Editing Firearm

About thousand years ago in China, some people figured out that certain chemicals mixed together (such as Potassium nitrate, Carbon and Sulfer) exploded when brought to spark would explode. 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, the Arquebus or the first firearm. Cheap, Easy to make and use and capable of penetrating all but the heaviest armor, this marked a transition away from close quarters to ranged warfare.

Fantasy Writers (with some exceptions) tend to exclude these weapons from their works of fiction. Largely because it means that their Mary Sue Noblemen knights who trained SOOO Hard will be brought down by Formations of vulgar Arquebusier Peasant Conscripts on the open battlefield.
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