Firearms
The technophile priests of the Architect are known for many things, but perhaps nothing more so than their signature weapon, the
gonne. Given the scope and spread of the Architect's faith, firearm technology has become fairly common among human realms, and so consequently among other races that frequently are in contact with humans. While firearm technology had progressed in the years following Ascension, the sacking of the kingdoms of Aduria have set back the level of technology considerably. Many eschew the weapons, favoring bows and other weapons that are less likely to explode and can be fired more rapidly than the slow-to-load firearm, but for many of the followers of the Architect and other closely-aligned faiths -- like that of Moradin -- the dazzle and roar of a gonne are considered worth the trouble.
Firearms have several unusual characteristics. First of all, they are subject to misfires. Modern tests have shown that primitive firearms probably misfired as often as once every four shots. When a character’s attack roll falls in the misfire range, the DM should roll 2d6 and consult the following table:
Misfire Results
Roll (2d6) |
Result |
Effect |
2–3 |
Explosion |
An explosion inflicts 2d6 points of damage on the character holding the gun, or 1d6 if a saving throw vs. death is successful. The gun is destroyed by the misfire. |
4–7 |
Fouled barrel |
A fouled barrel ruins the shot and renders the gun useless until it is carefully cleaned—a process that will take a good 10–30 (1d3x10) minutes. |
8–12 |
Hangfire |
A hangfire goes off 1d3 combat rounds later than it should. If the user keeps the gun trained on its target, he can make a normal attack. |
The second unusual characteristic of firearms is their ability to ignore armor. Any firearm except a hand match weapon may ignore the portion of a target’s AC that is derived from physical armor or shield. At short range, Dexterity, cover, and magical bonuses are the only factors that contribute to a target’s AC. At medium range, the target’s base AC is penalized by 5 (which may be as bad as ignoring it altogether), and at long range, the base AC is penalized by 2.
For example, a renegade knight in plate mail +3 is fired upon by the king’s musketeers. Normally, his AC is a base 0. A short-range musket shot ignores the 7-point AC reduction provided by plate mail, and only the armor’s +3 enchantment is considered. The renegade knight’s AC is a 7. At medium range, the armor is not completely ignored, but the base AC of 3 is reduced to an AC of 8. Magic adjusts this to AC 5. At long range, the knight is AC 2 against musket fire.
Last but not least is the ability of a firearm to cause open-ended damage. Any time a firearm hits its target, there is a 25% chance that a second damage die is rolled and added to the first. There’s a 25% chance that that damage roll creates additional damage, and so on. This 25% chance is part of the knockdown die roll; if the knockdown die comes up 7 or better, the damage continues.
For example, Sir Vandegar is shot by an uncouth man-at-arms wielding a horse pistol. The damage roll comes up a 3, but the knockdown die is an 8. A second damage die is rolled, which results in 5 more points of damage. Vandegar’s attacker rolls another knockdown die, which comes up 7, so he rolls a third damage die, getting a 6. Fortunately, he misses on his chance to do any more damage, but Sir Vandegar suffers a total of 14 points from a single bullet.
The current firearms are commonly enough available to be acquirable by any character that might want one.
Weapons marked with a * are capable of doing open-ended damage.
Hand Match Firearms
Weapon |
Wt. |
Size |
Type |
Speed |
Reach |
ROF |
S/M/L |
Sm-Md |
Large |
Kndwn |
Arquebus |
10 |
M |
P |
Vsl(15) |
- |
1/3 rnd |
10/30/42 |
1d10* |
1d10* |
d8 |
Handgunne |
20 |
L |
P |
Vsl(18) |
- |
1/4 rnd |
8/24/34 |
1d8+2 |
2d6+2 |
d10 |
The very earliest firearms were hand match devices that resembled a hand-held bombard. Hand match weapons include the handgunne and the arquebus. Unlike other guns, hand match weapons have no triggers or firing mechanisms. Instead, the user touches a burning slow match to a hole in the barrel, igniting the weapon’s charge. The handgunne doesn’t even fire a bullet, but propels a heavy iron arrow that cannot cause continuing damage like other firearms. All range penalties for hand match firearms are doubled, so medium-range shots have a –4 attack modifier and long range shots a –10 modifier. Hand match firearms misfire on a natural attack roll of 5 or less (10 or less in wet conditions).
Matchlocks
Weapon |
Wt. |
Size |
Type |
Speed |
Reach |
ROF |
S/M/L |
Sm-Md |
Large |
Kndwn |
Arquebus |
10 |
M |
P |
Sl(10) |
- |
1/2 rnd |
10/20/60 |
1d10* |
1d10* |
d8 |
The matchlock was a significant improvement. It freed one of the user’s hands by providing a clamp to hold the slow match, and provided a trigger mechanism that would bring the match into contact with the priming powder. The matchlock arquebus is a far more powerful and reliable weapon than the hand match version. Matchlock firearms misfire on a natural attack roll of 3 or less (6 or less in wet conditions).