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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="El Mahdi" data-source="post: 5374682" data-attributes="member: 59506">*I'm going on the assumption we are talking about firearms for a pseudo-medieval D&D setting, which would make them equivalent to the early firearms from the 14th and 15th centuries.  Basically, each one a unique creation crafted by a gunsmith...  Crafting Bullets: <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/erm.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":erm:" title="Erm    :erm:" data-shortname=":erm:" /> I'd have to agree with Mark here, and disagree with the above...no disrespect intended, but the above is significantly simpler than the following process Crafting Arrows: 1. Buy or make mold for arrowheads - or buy pre-made arrowheads (ignoring steps 2-6). 2. Melt Iron or Steel to proper temperatures (Iron 2800° F, more for Steel - both require nearly five times the temperature required for lead and cannot be accomplished with a campfire - probably requires a forge/bellows).  - Multiple arrowheads can be made at once (the same as bullets), but each shaft and fletching must be individually crafted. 3. As with bullets, skim off impurities from molten metal. 4. Properly cool.  Even more so than bullets, warping will completely ruin the arrowhead and make it useless for an arrow (it won't fly straight).  Cooling too fast will make it crack, and also make it useless for an arrow. 5. Remove arrowhead from mold 6. Trim spurs and defects. 7. Sharpen 8. Find and cultivate proper wood for arrow shaft.  (Any hardwood will work in a pinch, at least for a couple of uses - but for a proper, reuseable arrow, Yew should be used to avoid excessive bending and warping with use.) 9. Properly cure the wood.  If the wood is too green or wet, the arrow will be too flexible.  If the wood is too old or dry, it may crack or snap when shot. 10. Cut and Carve the arrow shaft.  If mass producing for a military unit, a standard length is acceptable.  If for a specific archer/bow, the length should be matched to the draw distance of the specific archer and bow.  The shaft must be carved to be straight and true.  Any warping or bending will make the arrow essentially useless as an accurate weapon. 11. If meant to be reused, treat the finished arrow shaft properly (oil or varnish), so as to protect it from environmental influences (mostly warping due to moisture).  For immediate use and limited reuse, ignore this step. 12. Aquire suitable feathers for fletching (three "matched" feathers). 13. Trim feathers, retaining central shaft and one complete side of the feather. 14. Attach feathers to end of arrow shaft with either glue (need to purchase or make yourself), thread (preferably silk), or both. - Feathers must be attached in a consistent manner (either straight, or angled to the same degree to produce spin) so that the arrow flies true (doesn't "wobble"). 15. Attach arrow head to arrow shaft.  This requires notching the end of the shaft without causing the entire shaft to crack or split.  Insert arrowhead into the notch and secure with wire/sinew, glue, or both.  (Also requires aquisition or production of wire/sinew, and/or glue.) 16. Balance the arrow (can be done by trimming the arrow head to decrease weight at the front of the arrow, or adding weight to the rear of the arrow - most likely lead - follow the procedures for making a bullet to produce lead weight...).   I would say that making bullets is a relatively simple process that just about anyone could accomplish, even with minimal training and experience.  Typically, bullets were made by the person that owned/used the gun, from a mold made for that weapon.  Using the wrong size bullet for your gun could range from unuseable/innefectual, to catastrophic for the weapon and firer. Properly making an arrow is an art.  An art that was significantly more labor intensive, time consuming, and complex than making bullets.  It was also an art that had it's own occupation/trade called Fletchers.  A trade that could be, and sometimes was, seperate from bowyers (though one could be competent in both).  Becoming a Fletcher required an apprenticeship.  Gunsmithing was also a trade/occupation, but one did not need to be a Gunsmith in order to make a bullet.  As far as I know, there was no independent or seperate occupation/trade for "bullet maker".</blockquote>

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