Gunner

Ship weapon systems specialist.

The Gunner is a crew-served weapon's living component. They are not a Soldier who happens to be on a ship; they are the person the corp trained from age sixteen to feed the cannon, read the firing solution, and keep their hands inside the breech guard while the gun cycles. The Gunner's body is logged on the same maintenance schedule as the weapon: quarterly medical, annual psychological, mandatory rest periods after every engagement. They are asset paired with another asset.

On the Kadiss, the Gunner rides the grid as ship-crew, not as a person. Their personal file is thin on purpose; their weapon-system certification is thick. They do not think of the gun as a tool; they think of the gun as a partner, the way an Engineer thinks of an engine. The Targeting Matrix is the formal term for what they call their eye -- the firing solution that builds the longer you watch.

They wear light and medium armour because powered assault frames are for breaching teams, not gunnery Stations. The gunnery chair is the Gunner's armour. They take the shot, they read the fall of shot, they adjust. DEX and WIS primes: the steady hand and the patient eye. The patience matters more than the hand; a Gunner who fires too soon is a Gunner who has to reload.

Operating on the Warrior-Ranger chassis (d10 HD, full BAB, Fort/Ref good, Will poor). The Will poor save is the cost of the job: a Gunner who thinks too hard about what they are shooting at stops being effective.

Rules Reference

Field	Value
Armor Allowance	Light, Medium
Bab Tier	full
Base Skill Points	4
Hd	d10
Hd Sides	10
Max Level	20
Multiclass Notes	Gunners can multiclass with Pilot and Heavy Breacher archetypes. Non-human gunners use simultaneous multiclassing rules.
Primary Abilities	DEX, WIS
Prime Requisites	DEX, WIS
Save Tiers / Fortitude	good
Save Tiers / Reflex	good
Save Tiers / Will	poor
Weapon Allowance	All crew-served and vehicle weapons, All heavy weapons, Pistol

Notes

Archetype Niche: The Gunner is the ship combat king. Targeting Matrix rewards sustained fire on a single target with escalating accuracy and damage -- the Gunner gets more dangerous the longer a fight lasts. Rapid Reload Mastery eliminates the action-economy penalty of crew-served weapons, letting the Gunner maintain fire rates that other classes cannot match. Suppressing Barrage provides area damage and terrain control, turning the Gunner into a shipboard artillery piece. The Gunner's niche is void combat: they are the reason the enemy ship explodes before the boarding action even starts.

Level Table

Loader

Field	Value
bab	1
fortitude	2
level	1
reflex	2
skillPoints	16
title	Loader
will	0
xp	0

Gunner's Mate

Field	Value
bab	2
fortitude	3
level	2
reflex	3
skillPoints	4
title	Gunner's Mate
will	0
xp	2250

Gunner

Field	Value
bab	3
fortitude	3
level	3
reflex	3
skillPoints	4
title	Gunner
will	1
xp	4500

Turret Gunner

Field	Value
bab	4
fortitude	4
level	4
reflex	4
skillPoints	4
title	Turret Gunner
will	1
xp	9000

Master Gunner

Field	Value
bab	5
fortitude	4
level	5
reflex	4
skillPoints	4
title	Master Gunner
will	1
xp	18000

Chief Gunner

Field	Value
bab	6
fortitude	5
level	6
reflex	5
skillPoints	4
title	Chief Gunner
will	2
xp	36000

Gunnery Chief

Field	Value
bab	7
fortitude	5
level	7
reflex	5
skillPoints	4
title	Gunnery Chief
will	2
xp	75000

Battery Commander

Field	Value
bab	8
fortitude	6
level	8
reflex	6
skillPoints	4
title	Battery Commander
will	2
xp	150000

Gunnery Lord

Field	Value
bab	9
fortitude	6
level	9
reflex	6
skillPoints	4
title	Gunnery Lord
will	3
xp	300000

High Gunnery Lord

Field	Value
bab	10
fortitude	7
level	10
reflex	7
skillPoints	4
title	High Gunnery Lord
will	3
xp	600000

Weaponmaster

Field	Value
bab	11
fortitude	7
level	11
reflex	7
skillPoints	4
title	Weaponmaster
will	3
xp	900000

High Weaponmaster

Field	Value
bab	12
fortitude	8
level	12
reflex	8
skillPoints	4
title	High Weaponmaster
will	4
xp	1200000

Ordnance Lord

Field	Value
bab	13
fortitude	8
level	13
reflex	8
skillPoints	4
title	Ordnance Lord
will	4
xp	1500000

High Ordnance Lord

Field	Value
bab	14
fortitude	9
level	14
reflex	9
skillPoints	4
title	High Ordnance Lord
will	4
xp	1800000

Ordnance Master

Field	Value
bab	15
fortitude	9
level	15
reflex	9
skillPoints	4
title	Ordnance Master
will	5
xp	2100000

High Ordnance Master

Field	Value
bab	16
fortitude	10
level	16
reflex	10
skillPoints	4
title	High Ordnance Master
will	5
xp	2400000

Void Gunner

Field	Value
bab	17
fortitude	10
level	17
reflex	10
skillPoints	4
title	Void Gunner
will	5
xp	2700000

High Void Gunner

Field	Value
bab	18
fortitude	11
level	18
reflex	11
skillPoints	4
title	High Void Gunner
will	6
xp	3000000

Sky-Splitter

Field	Value
bab	19
fortitude	11
level	19
reflex	11
skillPoints	4
title	Sky-Splitter
will	6
xp	3300000

Supreme Gunner

Field	Value
bab	20
fortitude	12
level	20
reflex	12
skillPoints	4
title	Supreme Gunner
will	6
xp	3600000

Special Abilities

Targeting Matrix

Field	Value
level	1
name	Targeting Matrix

description: When the Gunner fires a crew-served, vehicle-mounted, or ship weapon at a target fired at the previous round: +1 to attack, +1d6 damage. Stacks each consecutive round: +2/+2d6 by round three, +3/+3d6 by round four, max +5/+5d6 at round six. Switching targets resets the bonus. At level 7, starts at +2/+2d6 on round two. At level 14, matrix builds twice as fast. The matrix is not a software product; it is what happens when a trained eye locks onto a target and the gunner stops seeing anything else.

Rapid Reload Mastery

Field	Value
level	3
name	Rapid Reload Mastery

description: Free Rapid Reload feat. Reduce all reload times by one step: full-round becomes standard, standard becomes move, move becomes free. Reload a multi-crew weapon alone in double the normal time (otherwise impossible). At level 9, reload as an immediate action once per encounter. At level 15, reload any weapon as a free action. The gunnery chair is the only home the Gunner knows; the gun must feed.

Suppressing Barrage

Field	Value
level	5
name	Suppressing Barrage

description: Full attack with a crew-served or heavy weapon against a 20-foot radius (or a ship-sized target). All creatures in the area Reflex save (DC 10 + Gunner level + DEX) or full damage, half on success. Area becomes difficult terrain for 1 round. At level 11, radius to 40 feet. At level 17, failed save also knocks prone. Usable once per encounter per 3 levels. This is the gunner buying time for the boarding action, or ending the boarding action before it begins.