Bring Out the Big Guns

We’re finishing off the last week of February with a few swashbuckler posts because you know you want to say it, “Everything is better with pirates!” 😉

Fridays are typically Pirate Day, so we’re doing a little foreshadowing by revealing one of their favorite weapons! Whether it’s a Hovertrain or a ship on the high seas, sometimes you gotta summon the big guns!

We were able to source one of the two cannons here. The first is by STL Miniatures and is from their Pirate Set. Every December, we pick up one of the big-value discount codes that creators typically post for the holidays. We then open up our saved STLs and go to town. So, we actually bought this cannon individually.

The second three-barrel cannon we’re featuring today was insanely challenging to source. We pinged all the creators in their corresponding Discord servers: Loot Studios, Cast n Play, Dragon Trappers Lodge, mz4250, and so on. We also did a slew of Google searches but to no avail. 🙁

So, our sincere apologies for not sourcing the creator here. If you know the other maker, please drop a note on our Facebook post.

So, we tagged resident painter Kimmy Utah for these iron-born beauties. We especially love the colors here: the ornate gold potrays that maybe this cannon was a special gift made just for the Captain. And the single-barrel version is absolutely charming by giving off all the right pirate vibes.

As we mentioned earlier, all our Pirate posting here on 3DRPG is pulling double duty. We’ll use our miniatures and scatter terrain for our Hovertrain Raiders and for the party’s next ocean trip. We’ve been sharing The Forgotten Rails campaign setting weekly Train Tuesday posts, but wait til you see the Aether Studios pirate ship we 3D printed and painted.

Re-usability is a huge factor in anything we print up and paint. Sure, there will always be some unique pieces, but the more uses for a piece, the better.

D&D Beyond has a Siege Weapons section in their 2024 DM’s Guide that covers cannon basics: Ranged Attack Roll: +6, range 600/2,400 ft. Hit: 44 (8d10) Bludgeoning damage. There are a couple of Utilize Actions too, meaning the player has to start by loading the cannon (first utilize action), then aim it (second utilize action), and only then can they take an attack action fire.

Alternatively, there’s a Lightning Cannon for arcane lovers out there. This one is basically the same as a traditional cannon, except it doesn’t require the load action and does 4d10 damage.

Lastly, Reddit had this great home-brew section on siege weapons (including plenty of cannon options), and we really enjoyed that take. You could also even try a Thunder Cannon (Con DC 14 or be deafened), and it’s a 4o-foot cone.

Until next time!