Notes for guns, ammo and armour

Notes for guns – if the user is unsure of how historic guns function, or finds my notes inadequate, go on YouTube and look-up “flintlock” “caplock” or “breech-loader”, or any other term, to see videos of such guns in action. Note that I describe such guns broadly without specifications, for simplicity.



Small arms – these guns usually weigh no more than a few pounds and can be used by just about anyone. They can also be gripped by the barrel so that the handle serves as a rudimentary club.

Pistol: a firelock gun held in one hand, can be multi-barrelled.

Revolver: a gun with a revolving cylinder with up to eight or more chambers, allowing for rapid shooting, but expensive and uncommon in less-developed areas of the world. May jam or misfire.

Semi-automatic pistol: an early from of the modern handgun, usually having around five rounds only, and shoots pointed cartridges to better avoid jams. Such early semi-automatic pistols were quite small, and fired small bullets. These kinds of pistols are rare and expensive, with larger versions being bulky and unpopular, and ineffective as an improvised club. Other models had up to twenty-round magazines. Like early revolvers, may jam or misfire.



Two-handed firearms - such firearms mentioned below tend to be around seven to eight pounds. Bayonets may be attached at the end of muskets and rifles, and due to their weight, can get a bayonet through clothing and flesh easily.

Firelock: caplock/percussion lock or flintlock mechanism for a musket, carbine, musketoon, blunderbuss, or pistol. Such firearms may be double-barrelled, but if so, are heavier. Flintlocks may misfire in wet weather, but caplocks usually don't.

Muzzle-loader: refers to a firearm of which a ramrod is used to push a charge and bullet down the barrel. The most common firearm.

Smoothbore: musket with the inside of the barrel smooth, allowing faster reloading, but less accuracy and range. Shotguns also tend to be smoothbores.

Rifled musket: refers to a musket with the inside of the barrel having helical grooves, causing the ball to spin when fired, increasing range, accuracy and power, but the grooves make it a bit harder to ram the ball down the barrel.

Light carbine: a small or short rifle, shooting the same or similar ammo as pistols. Has less power and accuracy than other rifles.

Lever action carbine: carbine that has a lever to reload bullets, usually less powerful than muskets. Lever action firearms were not common in Europe.

Sawed-off shotgun: a shotgun with most of the barrel sawed off, to increase the spread of the shot, but obviously decreases range. Short enough to be held in one hand by a strong or fit wielder.

Arquebus/Caliver: a very old kind of firearm, discontinued by the arrival of the 1600s. Rather inaccurate, but at least lighter than a musket.



Heavy firearms - These modern guns weigh nearly ten pounds, and so require a fit or strong wielder to use effectively. If equipped with a bayonet, when the rifle is lunged home, the bayonet will pierce clothing and flesh easily due to all the weight in the gun.

Lever action rifle/repeating rifle and lever action shotgun: rifle or shotgun with a lever, allowing quick reloading, but can only shoot one kind of charge, that what it was designed for. The lever allows for very fast reloading until new cartridges need to be loaded. Lever action firearms were not common in Europe.

Shotgun/Scattergun/Peppergun: large two-handed gun, sometimes multi-barrelled, that shoots multiple projectiles at once. Shotguns usually were not used in warfare due to being too inaccurate, but useful against galloping horsemen. Additional barrels obviously increases the weight.

Pump-action/Slide-action shotgun: a shotgun that, when the handgrip is pulled back and forth, ejects a shell and loads a new one. Versatile, as can fire different kinds of shells. Shotguns such as these were not common in Europe.

Breech-loader: single-shot rifle, loaded at the back of the barrel.

Air rifle: rifled musket with an air reservoir and up to a twenty-round magazine, shoots quietly and without muzzle flash or smoke, making it an ideal sniper's weapon. A new air reservoir and magazine can simply be screwed in, allowing fast reloading, but a very fit user is needed to pump the air reservoir for adequate pressure for shooting. Such guns are delicate and damaged easily.

