Saddle Up, Partner: How to Play a Cowboy in D&D
We’ve talked about how mashing up genres in D&D can spice up your game. But what if you need to be a cowboy in D&D?
Genre, like gender, is a social construct. And like gender, when you start to ignore the distinctive definitions we arbitrarily carve out for it, everything gets a whole lot sexier. Case in point, D&D games that evoke a whole other genre within its high fantasy umbrella.
Your “high school hijinks mixed with D&D, complete with homecoming hijinks” type scenarios. Your horror-themed campaigns that are the officially-published genre mashup favorite. Or even, as is relevant for today, games set in a fantasy western.
And it makes sense. Westerns have horses. D&D has horses. Pistols and muskets (or rifles) exist right there in the Player’s Handbook. And there’s a whole lot of riding around and killing bandits and/or preying on merchants wherever you go. File down the serial numbers enough and you can make many D&D modules feel like something Arthur Morgan and his band of lovable goofs might get up to.
So if that’s what your game is like, and mostly for the benefit of one of my editors, here’s what to play when you want your D&D character to be a cowboy.
Ranger
First things first, let’s talk the Ranger. Because, after all, the Ranger is the perfect class for anyone looking to play a deadeye shot. They’re the “ranged weapon” class—at least on the surface. And if you pick a Ranger, that leans into a number of classic cowboy archetypes for your D&D character. A Ranger could be someone who’s a skilled outdoorsman, capable of hunting and tracking, or could just as easily be a sharpshooter who makes all sorts of trick shots.
You don’t even have to do a ton of reflavoring. Sharpshooter is already a feat in the game. You might have to reflavor the Archery fighting style as Gunslinging. Honestly the trickiest thing about it is the magic—but if you’re playing D&D, magic is already in your wild west world. So you probably don’t even need to worry about it.
Best subclasses might include the Gloomstalker Ranger for a sharpshooter/sniper type. Or a Hunter to be a deadly bounty hunter/marshal type who tracks dangerous outlaws and/or monsters down, no matter the danger. You can even flavor your spells as trick shots if you really need to. But again, it’s a cowboy D&D game, magic is baked right into the rules. And who could say no to playing a literal Ranger with a big iron on his hip?
Bard
Bard?! I can hear you saying already. But listen, Bards can do anything, just like in real life. And there are already some iconic examples of what a Bard who is also a Cowboy might be like. It isn’t just the “singing cowboy” archetype, though they certainly do exist. There’s also the charismatic fast talker who is extremely skilled and great with people—these are your Maverick types. Well-dressed dandies who would rather gamble and play their way to fortune.
Bards make great D&D cowboys. A College of Valor Bard could be a great shot with a pistol and a True Strike spell. A College of Glamor Bard is about as fast-talking cowboy as it gets. But it’s hard to go wrong with any of them.
Paladin
Feel like strapping on a white hat and being a force for good in a land full of outlaws and thieves? Well Paladins are there to be your good-hearted gunfighters and sheriffs who defy the odds. So much so that there is a famous character in a tv show who is a cowboy named Paladin.
Oath of Devotion could easily be your stereotypical gunfighter whose code gets them into and out of trouble. Same with Oath of Vengeance. The one difficulty you might run into is that a Paladin’s Smite spells are melee-only. But there are plenty of non-smite spells to cast. And it’s not like you couldn’t be a brawling cowboy who gets in there and mixes it up with a sword/riflebutt/whatever alongside their trusty sixgun. Or just talk to your DM about it if that’s what you’re all doing.
Warlock
Eldritch blast is the ultimate “fan the revolver” type spell. Odds are good you may well have already played a Warlock who uses finger guns as a way to cast their spells. Just give yourself an “arcane implement” that you keep in a leather holster on your side, ready to quickdraw, if you really want to.
But on top of that, Warlocks come with all sorts of powers that feel slightly eldritch and perfect for an occult type cowboy. A mysterious pale rider? That’s a warlock, on a phantom horse they ride. And they’re wanted, undead or alive.
Especially since your Eldritch Invocations make for cool supernatural power that make this D&D cowboy seem spooky and otherworldly. Take something like Devil’s Sight to never be hampered by darkness. Pick up False Life and Armor of Agathys to bbe wreathed in cold at all hours. One with the shadows lets you become invisible in Dim Light or Darkness, so you can vanish from one shadow to anywhere else you choose to reveal yourself.
As for subclasses? Really any single one of them works. Especially the Fiend Patron who’s made a deal with a devil, or the Archfey who wandered a little too far into the green one starry night.
Wizard
But hey, as long as we’re talking about reflavoring magic as trick shots and spells like Eldritch Blast—why not go full Wizard? You can cast spells with your revolver shaped arcane focus. After all, a Magic Missile at the right level is six shots. Or upcast something like a Scorching Ray (especially if you mix it with a damaging aura spell like Conjure Minor Elementals). You’ll have an amazing time. And that’s only one side of the coin.
As for subclasses, there’s a ton of other stuff to play around with. A Diviner may well fit the occult cowboy archetype, just from a different angle. Cursed with foresight they can also be the best shot you’ve ever seen. Again, True Strike + a Pistol gets you most of the way there. But an Evoker is also an amazing option to play with. Just call yourself a spellslinger, and you’re golden.
See you, fantasy cowboy!
