Firearms

With the advent of Black Powder and the ongoing need to combat the creatures of Void constantly increasing, new and more efficient and powerful means of of defense were needed. While this has gone through several iterations and degrees of potency and viability, the overall outcome at present in the world, is a fairly reliable flintlock design used by the larger organized militaries.

Utility

The organized world militaries is where you will find these weapons most commonly employed, though most hunting is still done by archery and trapping to keep costs low. With the expense and complexity of use that goes into crafting and maintaining these, even within most military orders it is generally only specialized troops such as the Wraith Guard and the The Stonebridge Fusiliers that are issued them.

Manufacturing

At present, each firearm is crafted by hand, requiring a skilled gunsmith to safely tool and shape the materials into a well balanced and reliable weapon. While some attempts have been made to assemble them on a line, these have all met with expensive and damaging results.

Social Impact

As these weapons have become increasingly more and more common, an underlying tension has sprung up between nations. While there have been no real wars since the signing of the The Pact of Erindall , the potential for one hangs constant over the lands. It is feared that an all out war between the more powerful armies could have globally devastating effect when paired with the knowledge that the Black Expansion is steadiliy growing and the lack of resources already taxing industry and manufacturing.

Children Technologies

Black Powder

Access & Availability

The most difficult aspects of obtaining firearms is the cost. While the technology is available to virtually anyone, the wood generally used in the construction of a firearm is exceedingly rare and expensive. In many cases alternatives are used in place of the wood to drive down costs, such as bone and even full metal constructions, but nothing functions quiet as well as the wooden stock in matters of balance and sustainability for the weapon.

Complexity

Only a well trained gunsmith can properly craft a firearm. It is a delicate balance of form and function, and an improperly crafted on could in turn misfire or even explode in the hands of the wielder. Even in use, the appropriate amounts of powder must be used or else the same risk applies. This is a procedure that requires forethought and training to safely pursue.

Discovery

Development of this technology was actually achieved with the combined efforts of several nations. The Bechtlarite alchemists played a major role in the development of the black powder needed to propel the projectiles from the weapon, but it was the Culvarkt engineers that brought the technology into its present state, with help and insight gained from the Hiversteadians. While they were developing this, other cultures made attempts as well. The Ventryte Dusk's Song Irregulars developed a design for a fire lance, which was a long polearm with a bone tube on the end that contained black powder and pellets that could be fired with a slow match or direct ignition was used. The early attempts by the Fouvienian War Chiefs yielded a much shorter weapon that used a slight variant of the black powder mixture and held no physical projectiles, and instead was used in tandem with a large bladder of flammable gasses which was carried on the back to bellow out gouts of flame.

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