Firearms

If you're looking for a book that provides you with a base for real world development of gunpowder I don't think you can go wrong with Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe: Gunpowder, Technology, and Tactics (Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology by Bert S. Hall.

I read it and found it useful for creating out my own firearm rules as it discusses the changing of cavalry from the heavy lance to the utilisation of a brace of pistols. The development of gunpowder and how the changes in production actually gave rise to a weapon usable by a single individual instead of the hulking cannons that dominated the early history of gunpowder.

Another book which I just received and looks interesting, but I haven't read through yet, is The Artillery of the Dukes of Burgundy, 1363-1477 by Robert Douglas Smith and Kelly DeVries.

The LotFP firearms rules wouldn't work so well for US Civil War-era adventuring, as I'm just covering to the state-of-the-art of two hundred years earlier.

I don't know, if the new gun rules have anything to do with flintlocks at all it's a minor cosmetic to change that out for a caps gun. Then just increase the short/medium range with things like the minie ball.

Of course then things break down as you get into repeating rifles and the like. So I think early civil war firearms would be doable depending upon that first requirement.

My own interest falters about the Napoleonic War so I understand that; but what little I know is that guns didn't go through much in the way of advancement tell the civil war, save the afore mentioned percussion cap which allowed the weapon to fire in wet conditions. Most weapons throughout the 19th century were still flintlocks or flintlocks converted to percussion caps.

Though I could be wrong.

I'll have to talk to a friend of mine that has far more of an interest in that era then I.

EDIT:

And my friend makes a fool out of me. On the development side of things, in addition to what's been stated, there is also the metallic cartridge which allowed for repeating weapons, the telescopic site and rifling became standard for firearms.

So yeah, that would make things more difficult then I had originally thought.

Last edited by Nihilistic_Impact (2012-12-04 22:12:43)

So I finally got around to getting something printed up! If anyone has anything to add that may make these guns better in the game please leave a comment. Thanks. Powder is going to be expensive, like a short sword per shot. And characters are going to start out with max HP.

Hmmm, that came out pretty small! I'll try and post a link to a bigger pic or get it put up here.

Hah! there we go! I kick ass at BBCode =-D

Dohhh! wrong image. wait a sec.

Time passes....

4....3.....2....1....

Last edited by Bluespruce786 (2012-12-12 22:44:56)

There are firearms rules in the Rules & Magic hardback book. I'm not sure exactly how to get it though; as far as I understand it will be released for purchase when the new Referee book is also completed.

I'm not sure how compatiable they are, as I haven't had time to read them yet, but Straycouches Press are offering a Firearms supplement for Swords & Wizardry on a Pay What You Want basis, so you could check it out for nowt and then throw them a few quid if you like what you see.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/1 … k-Firearms

edit: if for some reason you might be more interested in checking out the same thing for Dungeon Crawl Classics it'll cost ya three bucks.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/1 … nzine-no-8

Last edited by Cutter (2013-11-11 12:28:10)