The only thing more dangerous than a wizard, who has spent decades studying the arcane arts, is a gunslinger with an Aether Pistol, who has not.
- Ayoade
Overview
Developed in
Wal’Kur , there is a class of magical weapon known as "firearms". These tend to come in two forms(though more ingenious engineers have developed others): Aether Pistol and Aether Rifle.
Due to their reliance on artisans to craft and maintain the ammunition, and a steady supply of
Aether, they are rarely used outside of Wal'Kur, though some have made their way around the world as museum pieces or, in rare cases, functional weapons.
Aether Pistol
Of limited range but impressive destructive power. The pistol is usually carried as a single weapon, though can be wielded in pairs. To do so requires the
Gunslinger Feat.
Aether Rifle
Longer range than the pistol but requiring two hands to operate.
Ammunition and Operation
All firearms operate on the same basic principals:
- An Aether-shot is placed in the breach of the weapon. Either manually or by some form of delivery mechanism. This provides the Material of what is effectively a rudimentary spellcasting process.
- A moving mechanism must strike the aether-shot with enough force to generate noise. This compromises the most basic Verbal and Somatic elements of the spell. Note: This means a firearm cannot be fired within a Silence spell effect, or similar.
- The raw magical energy released from the aether-shot is guided down the barrel through a series of glyphs akin to a Glyph of Warding spell to ensure the magical energy is directed correctly.
- The magical energy, assuming a skilled artisan has produced the shot, will then exit the barrel and take the most basic form of a spell, as if cast from a wand. Skilled artisans may be able to imbue some variance to the spell within the shot itself. This can take the form of different elemental damage or even different effects.
- Though there is usually nothing left of the shot, if impure or poorly crafted ammunition is used, a chunk of residue or rock can be left in the breach. This prevents the next shot being fired until it is cleared. A common solution to this is to use a rotating cylinder with each chamber containing a single aether shot. This limits the total number of shots but increases reliability.
