dnd-setting-TheNewWorld/Items/New Weapons.txt

				=== GNOMISH WEAPONS ===

	The first thing to realise is that, outside of weapons produced for the military,
most gnomish devices are highly individual, and are made per-piece by individual
gnomish craftsmen. You may find devices that are outside the scope of this description,
or which function slightly differently, or differ cosmetically.


Gnomish Handgun
---------------
	A device consisting of a short handle protruding below a rotating cylinder.
The rotating cylinder is mounted inside of a vertical frame (on the same axis as the
handle), and holds 6 gnomish brass powder/ball cartridges. The cylinder rotates behind
a long tube, usually around 8 inches long, which is mounted into the frame also. A
small spurred metal protrusion (the "hammer") is pulled back for each shot, which 
rotates the cylinder, ensuring that the cylinder and tube are lined up. Once this is
done, a small metal protrusion falls from the bottom of the frame, against the user's
finger. The weapon is ready to fire at this point. TO fire it, the user simply depresses
the metal protrusion (the "trigger"). Once this is done, the hammer will fall, firing
the brass cartridge behind the tube. At the next operation of the hammer, a fresh
brass cartridge is rotated in front of the hammer and behind the tube for firing. Most
people can only fire a handgun once per round; but the gun can discharge its full 
cylinder in succession within the space of one round if the user is fast enough.
Reloading the cylinder with fresh brass cartridges takes a full round for most people,
though special devices exist which speed up the process.

Gnomish Handcannon
------------------
	A device consisting of a long stick (the "stock") with one end carved into
a handle. A hammer and trigger are fitted to the stock, similar to the handgun,
as well as a barrel tube. A latch behind the hammer allows the barrel to pivot
forward, exposing the breech end. A single gnomish brass cartridge is loaded into
the breech, and then it is closed again. Once the hammer is pulled, the weapon is 
ready to fire, and works similarly to the handgun. Handcannons fire a much more powerful
round, but can only be fired once per round, due to how slow they reload. Hand cannons
generally have longer barrels, around 12 inches long. Reloading the device is part of
the attack action that fires it, making it ready for the next round.

Gnomish Machine Pistol
----------------------
	A device that resembles a handgun slightly, with some exceptions. It has a 
wooden stock like the handcannon, but the grip protrudes down conspicuously like in
a handgun. The barrel is mounted further forward at the end of a long metal tube,
that extends forward from the grip (the "receiver"). Extending through a hole in the
bottom of the stock, is a long metal stick (the "magazine") that holds numerous
gnomish brass cartridges (usually 30). Out of the receiver, a small handle protrudes.
The stock may or may not extend behind the grip so that the device can be mounted against
the shoulder (like a crossbow), or it may be omitted to save space. The barrel can be
any length, but they are usually handgun length (8 inches). To operate the weapon,
a magazine is inserted through the bottom of the stock until it clicks against a catch.
Then the handle on the side of the receiver (the "operating handle") is pulled fully
to the rear, and allowed to travel back forward under the weight of a spring behind it.
The operating handle is attached to the "bolt", a moving breech face inside of the
receiver tube. The forward motion of the bolt strips a brass cartridge from the top
of the magazine and moves it into the chamber. The weapon is then ready to fire. Once
the trigger is depressed, the cartridge fires, blowing the breech back. The spent
brass cartridge is ejected out the side of the receiver, before the process repeats itself.
The weapon will continue firing as long as the trigger is held down, or until the
weapon runs out of ammunition in the magazine. The weapon has a cyclic rate of fire of
approximately 600 rounds per minute. Changing out a spent magazine takes between 2 and 6
segments, depending on the skill of the operator; and except in extreme circumstances, 
the operator carries at least a small supply of spare pre-loaded magazines for such an 
occasion.

