Firearms in D&D

Firearms in the Realms (1358 DR)

Firearms in the Realms, pp.11–13 (1990, AD&D 2nd Ed.)

Smoke powder (sic), a magical powder similar to our gunpowder, functions in the Realms and has done so for hundreds of years, as evidenced by Kara-Turan rockets and small magical thundercrackers made for children. Firearm technology has never been extensively (or even adequately) researched and developed, however, save for a few crackpots and eccentric wizards. The reason is simple—who needs firearms in a world with fireballs? (The answer, of course, is people who can’t cast fireballs.) No major nation or organization has invested time and money into producing of smoke powder weaponry on a large scale. The Red Wizards of Thay have developed some large siege guns (some are stationed on the Pirate Isles) but these are hideously inaccurate and consume hundreds of charges of smoke powder in a single shot.

During the Time of Troubles, however, the Lantanese, whose state religion is the worship of Gond the Wondermaker, were taught how to make reasonably safe and accurate smoke powder weapons. As a result, examples of their new technology are now drifting into the heartlands. These weapons are rare, hard to use, and often as dangerous to the user as they are to the target. Most rational fighters have rejected them, but they remain as an oddity, at least for the moment.

The extent of firearms use in any specific Realms campaign is up to each DM. If the DM chooses to introduce the arquebus (and other firearms) in his campaign, it should take several game years for the weapons to become commonly available.

A typical timetable, taken from the introduction of the weapon in Lantan, is as follows:

Year 0 (1358 DR)

The Fall of the Avatars and the Time of Troubles.

Years 1–3

Arquebuses begin to pop up in the Realms, primarily as curios and magical objects. Price (if available) is 10 times listed price.

Years 3–5

Arquebuses and other similar weapons become more common (people stop looking at the player characters strangely when they ask about them). Well-stocked weapon shops will have some, but at twice the listed price.

Years 5+

Firearms are available in large stores at the listed price.

Smoke powder is always treated as a magical item, however, for purposes of sale and/or trade. Characters must negotiate a price every time they make a purchase and should never expect to find very much in stock. In this fashion the DM can limit the impact of smoke powder and firearms in his campaign.

People being what they are, players may try to move forward the timetable, ship large numbers of guns, and/or invest in magical research to develop smoke powder. If the DM includes smoke powder weapons in his campaign, all of these are options and should be used as adventure hooks to send the characters on adventures (a long mission to Lantan, dealing with and/or stealing from the priests of Gond, facing resistance from the government at home over bringing in dangerous and explosive weapons, as well as quests to find the rare and dangerous components of smoke powder—the truly nasty DM will include some part of a beholder in the ingredients).

The Gondsmen have produced a number of weapons, easily identified by the symbol of Gond (the toothed wheel) stamped prominently on their stock. Others may start producing firearms soon after they first appear, but they will be inferior to those from Gond, at least for the first few years (in game terms, they will explode more often—increase the chance for an explosion by one pip on the die).

The Gondsmen have introduced the arquebus, the caviler (a light arquebus), the musket (which requires a stand to support its barrel), the blunderbuss (a very primitive shotgun), and the ribald (a series of small barrels mounted on a board, similar to the more effective—but anachronistic—Nordenfeldt gun). If the Gondsmen have produced cannons and larger siege weapons, they have not yet exported them to other, potentially hostile nations.

Two other firearms have appeared in the Realms, one small and one large. The smaller weapon is called the starwheel in the Realms, or the wheel lock pistol, and is very, very rare. It is so rare, in fact, that it is said to come from another dimension or from beyond the sky. The other weapon is the bombard, a hulking, immobile cannon primarily used in defense, such as the one at the entrance to the Pirate Isles’ main base. The bombard is said to have come from Thay and reportedly is held together by magic. All these weapons are described in detail below.

