Gear: Age Of Sail Guns

Guns

In this age, guns are fired by igniting gunpowder in a pan, which burns through a touch hole in the barrel to ignite the powder insie. It takes a moment for the powder in the pan to burn into the bore and launch the bullet. This delay between pulling the triger and firing the bullet gives a +1 bonus to defense rolls against the attack. Even if a target is unaware someone is drawing a bead on him, he gets a defense roll at a -4 penalty if he can see the flash or hear the fizzing of the powder in the pan.

Lock

Matchlock

The first guns that can be aimed and fired by a single person are matchlocks. A slow burning "match" or fuse is kept lit when the gun is ready to be fired, and held clamped in a swing-lever. Pulling the trigger causes the match to snap down onto the pan to ignite the powder. Keeping a lit match ready is a hassle, while damp weather, high winds or sea-spray can extinguish the match and make it difficult to re-light. A matchlock pistol cannot be safely or reliably kept concealed in clothing while ready to fire. Further, the glow of a burning match can give away a gunner's position at night, while the distinctive smell may alert a target that his enemy is nearby. A burning match is also downright dangerous when working around large quantities of black powder.

Even under perfect conditions, matchlocks are unreliable. On each shot, roll 2d. A 5 or higher indicates the gun discharges. On a 4 or less, the gun misfires. In wet or windy weather, the misfire chance should be adjusted. A light drizzle may require a 6+, a moderate rain may need a 7+, a downpour an 8+, while firing a matchlock at sea during a gale force storm may require an 11 or better to ignite.

Wheellock

A wheellock uses a clockwork mechanism something like a spring-loaded lighter, where pulling the trigger causes the spring to spin a wheel and strike sparks into the pan. Wheellocks still have a chance to misfire, but the target number is two less than for matchlocks. The wheellock mechanism is delicate and expensive – they cost ten times the listed price, and can easily be damaged by any mishandling or abuse. While they are popular with the wealthy, their cost and lack of ability to stand up to conditions in the field keep them from the military save for special purpose used (such as guarding powder magazines, where a constantly lit match is just asking for trouble).

Flintlock

Pulling the trigger on a flintlock causes a spring-loaded arm to snap a piece of flint onto a steel base, striking sparks into the pan and setting off the main charge. They are as reliable as wheellocks, but as rugged and cheap as matchlocks.

Barrels

The guns of this era can be smoothbores, in which the barrel is a simple hollow tube; or rifles, in which spiral grooves are cut into the inside of the barrel (called the bore). Smoothbores are faster to reload, as the bullet can be slightly smaller than the bore and thus be easier to ram into the barrel. In a rifle, the bullet must have a tight fit to engage the rifling, and thus requires considerably more effort to ram it down the barrel. Smoothbores have the additional advantage of being able to fire shot loads (called canister when used in a cannon). While a smoothbore can, in theory, launch anything that can be crammed down its barrel, in practice only lead balls give reasonable performance out of smallarms while not damaging the barrel and being cheap enough to use as ammunition. Cannons, on the other hand, often use cast iron.
  • Shot or Canister: Penetration decreases by ¼ or more RS, Wound decreases by the same as the RS shift to Pen, and Shot score is 32rd of the RS shift (round down to the nearest quarter). Spread of shot is +11 or the native Spread of the gun, whichever is smaller.
Gun people use obscure units of measure. The caliber of a gun is the diameter of the inside of the barrel, usually measured in inches. Thus a .45 caliber rifle has a hole in its barrel 45/100 inches across. However, not content with that, gun makers and users went and adopted a system of gauge (for smoothbores) or bore (for rifles); which is the number of lead balls with a diameter equal to that of the barrel that weigh one pound. Thus, an 8 bore rifle would shoot a round ball weighing 1/8 of a pound, while a 20 gauge musket would shoot a 1/20 pound round pellet. Cannons, meanwhile, are often measured by the weight of the solid round ball they can shoot out of their barrel – a 24-pounder cannon fires a 24 pound cast iron ball.

Qualtiy

This is an era before the development of mass production. Although some guns are made in quantity by workshops to standard specifications (called a "pattern") for equipping a military, most will be made as bespoke items, fabricated individually by hand. As a result, there are a wide range of designs encompasing an entire spectrum with little standardization. we give here a range of calibers and barrel lengths and arrangements that would have been reasonably close to most pieces you could expect to find.

