Has anyone created homebrew rules for fire lances or any other early eastern firearms? One of my players got her hands on "some powder meant for fireworks" that she used to make a bomb. I sense she'd like more opportunities to use it.

Greetings from the Sands, Evil-Smelling Brother-in-Law of a Camel!

The best I could think off the top of my head would be to use the base statistics for a crossbow and houserule that firearms ignore part or all physical resistance.

Hope it helps.

See you in the Sands.

Here is our take on Rokugani firearms:

Bajozutsu

The Bajozutsu is a matchlock or wheellock pistol. Compact yet powerful, it is a favored self-defense weapon for courtiers and thus it is considerably higher quality in terms of crafting than the other firearms.

Range: 0-3

DMG: 4

DLS: 8

Grips:

- 1 Handed: -

- 2 Handed: Range 1-4

Special: Concealable, Prepare. Damage caused by the Bajozutsu ignores 4 points of physical resistance.

Hand-Cannon

The Hand-Cannon is a crude, primitive firearm, basically a long pole with a firing barrel on one end. It requires considerable bracing to fire and it is generally not very effective, though it does have the destructive potential of firearms.

Range: 1-3

DMG: 6

DLS: 8

Grips:

- 2 Handed: -

Special: Prepare. You cannot move and fire a Hand Cannon in the same turn. Damage caused by the Hand-Cannon ignores 4 points of physical resistance.

Teppo

The Teppo is the standard musket used in Rokugan, usually a matchlock or wheellock design. More advanced modifications like a flintlock or a break-action mechanism are rare but not unheard of.

Range: 1-4

DMG: 6

DLS: 9

Grips:

- 2 Handed: -

Special: Cumbersome, Prepare. Damage caused by the Teppo ignores 4 points of physical resistance.

Hiyazutsu

The Hiyazutsu is a hand-held grenade launcher, a specially modified Teppo meant to fire a large bomb that is plugged into the end of the barrel. It is a potent and very destructive weapon, but the knowledge to create its sophisticated projectiles and the skill to fire it effectively are both hard to come by.

Range: 2-5

DMG: 8

DLS: 10

Grips:

- 2 Handed: -

Special: Cumbersome, Prepare. The projectile of the Hiyazutsu explodes upon impact, dealing damage to all characters and objects in Range 2. Damage caused by the Hiyazutsu ignores all physical resistances.

Dandoudan

The Dandoudan is a disposable rocket launcher, a large, thick wooden cylinder with a metal (usually bronze) warhead sitting on one end. To fire the Dandoudan, one must plant it firmly into the ground, light the match on the cylinder, and brace the weapon for launch. Once the propellant charge in the cylinder ignites, it throws the warhead high into the sky with a thunderous release that often leaves the firer deaf and staggered. The warhead is loaded with a high-explosive fragmentation charge that triggers upon impact, leaving nothing standing in its wake. Incendiary (Heaven's Fire) and hard kinetic (Dragon's Fist) warheads also exist. The launch position can be altered to flatten the trajectory at will, and an especially courageous warrior can fire the Dandoudan from the hip too, bracing the weapon under their shoulder. Firing the Dandoudan into a person right in front of you is of course a folly, but desperate times often call for desperate measures.

Range: 0 -5

DMG: 10

DLS: 10

Grips:

- 2 Handed: -

Special: The Dandoudan explodes upon impact, dealing damage to all characters and objects in Range 3. Damage caused by the Dandoudan ignores all physical resistances. You cannot move and fire a Dandoudan in the same turn. The Dandoudan can be fired only once - after that it becomes useless and must be discarded.

This is awesome! It's probably more advanced than I'm looking for in my game, but it's lots of good inspiration. I'm looking for something more like this. Maybe down the road we'll get to bajozutsu. Thanks!

On 4/5/2020 at 11:48 PM, MonCalamariAgainstDrunkDriving said:

Has anyone created homebrew rules for fire lances or any other early eastern firearms? One of my players got her hands on "some powder meant for fireworks" that she used to make a bomb. I sense she'd like more opportunities to use it

I'd probably go with firework powder =/= 'gaijin pepper' so making 'proper' guns with it is probably pushing it.

A fire lance - as I understand it - is essentially a bamboo tube full of propellant used as a flamethrower.

A relatively short range - 3-5 metres or so, so more than spear reach at range 2, so range 3. Relatively low damage but inflicting the burning condition, and probably with an opportunity spend to hit additional targets within range (1? 2?) of the original.