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Archaic Firearms

…Archaic‚ firearms are a catch-all term for weapons using obsolete technology (such as muskets). They are typically fairly inaccurate, heavy, and require lengthy reload times. All weapons in this chapter have rate of fire …Single‚ and a magazine of “1 Muzzle.” Muzzle-loading firearms take at least 30 seconds to reload, though certain types of mechanisms have additional steps.

Name

Damage Type

Damage

Range inc.

Mass

Ammo Mass

Recoil

Calibre

Reload Time

Cost

Year

Pistol, Matchlock

Piercing

1d6+8

4m

2.25 kg

5g ea.

1.5

.30

30s*

$100

1475

Musket, Matchlock

Piercing

1d6+10

8m

9 kg

10g ea.

3

.40

30s*

$300

1475

Arquebus, Matchlock

Piercing

1d6+10

4m

4.5 kg

10g ea.

3

.40

30s*

$300

1425

Pistol , Wheellock

Piercing

1d6+8

4m

4.25 kg

5g ea.

1.5

.30

30s

$400

1500

Musket, Wheellock

Piercing

1d6+10

8m

12 kg

10g ea.

3

.40

30s

$1200

1500

Blunderbuss

Piercing

1d8+10

4m

10 kg

10g ea.

3

lead shot

30s

$300

1650

Pistol, Flintlock

Piercing

1d6+8

4m

2.25 kg

5g ea.

1.5

.30

30s

$100

1650

Musket, Flintlock

Piercing

1d6+10

8m

10 kg

10g ea.

3

.40

30s

$300

1650

Rifle, Flintlock

Piercing

1d6+10

16m

10 kg

10g ea.

3

.40

42s

$300

1650

* Reloading a matchlock weapon also involves lighting the match. See the description for details.

Matchlock Weapons: Matchlock pistols, muskets, and arquebuses are very early firearms which use a lit match to spark the powder. Pulling the trigger plunges the lit match into the powder, thus firing the weapon. This method of firing is prone to several problems, the main one being the difficulty in keeping the match lit. On a natural 1 when rolling, roll another d6. If that d6 is also a 1, the weapon misfires. In wet or windy weather, the weapon misfires on a natural 1 without needing to reroll. A misfired matchlock weapon must be disassembled and cleaned, a process taking several minutes. For safety reasons, the match must be put out before firing the weapon. Lighting the match takes a 4 SA with a reliable fire-starting mechanism (such as a lighter or good match) or ten seconds with flint and steel. Matchlock weapons used a special kind of match, known as a slow match, which burns at around 30cm per hour. Matches used in matchlock weapons are usually around 2cm long, and as such can burn for 4 minutes before needing to be replaced (a 4SA).

Matchlock Pistol:

Modifications: Crude, Muzzle-loader, Smoothbore, Oversized

Matchlock Musket:

Modifications: Crude, Muzzle-loader, Smoothbore, Oversized

Matchlock Arquebus:

Modifications: Crude, Muzzle-loader, Smoothbore

Wheellock Weapons: Wheellock weapons work by spinning a spring-loaded wheel of steel against pyrite. Pulling the trigger releases the spring-loaded wheel, causing the pyrite to spark and igniting the weapon ƒ much like a modern cigarette lighter. Wheellock weapons do not suffer from many of the major inconveniences of the matchlock firearms (there is no match necessary to light, and they are far more reliable in inclement weather: roll a second die, and the weapon misfires on a 1,2, or 3) but the heavy and complicated mechanism drastically increases the cost. Wheellock weapons quadruple the base cost of the firearm and increase their mass by +2 kg. The weight and cost meant they were never adopted for standard-issue military use, and instead carried by members of the nobility. They were frequently elaborately decorated. Wheellock weapons presented here are otherwise identical to their matchlock cousins.

Flintlock Firearms:  Flintlock weapons are significantly simpler than the earlier wheellock weapons they replace. Pulling the trigger strikes a piece of flint against, steel, thus igniting the powder and firing the weapon. Flintlock weapons otherwise work like wheellock weapons, except without the increase in cost or mass. Flintlock weapons are in use until the invention of the Percussion-Cap weapon in the 1800s (identical to flintlock weapons save that weather is no longer an issue). In the 1850s, breech-loading cartridge-firearms are introduced, which are essentially identical to modern weapons.

Blunderbuss: The blunderbuss was the precursor to the modern shotgun, firing a group of lead shot. Blunderbusses can be identified by their signature fluted barrels.

Modifications: Crude, Muzzle-loader, Smoothbore, Oversized, Shotgun

Flintlock Rifle: Improvements in gunsmithing allow weapons to be rifled, thus greatly increasing the range. However, these are never very popular due to the difficulty in reloading a muzzle-loading rifle. They are generally used by sharpshooters.

Modifications: Crude, Oversized, Muzzle-loader


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