Firearms
The majority of today’s firearms in the Iron Kingdoms are
breech-loading weapons. Reloading such a weapon involves
opening a trapdoor on the rear of the firearm, placing a
round within it, and closing the trapdoor, after which the
firearm is ready to be fired. The cartridge sits snugly in the
weapon’s chamber until the trigger is pulled, which releases
a pin that drives into the rear of the round through two silk
pouches, each of which contains one of two components
that, when mixed, combine to create blasting powder. The
resulting chemical reaction and subsequent explosion drive
the bullet that sits ahead of the pouches forward and out of
the weapon’s muzzle.
The Order of the Golden Crucible was the first organization to manufacture firearms in western Immoren. Its first such weapons utilized a multipart loading process that involved dropping the two silk pouches down the muzzle of the firearm, following the pouches with a bullet tucked inside a bit of wadding, and tamping down all these elements with a rod before firing the weapon. Once fired, the bullet and wadding would be ejected from the weapon’s muzzle, burning up the silk pouches and leaving the barrel empty and ready for another load.
The breech-loading system was a significant development, as it allowed the bullet and the silk pouches containing the blasting powder to be loaded into the chamber through the rear of the gun. Combining the bullet and the powder into a single cartridge wrapped in thin paper, though a minor development, reduced the cost of ammunition and left very little fouling in the chamber of the average weapon. Although these paper cartridges could withstand regular handling on a battlefield, they fell apart if they became wet or were subject to any significant trauma. Although the components could still be useful if loaded individually, doing so significantly increased the shooter’s reloading time and slowed the subsequent rate of fire.
Paper cartridges were seen as an improvement over the previous multipart loading process, but the extra paper had two detriments on a firearm’s internal workings. First, they caused more fouling and led to more malfunctions if a weapon was not cleaned correctly after significant use. Second, the firing pin needed to drive through more material in order to puncture the silk pouches wrapped within the cartridges. This extra stress could cause even the sharpest firing pins to become dulled or bent and thereby rendered useless. Thus, in order for a firearm that used paper cartridges to remain reliable, it needed to be regularly maintained following any extended use.
Muzzle-loading pepperbox mechanisms were created at around the same time the breech-loading firearm was developed, and the ammo wheel was introduced shortly after that. The ammo wheel allowed a shooter to reload the wheel’s chambers with paper cartridges inserted through the rear of the weapon. In addition to being easier to reload, the pin that held the ammo wheel in place could be pulled, allowing the ammo wheel to be removed and replaced with another preloaded ammo wheel. This simple feature meant that the ammo wheel of a weapon could be replaced—and the weapon fully reloaded—in the time an average shooter took to reload 1 round of a breech-loading rifle. The pepperbox and ammo wheel actions contained multiple preloaded chambers. The first pepperbox actions were advanced by hand, but later actions incorporated clockwork mechanics that advanced the chamber with the pull of a trigger before striking the cartridge with the firing pin. This development finally made rapid-firing firearms a reality.
Gunsmiths changed the battlefields of western Immoren once again with the development of the metal cartridge. Placing the two silk pouches inside a metal cartridge capped with a bullet created a cartridge that left less fouling and guided the firing pin into the round through a small well without significantly damaging or dulling the firing pin. By using a small drop of wax to cap the rear of the cartridge where the pin entered, firearm manufacturers also created a water-resistant cartridge.
Once western Immoren’s gunsmiths had metal cartridges that slid with less resistance than paper cartridges and ejectors to remove spent cartridges, they produced the next major development in firearm technology: the belt-fed automatic gun. Metal cartridges’ relative lack of friction allowed for gravity-fed magazines that could somewhat reliably drop rounds into a cycling action, but the belt-feed action greatly increased the reliability and consistency of firearms on the battlefield. These new weapons used the recycled energy of their cartridges to power the cycling of the automatic action, which ejected the previous cartridge while reloading a new cartridge into the chamber and recharging and releasing the firing pin. This advancement allowed one man to fire so many shots with one pull of the trigger that he could outpace the capabilities of the weapon’s barrel, necessitating the development of water-cooled barrels.
Although small variances exist in bullet calibers and the amount of powder grain used in the many cartridges available across western Immoren, most weapons accept one of three standard sizes of cartridges: light rounds, heavy rounds, or slug rounds. Light rounds—those with a circumference of less than half an inch—are used in most modern pistols and rifles. Heavy rounds are used in heavy rifles, hand cannons, and mounted antipersonnel weapons. With a circumference of over half an inch, a heavy round creates a tremendous amount of trauma as it travels through a target. Slug rounds are about fifty percent larger than heavy rounds and transfer an enormous amount of energy to a target upon impact. Some weapons are also armed with shot, a collection of small bullets driven forward when a charge is ignited. Because shot usually disperses across a wide area, it has a larger impact on a target and results in multiple entry wounds. The average shot round is the same size as a slug round.
Firearm ammunition in the Iron Kingdoms is either wrapped in paper or encased in metal. Both types of ammunition include a bullet, a casing, and silk-wrapped packets of the two blasting powder components. Although paper cartridges are more fragile than metal-cased rounds, they can be assembled by hand on the battlefield and do not require any special equipment to press.
Although blasting powder was once an expensive and carefully regulated commodity of the Order of the Golden Crucible, the organization’s virtual monopoly on the manufacture of this key ingredient ended long ago. The initial dissolution of the Golden Crucible following Khador’s invasion of Llael spread the secrets of blasting powder’s creation to hundreds of independent chapter houses and alchemical shops throughout the Iron Kingdoms, and every kingdom now has its own supply and methods of manufacture.
