Gun Mage

A circle of blue runes flashes into life around the barrel of the Cygnaran soldier’s pistol. When her shot strikes her target, the deafening roar of thunder fills the air, and the force of the impact knocks the man she shot off his feet.

Perched on the eave of a roof, the Llaelese sniper settles his sights on his target. Magic flows from him into his waiting bullet. When he fires, his gun makes no sound, and his target falls in eerie silence.

The Ordic gambler dives behind an overturned table just as his three opponents open fire. Despite having only one bullet in his pistol, he grins as he rises and fires, guiding his bullet through his trio of targets.

Gun mages are arcanists who combine Firearms skill with the ability to channel Magic through rune-inscribed bullets. They carry a particular mystique in the minds of common people. To the average citizen, gun mages are seen as romantic figures: dashing officers and arcanists who are as skilled with their Weapons as they are with magic. In truth, these arcanists practice their magic as a dedicated martial discipline. To fully harness their abilities, gun mages make use of magelocks (Weapons)—special firearms made of an expensive steel alloy that is both resistant to heat and responsive to magic.

Some might consider a gun mage’s reliance on firearms and ammunition to be a limitation compared to other spellcasters (such as Warcasters), but the deadly effectiveness of a practiced gun mage in battle is indisputable. Firearms are potent weapons in their own right, but augmented by a gun mage, a magelock firearm becomes an incredibly versatile weapon.

FREE SPIRITS

Gun mages tend to be nonconformists. Their Magic is not just a talent, but a passion. It is not the bookish training common among other orders, or even the intuitive art of the sorcerer. It requires focus and intense training, as well as a quickness of mind and a sureness of purpose that come only from complete confidence in one’s ability. Gun mages tend to be less rigidly ordered and far more impulsive than their arcane brethren. Those who possess more tempered personalities likely underwent rigorous training as part of a military order.

GUNS FOR HIRE

Equal parts deadly and skilled, gun mages are valuable commodities who are in high demand across the Iron Kingdoms. Those who served with an arcane order typically have experience leading men into combat and are often recruited by prominent mercenary companies to serve the same role. By contrast, freelance gun mages often earn substantial coin as guns for hire, bodyguards, or even assassins.

Most independent gun mages learned their abilities intuitively. Following early exposure to firearms, these individuals instinctively carved reinforcing runes into the barrels of their weapons and gradually discovered their potential over the course of their lives. Although less common than those who come from a military order such as the Tempest Academy of Cygnar, freelance gun mages are found across the Iron Kingdoms.

Gun Mage Orders (Subclasses)

Name	Description	Source
Order of the Arcane Tempest	Members of this order serve alongside those of the army’s other service branches, whether providing fire support on the battlefields of western Immoren or acting as specialized operatives who protect their nation at any cost.	IK Req
Order of the Thorn	They combine the skillful dueling traditions of the former Loyal Order of the Amethyst Rose with a merciless approach to conflict.	IK Req
Order of the Lone Wolf	Not all born with the gift of the gun mage have the privilege to train in a military academy. Some are lone wanderers who learn their craft through trial and error, developing skills and rune shots through raw instinct	IK Req