The skill of the gunsmith can make a considerable difference:

  • Adding 100% to the base price will give a gun that has an additional +1 Spread. Increasing the Spread by +2 adds +300% to the price.
  • A double set trigger makes it easier to take aimed shots. With careful Aim, you can increase the Aim score of your gun by +1. This adds 100% to the price of the gun.
  • A +1 bonus to the reliability roll increases the price by 100%. A +2 bonus to reliability increases the price by 300%.

Beyond this, high quality guns often have extravagant decoration, seemingly for no other purpose than to show off the skill of the gunsmith or the wealth of the purchaser. This artwork can increase the price to ludicrous amounts. It is not uncommon to see pieces like this sell for $10000 to $50000.

Pistols

DescriptionPenWoundAPROFAmmoBulkAimRCLStrSpreadDASpeedPSzSigMassPrice
Pistol, .413.2+01 [10]1+0+2-5-3+124540-11½+100.6|0.00812|0.08
      .453.8+01 [10]1+2-4-2+124545-11+100.7|0.0112|0.12
      28 Gauge5+01 [10]1+2-2-1+126050-10½+121|0.0215|0.2
      24 Gauge5.5+01 [10]1+1+3-1-1+126050-10½+121|0.02518|0.25
      20 Gauge6+01 [10]1+1+3-1-1+126050-10+121.2|0.02518|0.3
      16 Gauge6+1+01 [10]1+1+3+0+0+127050-10+121.2|0.03520|0.35
      14 Gauge6.5+1¼+01 [10]1+1½+3+1+0+127050-10+131.5|0.0420|0.4
Double Pistol, .413.2+0s [10]2+0+2-5-2+124540-11½+100.6|0.01512|0.18
      .453.8+0s [10]2+2-4-2+124545-11+100.8|0.0212|0.25
      28 Gauge5+0s [10]2+2-2-1+126050-10½+121|0.0415|0.4
Pepperbox .413.2+01 [10]6+0+2-5-2+124540-11½+100.8|0.0512|0.5
      .453.8+01 [10]6+2-4-1+124545-11+101.2|0.0612|0.7

  • Pepperbox: These unique pistols enable multiple shots by using a cluster of barrels, often six or eight. In a typical design, each barrel is loaded with powder and shot. One barrel will be in position to fire; after being discharged, the barrel assembly is rotated by hand to put another barrel into position. In this manner, each barrel can be cycled through relatively rapidly.

Smoothbore Longarms

The first smoothbore longarms were known as arquebuses, and calivers were arquebuses made to the same specifications for a standardized military weapon. The first guns originally called muskets were made as large, extra-powerful arquebuses – after arquebuses came on scene, plate armor was made heavier to resist arquebus fire so muskets were made to pierce even this heavier armor. However, over time the terminology musket came to be applied generically to smoothbore longarms and, in fact, to any firearm longarm at all – rifled firearms were often known as rifle-muskets. Here, we adopt the later terminology; firearms of the arquebus type can be taken as middle length and power muskets from the table below.

Short muskets were called musketoons or blunderbuses. Musketoons were the favored firearm of sailors and marines. They would be loaded with shot and discharged into the masses of sailors on the deck of enemy craft. Musketoons were also used by coachmen, cavalry, and anyone expecting to be fighting in cramped quarters. Musketoons were often made with very large bores for blasting out large quantities of shot, while those with more usual calibers would more commonly fire a single ball.

Hunters would commonly load medium gauge muskets called fowling pieces with small sized shot for hunting birds. The same musket could take a full bore ball when pursuing larger game such as deer. Very large bore muskets could be used for dangerous large game such as bear, boar, or even elephant.

Muskets could be loaded much faster than rifles. Despite their relative inaccuracy, this made them more favorable for mass military use, where inaccuracy could be made up for with massed volley fire. Militaries settled on the tactic of packing their infantry into tight formations, in lines two or three deep, with each line firing a volley at once while the other lines reloaded. However, it did impose the danger that the rear lines might accidentally shoot their foreground fellows in the back as they reloaded. One way that this danger was averted was to make the muskets long enough that the muzzles of the back line simply protruded in front of the front line. In addition, a long musket with a fixed bayonet made for a more effective spear. Thus, most militaries of the time would use large bore long muskets. The British Brown Bess and the French Charleville are two examples from the later part of the age of sail.