Gnomish Light Rifle
-------------------
	A device that resembles a cross between a handcannon and a machine pistol.
The weapon has a long stock which is fired from the shoulder, and a very long
barrel like the hand cannon; usually between 20 and 36 inches. It has a receiver tube
like a machine pistol, and a magazine. Unlike the machine pistol, however, the magazine
is built into the stock and cannot be removed without special tools. The receiver tube is
slightly different in that the operating handle and bolt are not on a spring; rather,
they are much heavier and thicker, and operating in a camming action. The operating
handle, by default, rests in a cutout of the stock just above the trigger mechanism.
To open the breech, the operating handle is rotated up, unlocking the bolt from the
breech face. The bolt/operating handle are then pulled straight back; the bolt comes
to rest behind the magazine. The bolt is pushed back forward, which strips a round from
the magazine, and pushes it into the barrel. The operating rod handle is rotated
back down, locking the bolt to the breech. The gnomish light rifle fires a highly
accurate round with a far greater range than the machine pistol, handgun or hand cannon.
Its drawback is its increased size and slower reload times; operating the action
to fire, eject, and chamber a new cartridge is done in the same round as the firing.
Re-charging the empty internal magazine is a full round action, though special devices
exist that speed up this process.

Gnomish Long Range Rifle
------------------------
	This device is identical to the Gnomish Light Rifle, with the exception that
the weapon - overall - is heavier and has a much "beefier" feel. It also has an integral
set of adjustable-length steel legs attached to the stock at the fore-end by a swivel 
base (the "bipod"). The stock may also, on higher end models, have adjustable pieces on
it to provide for a better fit with the individual rifleman. The main operating difference
however, is that this weapon fires a much larger cartridge at much greater ranges. It
is not unusual for rifles of this type to be employed at ranges of a half a mile,
and hits have been reported on man-sized targets at ranges up to a full mile! To assist
in this greater range, a Gnomish Telescopic Sight of extremely high quality is generally
mounted to the rifle, and used in favor of its built in metallic sights, in combination
with the bipod. The barrels on these weapons are also generally excessively long;
it is not uncommon to find a 48 inch barrel on a gnomish long range rifle, making it
quite cumbersome to pack around.

Gnomish Assault Rifle
---------------------
	This weapon resembles a cross between the Gnomish Light Rifle and the Gnomish
Machine Pistol. The weapon is long like a light rifle, but has an action almost identical
to the gnomish machine pistol. The round it fires (and thus the magazine) is much bigger
than the machine pistol; in fact it fires a round somewhere between the light rifle
and the long range rifle in power. It is identical in operation to the machine pistol.
The assault rifle, however, has numerous points for attaching different varieties of
accessories (such as different grips, sighting systems, or even additional add-on 
weapons to supplement the rifle's own ability). The stock, unlike that on the light 
rifle, is made of a high strength metal tubing folded into shape. By pressing down on
a detent on the top of the stock, the stock may be rotated to the side, to lay flat
against the side of the stock body, thereby shortening the overall length of the rifle
and allowing it to be more comfortably shot from the hip. The Gnomish Assault Rifle
also features a quick-change barrel that may be rapidly changed out (a trained rifleman
can do this, presuming he has a separate barrel, within only one turn) in case of 
extreme use which results in excessive heat. The barrels are interchangable and come
in many different sizes for different applications; the barrel on a gnomish assault rifle
may range anywhere from 30 inches (for weapons that have been forced into service as a
long range rifle) down to 12-14 inches (for weapons that have to be used in extremely
tight quarters). The barrels on gnomish assault rifles feature a special device on the
end that, when attached properly, reduces the felt recoil of the weapon as well as 
helping to eliminate the flash produced by the firing brass cartridge (this is the
"flash hider / muzzle brake" device). Just behind the flash hider / muzzle brake,
a nub protrudes from the barrel, to which a specialized gnomish knife (the "bayonet")
can be affixed, turning the weapon (effectively) into a fighting short spear, and even
allowing it to still be fired in this configuration! The Gnomish Assault Rifle was
developed by the clan technicians to provide their field reconnaisance troops with a 
weapon that could provide a high volume of accurate fire on heavy enemy troop 
concentrations, with numerous tactical options for its employment. Changing the 
magazine on a gnomish assault rifle takes from 2-6 segments depending on the skill of
the operator, and except in extreme circumstances, the operator carries at least a small
supply of spare pre-loaded magazines for such an occasion.

