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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CleverNickName" data-source="post: 3933488" data-attributes="member: 50987">I did some digging around on the history of muskets and firearms, and thought I would share what I found.  There is a TON of info out there, so I only hit the high points...Courtesy of Wikipedia:<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_cannons" target="_blank">hand cannon</a> (13th - 16th century) - the first firearm.  The first evidence of a portable hand cannon dates back to 1260, when the Egyptians used them against the Mongols.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blunderbus" target="_blank">blunderbus</a> (15th - 17th Century) - the predecessor of the shotgun, and the weapon of choice for pirates.  The trumpet-shaped barrel made loading easier.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arquebus" target="_blank">arquebus</a> (15th - 17th Century) - a low-velocity musket used against plate mail.  This was a smooth-bore, long-barrel musket that started in China and quickly spread all over the world.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Weapons" target="_blank">teppo</a> (16th Century) - Japanese guns.  Sort of derails our pop-culture ideal of a samurai, doesn't it?<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Bess" target="_blank">Brown Bess</a> (16th - 18th century) - the musket of the late Renaissance/Colonial period.  A skilled musketeer could fire up to four rounds a minute if firing at will (once every 15 seconds, or approximately every other round in D&D terms,) with "two and a half shots per minute" (once every 24 seconds, or every 4th D&D round) being the average.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifle" target="_blank">rifle</a> (early 18th century to present) - a firearm with helical grooves in the barrel.  Extremely accurate, but extremely difficult to manufacture.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breech-loading_weapon" target="_blank">breech-loader</a> (15th century to present) - a cannon, musket, or rifle that can be loaded from the rear (near the priming charge) instead of from the muzzel.  Advantages are faster loading, and the operator is less exposed to enemy fire while reloading.  The most significant disadvantage is gas leaking, which can injure the operator.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchlock" target="_blank">matchlock </a>  (14th - 18th century) - a musket that uses a smoldering piece of rope saturated with salt petre (the "match") to fire the primary charge.  The first firing mechanism, it was useless in the rain, and difficult to keep lit.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintlock" target="_blank">flintlock</a> (15th century to present) - any firearm that uses a flint, striker, pan, and primer to discharge.  Useless in the rain, but still better than a matchlock.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheellock" target="_blank">wheel lock</a> (16th - 17th century) - a firearm with a striking mechanism similar to a modern cigarette lighter: a piece of iron pyrite is held in a clamp against a sparking wheel.  Somewhat more resistant to moisture and easier to conceal.Almost every article about early firearms described them as being inferior to longbows.  The reason that firearms became more prevalent in modern battle was not because they were technologically superior, but because they were much easier to use.  Where it took months, maybe years to become proficient with a bow, a commoner could become proficient with a firearm in just a few days or weeks.  This might not make a difference in the D&D game world, but in our own real-world history of warfare this was an enormous advantage.  There is just no way to replicate that in game terms.</blockquote>

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