Making combat with Renaissance fireams viable WITHOUT Pathfinder material

[Toptomcat]

So I have a FR character concept that involves hailing from Lantan, and I'd really like to try and make use of a boomstick. The problem is that, by default, the guns on p. 144-145 of the DMG suck. They deal damage one die size greater than an equivalently sized heavy crossbow and two die sizes greater than an equivalent longbow or light crossbow, which would be an interesting tradeoff for the Exotic Weapon Proficiency they require...except that they *also* require a standard action to reload, preventing you from making iterative attacks.

Can a viable combat character be built despite these drawbacks? My initial thoughts:

• Both the Rapid Reload feat and the Quick Loading enchantment from the MIC are explicitly crossbow-only, so no love there.
• There's the historically-accurate solution of carrying around multiple pistols and Quick-Drawing/dropping them for iteratives. But that's expensive at low levels because they're 250 gp a pop, and expensive at high levels because you need to enchant them. Could work if you're playing a cleric and you DMM Chain Spell Greater Magic Weapon.
• Nanobots are an option. Play a character with access to minions that are small enough to fit in your space and have them ready an action to reload every time you fire. Works with anyone who gets a familiar, and with artificers' homonculi as well.
• The Musket does have something over any other ranged weapon: a 150' base range increment. This is equaled by a Dragonbone Greatbow and exceeded by one using Flight Arrows, but it does suggest a niche in extreme-range combat. This combined with its reload-time difficulties makes for interesting synergy with Races of Stone's Cragtop Archer, whose range-penalty-ignoring Horizon Shot is a full-round action anyway. This in turn suggests a sniper build taking advantage of others' Spot penalties for distance- Able Sniper would help.
• Playing a Scout could make the lack of iteratives a lot less painful due to Skirmish.

[phaedrusxy]

I don't think you need to resort to nanobots. How about a simple Unseen Servant to reload? You might need two guns (while you're firing one, the US is picking up and reloading the second) with two Lesser Crystals of Return (I forget what the action to call it to your hand is, though). Add a new gun and US for each iterative attack.

This is going to look ridiculous, but I think it should be possible to work out the actions required.

[Kasz]

You could enchant the guns.

Or you could enchant the ammo bag, Endless Bag of +1 Bullets and so on and so forth?

[Toptomcat]

You could enchant the guns.

What with? Again, as far as I can tell, either I'm not getting my iteratives (giving me a smaller marginal return on my gun-enchanting investment) or I'm running a multi-gun setup (expensive to enchant.) Is there a Rapid Reload analogue for firearms outside of third-party stuff?

Or you could enchant the ammo bag, Endless Bag of +1 Bullets and so on and so forth?

It's a thought. Don't know of any fully standard and generic enchantment that could apply, though- it's all specific magic weapons/items that are, RAW, arrow-only. Raptor Arrows, Hank's Force Bow, Quiver of Anariel, Quiver of Plenty...putting Morphing on the Raptor Arrows could work if it qualified as a melee or thrown weapon. Even Arcane Archer is explicitly arrow-only.

[phaedrusxy]

Is your gaming group (or DM) really SO adverse to modifying/homebrewing rules that they won't even let you use crossbow magic abilities/feats on guns? I mean, I could see saying "No guns because they don't fit the setting", but if you're going to allow them at all, then you should allow them to be useful...

[awaken_D_M_golem]

Yeah, it's a "ranged" something.
I'm sure CapQ has a few ranged mods that aren't Bow or X-Bow specific, even if your DM goes there.

Martial Monk could stack lots of goodies on Exotic Weapon Prof.

[Solo]

What with? Again, as far as I can tell, either I'm not getting my iteratives (giving me a smaller marginal return on my gun-enchanting investment) or I'm running a multi-gun setup (expensive to enchant.) Is there a Rapid Reload analogue for firearms outside of third-party stuff?

[Nanshork]

Is Dragon material allowed?