From: [j--o--s] at [symphony.cc.purdue.edu] (Bryan J. Maloney)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp,purdue.student-org.gaming
Subject: Guns, boom, bang
Date: 10 Jul 92 00:19:27 GMT
A Storie of Fyre and Smoak:
Notes towards acceptable firearms for AD&D
Copyright 1992 Bryan J. Maloney
(Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, AD&D, and TSR are registered trademarks of
TSR, inc. Use in no way implies permission on the part of the owner, nor is
to be construed as challenge of these trademarks.)
By now, I'm sure that we're all aware that 2nd edition AD&D has taken a nod
towards the possibility of firearms by including the "Arquebus" in the
Players' Handbook and by setting firearms in their Forgotten Realms package.
Unfortunately, TSR's attempt at introducing firearms has only further
demonstrated their general level of incompetence regarding military history
and military technology to a wider audience.
They made a substantial error in adding firarms to AD&D, which could have
been easily prevented had they done historical research adequate for a high-
school term paper, to wit:
The arquebus proper was NOT, by any stretch of the imagination a
"primitive" firearm. It actually requires a great deal of technological
sophistication and centuries of experience with gunpowder-ish weaponry to come
up with such a device. Our own history, without magic to impede the progress
of gunpowder weaponry, took nearly 200 years from the introduction of
gunpowder to Europe to the production of something that could be called an
"arquebus".
Furthermore, TSR decided that they had no need to actually look into
realistic ranges, rates of fire, etc. Instead, the "arquebus" they present
was obviously invented out of whole cloth, with no rational relationship to
any other weapons, etc. However, were I just to complain about the current
state of affairs, I'd be quite amiss. Therefore, I have compiled some data on
firearms more appropriate for most AD&D campaigns.
What is an appropriate "first generation" firearm? The earliest European
uses of gunpowder historically were not for personal weaponry. Instead,
gunpowder was used to power siege devices known as "bombards". They took a
full day to emplace and could only be fired two or three times a day safely.
However, they could hurl stones which were orders of magnitude larger than
could most mechanical siege engines. And they made a terrifying noise. These
bombards were also called (in English) "gonnes" (pronounced "gon-ess"; the
singular was spelled "gonne" and was pronounced "gon-eh"). Eventually,
someone came up with the idea of miniaturizing things, thus producing the
"hand-gonne". This was the primary form of personal gunpowder weaponry for at
least the first generation of widespread gunpowder use in Europe.
The hand-gonne was nothing more than a miniature cannon, with a rod on the
rear to hold it. Larger versions had a sort of "mounting" stick, which one
stuck into the ground and used as a swivel to steady. They were unreliable,
inaccurate, and dangerous, but they produced a terrifying noise, and were MUCH
easier to learn to use than either bows or crossbows. Furthermore, they
scared horses, which meant that a non-noble army could really wipe up the
field with knights.
Kings liked them because gonne-men were cheaper to train and supply than
were either longbowmen or crossbowmen. They could then outfit an army with
pike and gonne-men and let their damned knights go whistle.
Anyway, the hand-gonne was the personal firearm of earth's Middle Ages. If
one is to introduce firearms into a pseudo-medieval setting, it is far more
appropriate than later, more advanced forms.
Before we get into the descriptions of the gonnes, I should point out that
the gonne was a MILITARY weapon paramount. It was most effective in a massed
volley. It was not until the invention of the wheellock or the flintlock
centuries later that firearms even began to challenge sharp steel for one-on-
one fights. This doesn't mean that it would be useless, just that a gonne is
not the all-powerful weapon that a modern firearm is today.
I would like to gratefully acknowledge Greg Porter and his work 3G3, which
helped immeasurably in converting mundane measurements to gameable terms.
The first thing to consider when dealing with firearms is just how to
classify them as weapon proficiencies. They are easier to use than any other
missile weapon (except thrown), but they are rather nasty to deal with,
smelly, dirty, etc. I would suggest making them available to Warriors and
Rogues (but not to any sort of nobly, knightly or extremely "honorable"
package/character class--gonnes are a COMMONER'S weapon) as standard weapon
proficiencies. The proficiency includes knowledge of loading, cleaning,
unjamming, etc.
