Firearms and the History of Firearms

  While the exact nature of the firearms history or Arkael is not truly well known, it is thought to have a history similar to the History of Firearms on Earth. Simply meaning that people often think the history of guns dates back only a few hundred years when, in actuality, the gun dates back about a thousand years. The history of firearms in Arkael and the World itself is long and storied, consisting of many twists and turns along the way.   But despite many design improvements and changes, guns essentially carry out the same concepts and functions as they did a millennium ago.   Before the first shot of firearm echoed in the lands of Arkael, let alone the rest of the world, weapons that shot projectiles at long range distances where often of your typical standard variety; mostly Bow n Arrows, or improvised Spear Tossers that enabled the wielder to toss farther than they normally could throw. During times of war, these often became larger. Resembling ancient Greek and Roman weaponry, both sides of the globe made extensive use of artillery for shooting large arrows, bolts or spherical stones or metal balls. However as magic was evolving more and more each year, becoming more powerful each time, so was common weaponry.   Bitter years of endless war had its effect on the populace, and the name Arkael seldom fell from more than anguished lips. In a place where life and death were different sides of the same coin tossed every day, better weapons needed to be made as the tides of war were ever changing. Those not born with the ability for magic had to adapt with the ever shifting powers that Mages and other magic users had on hand.   The Great War between the High Elves and the remainder of the Empire of Man had raged across the continent for many years. The High Elves believed that Mer should rule the continent, while the men who currently occupied the throne following a vicious takeover thought differently. The terms of the current peace treaty had driven a civil war to break out in Arkael and following the devastation of the First Great War when Man first came to pillage, it became clear to the Imperial high command of the vast advantage that battlemages had over traditional massed infantry, being able to easily destroy grouped units with their magic. A vivid despiser of all things magic, one high-leveled General decided to pour his coffers into developing new technologies, something that would nullify the years of training and gold it would take to raise battlemages of his own.   What he came up with. . .was very interesting.  

The Dvergar

"The Dvergar would have known!"

 

A common saying amongst researchers

  The continent of Arkael is a great melting pot of cultures and races when they're not trying to kill each other; being home to at least a dozen, with dozens more having died out or changed in the ages gone by. But none of these races had ever won the respect and mythology as the most technologically advanced one known to the inhabitants.   Known by their sobriquet Deep-ones due to their extensive pathway network of tunnels that jutted about within varying degrees in the territories around Arkael, The Dvergar were a race of subterranean Dwarves who lived underground as shut in communities. Yet amongst all races currently known, they were noted to be one of the most advanced civilizations; in many respects far ahead of the other races and civilizations of their time. They are well known for their skill and revolutionary developments in technology, engineering, crafting methods, metalwork, stonework, architecture, city-planning, science, mathematics, magic, and the academic arts.   For some reason, despite their advances, the race went extinct, but not without leaving their mark and knowledge behind. With their disappearance came with them having a variety of titles, many hinting their destruction, such as Steamforged Elders, Forgefallen Engineers, Steamshade, Stonecores, along with a lot of individuals and thrill seekers trying their hand at discovering their secrets. The ruins of Stormcore society became a particular interest to scholars of various colleges, universities and private institutions throughout Arkael and excavations into the underground cities contained items useful for building weapons, armor, and other items of high value.   And it was here, that old schematics which showed a variety of weapons were found   including:  

• Boom Hammer: A giant hammer equipped with a miniature furnace. When ignited and fired, it emits a volley of flame that explodes furiously upon impact. Was thought to have been a mining tool, now used to hunt beasts

 

• Ballbow: a rather simple design of a metal tube and a small iron ball, which when combined with fire salts and brought to flame, would launch the ball with a great amount of force.

  The discovery of the Ballbow became a hit. A device that would allow a common man with little to no training to deal a heavy amount of damage from afar, despite a slow reload speed. Many quickly realized how effective it would be to outfit vast amounts of soldiers with weapons of this type. And so preparations were made to mass produce. Tweaking of the original design happened not long after and soon Arkael was introduced to the first Flintlock Rifle and it's smaller one-handed variant Flint-lock Handgun  

