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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ace" data-source="post: 1858746" data-attributes="member: 944">Ijust watched a TV special on Maximillian Plate armor last night and the royal armory spent some time talking about guns and the decline of armor They mentioned that heavy armor could stop a musket round and in fact showed a pre-shot or "proofed" breastplateWhat guns did is alter armor from a custom fitted mix of plate and a bit of chain (Plate armor in D&D terms) to nothing more than a breastplate and a helmet made of cheap heavy metal -- Breastplate in D&D basically This was because all that was required to stop a matchlock round was armor mass -- not expensive custom fitting.Armies of the period spent the money on Cannon and mass numbers of pikes and arqubus -- not on knigts armor Also special didn't mention is armor roughly until the flintlock was introduced. This weapon was more reliable, accurate and fired faster and for reasons not entirely clear to me (prehaps costs) armor was completely elminated In another setting retaining the helmet might be reasonable or even a buff coat (leather armor in D&D terms) We played in a flintlock setting -- modified swashbuckling adventures but the players really didn't like flintlocks. Comabt came down to "Fire Pistols or Rifle" and charge to melee with sword or bayonett -- I thought this was neat but the other players were "Meh" on the whole thing In one of my campaigns I intend to allow Alchemical Arms but not gunpowder. I clss them as a seperate proficiency that fighters and swashbucklers get free. Everyone else pays a feat slot This is kind of an Arcanum flavored thing and the Guns use brass shells lined with a glass containing thunderpowder and an internal vial of binary detonator. They do not detonate with fire -- so in game terms fireball doesn't set off the ammunition What keeps these weapons from becoming ubiquous is the cost -- each round cost its maximum damage in SP -- a rifle round doing 2d6 costs 12SP -- half at wholesale getting enough ammo to keep a single man trained will cost  30+GP a month -- roughly 360GP a year + his upkeep A man in full armor (equal to chain) with shield,  javelins and a sword costs half this and upkeep is maybe 10GP Crossbowman are cheaper too  Grenades will exists but they will cost 10 or 20GP each Cannon will be rare and cost a fortune per round even more with explosive cannon balls or shrapnel rounds. Only the richest kings will have more than a cannon or two many think its better -- to use fireballs or a trebuchet The killer setting weaapon will be an airgun -- very expensive do to manufacturing issues but quite deadly with a high rate of fireThis will let me have funky armies of Armored Gunmen with revolving rifles , Archaic looking infantry with sword and javelin, Longbowmen in half plate and  Medieval looking guys and all sorts of funky polearms and or/crossbows -- its should be interesting although I expect the players (a different group this time) will want the guns</blockquote>

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