I've seen some interesting and inspiring frontier fantasy or pirate fantasy posts here and there on the internet lately, and it got me thinking about a frontier fantasy setting I created years ago for Hero System. Of course, these types of fantasy often allow for gunpowder weapons, and I've seen several takes on muskets and cannons in gaming, but there are some things you can do with old-fashioned muzzleloading arms that you can't do with more modern ones, and games often overlook these options. Here, I've converted my Hero rules over for use in Dungeon Crawl Classics or the D&D Rules Cyclopedia edition. RC players will have to either use funky DCC dice for some damage rolls here, or use a workaround with the standard polyhedral dice; I can provide help with that if anyone needs it.
| Matchlock Musket |
75 |
Matchlock Pistol |
35 |
| Wheellock Musket |
100 |
Wheellock Pistol |
50 |
| Matchlock Fowling Piece |
80 |
Wheellock Fowling Piece |
110 |
| Rifled Musket (wheellock) |
200 |
Grenado Gun (matchlock) |
150 |
| Bullets (12) |
3 |
Powder, 1 pound horn |
15 |
| Bullet Mold |
9 |
Lead for 12 bullets |
2 |
| Grenado |
20 |
Match/foot |
3 |
| Swivel Gun/Murtherer |
300 |
|
|
Any pistol, musket, rifle, or fowling piece may be made in a double barrelled version for an additional 75% of cost. Additional barrels add another 75% of cost each. Any musket may be made in a volleygun version for an additional 50% cost. A single-barreled fowling piece may be made with a flared bell muzzle for an additional 10% cost.
| Rabinet |
750 |
Ammo |
1 |
| Falconet |
1500 |
Ammo |
3 |
| Minion (Grasshopper Gun) |
3000 |
Ammo |
15 |
| Quartocannon |
7000 |
Ammo |
35 |
| Demicannon |
12000 |
Ammo |
90 |
| Cannon |
25000 |
Ammo |
150 |
| Basilisk |
50000 |
Ammo |
250 |
| Mortar |
3000 |
Ammo |
50 |
| Pedrero |
10000 |
Ammo |
225 |
| Heavy Mortar |
20000 |
Ammo |
325 |
| Serpentine Powder, 5lb keg |
35 |
Corned Powder, 5lb keg |
75 |
| Serpentine Powder, 10lb keg |
60 |
Corned Powder, 10lb keg |
140 |
| Serpentine Powder, 20lb keg |
110 |
Corned Powder, 20lb keg |
250 |
Any artillery piece can be built as an organ gun for an additional 50% cost and 50% weight per barrel. Artillery pieces of Quartocannon size or larger can be built as a carronade for no additional cost or weight. All ammunition costs the same, whether it's a ball, grapeshot, bar shot, chain shot, or expanding shot.
|
DMG |
Range |
| Pistol |
1d6 |
25'/50'/100' |
| Musket* |
1d8 |
50'/100'/200' |
| Rifled Musket* |
1d10 |
75'/150'/300' |
| Fowling Piece* |
2d5# |
30'/70'/150' |
| Grenado |
1d6+ within 10' |
10'/20'/30' |
| Grenado Gun* |
as grenado |
30'/70'/150' |
| Swivel Gun/Murtherer+ |
1d12 |
75'/150'/300' |
| Rabinet+ |
1d14 |
100'/200'/400' |
| Falconet+ |
1d16 |
110'/225'/450' |
| Minion (Grasshopper Gun)+ |
1d20 |
125'/250'/500' |
| Quartocannon+ |
1d24 |
135'/275'/550' |
| Demicannon+ |
1d30 |
150'/300'/600' |
| Cannon+ |
1d30+6 |
160'/325'/650' |
| Basilisk+ |
1d30+12 |
175'/350'/700' |
| Mortar+ |
1d12^ within 15' |
(150')/300'/600' |
| Pedrero+ |
1d20^ within 20' |
(160')/325'/650' |
| Heavy Mortar+ |
2d14^ within 25' |
(175')/350'/700' |
| Serpentine Powder, 5lb keg |
1d10 |
-- |
| Serpentine Powder, 10lb keg |
1d14 |
-- |
| Serpentine Powder, 20lb keg |
1d20 |
-- |
| Corned Powder, 5lb keg |
1d14 |
-- |
| Corned Powder, 10lb keg |
1d20 |
-- |
| Corned Powder, 20lb keg |
1d30 |
-- |
* Two handed weapon (d16 initiative in DCC; lose initiative unless opponent is using a two handed weapon in RC)
# Close range damage: 2d5; medium range damage: higher of 2d5; long range damage: lower of 2d5
+ Mounted weapon (lose initiative unless fighting against mounted weapons or siege weapons)
^ Save for half damage (Reflex save vs attack roll for DCC; Dragon breath for RC)
New Rules:
Firing at ships – Artillery firing at ships do 1/5 normal damage, applied against the ship's hull points (see D&D Expert set or Rules Compendium).
