Guns

From AeonRO

Guns have historically been both the bane and gift to armies and individuals across the globe. The gun is the most technically advanced of the armaments found on Rune. However, it is not always the most effective and certainly has problems in dealing with certain conditions. For this build, a setting with the equivalent of the 1870s was chosen for firearms and this choice best reflects the RO settings ideas on guns without becoming too wacky. Below are the primary rules, considerations, and descriptions for each class of gun.

• 1. No instant-kills. Yes, if roleplay did reflect reality than a sniper with a bolt-action rifle and telescopic sight would take out a pretty hefty group of swordsmen without them even knowing what hit them. Now, this does not mean that a gunslinger with a set amount of rounds CANNOT kill someone with one bullet. One to the head will do fine. But, the gunslinger must give his or her opponent a fair chance to survive or overcome the encounter. Generally speaking, most of the playerbase doesn't create characters just so you can kill them, so try to respect that.

• 2. No machine guns, rocket launchers, grenade launchers, laser guns, etc... ever. Please don't ask.

• 3. Any character that is not identifiable as solely a gunslinger (magician, assassin, swordsman, etc) must speak with a Role Play Moderator on their specific reasons why their character would be in possession of a gun. The most logical means of obtaining one would naturally to be part of the military AS a gunslinger, however it's not absurd to consider there would be more folks out there than just that with one in their possession. But if you gave a mage a gun, then what does the slinger have that the mage doesn't? Crossing classes can be a mess, so please, notify a moderator of your ideas and make sure it's all kosher.

• 4. Gunslingers may only fire one round (with exceptions below) a turn. This is based on the gunslinger preparing, aiming, and pulling the gun's trigger.

• 5. Times have changed and guns no longer have a hefty reloading price. Paper cartridges can be obtained in at least one location in each city in Schwarzwald, as well as Alberta and Al De Baran in Midgard. However, Paper cartridges have the disadvantage of being useless when wet.

• 6. Gun, through a variety of circumstances, have yet to become an assembly line process. This means that there are few interchangeable parts for each gun in the field. However the cities listed previously have a blacksmith to create new parts at a price.

The major types of guns are as follows:

• Revolvers: Revolvers are a kind of pistol (guns with a short barrel intended for up-close self defense rather than hunting or warfare). A revolver uses a cylinder that houses the gun's ammo (6 shots usually). All revolvers at this time are single action. Single action revolvers must have their hammer cocked each time before the trigger is pulled to fire the revolver. An exception is a technique called fanning where the trigger is pulled and the hammer is cocked and released repeatedly. Fanning is highly inaccurate and typically used for showboating, but might make some thugs run for cover.

• Rifles: There are three major kinds of rifles: breech-loading, lever-action, and bolt-action. A rifle is basically the big brother of the hand gun. It uses the same basic method for firing (without the revolver's unique cylinder for housing ammo). Lever action is where rounds are loaded into a long tube parallel with the barrel. These rounds are loaded into the firing chamber by pulling forward a lever and back (this also cocks the gun at the same time). After the round is fired, the gunslinger pulls the lever forward again and this ejects the shell and replacing the lever in its aforementioned position loads the next shot. Generally, lever action is a favorite of cavalry units and those that wish for speed and ease of use over power. Lever actions are preferred for large groups of enemies. Bolt actions use a large bolt to seal the firing chamber off much more than lever action or breech loading does. By locking the bolt down, firing, and pulling the bolt back this loads and reloads the rifle. Bolt action rifles are the most powerful and longest range guns available to gunslingers. However, bolt action rifles also have a limited amount of ammo stores and long setup times. For purposes of roleplay, generally gunslingers must commit to a turn of preparation before firing their first shot and after reloading. Breech loading rifles will be handled by the next section...

• Shotguns: All shotguns are breech loading two chamber guns. These are also called coach guns and are used widely by lawmen, cavalry units, etc. Breechloaders break in the middle (separating the firing assembly from the barrel). The gunslinger then simply raises the barrel and with a click the shotgun (or rifle) is ready to fire. Both shots can be fired at once creating a devastating area of attack. Though, most gunslingers save the second just in case they miss with the first. Shotguns have the highest area of effect and damage. However, they have the lowest range of all the guns listed.

Misc. Guns:

• Older style flintlocks and matchlocks still exist. They are primarily owned by farmers, merchants, and thugs. Many are antiques and suffer from shorter range, power, and are highly breakable.

• There are guns that use steam instead of gunpowder to fire their rounds. These are quieter (if visibly more showy) alternatives to the guns above. They are never lethal and normally cause at best an opponent's knock out. However, being shot in the face will kill almost anyone.

If players wish to create their own custom guns a guide could be forthcoming with the proper support.

This is a preliminary guide and not yet totally canon. Just a warning.