Editing Setting:Unified Setting/Guns (section)

==State of the Art==

Matchlocks are the most advanced firearms in the Unified Setting. These smooth-bore, muzzle-loading weapons hold a slow burning match-cord at the end of a lever. The trigger sends the match-cord against a flash pan connected to the barrel, igniting the powder or boom jelly within. Match-cord burns at the rate of one foot per hour, and firearms rarely carry more than an inch. Once readied they must be used within five to fifteen minutes or they must be re-readied.

Preparing a firearm for action is an intricate, time-consuming process. Even the fastest of pistoleros can rarely do it in less than a half-minute, and loading one in the middle of combat is impossible. They also suffer from a number of other drawbacks. They are short-ranged compared to a bow, extremely loud and prone to malfunction, especially in damp environments. In darkness, the glow of the match can give away your position. The distinctive smell of burning match-cord can also alert enemies to your presence. As noted above they are also hideously expensive to purchase and maintain and few are skilled in their use.

They are also immune to enchantment. No matter how powerful the sorcerer, no firearm can be upgraded via magic. Why this is true is unknown and likely to remain so since they are such a niche weapon. No part of a gun can be enchanted and efforts to create magical slow-matches have all ended in failure. It is possible to enchant 
projectiles, provided they are made of sufficiently exotic materials. However the cost of such makes them rarer than hen's teeth.

Despite the many drawbacks, Lindwurm ruin-hunters and Everocian dwarves with a reputation for solving problems of an unspecified nature swear by firearms. While they are only good for one shot in combat it is a VERY potent shot. The startling flash and deafening boom they make can also be advantageous. In underground combat the startling effects can buy a delver precious seconds in which to act.

Firearms are most commonly found in pistol form. Arquebuses (primitive muskets) were created by the goblins, who abandoned the idea since six sharp-shooters in the mast proved less valuable than an additional swordsman on the deck. Cannon are used exclusively by the goblins as naval weapons against the necro-ships that haunt the Sea of Ghosts. Other races refrain from such crude weapons, preferring to capture enemy ships as valuable prizes. So do the goblins, but they prefer to send necro-ships back to the bottom from whence they came.