DescriptionPenWoundAPROFAmmoBulkAimRCLStrSpreadDASpeedPSzSigMassPrice
Musketoon, 14 Gauge7+1¼+01 [15]1+3½+5-1-2+147060-10+133|0.0440|0.4
      10 Gauge8+1½+01 [15]1+3½+5+0-1+148060-9½+133.5|0.0545|0.6
      6 Gauge9+1¾+01 [15]1+3½+5+1+0+1410050-9+144.5|0.160|1
      4 Gauge10+2¼+01 [15]1+3½+5+2+0+1412050-8½+146|0.1580|1.5
      3 Gauge11+2½+01 [15]1+3½+5+3+1+1412050-8½+156|0.18100|2
      2 Gauge12+3+01 [15]1+3½+5+4+1+1415050-8+158|0.25120|3
Musket, 28 Gauge6.5+01 [15]1+4½+6-3-2+146070-10½+123|0.0230|0.2
      20 Gauge7.5+01 [15]1+4½+6-2-2+146070-10+133.5|0.02535|0.3
      16 Gauge8+1+01 [15]1+4½+6-1-1+147070-10+133.5|0.03540|0.35
      8 Gauge10+1½+01 [15]1+4½+6+1+0+148070-9½+145|0.0760|1
      4 Gauge12+2¼+01 [15]1+4½+6+3+1+1412070-8½+158|0.15100|1.8
Long Musket, .415.5+01 [15]1+5+7-5-3+144580-11½+122.5|0.00818|0.08
      .456+01 [15]1+5+7-4-2+144580-11+122.5|0.0120|0.12
      .506.5+0+01 [15]1+5+7-3-2+145080-11+123|0.01525|0.15
      28 Gauge7+01 [15]1+5+7-3-2+146070-10½+123|0.01825|0.18
      20 Gauge8+01 [15]1+5+7-1-1+146070-10+134|0.02535|0.3
      16 Gauge9+1+01 [15]1+5+7-1-1+147070-10+134|0.03540|0.35
      14 Gauge (Charleville)9+1¼+01 [15]1+5+7+0-1+147070-10+134.5|0.0440|0.4
      11 Gauge (Brown Bess)10+1¼+01 [15]1+5+7+0+0+148070-9½+145|0.0545|0.5
      8 Gauge11+1½+01 [15]1+5+7+1+1+148080-9½+146|0.0760|1
Double Musketoon, 14 Gauge7+1¼+0s [15]2+3½+5-1-1+147060-10+133.5|0.0840|0.8
      10 Gauge8+1½+0s [15]2+3½+5+0-1+148060-9½+134|0.145|1.2
Double Musket, 28 Gauge6.5+0s [15]2+4½+6-3-1+146070-10½+123.5|0.0430|0.4
      20 Gauge7.5+0s [15]2+4½+6-2-1+146070-10+134|0.0535|0.6
      16 Gauge8+1+0s [15]2+4½+6-1+0+147070-10+135|0.0740|0.7
      8 Gauge10+1½+0s [15]2+4½+6+1+1+148070-9½+147|0.1560|1.8
      4 Gauge12+2¼+0s [15]2+4½+6+3+2+1412070-8½+1510|0.3100|3.5

    Rifles

    Cutting curved grooves into the inside of the barrel of a musket (called rifling) makes the bullts spin in flight, keeping them going in a predictable direction and greatly increasing accuracy. It also makes reloading take significnatly longer, because you have to jam the bullet down the barrel tightly enough for it to engage the grooves. Consequently, rifles are usually only used for specialized roles in the military, such as snipers. Normal troops are equipped with the faster-reloading muskets.

    However, this is not nearly so much of an issue for civilians. Hunters, particularly, are likely to only need to fire a few shots. But they need those shots to count. When hunting large, dangerous game, a follow-up shot can be a life saver if the first shot misses, fails to fire, or simply does not immediately drop the target. Hence many rifles are double barreled.

    Short-barreled rifles are called carbines, and occasionally find use with cavalry.

