~~~Classes~~~
Many classes fit right into the genre without a problem, others however need tweaking to fit appropriately with the setting, here are my initial thoughts on the classes.
~Core~
Barbarian: A brute or angry fighter, might not work too well with bullets flying but as a brawler they fit very well.
Bard: A performer fits in just fine in this.
Cleric: The holy man will lose his armor and many will lose the access to their deities favored weapons, but otherwise they will fit in fine.
Druid: Will work great with the tribal elves as their shaman. Horse and other ridable animal companions would be a staple.
Fighter: Heavy reliance on armor will need to be addressed, especially if they are needed for tanking.
Monk: Shanghai Noon. A favored class of kobolds.
Paladin: Again heavy reliance on armor will need to be addressed, and the mechanics of smite need to be changed to focus on guns & ranged weapons. They will make perfect Sheriffs and Lawmen.
Ranger: Fits the setting almost perfectly. Can be anything from Elven scouts to bounty hunters tracking down bandits. Will probably add gunslinging as a combat style.
Rogue: Another that fits fine with the theme.
Sorcerer: As dangerous as always, and probably the primary arcane caster of most campaigns.
Wizard: Within the world wizardry will be taking a backseat to technology. The time it takes to learn a wizards craft is too long for most and they can get the same effect (or close) with technology.
~Secondary~
Alchemist: doctors, pharmacists and chemists. Could be very interesting in western setting.
Antipaladin: The opposite of the Paladin, a criminal and bandit of the highest level. Will need to appropriate the armor again.
Cavalier: Masters of the horse. Think 7th Cavalry instead of knights.
Gunslinger: If a single class fits this genre more than the gunslinger I don't know it.
Inquisitor: another class that fits the lawman/bounty hunter roll, this time with more religious fervor.
Magus: same as the wizard this has taken a backseat to technology, but some still study it.
Ninja: See Monk entry.
Oracle: The oracle is a bit odd, though I could see it as a class for Elves who are in tune with their spiritual ancestors.
Samurai: See Monk entry.
Summoner: an odd class but I can see no reason it would not fit in fine.
Witch: I'm not really sure about witches, I can see no reason for a loss of them.
For Cleric, what if you added a class feature that gave them a holy gun of some sort (think Constantine: http://www.yourprops.com/movieprops/default/4406c96c06ff5/Constantine-2005/Constantine-s-The-Holy-Shotgun.jpg ) that levels up with them and can be used as a holy symbol. It could be used in place of the deities preferred weapon and helps alleviate the penalties of no armor.
ReplyDeleteFor Paladin, consider something like this: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/n/named-bullet
It could be their ranged smite.
As far as armor in general goes, what do you think of giving tanky classes an AC bonus of some sort (like 1/2HD in deflection or something). I think a fighter could do without if they were given access to a wider range of bonus feats. Then they could just be feat hoarders.