Gnomish Fragmentation Grenade
-----------------------------
	This device consists of a small cast iron ball with notches formed into its
circumference, from the top of which protrudes an arming device. The ball is filled 
with a compound that explodes violently; the result is that metal shrapnel is thrown
in all directions, seriously wounding or killing nearby personnel. The device is 
employed in boobytraps or against troop formations, or built up positions against which
rifle fire has proven ineffective. The arming device can take many forms; a simple
fuse that is lit before throwing is quite common, while some are more elaborate. (Some,
for example, consist of a complex system involving a metal lever and a retaining pin;
pull the pin while holding down the lever, and when the device is thrown, the lever
is allowed to swing free. This starts an internal fuse burning that will continue - 
even underwater - until the device explodes.) These devices generally have a delay time
of 3-5 seconds, though this can be (and often is) reduced for various purposes by troops
in the field. The device deals the full damage out to 10 meters, 1/2 at 20 meters, 1/4 
at 30 meters, and no damage beyond that.

Gnomish Incendiary Grenade
--------------------------
	This device is identical in form to the gnomish fragmentation grenade, with the
exception that it has a flat bottom, so that it may be rested on top of something,
rather than thrown. ANd instead of being filled with an explosive, it is filled with
an incendiary compound that burns with an intense white heat. Metal slag is produced in
high quantity, and is almost guaranteed to ignite flammable materials in the range.
One of these device is sufficient to burn through 2 inches of mild structural steel
(depending on the rule system you're using, and the proper placement of the device). The
device does full damage at 0 meters, half damage at 1 meter, and 1/4 damage at 5 meters.

Gnomish Chain-drive Sword
-------------------------
	This device resembles a basket hilt broadsword, but only slightly. The blade itself
is short and blunt - only around 16 inches long, with a rounded tip. Around the axis
of the blade, in a small channel where the edge should be, rests a very small chain
from which protrude numerous small blades. Where the basket would be on a normal sword 
hilt, this sword has a small gnomish internal combustion engine. Starting the engine
rotates the chain at extremely high velocity, spinning the small blades along with it,
along the axis of the sword blade. The effect is similar to a small, wieldable Blade Barrier
along only one axis, and is devastating against all organic matter (and some matter that
isn't organic!). The weapon ignores armor bonuses granted by any armor that is 
not metallic in nature (plate, chain, banded, etc). Further, after 2 or 3 successful
attacks against such armor will generally destroy the armor. Magical armor is not 
subject to such treatment. The chain-drive sword carries enough fuel in its internal 
tank to operate for 5 turns consecutively. If the sword's engine is out of fuel, the 
weapon will only do 1d3 damage, and is 75% likely to somehow deform or break on each 
strike that the engine is not running. If this happens, the operator may or may not 
know it; attempts to start the weapon after that without repair have a 50% chance to 
make the device explode, inflicting 3d6 points of damage to the operator. Even if the 
device does not detonate, it does not operate. Due to the nature of the sword, and 
the odd balance it keeps, it is not possible to effectively use this device untrained, 
and any person doing so is 50% likely every round it is used running, to inflict 1d6 
points of damage upon themselves through ignorance of its functioning.

Gnomish Cannon
--------------
	This device is essentially nothing more than a gigantic rifle barrel (~4 feet 
long) mounted on an elevation and windage carriage, with a hole to drop in a fuse. 
A minimum crew of no less than 3 trained personnel is required to fire this weapon 
with effective speed. The cannon is made ready to fire by drawing it (by horse) 
into position to point at the target. The crew leader then uses the weapon's 
elevation and windage indicators to ensure that it is pointing in the right 
direction and at the right elevation. Once this has been done, the powder man 
retrieves one of the numerous casks of gunpowder from the rear of the gun carriage, 
and pours a predetermined amount down the barrel. The rodman then comes to the front 
of the cannon and uses a long rod with a fuzzy tip at one end to push all the powder 
down into the end of the cannon, and loosely pack it. The gunner and powderman then 
retrieve a ball from the ammunition box at the end of the carriage, and put it into 
the bore. The rodman then uses the other end of his rod, which has a hard metal 
disc on it, to force the ball to seat down against the powder at the end of the 
barrel. Once this is done, the gunner checks the sights again, and makes any final 
adjustments necessary. Then he uses a pick to ensure that the flash hole on the 
cannon is clear, before inserting a fuse. The gunner calls for the rest
of the crew to stand clear before lighting the fuse and stepping back. The weapon fires.
The rodman comes forward and uses his brush/mop to clear out any remaining burning
gunpowder embers from the barrel, and the entire process repeats again. The gun
must go silent every ten rounds, in order for the rodman to swab out the barrel with a
wet rod, and then dry it, to ensure it does not get too hot and that it does not
begin building up residue that could cause a misfire. The weapon has a maximum rate of
fire of once every turn. For this reason they are usually employed in batteries of ten,
so that at least one cannon will fire every round.
	When the weapon is fired, all members of the crew make a wisdom check to ensure
that they did not forget or mess up a step of the process. IF any crew member fails their
check, roll % on the following table to see the result:

	roll	Effect
	-----------------------
	01-40	Misfire. The round failed to fire; 5 full turns must now be spent
		removing the powder charge and ball from the barrel, swabbing out
		the barrel, and making it ready to fire again.
	40-70	Short round. The powder charge was insufficient to go to the 
		desired range, and will instead fall at a random point between the
		origin and the destination.
	70-90	Cook off. The barrel was so hot that the powder ignited prematurely.
		Anyone in front of the barrel will take the full damage of the
		impact, and the ball will continue on in a random trajectory. Anyone 
		behind the carriage will take 2d6 points of damage and will most 
		likely suffer broken legs.
	90-00	Ruptured barrel. The powder charge was too great, or the cannon was
		damaged previously, causing the barrel to rupture. All personnel within
		20 meters will take 5d6 points of damage. There is a further 50% chance
		that the powder casks will detonate, doing an additional 10d6 of damage
		to all within 20 meters. There is a further 50% chance that the
		ammunition magazine will detonate, causing a further 2d100 points of
		damage to all those within 20 meters. A ruptured barrel is a huge,
		huge, huge disaster.
		

	The Gnomish Cannon fires at terrain, not objects. The gunner makes an attack roll
(modified by his wisdom) against armor class 10, modified as follows:

	Condition						Effect
	--------------------------------------------------------------
	For every 100 yards beyond 1000m			-2
	Low visibility						-2
	Cannot see target (e.g. firing over a hill)		-2
	Missing elevation and windage indicators		-5
	Not trained in the usage of this model of cannon	-4

	If the round misses, use standard deviation to determine where the round goes.
Further, the round has a 50% chance of rolling on impact, and skimming over the ground in
its original direction of travel, rather than exploding on impact (in which case
the ball will roll for an additional 3d100 yards before coming to rest, doing 3d6 damage 
and decapitating/removing limbs as a sword of sharpness to all in its path). 
	A cannonball that explodes does 10d6 within a 20 foot radius. The cannonball's
explosion is a magical function, and therefore can be negated by an antimagic field.
	An untrained crew can attempt to use a cannon, but all their wisdom checks to
handle the weapon are at a -5, as well as the noted -4 to attack for being untrained.

Gnomish Artillery Gun
---------------------
	This device is similar to the Gnomish Artillery Cannon, except that it has
an even longer barrel (about 8 to 10 feet) and is loaded from the rear with gigantic
gnomish brass cartridges. This allows the gun to be reduced to 2 crew members 
(eliminating the powder man) and allowing for a wider variety of ammunition to be fired
from the gun at longer ranges, and at much greater rapidity. The process of operation
is almost identical to the gnomish cannon except that the gunner sights the gun and 
opens the breech plate at the back of the gun before the second crew member helps the
gunner load the large brass round into the gun. THe breech is closed, the crew is told
to stand clear, and the round is fired. The aiming process is different from a cannon;
oftentimes, the target is so far away that the gun crew could not possibly see it.
Therefore the modifiers To Hit are different than the gnomish cannon, as follows:

	Condition						Effect
	--------------------------------------------------------------
	For every 100 yards beyond 3000m			-2
	Target within visual but low visibility			-2
	Cannot see target (e.g. firing to map coords)		-2
	" " and do not have map or map compass			-5
	Missing elevation and windage indicators		-5
	Not trained in the usage of this model of cannon	-4