All rules applying to arquebuses on page 73/96 of the Player’s Handbook}} apply to the other smoke powder firearms described here. They all have a chance to backfire and injure the gunner, and all require cleaning before being used again. Strength modifiers do not apply to arquebus fire and other firearms.

Given their long reload time and the rareness of smoke powder and the chance of misfires, many fighters who have adopted firearms use them as “softening” weapons to damage a charging enemy before entering melee. The gun is fired, then dropped (or set down) and the sword is drawn for “real fighting.” If used in melee, an arquebus, caviler, musket, or blunderbuss is treated as a club (and can be ruined in the process—make a saving throw vs. crushing blow). Starwheels inflict only 1–3 points of damage if used as clubs. Ribalds and bombards cannot be used as melee weapons (except, perhaps, by giants).

For weapon specialization, each of the weapons requires a different weapon proficiency. If tight or broad groups are being used (per The Complete Fighter’s Handbook), then the starwheel, ribald, and bombard are all separate proficiencies, with the remainder (arquebus, caviler, musket, and blunderbuss) under a firearms group.

No magical versions of these firearms have appeared in the Realms, but given the tendency of wizards to play around with the latest toys, it is only a matter of time before the musket of accuracy or the blunderbuss +1 appears on the scene. They will be very rare, more likely found in the king’s armory than in a dragon’s lair or the tomb of an ancient lich.

Stats (AD&D 2nd Ed.)

Table 5: NEW WEAPONS IN THE REALMS

Name	Cost	Wgt.	Size	Type	Spd	Dam.	Add.	ROF	S	M	L	Ch.	Bf.	dam.
Arquebus	500	10	M	P	15	1d10	10	¹⁄₃	5	15	21	1	1–2	1d6
Blunderbus	500	12	M	P	15	1d4	X	¹⁄₃	1	2	3	1	1–2	1d6
Caviler	450	11	M	P	12	1d8	8	¹⁄₄	4	8	14	1	1–2	1d4
Musket	800	20	M	P	17	1d12	12	¹⁄₄	6	18	24	2	1–3	1d8
Starwheel	1,000	5	S	P	10	1d4	4	¹⁄₃	3	6	9	1	1–2	1d6
Ribald	1,200	80	L	P	16	1d4	X	¹⁄₂₄ †	3	6	9	6	1	1d6
Bombard	20,000	2000	H	P	20	2d20	20	¹⁄₃ ‡	50	100	200	10	1	2d10

† ¹⁄₂ per each of 12 barrels.   ‡ Assuming a fully trained, three-man crew.

Cost

In gold pieces.

Weight

In pounds.

Size

Relative Size of weapon.

Type

All firearms are piercing weapons.

Speed

Speed factor.

Base Damage

Normal damage roll. Firearm damage is never modified for a high Strength score.

Additional

If this number is rolled, score this much damage and roll again.

Example: When an arquebus scores a hit, it normally does 1 to 9 points of damage on 1d10. When a 10 is rolled, the die is rolled again and this amount is added to 10. Each time a 10 is rolled, the die is rolled again and added to the previous total. Thus, in a rare instance, a single shot could inflict 37 points, for example, if three consecutive 10s were rolled, followed by a 7.

ROF

Rate of fire—

¹⁄₃ = 1 shot per 3 rounds

¹⁄₄ = 1 shot per 4 rounds

¹⁄₂₄ = 1 shot per 24 rounds

Range

Short, medium, or long, in tens of yards.

Charge

Number of charges of smoke powder required for one shot.

Backfire

Weapon backfires if these numbers are rolled on the attack roll.

Backfire damage

Damage inflicted to user(s) in event of backfire.

Example: If the attack roll for the arquebus is a 1 or 2, the weapon backfires, causing 1d6 points of damage to the firer. It is also fouled and cannot be used again until it has been cleaned, which takes about 30 minutes.

