Iron Hearts: Kameyama Jima
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Gunpowder Weapons
http://ironhearts2.fallenash.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=86		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Kannon [ Sun Jul 23, 2017 6:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Gunpowder Weapons
Social Impact

In this setting firearms or cannons or poluvora ARE NOT banned by Imperial Edict.

In the Battle of White Stag Yugozohime lived through the Thranish bombardment, and Merenaese counter-attack using the same weapons ultimately helped rout Hawthorne. The Lion have tried to initiate a motion to de-legalise them more than once, especially after suffering a humiliating defeat in their war with the Crane for the control of the Osari Plains attributed to Daidoji use of 'gaijin pepper', but a broad coalition spanning the Crane, the Mantis, the Tortoise and the Dragon (at the very least) have not let it take off the ground.

Still, in most parts of Rokugan gaijin weaponry is still treated with extreme prejudice and suspicion, and brandishing it is a reason enough to draw attention of law enforcers who usually get very interested how such a weaponry was acquired. Pistols as personal curios are more tolerated than muskets, and cannons still raise all the red flags. Save for a small amount of Boar-designed muskets constructed by the Imperial Explorers for their own use, firearms are not officially produced in Rokugan after all. In most circumstances using firearms is considered using a Peasant weapon, and in some cases it may bring about greater honour losses for its possession and use, as well as Infamy.

Acquisition

In game terms, those weapons can be acquired either through 'any one weapon' if such option is listed in school equipment, or through the Gaijin Gear advantage (its modified version). Purchasing foreign-made firearms is hypothetically possible, but very expensive and would be a subject of role-playing rather than general pricing. Firearms are still quite rare. However, the Imperial Explorers have an option to purchase the homemade prototype constructed by Heichi Isao:

Quote:
Inogana (Boar Snout)
Uses Firearms (Musket) Skill
Medium
10 koku
Range: 50'
DR: 3d2
Uses bayonet rules from Imperial Histories 1


The 'any one weapon' option does not allow for acquiring a cannon, while to obtain a single cannon through second option one has to buy the the Gaijin Gear advantage twice. It can be assumed that those weapons come with bullets and gunpowder sufficient for 20 shots. Acquiring more metal balls is feasible, but acquiring more 'poluvora' is not easy and usually requires outside assistance, restricted knowledge or peculiar business contacts.

Mechanics

For mechanical purposes, we shall be using information on gunpowder weapons available on pp. 95-97 of Imperial Histories (White Stag Era), not those listed in the Iron Empire section as the weaponry listed there reflects much later times. At this point it's just pistols, muskets (with bayonet option) and simple round-shot cannons. It also means applying rules on loading and misfires, with the following changes.

If one or more rolled dice result in a '1' after the emphasis is applied, the gun misfires. The character must perform 2 reload actions to clear the barrel and flash pan before the gun can be loaded once more. If at least half the dice rolled, after any emphasis is applied, result in '1's then something has gone catastrophically wrong. The gun explodes, dealing its DR to the character wielding it (or crewing it for cannons).

At this level of firearms technology, no combination of benefits can reduce the amount of Complex Actions to reload a gunpowder weapon to zero. One is the minimum.

The Firearms and Cannon skills also now give the following Mastery Ability:

Quote:
Rank 3: Misfires only trigger with at least 2 or more dice resulting in a '1'.


Bayonets:
You may affix a bayonet to the end of your musket as a Simple Action. While a bayonet is mounted to the front of your musket, you wield it with the Polearms skill and it has DR 2k2. You may not fire the musket while a bayonet is mounted, and you may remove it with another Simple Action.
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