Editing Setting:Unified Setting/Guns (section)

==History of Firearms==

If the GM decides firearms do exist, this is how they appeared...

===Goblin Firearms===

The idea of using an explosion to propel a projectile first came to the goblins. Goblin alchemists kept trying to find ways to enhance the rather weak sling. Eventually they created boom jelly, stuck it to the side of a rock, and put a piece of cloth around it. They lit the cloth, and in mid-swing the goblin wielder died of a rock to the face, which then exploded.

After further research with stones and explosives, the matchlock as we know it came into fruition.

Boom jelly is a variation of alchemist's fire, made with a mineral found only in the highlands of the Goblin Islands. It is a stable, water-proof, heat-triggered low explosive that the goblins use in the pistols and cannons of their hybrid merchant/naval/pirate fleet. They hold a monopoly on it and any goblin selling it to an outsider would be beheaded....after they were made an example of.

Goblin buccaneers carry as many as six pistols when they go into combat, but rely mostly on their cutlasses during battle. Ships of the goblin fleet sometimes carry cannon, but use them only against necro-ships and their zombie crew. Other vessels are far too valuable to fill with holes that might send them to the bottom.

Even though goblins will not part with boom jelly, two of their biggest trading partners were enamored with the potential and decided to replicate it.

===Dwarven Firearms===

The first were the dwarves, who tell hilarious stories of death and dismemberment as their scientists tried to replicate the properties of boom jelly. Eventually they stumbled on a mixture of charcoal, sulfur and bird shit which when properly mixed formed an explosive black powder. Being the poetic beings they are the dwarves dubbed it black powder.

Originally intended for close-quarter fighting in a dwarven fortress the dwarves soon learned the limitation of firearms. They can only be fired in combat once, requiring a lengthy loading time and are prone to malfunction. Plus bird shit was not readily available making black powder expensive. While most fortresses have the recipe for black powder laying around, it is mostly (and rarely) used as a mining tool.

Dwarven craftsmen turn out a small number of firearms every year. Many are snapped up by goblin and human collectors who admire their superior design and workmanship, but the rest are reserved for dwarven users. Who these dwarves work for and what it is they do is never spoken of.

===Human Firearms===

The residents of Barthelmia (aka the Lawless Human Cities of Lindwurm) are also big traders with the goblins. Compared to the human homeland of Solaris,  the Goblin Islands are closer and do not require crossing the dangerous Sea of Ghosts. Like the dwarves the Barthelmians needed a close-combat weapon for enclosed spaces when exploring draconian ruins. Like the goblins they needed an equalizer for dealing with the threats found in the Sea of Ghosts.

Only one of those worked out. Gunpowder doesn't work when damp and the other races haven't quite figured out how to preserve and use the very expensive black powder while at sea. On land they worked...OK. Still prone to malfunction and misfire, firearms are useful under certain circumstances. Plus they are hideously expensive to own and operate. Those who do use them, mostly ruin-hunters, swear by them.

Firearms have also become a fashion statement amongst the richer inhabitants of Barthelmia. These are more for conspicuous display and to appear as dangerous as the admired ruin-hunters than for actual use. A sharp sword is the faster and preferred method for settling conflicts in the bars and back alleys of the lawless human cities.