TEXT: EN World EN5IDER | Firearms for Fantasy Campaigns
  EN World EN5IDER | Firearms for Fantasy Campaigns
   
  writing Walt Ciechanowski
   color art Sade
   
  editing James J. Haeck
   
  layout Eric Life-Putnam
  Keep Your Powder Dry!
  Part 1: Firearms for
  Fantasy Campaigns
  W
  hether your 
  campaign setting 
  already incorporates 
  firearms or is on the 
  verge of developing 
  them, adding gunpowder 
  weapons to the battlefield 
  can make for exciting new 
  challenges and tactics. This 
  article takes a look at the 
  earliest firearms developed 
  in the late medieval period 
  as well as a new alchemist 
  advanced study in the art 
  of black powder.
  
  Firearms for Fantasy Campaigns | EN World EN5IDER
  Firearms for Fantasy Campaigns | EN World EN5IDER
  The Dawn of Firearms
  When gunpowder is invented is a matter of 
  chance. While most medieval fantasy worlds 
  presume that gunpowder has yet to be invented, 
  real-world Chinese alchemists developed it 
  during the 9th century and by the late medieval 
  period cannons and handheld firearms were 
  appearing on the battlefields of Europe.
   The first firearms were hardly game-changers. 
  They were bulky, slow to reload, inaccurate, 
  and highly dependent on the weather for their 
  usefulness (also, contrary to popular belief, armor 
  was still effective against early firearm rounds). 
  Given all this, an accomplished archer would be 
  hard-pressed to replace their long bow with a 
  harquebus, and fantasy spellcasters still possess 
  stronger and more reliable magical ranged attacks.
   In spite of their limitations, however, early 
  firearms did have some advantages. It was very 
  easy to train a soldier to use a firearm compared 
  to training that same soldier to use a bow or 
  crossbow. It was also much easier to produce and 
  carry firearm ammunition than it is to produce 
  and carry arrows. The result was that armies 
  could quickly train and outfit large numbers of 
  harquebusiers, making them more ubiquitous 
  over time.
   This article presumes that your medieval 
  fantasy world is only starting to experiment with 
  gunpowder and firearms, so the rules below 
  encompass the two main types of hand-held 
  firearm available in Europe between 1300 and 
  1500 CE, hand cannons and harquebuses.
   Hand cannons were the first firearms; they 
  consist of a barrel and a touch hole. Gunpowder is 
  placed in the back of the barrel and the projectile 
  (or projectiles) jammed down the muzzle. A match 
  is lit and placed into the touch hole, where it 
  ignites the gunpowder and fires the projectile. 
   The harquebus is an improvement on the hand 
  cannon. It uses a matchlock system to hold a 
  match in place so that the shooter may aim and 
  fire when ready. While negating the need for 
  a second set of hands, a harquebus is still a bit 
  bulky to use without a rest.
   Both of these firearms are smoothbore weapons, 
  which means that the projectiles don’t spin and 
  are wildly inaccurate. Gunsmiths experimented 
  with rifling by the end of the 15th century, but 
  rifled barrels are more quickly fouled and take 
  longer to reload as the rifling makes jamming a 
  projectile down the barrel more difficult.
  Weapon Properties
  Firearms are considered simple weapons; they 
  require far less training than longbows or heavy 
  crossbows. Certain firearms have some of the 
  following weapon properties:
  Match Loading
  Your weapon requires several steps to load and 
  fire. Because of the time required to load this 
  weapon, you may not move in a turn when you 
  fire this weapon, and you can fire only one piece 
  of ammunition from it when you use an action, 
  bonus action, or reaction to fire it. If there is 
  already an accessible flame to light the match 
  with, you may also move on a turn when you fire 
  this weapon.
  Loud
  Firearms are noisy and expel a lot of powder 
  when fired. If you are hiding, then you have 
  disadvantage on ability checks to remain hidden 
  or move silently while other creatures have 
  advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks to see, 
  hear, and smell you.
  Open Game Content
  The game rule information in this article is designated Open Game Content. All of the other material in this article, 
  including maps and illustrations (including illustrations in the public domain), narrative and descriptive 
  text, character and place names, trade dress, “EN Publishing,” “EN World,” “EN5ider,” EN Publishing 
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  EN World EN5IDER | Firearms for Fantasy Campaigns
  EN World EN5IDER | Firearms for Fantasy Campaigns
  Firearm Descriptions
  Hand Cannon
  The earliest handgun required resting the weapon 
  while dropping a lit match to the touch hole. You 
  must use a rest or have another creature drop the 
  match for you to avoid the rest penalty. In melee 
  the hand cannon may be used as a two-handed 
  club, dealing 1d6 damage.
  Harquebus
  The harquebus is the earliest type of matchlock 
  firearm. While easily held in two hands it is 
  unwieldy without using a rest, hence the reduced 
  range without one. In melee the harquebus 
  may be used as a two-handed club dealing 1d6 
  damage.
  Harquebus Hybrid
  Given the relatively slow rate of fire some 
  harquebuses are designed as hybrid weapons, 
  integrating a club or axe into the design. These 
  count as two-handed weapons dealing 1d8 
  damage of the appropriate type (bludgeoning 
  for club, slashing for axe). The addition of a 
  melee weapon makes the harquebus a little more 
  difficult to aim and fire, reducing its range.
  Gunpowder and Ammunition
  Unless otherwise noted, these items can be used 
  with any of the firearms in this article.
   Ammunition, rounds (20). While hand 
  cannons use sling bullets (or, in the case of shot, 
  whatever’s at hand), matchlocks require rounds 
  cast just for their barrels. 1 gp; 2 lb.
   Gun Kit. This set of artisan’s tools contains 
  everything necessary to clean a gun, repair a 
  misfire, remove a stuck bullet, and cast new 
  ammunition. 25 gp; 3 lb.
   Lead Ingot. This lead bar can be melted down 
  and cast 10 rounds with a gun kit. 2 sp; 1 lb.
   Powder Flask. This is a portable container that 
  holds the gunpowder that a creature needs to 
  load along with the ammunition and are often 
  made from materials that won’t spark nor easily 
  Misfire
  Occasionally a firearm fails to fire due to fouling 
  or the round getting stuck. If the d20 roll is a 1 
  when making a ranged attack, then in addition 
  to missing the target the firearm is considered to 
  have misfired. You must clear the barrel using 
  a gun kit as an action before it may be fired 
  again (note that the cleared ammunition may 
  be used again). If the d20 roll is a 1 and you had 
  disadvantage on the roll, then you have cracked 
  the barrel and the firearm is useless until repaired 
  (requiring a day of work with a gun kit or a use of 
  mending). 
  Rest
  The weapon requires more than two hands to 
  operate effectively. If you only have two hands 
  available and do not have a rest, your range 
  decreases as noted in the weapon description. It 
  takes an action or bonus action to set a rest. 
  Shot
  The weapon may fire multiple projectiles instead 
  of a single round. If shot is used, then all creatures 
  within range (the shot is cone-shaped) must make 
  a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take damage. If 
  the attacker has a spell save or maneuver save DC 
  higher than 15, use the higher DC. Creatures in 
  long range have advantage on their saving throw.
  Weather Conditions
  Early firearms are very susceptible to the weather. 
  If gunpowder gets wet (or even just damp), then it 
  is rendered inert until it dries (prestidigitation will 
  keep gunpowder clean). Lighting a match is difficult 
  in the rain and keeping it lit is a challenge in windy 
  conditions. All of these weather conditions can be 
  simply handled by either imposing disadvantage 
  on the attack roll or, in bad weather, ruling that 
  firearms can’t be used absent magic or creative 
  thinking to overcome it.
  
