Warcraft

A list with descriptions, and the occasional illustration, of weaponry.

Items for personal defense shall be included.

Blunderbuss -

a personal firearm similar to a musket, but with a flared barrel. It fires shot rather than balls. Also the name of a sailing ship which, they say, fired not at all.

Crossbow -

a weapon that shoots arrows from a musket-like stock. The Drammune once relied heavily on them. Still a silent killer, as ye shall learn.

Deck gun -

any cannon that fires from the deck of a ship. Enough of them together create a thick cloud of smoke, making swordwork difficult. But not impossible.

Dirk -

a long knife with a straight blade.

Grapeshot -

instead of a single cannon ball, you load a bag of round metal balls the size of grapes into a canvas bag. Not much for sinking ships, but puts a world of hurt on enemy sailors.

Grappling Gun -

the Drammune weapon of choice for ensuring hand to hand combat at sea. Small deck guns fire three-pronged hooks attached to lines. Hooks get caught in the rigging, and lines are then pulled by hand to draw two ships together. If you're lucky, you'll never see it.

 

Halberd -

An effective weapon for hand to hand combat, favored by guardsmen and dragoons. Fix an axe head to the shaft of a spear, just under a long, tapered spear point. You can imagine the damage done.

Matchlock Pistol -

in need of a low-cost sidearm? This will do. Rather than using a flint to spark the firing mechanism, you light a small wick that burns slowly, awaiting you to pull the trigger. A bit of foul smell. Not much in the rain. But cheap and effective.

Musket -

a shouldered weapon firing a ball a good distance with accuracy. Smooth bore. Standard for both the army and navy. Good thing, too, because pirates and the Drammune are quite skilled with them.

Pike -

a long-tipped spear.

Rapier -

a slender, sharp-pointed sword, good for duels. Some have fancy handguards, but in Nearing Vast not too many. The best ones in the Kingdom are made in the forges of Pyrre Dunn.

Round Shot -

cannonballs, like you usually think of them. Round, solid, fired from the muzzle of a weapon. These are the reason a single shot is often called a "round." I think.

Scrapshot -

nasty ammunition fired from a cannon, made up of about anything deadly you have at hand. Nails, screws, bones, silverware, whatever you have you pour it into burlap sacks that you then load into the muzzle. Spews a wide swath of disfiguring destruction. Grapeshot is as deadly, but not as frightening. Imagine finding a fork coming out the back of your forearm.

Wheel-lock pistol -

an elegant, advanced piece of weaponry that uses a wind-up mechanism to provide the spark. The advantage is that the workings, fire and all, can be fully encased so that wind and water have little effect. The disadvantage is it's all very expensive. Scatter Wilkins is the only person I know about who owns one.

Questions or suggestions? Bring 'em to my pub!