Doing R&D In The Campaign
Using What The Rules Gave You To Add To A Campaign
In the Tower Campaign there’s been an effort for most of a year, starting during the tale end of the initial wargame phase, for developing firearms. Despite real life and in-game setbacks, those research and development efforts are coming to fruition soon. I am now going over how I adjudicated this.
The Creation of Gunpowder
For this I did not go initially to the Item Creation rules, but I did decide that an Alchemist (and Laboratory) was required in addition to a Library. The reason is that I handled this entire process using the Spell Research procedure.
For black powder—the stuff that leaves all that white smoke made by firearms (small arms or artillery) discharging before the late 19th Century—I concentrated upon the effect that it allows: the development and use of explosives, meaning Fireball.
Base Research Cost: 600 gp + (1d4x100)gp per week.
Minimum Time: Three weeks, with monthly durations thereafter if no success.
Chance of Success: 10+(INT of Researcher)+(Level of Researcher)-(2x Spell Level). This turns out to be 10+15+1-6= 10%.
Costs must be paid per week, even if there is no success check. Research continues until Success is had, Funding runs out, or External factors force interruption.
That 10% chance, only rolling once per month, is brutal. It took most of the initial campaign to get that initial breakthrough, and it was not cheap. Sacking enemy treasures is what kept going.
But it did succeed, which led to the next stage: weaponization.
The Guns of Onemvault
Once you have black powder, you have what you need to make firearms. They won’t be pretty, but using the right kind at the right time makes all the difference. We started with cannons. Why?
And firearms, once developed to a point where they can reliably outrange longbows and ballistae, become something truly feared by both hordes of orcs on the ground and those above driving them to the slaughter.
These had, for our purposes, two parts: the guns and the powder.
Black powder, now that it exists, is put under the Potion Creation rules.
The Magic-User requirement is waived. An Alchemist will do.
Cost is 200gp per unit, taking two days to manufacture. Doubling up the manpower cuts this to one day per unit. A unit is determined to be equal to a potion, which would be a powder horn.
Cannons, on the other hand, are under the Item Creation rules.
Not magical, so the Magic-User requirement is substituted for an Engineer-Artillerist.
The procedure uses a rechargeable Wand or Staff of Fireball as its model for development.
A design to be cast in iron or bronze is to be made, cast, and finished. This costs a total of 5000 gp and takes three weeks.
Ammunition, in the form of cast iron balls or shaped stone balls, must be acquired and stockpiled for testing. This can go on in parallel and does. This costs 100 gp.
Black powder must be on hand for the same purposes. Also done in parallel. Costs 1000gp.
The design must be tested, and if proven defective refined and retested until it meets specifications. The chance of failure is modelled on the Spell Research odds: 10+(INT of Engineer)+(Lvl of Engineer)-(2x Spell Level of effect) so 10+15+1-6=10% chance of failure. Design succeeds on the first test fire.
Total cost: 6100gp and three weeks.
Once successfully produced, the specifications are locked down and can be made to order on a Limited Production basis (i.e. as if commissioning Field or Full Plate). Onemvault and her allies do just that.
Then A Magic Man Arrived
A few months ago, the One-Eyed Man visited Onemvault. He presented the Elders of the city and its allied holds with a gift from beyond the Isle of the Tower: a complete copy of every patent by John Moses Browning, a copy of the formula for smokeless gunpowder, and the specifications for making self-contained metallic cartridges.
In short, from muzzle-loading flint or matchlocks and muzzle-loaded smoothbore cannon to Old West era rifles, shotguns, and handguns along with their rifled artillery counterparts.
The research and development here is actually reverse engineering with the benefit of having a copy of the original research on hand. This is treated as if it were copying spells, albeit of a non-destructive nature.
From there, it’s a matter production. This is where Onemvault is now, and the Dwarves are in the development stage for the following:
Smokeless Powder
Primer charges
Self-contained metallic cartridges (i.e. the ammo you get at the gun store)
Breech-loading artillery (this started by converting the existing guns to rifled pieces)
A breech-loading rifle. This is the 1885 High-Wall design, as they don’t want to dig into repeaters just yet.
Optics (i.e. scopes) and specialist iron sights.
All of them are being treated as Item Creation procedures. Respectively:
Scroll of Delayed Blast Fireball (and then mass production can be done)
Sling Bullet +1 (needs the smokeless powder, primer, and a brass production and shaping facility; mass production can be done thereafter)
In process, and will be complete soon; new pieces will be made thereafter, and Onemvault may make them available for order. Ask the Dwarf Boss.
Treated as a rechargeable Potion of Clairvoyance. This will be a 19th Century scope, not the sort of glass you can order online today. May be made to order thereafter. The irons are the target sights popular at the time, such as popular tang-mounted peep sights.
Consequences
The development and manufacture of Old West era firearms and artillery is not limited to small arms and artillery. Onemvault already has a grenade model in their arsenal, and it has the means to produce dynamite sticks. It has also acquired the means to produce grapeshot shells, and is now developing flak shells in addition to solid bullet shells.
Why? To produce a viable counter to aerial threats, like dragons- especially big ones.
Furthermore, like with bows and arrows, firearms and ammunition may be blessed and enchanted. That Dwarf with a rifle may be literally capable of blasting undead away- or being like Tolkien’s Bard of Laketown and sniping dangerous threats out of the sky.
Yes, the Halflings are excited by this development. Having the capacity to do what formerly kept their Druids occupied all day every day to provide, but on a far bigger scope and scale, has revived their morale. The Elves are not, but they will soon be put upon to the point where their big secret will needs be traded for the aid the Dwarves can provide.
“What aid?”
A certain expertise that a race of woodsmen cannot help but to cultivate and master: animal training. Sooner than you think, the Isle of the Tower will see these Dwarves stand behind their famous shield walls and pike squares.
Those Fighters and Fighter/Thieves are soon to become far more dangerous, and prevalent. I can’t wait to see who reacts to this, and how they react to it.
The downside is that this has a logistic chain attached. You want guns? Got to go to Onemvault. Want ammunition? Onemvault. Training? Omenvault. Want to disrupt or destroy this? Hit their supply chains, and target their ammo dumps; without ammo they are oddly shaped clubs or staves, but I bet the addition of a bayonet lug will fix that so they instead become oddly shaped spears instead.
The other? The one people forget? GUNS ARE LOUD! You’re not doing any stealth operations if you’re blasting away1; archers coexisted with shooters for quite a while, and still would today if not for a lot of time and money put into subsonic ammunition and suppressors to muzzle those reports, so those along with slings and crossbows are still good to have and don’t suffer those logistics issues.
Explosives also have concussive effects so, like if you Fireball or Lightning Bolt too close to the target, you can blow yourself up; Item Saves involving explosives are also a good way to get got, much like having an open flame near a barrel of black powder is. Finally, as the High-Wall is a single-shot design, you’re not going to be dazzling the dungeon denizens with displays of lever or bolt-action rapid firepower (yet).
This may be a campaign-winning effort, or it could mean that Omenvault blows up in a massive explosion. I will be amused either way.
You can use other sounds to muffle the report of a rifle, and you can shoot if you’re in a Silenced area, so it’s hardly an insurmountable obstacle.