    DescriptionPenWoundAPROFAmmoBulkAimRCLStrSpreadDASpeedPSzSigMassPrice
    Carbine, 14 Bore7+1¼+01 [30]1+3½+5-1-2+187060-10+133|0.0440|0.4
          10 Bore8+1½+01 [30]1+3½+5+0-1+188060-9½+133.5|0.0550|0.6
    Rifle, 28 Bore6.5+01 [30]1+4½+6-3-2+186070-10½+123|0.0230|0.2
          20 Bore7.5+01 [30]1+4½+6-2-2+186070-10+133.5|0.02535|0.3
          16 Bore8+1+01 [30]1+4½+6-1-1+187070-10+133.5|0.03540|0.35
          8 Bore10+1½+01 [30]1+4½+6+1+0+188070-9½+145|0.0760|1
          4 Bore12+2¼+01 [30]1+4½+6+3+1+1812070-8½+158|0.15100|1.8
    Long Rifle, .365+01 [30]1+5+7-6-3+184080-12+112|0.00518|0.06
          .415.5+01 [30]1+5+7-5-3+184580-11½+122.5|0.00820|0.08
          .456+01 [30]1+5+7-4-2+184580-11+122.5|0.0125|0.12
          .507+0+01 [30]1+5½+7-3-2+185080-11+123|0.01525|0.15
          28 Bore7+01 [30]1+5½+7-3-2+186080-10½+133.5|0.01830|0.18
          24 Bore7.5+01 [30]1+5½+7-2-1+186080-10½+133.5|0.02535|0.25
          20 Bore8+01 [30]1+5½+7-1-1+186070-10+134|0.02535|0.3
    Double Carbine, 14 Bore7+1¼+0s [30]2+3½+5-1-1+187060-10+133.5|0.0840|0.8
          10 Bore8+1½+0s [30]2+3½+5+0-1+188060-9½+134|0.150|1.2
    Double Rifle, 28 Bore6.5+0s [30]2+4½+6-3-1+186070-10½+123.5|0.0430|0.4
          20 Bore7.5+0s [30]2+4½+6-2-1+186070-10+134|0.0535|0.6
          16 Bore8+1+0s [30]2+4½+6-1+0+187070-10+135|0.0740|0.7
          8 Bore10+1½+0s [30]2+4½+6+1+1+188070-9½+147|0.1560|1.8
          4 Bore12+2¼+0s [30]2+4½+6+3+2+1812070-8½+1510|0.3100|3.5

      Cannons

      The listed mass gives the mass of the barrel followed by the mass of its carriage. Siege and garrison cannons do not need to be moved, and do not need carriages. Naval cannons do, to prevent the recoil from sending them carreening across the deck.

      For optimum performance, these cannons are served by a crew of 5 + 1 per 100 kg of barrel weight. Fewer crew reduces the rate of fire proportionally. They are drawn by a team of one horse per 350 kg total weight.

      Howitzers are cannons designed to fire on a low arc, often about 30 degrees, and are usually used for delivering shells filled with explosive or incendiaries rather than solid shot.

      Mortars are short-barreled cannons used to fire on a high arc, greater than 45 degrees. This high trajectory allows them to lob shells over defensive walls and into troops under cover.

      Carronades are short barreled cannons used to shoot very large projectiles in naval combat at low speeds. Because naval combat occurs primarily at short range, the low speeds are less of an issue. The heavy balls can cause severe damage, and the short barrels keep the weight down.

      Swivel guns are small cannons mounted on a pivoting stand or fork, which can be aimed and fired by one man. The gun's stand would be fixed in a mount, but the whole gun could be picked up and moved to a different mount, if needed. The swiveling action allowed the gun to cover a wide arc. They were used on fortifications and sailing ships. Although too small to have much of an effect on structures or ships, they were effective against personnel, particularly when loaded with shot.

      Cannons have a variety of ammunition options.

      Confusingly, shot for cannons refers to firing a single solid cast iron ball that is nearly the diameter of the bore (cannon shot was always slightly undersized, so as to allow it to be loaded into the bore). Cannon shot causes damage from direct impact like a bullet, smashing through what it hits without exploding.

      Hot shot occurs when the shot is first heating in a furnace before firing. This is possible in fortifications, but not on ships (which are too vulnerable to catching fire) and difficult in the field (where you would have to drag a furnace along with you). Hot shot causes the same damage as shot, but also delivers Pen 2d6 -8 RS burn damage at the listed Wound score of the shot to anything it touches each Combat Round, at Temperature Score +5. If the cannon ball comes to a stop against or inside of something, it continually delivers Pen 1 burning damage without rolling each turn until the shot cools off (which can take minutes).

      Canister is to cannons what shot is to smallarms – a large number of sub-caliber projectiles fired at once. This follows the same rules as shot for smallarms. Typical canister balls are made of cast iron and deliver Wound +2.

      Shells are a hollow shell of cast iron filled with black powder. Firing the shell lights a fuse, selecting the right length fuse lets the shell detonate at the right range and altitude for desired effect. If the artilleryman (or woman, although they were uncommon at the time) selected the wrong length of fuse, the shell would either explode harmlessly too soon, or hit the ground and roll around with the fuse burning for some time before going off &ndahs; allowing personnel to get out of the way or to extinguish the fuse.

      Carcasses are shells filled with incendiaries rather than black powder. These burn for Pen 2d6 -10 RS (or a flat 0.5 for a full round of direct continuous exposure) at the Wound score of the shell each round, at Temperature Score +4.