There are numerous types of ammunition available for this weapon, listed below:

	Ammo Type		Effect
	--------------------------------------
	High Explosive		10d6 damage in a 20 foot radius, 3d6 damage beyond
				that out to a 50 foot radius
	Anti-Armor		This round will penetrate up to 3 feet of wet packed
				earth, 2 feet of wood, 1 foot of stone, or 6 inches of
				mild steel before detonating. When it does explode,
				it does 6d6 damage in a 20 foot radius, and 2d6
				beyond that out to a 50 foot radius. The reduced damage
				is a result of extra mass built into the projectile.
	Smoke			Upon hitting the ground, these rounds will fill a 9000
				cubic meter area with thick colored smoke within 3
				rounds. No damage is dealt unless the round actually
				impacts someone, in which case the damage is 4d6.
	Illumination		This round doesn't actually impact the ground;
				at a height of 25 meters above the ground, it bursts open
				into a phosphorescent, brightly burning ball. It will
				drift slowly to the ground over the next turn, effecting
				the 60' radius around the round as if by a Daylight spell.
	Blank			This round is used in training. It contains no
				lethal explosive; it contains a small bursting charge and
				a large chamber full of flour, which bursts into a white
				puff on impact. As with smoke rounds, damage is only
				done if someone is impacted by the round, which does
				4d6 by itself.

	There are further two varieties of all the listed ammo types (with the exception
of blank rounds): magical, and non-magical. Non-magic rounds are used when firing into
an area under an Antimagic Field, while magical rounds are used otherwise. The magical
rounds are cheaper for the gnomes to manufacture. None of the rounds fired by the
gnomish artillery gun will "skate" across the ground as a gnomish cannon ball will.
	The gnomish artillery gun is far safer than the gnomish cannon. To address
the issue of a "cook off", the gnomes added a magical cooling system to the device;
a cook off is now impossible outside of magical means. Further, the device has a
Wall of Force between the operators, the ammunition storage and the weapon, that the 
gunner brings up when he fires the gun, in case the barrel ruptures. Gun crews will 
also use this in the event that their fire base is in danger of being over-run; it 
provides perfect cover for the gnomes to fire at oncoming enemy. The following are 
the results of a failed wisdom check of the operators:

	% roll		Effect
	-----------------------
	01-90		Dud round. 5 rounds must be used to wait on the round to hang-
			fire, before clearing it from the breech, so that
			loading can begin again (thus making it one full turn before
			another round can be fired).
	91-95		Hot round. The round was loaded with too much gunpowder
			at the factory, and the barrel ruptures. The gunner remembered
			to bring up the force shield.
	95-00		Hot round. As above, but the gunner forgot to raise the force
			shield, exposing the crew to the effects of the gun's rupture.
			(Treat this as a gnomish cannon barrel rupture, with all damage
			dice doubled.)
			

Gnomish Mortar
--------------
	The gnomish mortar was designed to strike at near targets with indirect fire.
The gnomish cannon and artillery gun can only strike by direct trajectory. Using a
mortar, a crew can "lob" a round up and over an enemy's defenses from a medium range.
The weapon has a short barrel, usually 3 feet, attached to a thick baseplate and a bipod.
The firing sequence is similar to the gnomish cannon, except that the gunner uses a 
special variety of self-propelling gnomish brass cartridge dropped in from the muzzle.
The sighting system is also vastly different (relying on maps and aiming sticks, since
the target is rarely ever visible). The weapon can be crewed by only a single person
if necessary, but the weapon is usually served by a crew of 2 (a single person fires at
a rate of 1/3, whereas a full crew of 2 fires at 1/2). The to hit modifiers for this 
weapon are:

	Condition						Effect
	--------------------------------------------------------------
	For every 100 yards beyond 3000m			-2
	Target within visual but low visibility			-2
	Cannot see target (e.g. firing to map coords)		-2
	" " and do not have map or map compass			-5
	Missing elevation and windage indicators		-5
	Not trained in the usage of this model of cannon	-4

	This weapon fires the same variety of rounds as the gnomish artillery gun,
with the following differences:

