Evolution of Firearms

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[edit] Gunpowder

Gunpowder was discovered by Retchan of Jiyank, quite by accident. Retchan had been experimenting with the ingredients for the Fireball spell as a means to gain an advantage during the Malkin War. It was during this process that he descovered blackpowder. At first, he was disapointed with it, because it failed to make any very significant diference to the spell. However, after an accident involving a falling candle, he found the blackpowder had combustible properties without any arcane assistance. From here it was a short step to finding that when confined it had explosive properties.

He realised that blackpowder could enhance the effect of a fireball, just not in the way that he had been thinking. By seeding a battlefield ahead of time with concealed clutches of the explosive, Retchan realised that he could use a single fireball to set off a multitude of blasts, as well as directly frying the enemy.

[edit] The First Gunpowder Weapons

Because the powder could be set off by any source of fire, it wasn't long before kobold trapmakers hit upon the idea of using it in more mudane devises. A tripwire could be attached to a slint and steel to create the spark needed to set off the powder.

The first of these weapon used nothing more than tightly packed powder, which created a lot of noise and smoke, but actual damage was limited. The real break through came about by accident when there was a shortfall in the amount powder available before a battle. In desperation, Retchan order the barrels to be half filled, and the rest made up with loose scree from the mines. Hopefully, this would make the kobolds look more prepared then they really were.

The enemy had started to grow used to the first version of the trap, and started to advance anyway. Hoping that the half filled barrels would be enough, Retchan threw the first fireball of the battle - and was surprised to find that the gravel/powder mix was more deadly than the powder alone.

After the battle, he examined the bodies of those slain by the blast, and found that most of them had been cut down by the gravel as it was thrown through the air. With this bit of knowledge, the kobolds, modified their traps so that they would create shrapnel. Much debate was had over the correct mix of gravel and powder.

All of this new technology was greate for defending the holds and did much to slow the enemies advance, but it was all rather static. Unless you knew exactly where your army was going to meet the enemy, and had plenty of time to prepare before hand, it wasn't much use. This inovation had given the kobolds a little breathing space, but it wasn't going to win the war. Hasi Calume ordered Retchan to find something a little more offensive.

Unwilling to abandon his new toy Retchan sat down with the trapmakers to invent something to keep Calume happy and make the kobolds enemies very unhappy. They looked at the design for the blast trap - a trip wire that set off a charge concealing in hole - and had an idea. As Retchans letter to Calume put it,

"We have found a means of making mobile blast traps by storing the powder charge in a bronze bowl mounted on wheels. This can be moved from place to place, and acivated by a blow from a flint hammer."

— Retchan of Jiyank

In other words, a prototype cannon. This first model still fired gravel, rather than a single solid shot, and the barrel was rather short and broad, creating a short range barrage of stone fragments. While still a deffensive device, it could be used to break an enemy charge at the last moment.

Other inovations included launching powder barrels from catapults, with mixed results. Often the barrels failed to explode, or exploded too early.

By experimenting with the cannons, retchan found that he could increase there range by narrowing the barrel, creating a longer, thiner cone. If he could change the potence of the cannons by changing the area over which it spread its charge, perhaps he could alter the size of the gravel and see what that did. Eventually he placed a single large stone inside a thin barrel and created something truely revolutionary - a weapon that could fire further than any other seige weapon and level castle walls.

[edit] Spread of the new Technology

While Kalchichi would have loved to keep gunpowder technology to themselves, it slowly spread across the world, first to Laschfell and eventually to Coruvain. Firearm technology was developed in many places and by many people, adapting it to suit their own needs and physiques. The original Kalchichi musket had a much shorter barrel than the human version, giving it a quicker range but also a reload time.

Retchan has kept abreadth of all the technological advances, and his own factory in Timur bay produces some of the highest qualiy weapons avaiulable. The Timur stamp on a gun is a sure sign og high quality worksmanship.