Bolt-action: modern rifle with a small lever that, when pulled, ejects the spent bullet and loads a new one. Uncommon overall, especially for citizenry.



Gatling guns, and other heavy machine guns, weigh around sixty pounds each, and require a crew of four to operate. Can unleash a horrific stream of bullets without overheating the barrels, as when they spin, gives them a short chance to cool-down a bit.



Cannons, howitzers, mortars and whatnot are so heavy they must be pulled by horses, or pushed by multiple operators, but vary in size. A cannonball can basically destroy anything in one hit, even break through castle walls. They can also be loaded with grapeshot, chain-shot (two cannonballs joined by a short chain), or canister shot (grapeshot held in a canister to reduce spread).





Notes for ammo – use the right bullet for the right job!

Round shot/ball: basic, cheap, round lead ball, fired from almost every type of gun. Multiple balls can be rammed down a muzzle-loader, and so used as a rudimentary musketoon.

Minie ball: bullet-shaped shot designed for rifled barrels, ironically not a ball. Good at piercing armour.

Buckshot: large, heavy lead shots or balls fired from shotguns. Can pierce armour.

Slug: very large ball or bullet fired from a shotgun as a single, huge shot. Too big to easily pierce armour, but the force can knock an armoured foe down especially if fired into a leg.

Scattershot: small lead balls fired from shotguns or muzzle-loaders, often in multiples.

Birdshot: tiny lead balls fired from shotguns or a muzzle-loader; a dozen or more can be loaded down a muzzle-loader. Ineffective against armour.

Hollow-tip: bullet with a hollow point, which spreads on impact, ripping apart tissue. Has less range and accuracy, and ineffective against solid armour.

Man-stopper: heavier, larger, lead bullet with a smaller charge, and so having less range and power, designed not to shoot through a body but smash into it, staying in the body, and so causing a larger wound and more pain.

Flat-headed: bullet with a flat top, having less range, accuracy and power obviously, but deals more damage to the body by making a larger hole, thus increasing the chance to incapacitate the target, shatter bones, and induce bleeding. The flat tip means it's not good for piercing armour.

Explosive: bullet that explodes on impact, causing big holes that induces severe bleeding and tissue damage. Expensive and dangerous, as they increase chances of misfiring. Can potentially ignite flammable things, too, such as barrels of gunpowder, crates of ammo or bombs, wooden buildings, and dried wood.





Notes for armour – the presence of werewolves and monsters, with their fangs and claws, has reintroduced the need for armour, as bullets do not necessarily stop a charging werewolf or monster! Nevertheless, armoured soldiers tend to be rare, but they are still useful for anti-monster patrols.

Scale, mail, and lamellar: flexible metal armour, allowing more freedom of movement than plate armour, and can withstand medieval weaponry and attacks, but firearms can shoot through. Offers some protection from shrapnel.

Plate and laminar: potentially bullet-proof at long range at least against old-fashioned firearms, and can deflect almost all conventional handheld and medieval weapons. Plate armour usually refers to solid plates of steel, whereas laminar refers to “banded armour” and so consists of a series of bands. Modern rifles will probably shoot through any armour.

Multiple breastplates can be screwed onto the front of a cuirass for additional protection against bullets, but modern bullets will eventually break through the layers of plates. Plate armour ranges from one to three millimetres thick. Plate armour is very hot to wear, but can withstand old-fashioned firearms, shrapnel, and scattershot.

Steampunk armour: mechanical or sometimes even robotic armour, too intricate and too variable to describe; varies depending on the character. Presumably, it is akin, or similar to, plate armour or laminar armour in defensive capabilities.

Soft armour: silk, cotton, linen, or some other canvas, when formed into a thick garment, can absorb any kind of attack, may even absorb modern bullets, but will possibly catch fire. Will gradually overheat the wearer in hot weather. Quite useful when worn beneath metal armour.