Firearms

## A History of Blackpowder

Out of the holds of Kazak-Zarr have come many wondrous inventions. One of the latest is the refinement of blackpowder and forming of metal to create firearms. While rare, their destructive capabilities are fascinating, using condensed blackpowder in a metal casing to propel a projectile at high speeds. More accurate than an arrow and much easier to master than magics, they are expected to change the very face of Ashokar. Their creation is attributed to the master dwarven engineer Thrummond Downshaft, who was famous for his designs of cannons for use in naval battles and sieges. After working tirelessly for decades on the new project under payment from the Kazak-Zarr Engineer's Guild, his prototypes were said to have passed inspection in the year 521 N.E and production of them would soon begin in the mountains.

Firearms are typically found in the hands of elite regiments, military officers, wealthy nobles, and well-to-do dwarves. Ammunition is typically inserted by pressing a mechanism to break the firearm and lower the barrel, and then inserting the cartridge into the breech. More exotic firearms are known to exist, not to mention specially crafted versions of common patterns, but are of course even rarer to find or more expensive to produce.

### "Common" Firearms

The Pistole is the most basic form of firearm, a short barrel and simple mechanism gives it a small and concealable profile. It can load one shot through it's breech.

Thunderers are long barreled, accurate rifles with a devestating projectile that can easily pierce armor. It can load one shot through it's breech and requires two hands to shoot.

Longrifles are incredibly accurate thanks to the modified spyglass attached to their top. They boast a vastly increased range and an even longer barrel than a standard Thunderer.

The Shaft Sweeper is a two barreled rifle that fires a shell packed full of small metal balls. Designed originally for close quarters tunnel fighting, its use outside of the mountains hasn't hindered it's ability to annihilate anything within short distance.

The Hand Cannon was designed to be mounted on castle walls and fired down on attackers in siege defense, but some foolish people have taken to detaching them and using them as a close quarters weapon. They fire miniature cannonballs with such ferocity that the very force of firing is known to knock the wielder back should they be of weak frame.

### Quality

One of the drawbacks of firearms is their unreliable nature. While archery relies on the strength of the arrow and durability of the string, the many complex mechanisms, chemistry, and metallurgy of blackpowder weaponry means that if something can go wrong it often will. The rigors of battle, misuse, or outright neglect can also lower the reliability of these weapons, which leads to higher cases of them failing in the midst of combat. A misfire roll causes the weapon to jam, and an action can be spent to repair it with Tinker's Tools on a DC 15 - 1 misfire roll. If the check fails, the weapon is broken and must be repaired out of combat.

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 Average
 Well-made
 Artisan
 Masterwork

### Ammunitions

Firearms require ammunition much the same as more traditional ranged weapons do. The most common type of ammunition is a cartridge, loaded into the breech of a rifle. Also used in some firearms are shells, which are packed with metal balls or whatever can be scrounged nearby. For the larger ones, miniature cannonballs are used. The rarity of these munitions, and firearms as a whole, is generally tied to how large a population of dwarves a town or city has for the making of these items is a jealously guarded secret, although non-dwarven apprentices are not unheard of.

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### Properties

Certain weapons and ammunitions have unique properties. They are detailed below.

Scoped - A weapon with this property has the functions of a Spyglass. Allows perception checks over long distances, and quadruples the range of the firearm it is attached to.

Scatter - A weapon with this property also damages enemies that are within 5 feet of your target.

Reload - A weapon can be fired a number of times equal to it's reload value before you must spend an action to load it once more. You must have a free hand to reload a firearm.

Poisoned - Ammunition with this property applies the Poison condition on hit. The enemy must roll a DC 10 constitution check or be poisoned for the next round.

Prone - Ammunition with this property applies the Prone condition on hit. The enemy must make a DC 10 constitution check or be knocked prone.

Explosive - Upon a hit, everything within 5 feet of the target must make a dexterity saving throw or suffer half damage.

Silvered - Some monsters that have immunity or resistance to nonmagical attacks are susceptible to silver ammunition. The process of silvering bullets is more complicated than for arrows or bolts.