Blasting powder is now plentiful throughout the Iron Kingdoms, but the quality of ammunition varies from one locale to another. Certain groups, such as the Order of the Golden Crucible, have a reputation for providing high-quality, consistent product and can charge a premium accordingly.
The Order of the Golden Crucible was the first organization to manufacture firearms in western Immoren. Its first such weapons utilized a multipart loading process that involved dropping the two silk pouches down the muzzle of the firearm, following the pouches with a bullet tucked inside a bit of wadding, and tamping down all these elements with a rod before firing the weapon. Once fired, the bullet and wadding would be ejected from the weapon’s muzzle, burning up the silk pouches and leaving the barrel empty and ready for another load.
The breech-loading system was a significant development, as it allowed the bullet and the silk pouches containing the blasting powder to be loaded into the chamber through the rear of the gun. Combining the bullet and the powder into a single cartridge wrapped in thin paper, though a minor development, reduced the cost of ammunition and left very little fouling in the chamber of the average weapon. Although these paper cartridges could withstand regular handling on a battlefield, they fell apart if they became wet or were subject to any significant trauma. Although the components could still be useful if loaded individually, doing so significantly increased the shooter’s reloading time and slowed the subsequent rate of fire.
Paper cartridges were seen as an improvement over the previous multipart loading process, but the extra paper had two detriments on a firearm’s internal workings. First, they caused more fouling and led to more malfunctions if a weapon was not cleaned correctly after significant use. Second, the firing pin needed to drive through more material in order to puncture the silk pouches wrapped within the cartridges. This extra stress could cause even the sharpest firing pins to become dulled or bent and thereby rendered useless. Thus, in order for a firearm that used paper cartridges to remain reliable, it needed to be regularly maintained following any extended use.
Muzzle-loading pepperbox mechanisms were created at around the same time the breech-loading firearm was developed, and the ammo wheel was introduced shortly after that. The ammo wheel allowed a shooter to reload the wheel’s chambers with paper cartridges inserted through the rear of the weapon. In addition to being easier to reload, the pin that held the ammo wheel in place could be pulled, allowing the ammo wheel to be removed and replaced with another preloaded ammo wheel. This simple feature meant that the ammo wheel of a weapon could be replaced—and the weapon fully reloaded—in the time an average shooter took to reload 1 round of a breech-loading rifle. The pepperbox and ammo wheel actions contained multiple preloaded chambers. The first pepperbox actions were advanced by hand, but later actions incorporated clockwork mechanics that advanced the chamber with the pull of a trigger before striking the cartridge with the firing pin. This development finally made rapid-firing firearms a reality.
Gunsmiths changed the battlefields of western Immoren once again with the development of the metal cartridge. Placing the two silk pouches inside a metal cartridge capped with a bullet created a cartridge that left less fouling and guided the firing pin into the round through a small well without significantly damaging or dulling the firing pin. By using a small drop of wax to cap the rear of the cartridge where the pin entered, firearm manufacturers also created a water-resistant cartridge.
Once western Immoren’s gunsmiths had metal cartridges that slid with less resistance than paper cartridges and ejectors to remove spent cartridges, they produced the next major development in firearm technology: the belt-fed automatic gun. Metal cartridges’ relative lack of friction allowed for gravity-fed magazines that could somewhat reliably drop rounds into a cycling action, but the belt-feed action greatly increased the reliability and consistency of firearms on the battlefield. These new weapons used the recycled energy of their cartridges to power the cycling of the automatic action, which ejected the previous cartridge while reloading a new cartridge into the chamber and recharging and releasing the firing pin. This advancement allowed one man to fire so many shots with one pull of the trigger that he could outpace the capabilities of the weapon’s barrel, necessitating the development of water-cooled barrels.
AMMUNITION
Although small variances exist in bullet calibers and the amount of powder grain used in the many cartridges available across western Immoren, most weapons accept one of three standard sizes of cartridges: light rounds, heavy rounds, or slug rounds. Light rounds—those with a circumference of less than half an inch—are used in most modern pistols and rifles. Heavy rounds are used in heavy rifles, hand cannons, and mounted antipersonnel weapons. With a circumference of over half an inch, a heavy round creates a tremendous amount of trauma as it travels through a target. Slug rounds are about fifty percent larger than heavy rounds and transfer an enormous amount of energy to a target upon impact. Some weapons are also armed with shot, a collection of small bullets driven forward when a charge is ignited. Because shot usually disperses across a wide area, it has a larger impact on a target and results in multiple entry wounds. The average shot round is the same size as a slug round.
Firearm ammunition in the Iron Kingdoms is either wrapped in paper or encased in metal. Both types of ammunition include a bullet, a casing, and silk-wrapped packets of the two blasting powder components. Although paper cartridges are more fragile than metal-cased rounds, they can be assembled by hand on the battlefield and do not require any special equipment to press.
BLASTING POWDER AND THE END OF MONOPOLY
Although blasting powder was once an expensive and carefully regulated commodity of the Order of the Golden Crucible, the organization’s virtual monopoly on the manufacture of this key ingredient ended long ago. The initial dissolution of the Golden Crucible following Khador’s invasion of Llael spread the secrets of blasting powder’s creation to hundreds of independent chapter houses and alchemical shops throughout the Iron Kingdoms, and every kingdom now has its own supply and methods of manufacture.
Blasting powder is now plentiful throughout the Iron Kingdoms, but the quality of ammunition varies from one locale to another. Certain groups, such as the Order of the Golden Crucible, have a reputation for providing high-quality, consistent product and can charge a premium accordingly.
