This article presents rules for introducing black powder firearms of the types used in the Early Modern period of history into your Old-School Essentials games. Very early guns were essentially handheld cannons, but this article skips ahead to the musket style guns from the 1400s onward. The term “musket” is used for simplicity although there were many names applied to these early guns.
A gun is loaded through the muzzle, first with gun powder, then with wad and balls (or shot). A small tool is used to set the ball and wad into the tip of the barrel, and a longer ramrod is used to firmly seat these against the gunpowder. The priming pan is also loaded with gunpowder and the weapon fired by applying a spark to the pan, causing the powder to burn, thus igniting the load in the barrel and pushing the wad and ball out of the gun at explosive speeds. The only thing that changed over 3 to 4 hundred years was the firing mechanism: the method of causing the spark.
Three types of firing mechanisms (matchlock, wheellock, and flintlock) and four types of firearms (blunderbusses, muskets, heavy muskets, and pistols) are described overleaf.
Availability: Historically, different types of firing mechanisms were developed and used at different points in history. The referee should decide which types are available in the campaign.
The major advantage of firearms, which eventually made them dominant over bows historically, is their relative ease of use. Using a bow effectively takes extensive training, whereas firearms can be mastered in a short time.
Non-martial classes: May use a pistol but no other firearms.
Semi-martial classes: May use a pistol, blunderbuss, or musket, but not a heavy musket.
Martial classes: May use any firearm.
Clerics: The referee should decide whether or not firearms are prohibited by the religious doctrine of clerics.
Behavioural restrictions: Other classes may have special restrictions that limit their use of firearms, despite theoretically being able to use them. For example, the knight class in Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy is prohibited from using missile weapons. This also precludes firearms. The referee should rule on such cases if they arise with other classes.
Another advantage of firearms over bows is that they can be loaded in advance of combat and easily carried in a ready-tofire state.
Fire and falling: The referee may rule that pre-loaded firearms may go off if a character falls or is subjected to fire. In such cases, it is likely that the character themselves may be damaged by the shot!
| Firearm Combat Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Damage | Qualities |
| Blunderbuss | 1d6 | Club (1d4), Loud, Misfire, Missile (5’–10’ / 11’–25’ / 26’–40’), Point blank, Reload, Spread, Two-handed |
| Heavy musket | 1d10 | Misfire, Loud, Missile (5’–70’ / 71’–140’ / 141’–210’), Reload, Slow, Two-handed |
| Musket | 1d10 | Club (1d6), Loud, Misfire, Missile (5’–50’ / 51’–100’ / 101’–140’), Reload, Slow, Two-handed |
| Pistol | 1d8 | Club (1d4), Loud, Misfire, Missile (5’–25’ / 26’–50’ / 51’–90’), Point blank, Reload |
| Matchlock Firearms | ||
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Cost (gp) | Weight (coins) |
| Blunderbuss | 25 | 45 |
| Heavy musket | 35 | 150 |
| Musket | 30 | 75 |
| Pistol | 20 | 20 |
| Wheellock Firearms | ||
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Cost (gp) | Weight (coins) |
| Blunderbuss | 200 | 45 |
| Heavy musket | 300 | 150 |
| Musket | 250 | 75 |
| Pistol | 170 | 20 |
| Flintlock Firearms | ||
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Cost (gp) | Weight (coins) |
| Blunderbuss | 100 | 45 |
| Heavy musket | 140 | 150 |
| Musket | 120 | 75 |
| Pistol | 80 | 20 |
| Accessories | |
|---|---|
| Item | Cost (gp) |
| Ammunition Pouch | 5 |
If the optional rule for detailed encumbrance is used (see Old-School Essentials), the listed weight of weapons is tracked. The listed weight of missile weapons already includes the weight of the ammunition and its container.
Matchlock guns: Lit with a slow burning rope that pushes against the flash pan when the trigger is pulled. Loose historical timeline: 1400s–1500s.
Wheellock guns: Lit with a spinning wheel that is set by turning the mechanism with a wrench. Loose historical timeline: 1500s–1600s.
Flintlock guns: Sparked by a piece of flint striking against steel when the trigger is pulled. Loose historical timeline: 1600s–1800s.
Pistol: A single-handed gun with a barrel length less than 16”. Unlike most missile weapons, a pistol can be fired in melee.
Blunderbuss: (Also known as a musketoon.) A two-handed gun with a barrel from 13–30” long. It is shot from the hip. Unlike most missile weapons, a blunderbuss can be fired in melee. It uses shot composed of many smaller balls, instead of a single, large ball and, at longer ranges, causes damage to targets in an area.
Musket: A two-handed gun with a barrel length of 40–60”.
Heavy musket: A two-handed gun with a barrel length over 60”. It requires a forked prop to aim and fire. If fired without the prop, the attack roll is penalised by –2. (Unlike the other firearms presented here, heavy muskets are too large and unwieldy to be used as a club in melee.)
Ammunition pouch: Enough balls (or shot), powder, wadding, and cord for 20 shots.
Damage: Die rolled when using the optional rule for variable weapon damage
Club: May be used as a club in melee (5’ or less), for the damage listed. On an unmodified attack roll of 1–3, the weapon is damaged and cannot be fired until repaired by a gunsmith.
Loud: The first time in an encounter a weapon with this quality is fired, the noise triggers a wandering monster check and causes animals (except those trained for battle) to make a morale check or flee. At the referee’s discretion, human-like creatures of 2 HD or less from cultures without firearms may also be affected.
Misfire: Unmodified attack rolls in a certain range (see table below) indicate that a misfire occurs. The firearm must be fully cleaned before it can be used again. Cleaning requires 1 turn.
| Misfires by Unmodified Attack Roll | ||
|---|---|---|
| Firing Mechanism | Normal Conditions | Damp Conditions |
| Matchlock | 1-3 | 1-6 |
| Flintlock | 1-2 | 1-4 |
| Wheellock | 1 | 1-2 |
Missile: Fired weapon (greater than 5’ distance). The distances for short (+1 to hit), medium, and long (–1 to hit) range are shown in parentheses.
Point blank: May be fired at an opponent in melee range (5’ or less). +1 to hit.
Reload: Requires a round to reload between shots; can only be fired every second round.
Slow: The character acts last in each combat round (see Combat in Old-School Essentials).
Spread: At medium or long range, targets all creatures in an area—a 5’ square at medium range and a 10’ square at long range. Make a single attack roll and compare against each target’s AC; roll damage for each target hit.
Two-handed: Requires both hands; the character cannot use a shield.