Bar Shot
Fire As They Bear!
"You don't waste bar shot trying to sink a ship. You use it to make damn sure she ain't goin' anywhere."
There are many ways to win a naval battle.
Sinking an enemy vessel is certainly one of them, but it is rarely the most profitable, nor always the safest. A ship lying on the seabed carries its cargo, charts, prisoners, and secrets down with it. A ship left drifting, stripped of its ability to maneuver, can be boarded at leisure.
Bar shot was created for exactly that purpose.
Unlike the familiar cannonball, bar shot consists of two smaller iron projectiles joined by a rigid iron bar. The unusual shape makes it aerodynamically unstable, sacrificing accuracy in exchange for tremendous destructive power against long, narrow structures. As the projectile tumbles through the air, the spinning bar acts like an enormous iron club, smashing apart anything unfortunate enough to stand in its path.
Its preferred targets are not hulls.
They are the parts of a ship that allow it to move.
Masts, yards, spars, booms, rudders, exposed steering linkages, paddle shafts, and other rigid mechanical components are all vulnerable to bar shot. A single well-placed strike can snap heavy timbers that took months to shape, shear away a steering mechanism, or shatter the exposed machinery driving more advanced vessels. While repairing a punctured hull may require little more than timber and determination, replacing a broken mast at sea is another matter entirely. A crippled vessel may spend days rigging emergency replacements before it can sail effectively again.
This distinction has made bar shot a favorite of naval officers, privateers, and pirates alike.
Warships employ it to halt fleeing enemies before they can escape into open water. Merchant escorts use it to disable raiders without immediately consigning valuable cargo to the depths. Pirates value it perhaps more than anyone, for a ship robbed of its mobility is often a ship already captured. Few captains relish boarding a vessel that still enjoys freedom of movement. They much prefer climbing aboard one that can neither flee nor maneuver.
Because of its awkward flight, bar shot is generally reserved for relatively close engagements. At extreme distances it becomes unpredictable, often tumbling harmlessly into the sea or missing entirely. Skilled gunners therefore wait until the target has committed to an approach before loading the distinctive ammunition. Veteran crews learn to judge the moment almost instinctively, firing just as the enemy enters the range where accuracy begins to outweigh the projectile's erratic nature.
Although most closely associated with naval warfare, bar shot has found occasional use elsewhere. Coastal fortifications employ it against siege towers, windmills converted into defensive positions, and exposed mechanical structures. River patrols use it to disable smugglers attempting to flee narrow waterways. Engineers have even adapted it for destroying exposed drive shafts and steering assemblies on experimental mechanical vehicles whose vulnerable components cannot easily be armored.
Its effectiveness, however, comes with important limitations.
The projectile is remarkably poor against broad surfaces. Hulls absorb its energy inefficiently, sails often allow it to pass through with surprisingly little effect, and flexible rigging frequently bends or parts without suffering catastrophic damage. Against infantry, fortifications, or creatures, ordinary round shot remains vastly superior. Bar shot is a specialist's ammunition, intended for a handful of very specific targets and rarely loaded unless those targets present themselves.
Manufacturing the ammunition also requires greater precision than casting ordinary cannonballs. The connecting bar must be forged perfectly straight and securely joined to both halves. Any weakness risks the projectile breaking apart inside the barrel or flying erratically after discharge, endangering friendly crews as readily as the enemy. Competent artillery masters therefore inspect every bar shot carefully before allowing it anywhere near a loaded cannon.
Among experienced sailors, few sights inspire more immediate concern than the unmistakable silhouette of bar shot being carried toward a waiting gun. It tells them that the enemy has no intention of simply trading broadsides.
Someone has decided the battle will end with one ship dead in the water.
And once the wind is gone, the boarding hooks are never far behind.
Bar Shot
A pair of heavy projectiles joined by a rigid iron bar, designed to smash exposed supports, steering mechanisms, and power-transmission components.
| Damage | Range | Weight | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special | 400/1,600 ft. | 20 lb. | 20 gp |
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