  Firearms for Fantasy Campaigns | EN World EN5IDER
  Firearms for Fantasy Campaigns | EN World EN5IDER
  burn. The price is for a typical wooden powder 
  flask—many flasks are made from more expensive 
  materials and have intricate carvings, making 
  them works of art. 1 sp; 1 lb.
   Rest. This is a forked rod that is set into the 
  ground so that a creature can rest its weapon. 
  5 gp; 2 lb.
  Customizing Firearms
  Any of the firearms in this article can be improved 
  in either or both of the following ways.
   Rifling. Rifling a barrel increases its effective 
  range and accuracy, but lowers the round’s speed. 
  All ranges of a rifled firearm are doubled, but the 
  damage dice for hand cannons and harquebuses 
  are 2d3 and 2d4 respectively. Rifled barrels are 
  slower to load, so you can never move on a turn 
  when you load and fire a rifled weapon, even 
  if you have a fire source ready. Rifling a barrel 
  requires several hours and a gunsmith workshop. 
  Purchasing a rifled firearm adds 50 gp to its cost.
   Sighting. Putting proper sights on a firearm 
  is tricky, especially with smoothbore weapons, 
  but possible. It requires a few hours (within the 
  span of a long rest) and grants a +1 attack bonus 
  when using the firearm. You need to make a DC 
  20 Wisdom ability check with the gun kit tool 
  proficiency bonus to properly apply a sight to a 
  firearm. Add 100 gp to purchase a firearm with 
  sights, or 200 gp to add sights to an existing 
  firearm.
  Science of Black Powder 
  (Alchemist Advanced Study)
  Sometimes seen as a subset of the science of 
  destruction, the science of black powder focuses 
  on harnessing the explosive energy of black 
  powder to infuse firearms with magical power. 
  While this is costly in terms of magical power, 
  one alchemist can give a significant edge to a 
  squadron of harquebusiers.
   This advanced study is a new option for the 
  alchemist character class*. The cantrips mending 
  and prestidigitation are added to the alchemist 
  spell list.
  Signature Powder
  At 2nd level, on choosing this science, you have 
  mastered the formula for gunpowder and can 
  also give it an extra magical spark as well. By 
  expending a spell slot, you enchant enough black 
  powder to fire 5 rounds per spell slot level. A 
  creature using this signature powder adds 1d4 to 
  its attack roll and there is no chance of misfire.
  Discoveries of Black Powder
  At 6th and 10th levels, your studies of the Science 
  of Black Powder allow you to concoct magical 
  variants of black powder. Select one discovery 
  from the list below. You cannot mix multiple 
  discoveries together into a single powder.
   Each spell slot spent grants you enough powder 
  for 5 rounds multiplied by the spell slot level. 
  * C. Richard Davies, “The Alchemist: Where Madness Meets Magic,”
  https://www.patreon.com/posts/alchemist-where-5739275
  Simple Ranged Weapons
  Name
  Cost*
  Damage
  Weight
  Properties
  Hand Cannon
  80 gp
  1d8 piercing
  12 lbs.
  Ammunition (range 20/60), Match loading, heavy, loud, 
  misfire, rest, shot (1d6 piercing), two-handed
  Harquebus
  100 gp
  1d10 piercing
  10 lbs.
  Ammunition (range 30/90, without rest 25/75), 
  match loading, heavy, loud, misfire, two-handed
  Harquebus Hybrid
  150 gp
  1d10 piercing
  15 lbs.
  Ammunition (range 25/75, without rest 20/60), 
  match loading, heavy, loud, misfire, two-handed
  *  Costs are for settings where such firearms are commonly available. The GM should feel free to increase the cost if the weapons are sufficiently rare; in 
  some settings they may even be considered priceless “magic” items! 
  
