Gunpowder weapons

[JacktheRabbit]

Does anyone know what the muzzle velocity of a gunpowder weapon might be?

I am wondering if the party will hear anything at all if someone shoots at them with a gunpowder pistol while in a silence spell.

The party will be outside the area of the spell but I do not think a musket shot will have enough velocity to be easily heard flying through the air.

It might be an interesting twist to give a rogue a musket pistol and a silence spell. The party suddenly starts taking hits and bleeding. They dont see the hidden rogue. The silence spell kills the sound. All the party knows if members suddenly fountain blood and get possibly knocked down by the impact of the bullet.

Until the party figures out where the shooter is I would even allow the rogue to continue to get sneak attack and rule that everyone is flat footed since they do not know where the attack is coming from.


Does this sound workable?

 

[Destil]

I think the smoke from any early gun-powder weapon would be a dead give-away...

 

[Liminal Syzygy]

Does anyone know what the muzzle velocity of a gunpowder weapon might be?

African or European?

I would guess that the ball would make a snap or some kind of sound...

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Re: Re: Gunpowder weapons

I think the smoke from any early gun-powder weapon would be a dead give-away...

Yes the attacker will attempt to attack at night or dusk and downwind from the party.

 

[Carnifex]

Anyone who has read my story hour will know that early on there is an example similar to this; a man wielding an enchanted pistol that creates a small sphere of silence around the weapon for a second whenever fired. Very useful in the back alleys of a city, since there's no noise to attract the attention of citizens or guards.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

How large a puff of smoke does a musket pistol make? I doubt it is that much.

 

[green slime]

Wouldn't the sound of the musket ball ricchochetting (I'm not gonna apologise for spelling that incorrectly) off the full plate give some hint.

Even if the initial *bang* is silenced, the ball has to make some kind of smacking noise when it hits something.

 

[Carnifex]

How large a puff of smoke does a musket pistol make? I doubt it is that much.

You'd be surprised at just how much flash and smoke a flintlock pistol can make, though of course better crafted weaponry and ammunition means less. Of course with a silence spell the biggest giveaway, the noise, is removed, but whoever you shoot at with it is likely to be able to work out where you are (if they're still alive). It's still nowhere near as stealthy as a silenced weapon or sniper rifle even with silencing.

 

[Hand of Evil]

In the reading of history (before Civil War), you see a lot of bullets noise, I don't know if that was dramaic effect but 'shots' were a good size, you also have to think about the shape. Some of the earliest guns had square ammo but a lot were pour your own!

I would also think rifling or lack of would effect how the bullet would pass through the air.

 

[buzzard]

Does anyone know what the muzzle velocity of a gunpowder weapon might be?

Does this sound workable?

Pardon my snippage.

This requires one question on my part- are you taling smoothbore or rifled? If smoothbore, it is certainly subsonic. It is possible that an early black powder weapon could be supersonic, but only if rifled, and the rate of fire would be abyssmal from having to have to hammer the load down the barrel for each shot.

However, as others have mentioned, the muzzle flash would be very substancial since you are not guaranteed 100% consumption of the powder during the shot. It won't just be smoke coming out of the muzzle, but flame as well.

Owing to muzzle blast, I doubt the rogue will be able to remain unseen. This is especially so given that the short barrel of the pistol means that even less powder is consumed.

buzzard