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

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 in the art of swordsmanship and melee combat will be brought down by formations of vulgar arquebusier peasant conscripts with their "craven" weapons on the open battlefield. Some fantasy writers do include them never the less and they are slightly more open to Cannons (which did become practical earlier than handheld firearms).

If Guns are present in a world populated by your stock western fantasy races, there is a hierarchy on who uses them, going from most likely to least likey.

• Dwarves: If only one race has them, it will be the dwarves, and if they got them they will be the best guns in town
• Humans: Some groups are more likely than others. Italy Analogues, China/East Asia analogues and areas known for tinkering and engineering are more likely, areas big on knights and chivalry and barbarian tribes less so.
• Orcs: Its not so much that they object the idea of guns, its that they generally have a hard time organizing themselves to make a blast furnace to cast barrels and get impatient in the making the potassium nitrate for powder.
• Regular/High Elves: They see them as as crude, inaccurate, foul smelling contraptions that are no substitute for a bow. Will still use them on occasion, even if they don't like it.
• Wood Elves and other Naturey types: Will often rather die than use such a weapon. Even if the rest of the world has move onto biplanes, bolt action rifles, shell firing cannons and tanks.

Sci-fi writers however, tend to use firearms as weapons in virtually all regards in their works, since it's the future.....well that is unless you're writing for Warhammer 40,000, where you're more inclined to write how your Stormtrooper royally fucked his target with a chainsword enema than shooting him with his Plasma gun

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