Firearm
About thousand years ago in China, some people figured out that certain chemicals mixed together (such as potassium nitrate, carbon and sulphur) exploded when brought to spark, which became known as "Black Powder". After some toying with this little tidbit of information, they discovered that a tube sealed off at one end could be used to focus said explosion to propel an object at high speeds. After a few centuries of refinement they managed to take that mechanical principle and apply it as a weapon of warfare which changed the game, the Arquebus. Cheap, Easy to make, easy to learn to use and capable of penetrating all but the heaviest armor, this marked a transition away from close quarters to ranged warfare.
In modern times, firearms are the staple weapons of any nation, normally using futuristic weapons that doesn't even fire solid projectiles like lasers.
Relations here
Most fantasy writers tend to exclude firearms. There are a variety of reasons for this, such as:
- Most fantasy comes from Tolkien, who did not have guns. Though gunpowder does exist in Tolkien's works.
- Most fantasy (whether copy-catting Tolkien or not) is based on medieval Europe. Depending on your definition of "medieval," Europe did technically have firearms towards the very end (crude and unreliable ones, but firearms nonetheless), but most authors base their fantasy on earlier medieval Europe.
- As in real life, firearms mean that vulgar, dirty, peasant conscripts can take down the author's Mary Sure, noblemen knights that trained so hard in the arts of swordsmanship and melee combat. That statement is a simplification and leaves out the rise of pike formations and standing armies, but it is, in part true.
All that being said, most fantasy authors are much more open to cannons, which became viable on the battlefield long before smaller firearms.
Generally speaking, if a world has both the "stock" fantasy races and guns, there will a strict hierarchy of who uses them, from most to least likely:
- Dwarves: They almost always have the best, most plentiful guns. If only one race gets firearms, it's them.
- Humans: Unlike the other races, which are usually an all-or-nothing deal, different human nations have different likelihoods of having guns. Italian and east Asian analogues, as well as the "industrious" or "scientific" nations, are much more likely to have them. Your barbarians, guys keen on knights and chivalry and the more conservative less so.
- Orcs: Orcs would probably love guns if they could actually build some. However, they're usually either incapable of building things or have a hard time organizing themselves to the point that large-scale firearm production is possible.
- Elves: Being arrogant pricks, they see guns as crude, inaccurate, foul-smelling contraptions that are no substitute for a bow. However, they'll still use them when necessary, even if they don't like it.
- Wood Elves and other Fey/Nature types: They'd rather die than use a firearm, even if the rest of the world has moved onto biplanes, bolt-action rifles, shell-firing cannons, and tanks. If this happens, this means they either have powerful magic (so the actual weapons used are unimportant), they are really really good shots with a bow, or they're about to die out.
Of course, sci-fi writers almost exclusively use firearms, seeing as how it's THE FUUUUUUTTTTTUUUUURRRREEEE. The one exception is Warhammer 40,000: although guns are the main combat implement, close combat is still alive and well, and most armies have at least one elite, close-combat unit wielding weapons that are distinctly not firearms.
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