	Ammo Type		Effect
	--------------------------------------
	High Explosive		5d6 damage in a 20 foot radius, 2d6 damage beyond
				that out to a 50 foot radius
	Anti-Armor		This round will penetrate up to 2 feet of wet packed
				earth, 1 feet of wood, 6 inches of stone, or 1 inch of
				mild steel before detonating. When it does explode,
				it does 3d6 damage in a 20 foot radius, and 1d6
				beyond that out to a 50 foot radius. The reduced damage
				is a result of extra mass built into the projectile.
	Smoke			Upon hitting the ground, these rounds will fill a 3000
				cubic meter area with thick colored smoke within 3
				rounds. No damage is dealt unless the round actually
				impacts someone, in which case the damage is 2d6.
	Illumination		This round doesn't actually impact the ground;
				at a height of 25 meters above the ground, it bursts open
				into a phosphorescent, brightly burning ball. It will
				drift slowly to the ground over the next turn, effecting
				the 30' radius around the round as if by a Daylight spell.
	Blank			This round is used in training. It contains no
				lethal explosive; it contains a small bursting charge and
				a large chamber full of flour, which bursts into a white
				puff on impact. As with smoke rounds, damage is only
				done if someone is impacted by the round, which does
				2d6 by itself.

	Gnomish mortars may or may not have a magical cooling system like the gnomish
artillery gun (50%; many mortars were made before that advance was discovered).
If the crew fails their wisdom checks at any point in the firing process, the 
following effects are possible:

	% roll		Effect
	-----------------------
	01-90		Dud round. 5 rounds must be used to wait on the round to hang-
			fire, before clearing it from the breech, so that
			loading can begin again (thus making it one full turn before
			another round can be fired).
	90-95		Cook off. The round fires before the gunner is entirely clear of
			the barrel (and there is a further 10% chance that the round
			detonates prematurely as in a Hot Round, below). If the mortar
			is equipped with a cooling system, ignore this result and re-roll.
	95-00		Hot round. The round detonates before it leaves the area, or
			when it is dropped into the barrel. Treat this as a gnomish
			cannon barrel rupture of half damage dice.

Gnomish Antipersonnel Mine
--------------------------
	The gnomish antipersonnel mine is the result of gnomish recon operatives
asking for a perimeter defense and command-detonated ambush weapon capable of taking
out large groups of troops, much like a fragmentation grenade, but more effective and
with a more certain detonation method. The result is the gnomish antipersonnel mine.
The device consists of a layer of scrap iron over a layer of explosive, sandwiched 
between two specially carved concave layers of stained wood, on top of two small 
sets of sharp legs that fold back against the body. There are two versions of
the device; the magical and non-magical versions, as with many other gnomish devices.
The magical version is far less expensive and thus more common. The weapon is set up
to cover the path of advancing troops from the flank, at a distance of 6-10 meters
away from the expected location of troop movement. When the device is detonated,
the explosive propels the scrap iron like a fragmentation grenade, forward into the
troops. The detonation occurs in an acute plane 90 degrees wide, from the point of 
detonation, out to about 20 meters before losing lethality (in other words, 
affecting a cone 8"Wx5"H at the base to ~10 meters wide x 1 meter high at the end of
the range). 
	The non-magical and magical versions of the device vary in functioning. The
magical version can be set to trigger automatically when a given condition is met. 
The condition must be simple and pertain directly to the device's function and the enemy.
For example, "Detonate when a column of enemy soldiers passes in front of you" is ok;
"Detonate when the first soldier of an enemy column in front of you is approximately
20 feet to your right" is too complex. Magical versions of the device can distinguish
between gnomish personnel and enemy personnel (all non-gnomish personnel are 
hostile to the device unless the gnomes provide a special version of the device!). The 
magical version of the device can also be detonated remotely at a range of up to 40
meters by means of speaking a command word (usually "detonate" or "boom").
	The non-magical version of the device can be activated by a tripwire, or
command-detonated remotely by the use of a small lever attached to a gnomish battery,
which is in turn connected to the mine by means of a long length of thin steel wire.
	The device is clearly marked, in gnomish, on the front side.

					MINE
	  			    ANTI-PERSONNEL
				THIS SIDE TOWARDS ENEMY
				( MAGICAL or MECHANICAL)