Day 3 of my Adventure Calendar! For 24 days, up until Christmas, I plan to release a lil bit of RPG content. Want to join as well? Join the jam!
Image: Unwelcomed by Rémi Jacquot
Today: two new ranged weapons for Cairn and Block, Dodge, Parry: The flintlock pistol and flintlock rifle.
First and foremost, I’m not diving into historical accuracy here. I’m more interested in what kind of role these weapons occupy in terms of game dynamics; whether these weapons are really ‘flintlock’ or ‘matchlock’ is irrelevant to what I’m going for.
In Cairn, you only use the highest value when rolling multiple damage dice. Block, Dodge, Parry ‘breaks’ that with magic, where you can use up to 4d6 for damage – at considerable personal risk. For firearms, I want to put them clearly above regular weapons in terms of power, yet with distinct drawbacks.
Flintlock Pistol
- Damage: 2d6.
- Range: Usable on targets that are close and nearby. Is impaired (roll 1d4 for damage, but 2d6 to determine misfire) at targets that are far.
Flintlock Rifle
- Bulky.
- Damage: 2d8.
- Range: Can be used as a bludgeoning weapon (1d4 damage) against close targets, can otherwise be used nearby and far.
- It can be equipped with a bayonet, which has it function as a Spear:
Tactical Considerations & Drawbacks
- These weapons are most likely costly and rare.
- Ammunition should be tracked; I’d say 5 rounds take up 1 inventory slot (given that it’s not just the actual projectile, but also the gunpowder etc.)
- These weapons must be reloaded after every shot. Reloading takes up an entire turn and prevents movement and other actions.
- These weapons are loud and can trigger an encounter roll when used in environments with roaming hostiles.
- Finally, contact with water makes misfires more likely. If the weapon has been recently submerged in water or is used in rain, misfires occur on both double values or if at least one die shows a 1.
Update
After writing these rules, leaning back and thinking, “Man, that was another banger of a post”, I thought, “Wait, I remember reading something about this in Carcass Crawler. And lo and behold, Carcass Crawler #1 features rules for Black Powder Firearms by Gavin Norman and Donn Stroud.
I did not consciously convert those rules to Cairn whilst writing this post, but there are many similarities, including misfires with damp weapons and encounter rolls when firing. So, I figured credit was due, as while I did write down the notes for this post just last week, there are enough similarities here to acknowledge that this ruleset probably planted the seed for these rules longer ago.