Firearms

A Firearm is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube/barrel to launch projectiles. The method of propulsion is fuelled by volatile explosive black powder in 1014AE, and more commonly gunpowder in 1086AE. Guns were first deployed en-masse in warfare for the Aradian Civil War starting in 1016AE, and formally took over as the main weapon of the Pirate War around 1046AE. 
The true progenitor of the modern firearm cannot be pinpointed; in the West, House Cogworth were the first to add cannons onto their warships, and also the first to utilise smaller handheld variants of the guns for their infantry. Drow like Garin Dul-Sansiska are also known to frequently wield guns.
Arms manufacture is a key component of the modern Aradian economy in 1086AE, supplied to officers of law enforcement as well as overseas colonization efforts. Some of the variants of guns are listed by manufacturer below.
== Ravenkraft ==
Owned by Caradoc Rookwood, with manufacturing plants in Longbarrow and Nagari. Formed and operated from the remnant manufacturers of House Cogworth. Considered more expensive, but more forward-thinking than competitors, often trying to push the envelope and more likely to experiment.
===== Ravenkraft .45 Revolver =====
Commonly nicknamed the Kraft 45. A six-round pistol with a revolving chamber. its easily concealable and portable nature, coupled with its easy firing mechanism, has made the weapon popular; it sees frequent use among law enforcement as well as outlaws and bandits. 
== Knox & Worcester ==
Owned by Odysseus Knox. Factories in Worcupia and Nagari. Considered the standard "baseline" benchmark against which many other manufacturers are judged-solid, inexpensive, dependable, unimaginative. 
==== Know & Worcester MKIII Repeater ====
The standard infantry bayonet of the Blackjackets. 
== Arms of Karnahk ==
The hallowed tools of the Clockwork Order of Karnahk, a cult dedicated to Industrial progress. Run an extensive mechanical research division overseen by Brother Metatron. Highly exclusive, highly advanced--the bleeding edge of firearms, every piece a custom work of art, almost impossible for a normal consumer to obtain no matter how wealthy they might be.
An expanded list of the Clockwork Priests' weapons can be found here
==== Vigilance ====
The personal sidearm/badge of office for Brother Lazarus. Extremely large, heavy six-shooter revolver built in part by its wielder. Almost impossible for average person to aim and fire owing to size, weight and recoil.
== Maiden Mavericks ==
Based out of Relic-Asgar, this manufacturer is the only solely drow owned operation in Aradia at the moment, it's owned and operated by the Xeno-Paras Partnership, they specialize in robust, if outdated, firearms and related maintenance equipment. Their reliability is known to make up for their generally aged mechanisms, as they do not try to compete against RK or K&W, but instead offer a different avenue for those in need of precision firing.
=== The Relic ===
A single fire, break action .40 handgun, aptly named because of the archaic functionality in the era of repeating revolvers, the gun has a proven track record of operating in the toughest conditions. Garin Dul-Sansiska favors this weapon over modern styles due to the ease of use and reliability, the only moving parts are the trigger and hammer, ensuring he will never induce a misfire.
=== The Asgar ===
A big brother to the Relic, not in age but in firing power, this is a dedicated magnum piece that is only in it's prototype phase but is a showing of the times that the company has begun to take notice of the innovations made by those companies around them, at least to some extent, and they are making attempts to dip their toes in a repeater pistol. Their variation however is only four cylinder and kicks harder than the standards of the modern era, it has a much sturdier barrel and is made with the same rugged survivability of the other firearms on offer, but once more is still in a testing phase with only a few prototypes currently enduring months long slogging tests through conditions most normal guns would seize up in to stress test the design.
=== The Asher ===
Named after its conceptual artist and 'inventor', the Asher is a still theoretical design made up by the imaginative noble Ashlyn Dul-Sansiska, She did not actively map out how exactly the weapon was to operate, not all on her own at least, and has been working with a yet unnamed machinist and gunsmith in Surial to work out the problematic nature of the girl's idealized weapon. Ashlyn had the idea that instead of underslinging a tube mechanism to load more bullets, or using the cylinder system of the revolver, why would you put the bullets in a removable box that you could pre-load to not waste time with individually reloading your shots after you'd run out.
From here interesting work is being carried out, but it is unknown if there is even a working prototype at this stage, or if the concept has even been deemed feasible, there are rumors that Ashlyn hopes to simply bring the blueprints to Caradoc Rookwood himself via her familial connectivity to fellow nobles and talk with him on the project. Ashlyn denies these rumors, as well as the presumption she has a crush on the maverick lord, despite having a photo of him in her room she tries to hide.
