Firearms in PS

[Vankseal Serozan]

Hello fellow players. I would like to share some research I did and see what other players and maybe a dev or two have to say about it. I know firearms in planeshift sounds like a stretch but please, read what I have written and give an honest constructive opinion if are compelled to reply.

  I know this has been mentioned before back in 2005 but I would like to do a more thorough job at explaining and giving some support for it. I would like to start with a brief look at history. PS’s weaponry that I was able to find dated to either in or close to the 1500th century. Large powder weapons were in use during the 1300th century however they required at least 2 men to use and needed a hefty rest because they weighed so much. In 1600th century the English began using a matchlock musket in their battles that were easier to use but still slow to reload.
 
  Assuming PS follows a similar time line having firearms seems to be a smaller stretch than I first thought. Now if we take into consideration the dwarves’ talents of weapon making and construction combined with their knowledge of extremely strong alloys the idea of them making basic firearms sounds very possible to me. However you still need a propellant to launch your projectile. I have never read anything about gun powder in yliakum however explosions are not unknown, for example the quests from Levrus and Ferryd. If not gun powder perhaps something else can be used in its place.

  As far as how they would work it would seem you would need a load command that takes 20-40 (based on irl) seconds to complete and an quick fire once you click on one of the stance icons or do a /attack command. The time of the reload, the range of the projectile, the damage of the projectile and the area of effect (assuming you use shot) could all be varied by the amount of propellant and the size of the projectile/s and the material they are made of.

  In all honesty I think if wanted we could justify having them in game and we could also justify not having them in game. I do not know what plans have been made so I am just presenting this and eagerly waiting for your replies, sorry I couldn’t make it any shorter. 
 

[Knightspark9]

That sounds interesting, but I doubt the devs would want that.

[LigH]

We have magic and bows; but we do not even have a published alchemy, so the gun powder was probably not yet developed...

[Knightspark9]

We have magic and bows; but we do not even have a published alchemy, so the gun powder was probably not yet developed...

We do technically have alchemists, but it hasn't been implemented yet. Maybe in the future.

[Rigwyn]

Something to consider.. If we had magic in RL as we do in PS, would weapons have evolved via the same path? Would we be using gun power as a propellant or would there be some magical element to firing and aiming of the device? Likewise, is it natural for weapons in PS to develop in that way.

I'm not knocking your idea, just tossing in a point of view.

[Caraick]

Meh.

I'd be extremely hesitant before we go bringing in gunpowder to the equation.  Rigwyn makes a very valid point in bringing up the presence of magic. However, I'd extend Rigwyn's point not to modify the evolution of weapons, but rather to eliminate them entirely.  If you examine the technology present in the winch, and other areas in-game, it would seem perfectly reasonable to assume that Yliakum has evolved just fine without gunpowder, and sees little need for requiring such a thing.  Magic makes gunpowder slightly superfluous, in a way. 

[Knightspark9]

@Caraick: Think of it from the sense of how many great things can happen; an accident. Now, magic is fine for those who can use it, but there are some who mistrust it, and would go for archery. But bows and arrows can't go all that far, can they? Someone may try something, so we shouldn't rule out the possibility.

If we add this to the fact of many people wanting something easy, ie pulling a trigger to avoid all of the hassle, then yes, it'd make sense. In the case of the crossbow, this could also be considered, but what's key is the distance. Startling someone. There are numerable things that need to be considered in this situation.

[tman]

I agree that it could be plausible for firearm technology to be developed within the game's settings, but I can't imagine them fitting in with the rest of the world.  If I saw any of the characters in the game holding a musket I'd feel like that would be really weird.

I would personally rather see more work done on the ranged skill.  Perhaps some crossbows with the slow reload and quick fire mechanism you described.  You could even add explosives to crossbow bolts or poison bolt/arrow tips for added effects.  I feel like these changes would have similar effects to adding firearms but would mesh better with the game world.

[Caraick]

Tman makes a very valid suggestion. Much more in keeping with the current settings and mechanics of PS.

[Phantomboy86]

I once had ideas for such things, something like a Yliakum version of a cannon.  Red Way is the obvious choice here for firearm technology, you would still need a cannon barrel, but then instead of a squad thats putting in the shell and cleaning the barrel and blah blah, you'd have a team of mages prepping an explosive bit of magic to propel the cannonball.

Either way, even if it was all perfectly settings oriented and everybody wanted it, you still wont see it for years and years.

[Vankseal Serozan]

@ Phatomboy86, you could use a cannon and mage combo also I think it might be just as good to launch rocks or bombs from a sling (the range would not be as good though I'm guessing).

@ Rigwyn, Very good point.
 
@ Caraick, I have to agree that magic fills the role of gunpowder pretty well.

@ tman, Great ideas, I believe they would fit very well in game.

I have to agree with you that magic fills in the role of gunpowder very well. If one can cause an explosion with a spell then I do not see any real need for gunpowder in game. The winch area runs off of the Blue and Azure way if I am not mistaken giving the impression that even the technology is mixed with the magic instead of standing alone.
Some people may mistrust magic, but Talad gave the people glyphs to help them. I have not seen any examples of people mistrusting magic in the settings that I can remember.
   

[Knightspark9]

@Vankseal Serozan: Of course some things aren't going to be in the lore, it's more of personal phobias, and of course lack of ability. It would make sense for those who would, instead of magic rely on the possibility of gunpowder. Yliakum, from what I've read has biomes that have all the needed materials for gunpowder. If someone burned it, then it could work as an explosive for those who don't use magic.

(That and magic is terribly overused anyways.)

[Vankseal Serozan]

@ Knightspark9, Sorry if I said something without thinking it through very well. I have a cold so I'm having a hard time thinking stuff through thoroughly. I forgot to mention that Harnquist shows he does not like magic and does not trust it in one of his quests. And yes, some races are better at magic than others when it comes to magic. Example, the Lemur make far better mages then the Kran. I would agree that magic is over used but that is more of a balancing problem I believe.

[Knightspark9]

@Vankseal Serozan: No need to apologize; we all make some mistakes here and there.

Anyways, since magic is overused, yliakum has the proper biomes, etc. Then I'd say it could exist. Heck, it could have a history for fireworks, or it could be a new thing. But Yliakum's evolution of weapons point to something, (pardon the pun,) explosive. The dwarves are known for strong metal alloys, and there are a fare share of engineers in the population of Yliakum.

Considering the way things have been working for about what, 750 years, in addition to technology and knowledge from other races, then Yliakum could very well have gunpowder.

(Magic and melee are overused. I'd say it's time those who use ranged attacks got a bit of use.)

[tman]

I don't think the question is so much whether it could happen as much as whether people WANT it to happen.  Either side could easily come up with a list of reasons why gunpowder/firearms are or are not plausible given the game settings.  Since the settings are all made up, we'll never know for sure until one of the devs tells us.

Personally I don't like the idea of players running around with guns.  Even if it's plausible, I don't see it fitting in with the rest of the world.  I would much prefer if they work on the ranged skill in other ways (crossbows, poison, flaming arrows, etc).  Of course that's just my opinion.  If you want it to happen, you don't need to win me over, you just need to convince the devs.

If you come up with some reasons why firearms would be good for the game and not just why they're "possible," then I'd be more likely to be won over.