Firearms vs. Armor – Firearms are very effective against normal armor, generally punching right through. Disregard the value of any worn armor when determining Armor Class of the target. Magic armor still adds in its magic bonus, characters still get Dexterity bonuses, and small targets still get their bonuses for size (pixies, stirges, etc) when being fired on by a regular ball-firing weapon. Creatures with natural armor still get their normal AC; you won't take down a dragon just because you brought a pistol.
Fowling Pieces – Made for hunting ducks, quail, and other fowl, a fowling piece fires a handful of small shot rather than a large ball. These shot are relatively ineffective at penetrating armor (normal AC for worn armor), but are very good at hitting small, agile targets. The target of an attacker with a fowling piece gets no Dexterity or size bonuses when fired on by a fowling piece.
Reloading – Small arms (up to the size of the swivel gun) generally take 4 rounds to reload, firing on the 5th round. During this time, the loading character can't move and does not get their Dexterity bonus. Rifles take an extra round to load, due to the tight tolerance between the bullet and the barrel.
Powder usage – Most small arms get 12 charges from a pound of powder. Swivel guns get 10 charges from a pound. Grenado guns fire a grenado with ¼ pound of powder. Multiple barrel weapons must use a charge and a ball or shot for each barrel. All small arms use corned powder.
Cannons and mortars can use either serpentine powder or corned powder. If using the less powerful serpentine powder, a rabinet gets 3 charges per pound of powder, a falconet gets 1 charge per pound, a minion uses 6 pounds per charge, a quartocannon uses 12 pounds per charge, a demicannon 32 pounds, a cannon 50 pounds, and a basilisk 90 pounds. A mortar uses 8 pounds, a pedrero 40 pounds, and a heavy mortar 75 pounds. Corned powder is twice as powerful, so a rabinet gets 6 charges per
pound, a falconet 2 charges per pound, a minion uses 3 pounds per charge, a quartocannon 6 pounds, etc.
Match burn rates – Quickmatch comes in several varieties, with burn rates ranging from 10-100 feet per second. Slow match burns at 1 foot per hour. Characters may specify which type they want when they buy it. Match found while adventuring will need to be tested in order to determine how fast it burns, in most cases. Using match without testing it can be embarrassing or even very dangerous.
Flared Bells – A fowling piece may be built with a flared bell muzzle. This reduces reload time by one round. Only a single barreled fowling piece may be made with a flared bell.
Volley Guns – A volley gun is a multi-barreled smoothbore musket with one lock. Firing the weapon fires all the barrels at the same time, each barrel getting a separate attack roll. Due to the added recoil, the attack rolls of a volley gun are decreased by 1 for a two barreled version, by 2 for a 3-4 barreled version, and by 3 for a 5-8 barreled version (the maximum size).
Variant ammunition – Black powder weapons can be loaded in many different ways: with shot, with ball, with stones, with shot and ball, with two balls, or with a double charge of gunpowder. Cannons have even more options available. The weapons table shows the ballistic characteristics of the most common type of ammunition for the weapon type, assuming that fowling pieces are loaded with shot, that mortars are loaded with shells, and that all other weapons are loaded with a single ball. Variants follow:
Double shot: Loading two of the standard type of ammunition is called "double shotting". Double shotting a weapon takes extra time (lose a die step to initiative for DCC, -1 initiative penalty for RC) and confers two attack rolls for one attack action. Both attacks must be made against the same target or against two adjacent targets. If the attacker rolls a 1 on the attack roll, the powder charge was not powerful enough to move the extra ammunition from the barrel, and it will take at least several minutes, if not hours, to clear the weapon.
Double charge: Loading an extra ration of gunpowder into the weapon is called "double charging". Double charging takes no extra time, and gives the weapon an additional +1 to hit, additional range (+5'
to close range, +25' to medium, +50' to long), and +1d4 damage. If the attacker rolls a 1 on the attack roll, the powder charge blows the weapon apart, causing the same damage to the attacker as would have been inflicted had the weapon hit. If a weapon is double shotted and double charged, then this failure result takes precedence.
Loading shot into a ball-firing weapon: This can be done with all small arms, and artillery pieces up to minion in size. Loading shot into a ball-firing weapon reduces range to 30'/70'/150' regardless of what it is when firing ball ammunition. Armor now gets full value vs this attack, but Dexterity and size are ignored. Damage works as with the fowling piece (2 dice at close range, higher of 2 dice at medium, lower of 2 dice at long) and is as follows:
| ball damage |
shot damage |
| 1d6 |
2d3 |
| 1d8 |
2d4 |
| 1d10 |
2d5 |
| 1d12 |
2d6 |
| 1d14 |
2d7 |
| 1d16 |
2d8 |
| 1d20 |
2d10 |
Loading a ball into a fowling piece: Loading a ball into a fowling piece gives it a damage of 1d8. Worn armor is no longer considered in Armor Class, but Dexterity and size now are.
Loading stones, nails, glass, or other junk: Loading stones or junk
into a firearm (whether a ball-firing weapon or a fowling piece) is similar to loading it with shot. Since stones and steel junk are not as heavy as lead, when rolling damage, 3 dice are rolled and the highest die is discarded, with the other 2 dice being read as for shot.
