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The Willshot Fighter

Overview

Inspired by the Swashbuckler Roguish Archetype, the Willshot Fighter is a gritty close-range gunslinger archetype who blends deadly precision with brutal brawling. Unlike traditional ranged fighters who rely on distance and cover, this subclass thrives in the chaos of melee, wielding both firearms and blades with ruthless efficiency. The Willshot Fighter embodies the raw, unforgiving spirit of a pirate hardened by battle and driven by sheer willpower.

From a gameplay perspective, the Willshot Fighter breaks the mold of typical ranged weapon combatants by emphasizing close ranged shooting with Agile Shooter. Their abilities enable seamless transitions between close combat strikes and empowered gunfire, rewarding aggressive, tactical positioning. Features like Willpowered Shot allow them to channel their indomitable spirit into devastating force damage, while Supreme Surge and Smoke and Steel grant extra actions and crowd control effects that dominate the battlefield. This subclass excels at being a versatile frontline skirmisher who can control the flow of combat, disrupt foes with blinding bursts, and keep pressure on enemies up close.

In short, the Willshot Fighter is for players who want a bold, fearless warrior who fires with force and fights with fury, a deadly blend of precision and primal combat instinct that brings a fresh flavor to the Fighter’s arsenal.

3rd Level: Gunner Feat

You gain the benefits of the Gunner feat. If you already have the Gunner feat, you instead gain one additional Fighting Style option from the Fighter list (Defense is recommended). You can select this Fighting Style immediately.

3rd Level: Agile Shooter

When you take the Attack action and hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can immediately make one attack with a ranged weapon that you are holding as a bonus action, targeting any creature within range. This ranged weapon can not have the Two-Handed property.

In addition to this, while you are wielding a light melee weapon in one hand and a light ranged weapon (such as a pistol) in the other, you are considered to have a free off-hand for the purposes of any feature that requires one.

7th Level: Willpowered Shot

Starting at 7th level, your mastery with firearms allows you to channel your relentless will into each shot. Once per turn when you hit a creature with an attack using a firearm, you can choose to empower the strike. The attack deals an additional 1d10 + your fighter level force damage.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You regain half your expended uses (rounded up) when you finish a short rest, and all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Additionally, when you use your Second Wind feature to heal yourself, you regain one expended use of Willpowered Shot.

10th Level: Supreme Surge

At 10th level, your ruthless and unpredictable fighting style creates just the opening you need. When you use your Action Surge, you also gain an additional bonus action on that turn only. This bonus action can be used for any action that would normally be taken as a bonus action.

15th Level: Enhanced Will

At 15th level, you’ve mastered the brutal art of firing point-blank with force-infused rounds.

When you use your Willpowered Shot feature to empower a firearm attack against a creature within 10 feet, you can choose to unleash a shockwave.

  • The empowered attack deals 2d10 + your fighter level force damage instead of 1d10.

  • The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw (DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier) or be knocked prone and pushed up to 10 feet directly away from you.

  • If the attack reduces the target to 0 hit points, you gain 15 feet of movement until the end of your turn.

You can use this enhanced attack once per short or long rest.

You can also expend a use of Second Wind (no action required) to refresh this feature. Refreshing this feature in this way grants an additional use of Willpower Shot.

18th Level: Smoke and Steel

At 18th level, your brawling instincts and brutal gunplay have become infamous. When you make a weapon attack as a bonus action from your Agile Shooter Feature, you can immediately make one additional weapon attack as part of that same bonus action.

If either of these bonus action attacks hits a creature within 5 feet of you, the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier) or be blinded until the start of your next turn, disoriented by the flash, grit, and gore of your close-quarters assault.

You can use this blinding effect once per turn.

Creative Commons and Copywrite

This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Willshot Fighter © Fiyin Ogungbade, 2025. All rights reserved.
 This homebrew subclass was created for personal, educational, and non-commercial use. Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, or commercial use is prohibited.

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