Types of Firearms

Firearms that reign supreme throughout the land of Arkael tend to be ones that resemble those mainly used in the early 16th century, such as flintlocks and muzzleloaders. However with the varying races and individuals that make up the land itself, many of them have their own quirks and signatures. The revolution in rifle technology did more than change the face of war; it created a whole new class of gun owners. While magic kept advancing, common folk (non-magic) stuck to more elaborate ways to defend themselves against threats. Rifles became more accurate, reliable and cheap depending on where you lived. Elves tended to make lighter weapons that didn't heed movement speed, and Humans and Orc's tended to make weapons loud and proud that would do as much damage as possible. Catfolk created guns that were quieter and more stealthy, with some even being credited for creating the first sound suppressor.   Blunderbuss like weapons developed as a smoothbore, muzzle-loading firearm. The shortest of the long guns known in Arkael, a Blunderbuss only has a barrel around one foot long, sometimes less. Acting more like a shotgun than a rifle. The Blunderbuss was a close-range firearm that fired a spread of 10 pellets with each shot. With a short, large caliber barrel commonly flared at the muzzle to help aid in the loading of shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity or caliber, this became a popular Crowd-Control Weapon due to its ability to hit multiple targets at once, but only close up, as It was effective only at short range, lacking accuracy at long distances. While various accounts often list the blunderbuss as being loaded with various scrap iron, rocks, or wood, this often resulted in damage to the bore of the gun and wasn’t typically practiced; instead it was loaded with a number of lead balls smaller than the bore diameter. Barrels were commonly made of steel or brass, which often made it effective during war, where the Blunderbuss, and soon its pistol variant, The Hatchling were typically issued to troops such as cavalry, who needed a lightweight, easily handled firearm. In addition to the cavalry, the blunderbuss found a use for other duties in which the shotgun-like qualities were desirable, such as for guarding prisoners or defending a mail coach, and its use for urban combat was also recognized shortly after it’s creation..     As weapons like the Ranger allowed for greater accuracy than all other firearms, it was becoming more apparent that as the trend of killing was moving more towards range and doing it from a distance, that drastic changes in designs of the first rifle to ever hit Arkael needed move towards more advanced designing and styles.   Regardless of the safety risks   Blacksmiths who were blessed with the knowledge of gun-making, over time became more worried about creating a piece of art, rather than a functional piece of machinery. The allure of carrying such a work of art into battle became a note that resonated with many’s sense of honor and nobility. The stardom for creating the perfect weapon in terms of look, also gave Blacksmiths looking to make a name for themselves a chance to do so. Overtime killing thusly was no longer labeled barbaric with such sophisticated tools, but was instead labeled elegant, clean and professional with many finding honor in killing with it, or for some being killed by it.   However the rifles that soon hit the market had their drawbacks.   Even with the introduction of fine works of art that behaved similar to Earth’s Flintlocks, poorly made weapons had an awful tendency to explode on the user, causing injury or even death. As the years went on, looks began to win out over safety and functionality, corners became cut and soon weapons were mass produced more for looks. Those with the funds to purchase these tools did not help this growing trend, as of course they would often lean towards the more artful and away from the mundane and functional. For many, the blade and the sword were still the most trustworthy and common weapon,   after all they could not misfire and kill its wielder.   The use of weapons such as firearms also came with another issue.   The Status of Class   As with many things over time, Firearms tended to only be in the realm of possible ownership of the noble and of the merchants. As guns grew to become more advanced and widespread, so too did the price hike for them grow. More elaborate designs were fancied amongst those in higher social standing. As the years went on, for those with little, it simply just became easier to make your own with what you had or stick to basic weaponry. Sadly, with lack of skills, equipment and planning, those firearms became of lower quality, were more likely to misfire, break down or even kill the user. As a result, very few tend to own firearms except the military and the nobility.   and those willing to kill either for one.    

Lore Trivia

• With the Addition of Firearms, many other weapons using the same design were commissioned by various individuals, looking to get the most out of a gun but at different levels. One such thing became known as a Boomlance; a long, piercing weapon with a mechanism inside which can fire an explosive round either once or multiple times. This became a popular weapon with monster hunters, particularly Dragon Sport Hunters, looking to get an edge on their normal spear-lances.

 

• Various churches also got into the firearms business. When guns became more of the norm, many religious sects took to making their own weapons with designs that used aspects of firearms, or simply what allowed one to fire, to combat creatures of more spiritual aspects or those they deemed Unholy/Impure. One such Paladin group in particular, had such an adoration of complex design and high explosive power, it culminated in weapon designs that contrasted with those more traditionally used within that of the base church. With an arsenal centered around ignition, big boom and crushing power, they became labeled as heretics and were expunged from the church. However this did not stop them, and they created their own workshop, developing weapons such as The Hand Cannon and more advanced variations of the Boom Hammer

 

• Churches also made their own ammunition. Bullets are easier to make than guns, so Iron Bullets became the most common type of bullet, a simple small ball made of iron. Churches often took this a step further with the creation of Blessed Bullets, simple iron bullets, infused with the blessing of the Divines. When the church figured out how to do it, Magic users found out how to imbue as well and got in on the fun. Mages started to infuse bullets with magic, allowing for long range use of spells that normally would have a range limit if done by hand.   For example Ice Bullets would allow the bullet to shoot a magical spear of Ice which impaled its target and then exploded Enchanted Bullets would allow for a wide range of attacks, such as electricity or fire. Despite their help in creating ammo, many mages refuse to touch a firearm

 

The Handcannon was a large hand-held caliber gun classified as a type of artillery which usually launched a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Cannon’s in Elysium were a relatively new concept. Before the invention of firearms, catapults were important weapons of war to society. A catapult was a simple machine, used to launch projectiles, or heavy objects against an enemy, with great strength and great distances.   Before Cannons became commonplace on the battlefield, artillery such as trebuchet, mangonel, and ballista were a soldier's best friend. However when firearms and the use of fire-salts and soon gunpowder became commonplace, Cannons pushed Catapults from the spotlight. Though solid archaeological and documentary evidence of when exactly cannons became commonplace in Elysium did not appear until very late in history, it wasn’t long before they quickly became a staple of modern warfare despite their mysterious heritage. Cannons were special, because in time they could vary highly in gauge, effective range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire and firepower; over the years many different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees, depending on their intended use on the battlefield, and because they were so large, many did not have to worry about the circumstances of utilization when making them smaller and functionable sort of like how guns became a thing.   That was, however, until someone got the idea of toting one around on their shoulder, thus entering the creation of the Handcannon.   As it’s name suggests, the Handcannon was the equivalent to toting around a mounted cannon, complete with its ridiculous weight, staggering kick, and lavish use of resources, into battle in one's hand and or shoulder. Such a monstrosity was doomed from the start, and indeed its development was cut short. However, few still exist in rotation and those who do find themselves lucky enough to own what is now essentially considered a collectors piece, with the intent to actually use it, tend to use it for big game hunting such as Dragons, with people extensively training themselves how to handle such a unruly weapon. Though it is not in use much anymore, it is thought that the Handcannon was what gave birth to the idea of the primitive Gatling Gun.