Handgunner's ability implies that the extra die rolled is also subject to the rules of Black Powder. Therefore, the Handgunner with a Musket rolls 4 dice to attack, hoping not to get any Walruses. The math for just the items listed in your friend's rules supplement is as follows:
Now, don't get me wrong, the Handgunner's ability is still a net positive for his use of firearms and explosives. It's just that, even with the extra die, blackpowder guns are statistically inferior to their medieval alternatives (the increased damage does not make up for the high chance to misfire).
If you want to keep this rule in some form, you might consider altering the rules for Black Powder or the Handgunner's ability. For example, you could...
- ...restrict the chance to fizzle or explode to just the base dice rolled by the weapon. A minor tweak, but it does improve the Handgunner somewhat, since his bonus die can no longer cause his guns to misfire. A Handgunner-held pistol or grenade would then have an expected damage of 1.18 with a 31% failure rate, and a Handgunner-held musket would have an expected damage of 1.33 with a 42% failure rate. (Incidentally, the best way to implement something like this would be to "mark" one or two white combat dice by using a pencil, marker or similar to shade them gray, so they stand out from the rest of the dice when you roll them all at once.)
- ...set the chance of a misfire equal to the result of another roll (i.e., roll one or two dice before attacking, and count a misfire if you get a Walrus). The upside to this method is the ability to reduce the misfire rate of a weapon without also reducing its power. The downside, however, is that you have to roll dice twice to attack with a Black Powder weapon instead of just once. Under this rule, a Handgunner with a Musket has an expected damage of 1.67 if you roll one die before firing, or 1.39 if you roll two dice before firing.
- ...change the Handgunner's ability from a bonus die to a reroll of a die. The flavor of this rule is excellent: "Black Powder is dangerous stuff - only licensed professionals may handle safely!!" The downside, of course, is that pretty much none of the other Heroes will be able to use Black Powder as effectively as him, which makes the stuff sort of a character-exclusive. Under this rule, a Handgunner-held pistol or grenade would then have an expected damage of 1.28 with a 7% failure rate, and a Handgunner-held musket would have an expected damage of 1.68 with a 21% failure rate.
@Cynthia: I have a couple of guns in my armory. The Rifle, the strongest option available for purchase, has the following stat line (in icon-speak, of course):
Rifle - 1,500 Gold Coins
Two Hands
You may attack at range with this weapon, rolling 4 combat dice to do so. Monsters defend with one fewer Combat Die.
After firing this weapon, it must be reloaded, requiring two actions be spent before it can be used again.
Of course, the Heroes can also purchase useful add-ons for their guns, such as a Scope (+1 combat dice) or a Powder Horn (-1 reload action required). Although the entire setup costs something like 5,000 gold to complete, a fully-kitted rifleman is a fearsome Hero indeed...