=== The Heavy Bolt ===
Named for the bolt-action nature of the rifle, the Heavy Bolt is less an outdated but functional piece, and more a well seasoned contemporary to modern rifles. Packing a walloping punch of the .308, rounds from this can pierce the toughest personal protections and shoot straight on through their targets, a favored tool among snipers, hunters, and some soldiers.
=== The Breaker ===
A shotgun with a third shorter barrel than the common sights, loaded in 10 gauge, this gun has no good usage outside of serving a very specific niche, clearing fortifications and breaking through rioting masses. Developed in the wake of the 1076 Uprising, this weapon is a favorite of the military police forces in Surial and Vadan due to the multitude of ancient stonework buildings that dot the drowlands. They're useful for gang busting dug in criminals, shocking potential volatile civilians into submission, and ensuring that if there comes a need to fire it, whoever is at the other end on't be there much longer. That being said, while technically meant only of the police forces, they can also find their ways into the hands of criminals and mercenary forces, and thus make engagements very deadly, and requiring the Blackjackets to think twice.
== History of Firearms ==
Pre-Monarchy Firearms (???-1016)- Matchlocks, Ship Cannons, Wheellocks. Rudimentary firearms that date back as novelties and large-scale pieces of equipment meant only for warships, dunno how long this would have been back to but it was pretty clear that the Drow had been using gunpowder for explosives for centuries, Xankresh clearly knew how to develop firearms and cannons, and the West had its tinkerers who made their own strides. But nobody really pushed the envelope so to speak because it was cheaper and easier to arm a peasant with a pike. Ships were armed with incredibly heavy and expensive rudimentary cannons, but it was not seen as needed or even feasible to deploy these naval weapons as parts of a land army.
Aradian Civil War Firearms (1016-1024)- Improved Matchlocks and Wheelock mechanisms, Mortar Cannons, Cannons, development into improvements on firing mechanisms, production, and the mainstream production of black powder and the predomination of the gunsmith. They used the same weapons that were already there, with the upper crust and officers using the far more elegant wheellock systems, and their troops being armed with expensive, yet durable, matchlock rifles as part of a pike and shot formation system that saw the battlefield become an arms race to see who could get more guns on the field in formations of attack. Mortar cannons and the development of land-based cannons ended the era of the castle siege with a bang, and the Civil War was marked by an explosion in the use of firearms that began to force the knight class irrelevant and give the peasantry more than just being mere fodder to hold the line or settle in for a siege. Magic being cut off placed importance on heavy support being taken up by manning cannons and mortars rather than flinging spells as a living artillery piece on the battlefield. This time was dominated by the innovation and production of both factions.
Interwar Firearms (1024-1040)- Invention of the flintlock, blunderbuss, and musket, deployment of the bayonet, development of different cannon shot, improvements to mortars, the proliferation of standardized weaponry in the royal army, and the beginning of professional soldiers. While the use of martial arms was still impactful, it was beginning to see a wane in use and the royal army needed a massive overhaul to keep up with the churn of innovation, and thus new developments came about that would give a far more reliable armed approach to conflict. The age of footmen and knights was over, by and large, it was now the time of the soldier and cannon. This era's firearms saw much use putting down several notable rebellions and dire incidents of brutality with the new more reliable firearms.
Pirate War Firearms (1040-1052)- Percussion caps, paper cartridges, rifling, ammunition developments, flintlocks versus percussion. 
Post Piracy Firearms (1052-1070)- Break action pistols, shotguns, bolt action firearms, the Gatling gun, and the development of smokeless powder for cartridge-based weapons. The first taste of 'modern' weapons in development.
Brecilidian Rebellion Firearms (1070-1076)- Percussion cap muskets, lever action repeating rifles, the revolver, heavy use of snipers, and a finale to the use of single shot frontloaders by the armed forces.
Republican Firearms (1076-1090)- Mass Production, Proliferation of cheap firearms, standardized calibers, telescopic lenses, domination of revolver and the repeater. Development of semi-automatic firing, clip fed ammo, and the development of the magazine to happen late during this time.
??? Firearms (1090-???)- Automatic weaponry, heavier calibers, mass production of explosives, rapid developments in warfare.
Category:Weapons