Mixing shot and ball: When mixing shot and ball in any firearm, the attacker gets two attack rolls per action. If only one attack hits, it is assumed to be the shot, and damage is inflicted as normal for shot fired from that type of weapon. If both attacks hit, the ball also hits, doing damage as normal for ball ammunition fired from that type of weapon. The weapon is considered to be double-shotted for misfire purposes.
Bar shot, chain shot, and expanding shot: These are all different types of shot for naval artillery. They are only made for Quartocannons and larger, and cost the same as a regular ball. These types of shot are are designed to cut sails and rigging. Damage for shots fired against the rigging is tracked separately for purposes of reducing movement, but this damage can not sink the ship. These kinds of shot do full regular damage to personnel and 1/10 damage to the ship's regular hull points.
Grapeshot: Grapeshot is a case of large balls (each equivalent to a minion ball) fired from a Quartocannon or larger, essentially turning it into a large blunderbuss. Grapeshot covers a cone shaped area reaching out to the gun's close range, with a base of 1/2 the close range distance. Anything within this cone suffers the gun's normal damage (save for half damage: Reflex save vs attack roll for DCC, save vs Dragon Breath for RC). Grapeshot does 1/2 damage against structures and 1/10 against the hull points of a ship, and as such, is usually used against personnel. A canister of grapeshot costs the same as a ball for the same weapon.
Red-hot shot: Many coastal fortresses have furnaces for heating balls to a glowing red heat. These red-hot shot can set a ship aflame if they lodge in the hull, with a 1 in 10 chance per round for d10 minutes (d10x6 rounds). Dousing the shot with water prevents the shot from starting a fire as long as it is actively doused; each round of dousing also reduces the time it could start a fire (reduce the d10 minutes rolled earlier by 1 minute per round that the shot is doused). Ships set afire will take one point of hull damage per turn for the first two turns, then damage doubles each turn afterwards. A ten crew member fire fighting detail can reduce this damage by 1d6 points per turn; if this is more than the damage that would have been inflicted, the fire is out.
Crew-served weapons – Most artillery is crewed by more than one man. The crew sizes listed are the minimum effective crew sizes. Military units will tend to have larger crews; the extra men tend horses while the weapon is in action. Naval gun crews will adhere more strongly to the minimum effective crew size. Artillery which is crewed by fewer than the minimum effective crew will have their reload time increased as listed.
| Artillery |
Normal Crew |
Normal Reload |
Crew -1 |
Crew -2 |
Crew -3 |
Crew -4 |
Crew -5 |
| Rabinet |
2 |
5 rounds |
10 rounds |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Falconet |
2 |
10 rounds (1 minute) |
2 minutes |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Minion (Grasshopper Gun) |
2 |
3 minutes |
4 minutes |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Quartocannon |
3 |
5 minutes |
10 minutes |
15 minutes |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Demicannon |
3 |
6 minutes |
12 minutes |
18 minutes |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Cannon |
4 |
8 minutes |
12 minutes |
18 minutes |
24 minutes |
-- |
-- |
| Basilisk |
6 |
10 minutes (1 turn) |
15 minutes |
20 minutes |
25 minutes |
30 minutes |
35 minutes |
| Mortar |
3 |
2 minutes |
3 minutes |
4 minutes |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Pedrero |
4 |
4 minutes |
6 minutes |
8 minutes |
12 minutes |
-- |
-- |
| Heavy Mortar |
6 |
6 minutes |
12 minutes |
18 minutes |
25 minutes |
30 minutes |
35 minutes |
Organ Guns – Any cannon-type gun can be built as an organ gun -- a gun with multiple barrels. This gives the weapon a number of attacks equal to the number of barrels used. Each barrel must be reloaded separately, at full standard reload rate each. An organ gun does not have to fire all of its barrels at once.
Carronades – Artillery pieces of quartocannon size and larger can be constructed as a carronade, if desired. A carronade has a shorter, heavier barrel, giving it reduced range as compared to a long gun, but it can hold a heavier charge. A typical carronade charge is 50% heavier than a powder charge for a comparably sized long gun. This carronade charge can be doubled, following all normal rules for double-charging. A carronade has a range equal to the next lower size of artillery, damage equal to the next larger size (a basilisk sized carronade does 1d30+18 damage), and costs the same as a comparable long gun.
Use of firearms vs non-firearm wielding opponents – Using firearms against opponents without them has some important effects on morale. Minor NPCs facing opponents armed with firearms must make a morale check each time they are fired on if their side does not have firearms as well, surrendering or retreating as best fits the situation. PCs and major NPCs aren't subject to this, but at the DM's option must succeed at a saving throw (DCC: Will save vs opponent's attack roll; RC: Save vs Death) in order to make any aggressive action (moving toward the enemy and/or attacking)
Naval Gunfire – Because of the action of the ocean's waves in rocking the ship, gunners on a ship suffer an additional penalty to attack rolls equal to (the wind's Beaufort number minus 4) x2. For example, in a gentle breeze (Beaufort number 3) the penalty would be (3-4 = -1 which is less than 0) no penalty at all, but in a strong gale (Beaufort number 9) the penalty would be (9-4 = 5 x 2 =10) -10 to all attacks.