      For standard guns and carronades, the damage from impact with a solid single ball shot is listed. Howitzers, and mortars have the damage from the direct impact of a shell; this is also listed for guns in addition to solid shot (carronades could in principle fire shells, but in practice almost never did).

      DescriptionPenWoundAPROFAimSpreadDAMaxSpeedPSzSigMassPrice
      Swivel Gun45+6½+01/7+6+143003k100-4½+2230|3.5100|2.5
      4-pounder Gun35+5¾+01/7+7+142002.5k100-5½+21300+700|1.81k|2
      6-pounder Gun40+6¼+01/10+8+142503k100-5+21600+800|32k|2.5
            Shell7.5+6¼+040700120-5+19
      12-pounder Gun50+6¾+01/20+8+143003.5k100-4½+221k+1k|53.5k|3
            Shell10+6¾+050800120-4½+20
      18-pounder Gun60+7+01/20+9+143504k100-4+231.5k+1.5k|85k|3.5
            Shell11+7+0601k120-4+21
      24-pounder Gun65+7½+01/20+9+144004k100-3½+242k+2k|107k|4
            Shell12+7½+0701k120-3½+21
      32-pounder Gun70+7¾+01/20+9+144504.5k100-3½+242.5k+2.5k|1510k|4.5
            Shell14+7¾+0701k120-3½+22
      42-pounder Gun75+8+01/20+10+145005k100-3+253.5k+3.5k|2012k|6
            Shell14+8+0801.2k120-3+22
      6" Field Howitzer22+7¾+01/20+5+142002k70-3½+21300+800|61.2k|3
      8" Field Howitzer30+8½+01/20+6+142502.5k70-2½+22800+800|152.5k|5
      8" Mortar28+8½+01/40+4+142502.5k60-2½+22400+400|151.5k|5
      10" Mortar32+9+01/40+5+143002.5k60-1½+23800+800|303k|8
      12" Mortar40+9¾+01/40+5+144003k60-1+241.5k+1.5k|505k|12
      6-pounder Carronade25+6¼+01/10+4+142502k60-5+20150+200|3500|2.5
      12-pounder Carronade32+6¾+01/20+5+143002.5k60-4½+21250+250|5800|3
      18-pounder Carronade38+7+01/20+6+143503k60-4+21400+400|81.5k|3.5
      24-pounder Carronade42+7½+01/20+6+144003k60-3½+22500+500|101.8k|4
      32-pounder Carronade45+7¾+01/20+7+144503.5k60-3½+22700+700|152.5k|4.5
      42-pounder Carronade50+8+01/20+7+145003.5k60-3+22800+800|203k|6
      68-pounder Carronade60+8½+01/20+7+146004k60-2½+231.5k+1.5k|305k|8

        Cannon Shells

        DescriptionPenWoundDoseAPShotBBRSBRPBSpreadDASpeedSig
            — 6-pounder —
        HE: Fragmentation7+0+3+030+21
                  Blast-1½ RS(7)+1[-6]
                  Contact8+7¾(7)
            — 12-pounder —
        HE: Fragmentation7+0+4+030+22
                  Blast-1½ RS(7)+0+2[-7½]
                  Contact12+8½(7)
            — 18-pounder —
        HE: Fragmentation7+0+4¾+030+23
                  Blast-½ RS(7)+0+2[-6½]
                  Contact15+8¾(7)
            — 24-pounder —
        HE: Fragmentation7+0+5+030+23
                  Blast+½ RS(7)+0+3[-9]
                  Contact15+9¼(7)
            — 32-pounder —
        HE: Fragmentation7+0+5½+030+24
                  Blast-½ RS(7)+3[-8]
                  Contact15+9½(7)
            — 42-pounder —
        HE: Fragmentation7+0+6+030+24
                  Blast+½ RS(7)+3[-7½]
                  Contact18+9¾(7)
            — 6" —
        HE: Fragmentation7+0+5½+030+24
                  Blast-½ RS(7)+3[-8]
                  Contact15+9½(7)
            — 8" —
        HE: Fragmentation7+0+6¾+030+25
                  Blast+0 RS(7)+1+3[-6]
                  Contact20+10¼(7)
            — 10" —
        HE: Fragmentation7+0+7¾+030+26
                  Blast+2 RS(7)+1+4[-7]
                  Contact30+11(7)
            — 12" —
        HE: Fragmentation7+0+8¾+030+27
                  Blast+2½ RS(7)+1½+5[-8]
                  Contact30+11½(7)

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