After this we need to consider the ammunition. At the time of hand-gonne
use, it was more common for a shooter to cast his own bullets from ingot lead
as to purchase them. One would buy loose powder, but it would be stored
separately, since each shot would have to be loaded separately. Furthermore,
it is easier to partition metals by weight than by any other means, so
primitive firearms were usually built around calibers which corresponded to X
balls per pound of lead. This is how these gonnes were designed.
This will also make ammunition costs, etc. easier to handle, since one
merely needs to set a price per pound of lead and price per ounce of powder,
then allow the players to keep track of usage.
Anyway, the calibers of ammunition, their weights, and loads follow:
Caliber Balls per Loads per
lb Lead oz Powder
.39 80 42
.42 64 33
.46 50 26
.49 40 21
.53 32 16
.59 24 12
.62 20 10
.67 16 8
.74 12 6
.78 10 5
.84 8 4
.93 6 3
1.06 4 2
Finally, we have the gonnes proper. The hand-gonne was quite a weapon. It
would misfire at least 15% of the time. (Any "to hit" roll of 18 or higher
means that it just went fizzle. On a natural 20, roll again. On another
natural 20, the thing blew up--do the weapon's damage to the wielder.) It had
to be held with one hand, preferably steadied on something, while the other
hand applied a slow match to the open touchhole. If it rained, forget it. If
it was foggy, forget it. If a handgonne is not steadied upon something, the
character should have a -2 "to hit" for a light handgonne and a -5 for a heavy
handgonne.
Handgonne range characteristics are pretty even, and are summarized below:
Point Short Med Long VL
Blank
Lt handgonnes 0-10 11-30 31-40 41-70 71-100
Hvy handgonnes 0-20 21-60 61-110 111-160 161-220
Ranges are in yards. Point Blank range gives a +5 bonus to hit. Short
Range has a 0 modifier. Medium range is -2, long is -5, VL range is -10 to
hit. Beyond VL, the modifier to hit is -20 The half-damage and maximum
damage ranges of a gonne depend more on its ammunition than on its general
size, so they are listed with the individual weapons.
First I list light handgonnes, which correspond to modern pistols. They are
designed for one-handed use, and might have a higher rate of fire. In any
case, they are lighter and smaller than heavy handgonnes.
Rate of fire presents a particular problem for AD&D, since a completely
unskilled person can clean, load, and VERY CAREFULLY aim one of these things
every two minutes. Heavy hand-gonnes can be fired every three minutes WITH
EXCRUCIATINGLY CAREFUL AIMING TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.
Light Handgonnes
Caliber Damage 1/2D Max Wt. Cost
.39 1d6/1d8 220 1600 1 300
.39 1d6/2d4 220 1600 3 320
.39 1d8/1d10 220 1600 3 340
.42 1d8/1d12 220 1600 4 350
.46 1d8/1d12 220 1600 3 350
.46 1d8/2d6 220 1600 4 370
.49 2d4/3d4 220 1600 5 380
.53 2d4/2d8 220 1600 5 400
.59 1d10/4d4 220 1600 6 430
.62 1d10/3d6 220 1600 7 450
.67 1d10/2d10 220 1600 8 480
.74 1d10/3d8-1 440 3800 9 520
Heavy Handgonnes
Caliber Damage 1/2D Max Wt. Cost
.53 1d10/4d4 220 1600 7 300
.53 1d10/3d6 220 1600 10 310
.59 1d10/2d10 220 1600 9 330
.62 1d12/2d12 220 1600 13 380
.67 1d12/4d6 220 1600 15 410
.74 1d12/3d8 440 3800 12 390
.74 1d12/3d10-1 440 3800 17 450
.78 1d12/4d6+1 440 3800 13 430
.78 1d12/3d10 440 3800 19 490
.84 2d6/4d8 440 3800 21 530
.93 1d12/4d8 440 3800 18 510
.93 2d6/3d12 440 3800 25 600
.93 2d6/3d12+1 440 3800 32 620
1.06 2d6/4d10+1 880 7000 31 700
1.06 2d6/5d6 880 7000 40 750
Caliber is in inches. Damage is for small & medium creatures and then for
large creatures. 1/2D and Max are ranges in yards. Note that the half damage
ranges are longer than the effective accuracy of the weapons. This is common
with large-bore firearms. The ball can keep velocity, but the weapon is hard
to aim properly. Weight is in pounds, cost is in gold pieces.
I hope this has been of service.