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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pierce_Inverarity" data-source="post: 3372455" data-attributes="member: 14362">Guns:some history and my rulesTwo things to consider...Guns became the dominant battlefield weapon for many of the reasons cited above, but another major factor for it's dominance was the massed infantry volley; specifically the way it cut down cavalry.  This had the effect of rendering charging horseman (i.e. knights, chevaliers) obsolete.  While guns were comparatively simple to use, they were not simple to manufacture.  Before you can begin to make anything like a late 1700's musket, which had a three shot a minute rate of fire (this is highly trained soldier), you have to first be able to make fine machining tools and quality steel in large quantities.  Neither of which can be done without blast furnaces, which you also have to invent.  Boring a straight hole into a bar of high quality steel is non-trivial and took centuries to perfect.  Prior to the innovations in gun manufacture of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, guns were all hand made.   Bullets were hand cast and had to specifically match the caliber of the gun, which varied from gun to gun.  You can't even consider making breach loading guns until you can mass produce standardized parts, which is going to require most of the innovations of the industrial revolution including steam power (or a magical substitute).  Lastly, IMC, guns are somewhat common (martial weapons), but they are all unique hand crafted items (so no massed infantry), very expensive.  They have a 3 Full round action reload time, and do (1-12) 19-20/x3 or (1-20) 19-20/x3 of damage.  The most important reason they haven't overwhelmed the campaign is that a 6th level sorcerer with fireball or lighting bolt has greater firepower, and by the time the characters reach mid-levels, there are much better ways of doing lots of damage.</blockquote>

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