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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TheAuldGrump" data-source="post: 2850207" data-attributes="member: 6957">One other, very common, misconception: Guns are slower to load than crossbows.Heavy crossbows in the real world (tm) were actually slower to load than a firearm. D&D vastly increases the speed with which a heavy crossbow can be reloaded.... So while I do not mind making firearms slow loading if you want realism you have to slow down the heavy crossbow as well.On the other hand, the square headed crossbow bolt was actually better at penetrating armor of the period than a firearm. Bows and crossbows had a lot more variation in ammunition than guns did. Some were good at penetrating armor, some were better at wounding an unarmored or lightly armored target.Finally, black powder firearms produce a great deal of really foul smelling smoke. The devil's own flatulence. Under poor conditions the smoke from a group of hand gunners can become a serious problem.For misfires, the Brown Bess misfired under field conditions (in other words not cleaned thoroughly after every shot) about one in sixteen shots. Most misfires were either of the gun going *phut* and not shooting very far, or a hangfire, where there is a delay before the bulk of the powder ignites. (I have had a number of both occur to me while using early firearms.) A more annoying, though not damaging, error is the 'weld shot', where hot gases escaping around the soft lead bullet melt the metal enough that it becomes welded to the gun barrel. I have not had that one occur, but I have met folks that did. I tend to give firearms a decent damage but an excellent critical multiplier. Those slow moving but massive soft lead balls did a great job of transferring energy to the target. Bones would often be pulverized.The Auld Grump</blockquote>

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