Arquebus

As described in the Player’s Handbook, the arquebus is a primitive musket. It can only be fired with both hands. It inflicts 1–9 points of damage normally. If a 10 is rolled, it inflicts 10 points plus the roll of another d10. If that second die roll is also a 10, another d10 is added, and so on. The arquebus of the Realms is metal with a wooden stock.

Blunderbuss

A variation of the arquebus with a wide bore and a trumpetlike barrel, the blunderbuss is also called the Gondgun derisively. It has very poor range, but has two advantages: it can fire stones, pellets, iron shot, or anything else that fits down its gullet, and it can hit several targets simultaneously. The blunderbuss fires a cone of shrapnel that is 5 yards across at short range, 10 yards across a medium range, and 15 yards across at long range. Every potential target within that area, whether friend or foe, takes 1d4 points of damage. Unfortunately, no additional damage is possible with the blunderbuss.

Bombard

The largest of the smoke powder weapons, and not available through the Lantanese, the bombard was developed in Thay as a defensive weapon. Weighing 2,000 lbs, the bombard can only be moved by winches or giants. Its accuracy is dreadful, but so is the effect of a direct hit. The usual tactic with a bombard is to aim it at a particular location (a pass or harbor mouth) and wait for the target to move into the area. Trying to aim the weapon at a moving target is hopeless. The bombard causes 2d10 points of damage. If either die rolls a 10, roll that die again for additional damage (if both dice are 10s, roll both again). The bombard consumes enormous amounts of smoke powder. Reloading takes three rounds if the bombard has a full three-man crew trained to handle the item. If two men are available, reloading takes five rounds. If one man is performing all the tasks, 10 rounds. Double these times if the men are untrained.

Caviler

A lighter form of arquebus which inflicts less damage but is more accurate (it has a better chance to inflict additional damage). The caviler takes two hands to fire, but can be fired from horseback at no penalty. Most cavilers (except cheap copies) are made by the priests of Gond in Lantan and are marked with the symbol of the god on their metal stock.

Musket

A heavier, more powerful version of the arquebus which requires a support to fire correctly. This support is a Y-shaped pole jammed into the ground, upon which the barrel rests. Resting the barrel on some other support (rocks, for example) results in a −2 penalty to hit. Firing it without any support results in a −4 penalty to hit. These penalties do not affect the chance of misfire—it will still only explode on a roll of 1 or 2 on the 20-sided attack roll, inflicting 1d8 points of damage.

Ribald

Also called Gond’s Pipes, this is the closest the Gondsmen have come to a battlefield weapon. It consists of 12 barrels laid side-by-side on a two-wheeled carriage. The barrels have a common fuse and can be fired in the same round. The barrels have an area effect (5 yards across at short range, 10 yards across at medium, and 15 yards across at long). All targets within the area can be hit by the bullets. The number of attack rolls per target is determined by the size of the target creature.

Size S	Maximum of 1 hit
Size M	Maximum of 3 hits
Size L	Maximum of 6 hits
Size H+	Maximum of 12 hits

The gunner firing the ribald may choose which targets are hit, but must assign bullets to all targets at short range before assigning any to targets at medium range, and so on. If not enough targets are present for all 12 barrels, attack rolls are still made to see if any of the barrels misfires and explodes. A backfire does not ruin any of the other shots. Ribalds cannot inflict additional damage to a target.

Example: A character is firing a ribald against a dwarf and a human at close range and two more humans at medium range. The first four shots are against the two targets at close range—one against the dwarf and three against the human. The dwarf is missed and the human is hit once. The next six shots are directed against the two humans at medium range, resulting in two hits against one target and no hits against the other. This accounts for 10 of the ribald’s 12 shots. If there were any other targets at long range, the remaining two shots could be used against them.

Starwheel Pistol

Not of Gond manufacture, and perhaps not made anywhere in the Realms, the starwheel is a one-handed weapon which inflicts little damage but can be aimed accurately (reflected in the fact that it does 1d4 points of damage, and each 4 rolled allows the die to be rolled again).