  EN World EN5IDER | Firearms for Fantasy Campaigns
  EN World EN5IDER | Firearms for Fantasy Campaigns
  You don’t regain expended spell slots until the 
  powder is completely used. After a long rest, 
  you can choose to “disenchant” any remaining 
  magical powder in order to reclaim the spell slots. 
  Any rounds fired by these discoveries have no 
  chance of misfire.
   Ghost Powder. You have concocted a type of 
  black powder that touches the Ethereal Plane 
  and negates damage resistance against piercing 
  weapons. Additionally, creatures that are 
  normally immune to piercing weapons take half 
  damage from rounds fired with ghost powder.
   Energy Powder. You can infuse your black 
  powder with a particular type of energy. Rounds 
  fired with this powder do an additional 2d8 
  damage of a particular energy type (chosen when 
  you take this discovery). You may choose this 
  discovery twice, each time selecting a different 
  type of energy. When using a higher level spell 
  slot, you may choose to add an extra 1d8 damage 
  per spell slot above the first rather than enchant 
  more ammunition.
   Veil Powder. You have concocted a denser 
  version of black powder that leaves an obscuring 
  mist in a 5-foot radius centered on you. This mist 
  lingers for 1d4 + 1 rounds and the area containing 
  the mist is considered heavily obscured. The 
  firearm is automatically fouled after the veil 
  powder is used, requiring it to be cleaned with a 
  gun kit before it can be fired again.
  Superior Powder
  At 14th level, you have truly perfected your 
  art. By expending a spell slot, you create a 
  shimmering powder that helps slide a round into 
  place and explodes on command so long as the 
  shooter is touching the weapon. Rounds fired 
  with superior powder take little time to load; 
  a creature may make as many ranged attacks 
  per round as it is able, so long as it has superior 
  powder and ammunition. There is no chance of 
  misfire and rounds fired with superior powder 
  get an extra damage die.
   You create enough powder for 5 rounds times 
  the spell level of the spell slot spent. You may also 
  combine superior powder with any other black 
  powder discovery (including signature powder) 
  that you know, providing you have enough spell 
  slot levels.
  New Magic Items
  This section lists three magic items that appear 
  along with firearms. Their rarity depends on how 
  common firearms are in your campaign.
  Moon Powder
  Wondrous item, very rare
   This chalk-white alchemical powder produces 
  no noise nor visible smoke when used to fire a 
  round. Its formula is unknown to most alchemists 
  and is highly sought after for its usefulness in 
  sniper fire and assassinations. 
   Moon Powder is very rare even in campaigns 
  where firearms are common, but somehow it 
  always seems to manage to land in the hands of 
  the worst cultists and assassins.
  Rain Match
  Wondrous item, common
   A rain match is a cord covered with an 
  alchemical fluid that allows it to burn even in 
  heavy rain (it may be snuffed by other means). 
  Thus, firearms equipped with a rain match suffer 
  no disadvantage in rainy weather providing 
  that the gunpowder is kept dry. This match is 
  consumed after being extinguished, or when it 
  burns out after 12 seconds.
  Spark Staff
  Weapon (hand cannon), uncommon
   It didn’t take long for shooters to realize that 
  hand cannons were more easily fired with a little 
  magical help. The spark staff resembles and 
  functions like a hand cannon without a touch 
  hole. The gunpowder and round must be loaded 
  normally, but instead of touching a match the 
  creature need only utter a magic word and the 
  gunpowder ignites. Spark staves fire faster than 
  hand cannons and have the loading property in 
  place of match loading. e
  
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