The Black Powder Armory ยท Chapter 7
Percussion and Cartridge Arms
Firearms from 1840 to the end of the black powder era around 1890: the percussion cap, the revolver, the breechloader, and the repeater. This is the armoury of the American West, the colonial wars, and the wars of the 1860s.
The reload falls step by step through this chapter, and that fall is the history of the period.
| Mechanism | Reload |
|---|---|
| Percussion muzzle-loader | Prepare 2, and no longer Unreliable |
| Cap-and-ball revolver | Six shots, then six maneuvers |
| Single-shot breechloader | Prepare 1 |
| Cartridge revolver | Six shots, then two maneuvers |
| Lever-action repeater | Runs dry by the ordinary rule |
Black powder still fouls and still smokes. No entry here is Unreliable, and every one of them gives away the shooter's position.
Skill: Light Ranged for handguns, Heavy Ranged for long guns.
Percussion Pistol
Caplock pistol, Deringer pistol, converted flintlock
6 4 Short 1
Light Ranged 150 Common Ballistic Prepare 2, Concealable 1
A single-shot pistol fired by a copper cap. It is the Belt Pistol without Unreliable: the cap fires in rain and wind.
Any flintlock in this book can be converted to percussion by a gunsmith for a third of its price. It loses Unreliable.
Derringer
Remington Double Derringer, Sharps four-barrel, vest-pocket pistol
5 4 Short 0
Light Ranged 150 Common Ballistic Concealable 3, Limited Ammo 2, Inaccurate 1
A two-shot cartridge pistol that hides in a waistcoat pocket. Reloading is a maneuver. This is the same entry as in The Modern Armory.
Pocket Revolver
Colt Pocket, Smith & Wesson No. 1, bulldog revolver
5 4 Short 1
Light Ranged 150 Common Ballistic Concealable 2, Limited Ammo 5
A small five-shot revolver for a coat pocket. Reloading a cartridge model is a maneuver.
Cap-and-Ball Revolver
Colt Navy, Remington New Model, Adams revolver
5 3 Medium 1
Light Ranged 300 Common Ballistic Limited Ammo 6
A six-shot revolver loaded with loose powder and ball and fired by caps. Six shots without reloading changed what one person with a handgun could do.
Reloading the cylinder in place takes six maneuvers. Swapping in a spare loaded cylinder takes two.
Dragoon Revolver
Colt Walker, Colt Dragoon, Colt Army, Le Mat
6 3 Medium 2
Light Ranged 400 Common Ballistic Limited Ammo 6, Cumbersome 2
A four-pound .44 revolver, first carried in saddle holsters. Damage 6, Crit 3, Medium range, six times. It needs Might 2 and reloads like the Cap-and-Ball Revolver.
Single-Action Revolver
Colt Single Action Army, Smith & Wesson Schofield, Remington 1875
6 4 Medium 2
Light Ranged 350 Common Ballistic Accurate 1, Limited Ammo 6
The metallic-cartridge revolver of the 1870s. Damage 6 with Accurate 1. Reloading takes two maneuvers.
Fanning. A shooter may hold the trigger and slap the hammer. Add 2 Bane Dice to the attack; for that attack the weapon gains Linked 2.
Howdah Pistol
Lancaster pistol, double rifle pistol
7 3 Short 3
Light Ranged 600 Rare Ballistic Knockdown, Limited Ammo 2, Cumbersome 3
A double-barrelled pistol in a rifle calibre, carried on elephant-back against a tiger in the howdah. Damage 7 with Knockdown, twice. It needs Might 3.
Rifle-Musket
Springfield 1861, Enfield 1853, Lorenz rifle
8 3 Long 4
Heavy Ranged 300 Military Ballistic Prepare 2
A rifled musket firing an expanding bullet that loads as fast as a round ball. It reaches Long range, it is not Unreliable, and with paper cartridges its Prepare 2 becomes 1. It ended the smoothbore.
Breechloading Rifle
Sharps, Springfield Trapdoor, Martini-Henry, Snider-Enfield, Dreyse needle gun
8 3 Long 4
Heavy Ranged 450 Military Ballistic Prepare 1
A single-shot rifle loaded at the breech with a cartridge. Prepare 1: one maneuver, and it can be done lying down.
Buffalo Rifle
Sharps Big Fifty, Remington Rolling Block, Creedmoor rifle
9 2 Extreme 6
Heavy Ranged 900 Common Ballistic Accurate 1, Prepare 1, Cumbersome 3
A heavy-barrelled single-shot in a long cartridge, built to kill at half a mile. Damage 9, Crit 2, Extreme range. It needs Might 3, or a rest.
Lever-Action Repeater
Henry rifle, Winchester 1866 and 1873, Spencer carbine
7 3 Medium 3
Heavy Ranged 450 Common Ballistic None
A tube-magazine repeater in a pistol-class cartridge. Damage 7 at Medium range with no reload to count. It is the first long gun in the book that runs dry by the ordinary rule instead of firing once.
Coach Gun
Double-barrelled shotgun, messenger gun, scattergun
8 3 Short 3
Heavy Ranged 300 Common Ballistic Blast 4, Knockdown, Vicious 2, Limited Ammo 2
A short double-barrelled shotgun. Two shots, then a maneuver to reload both. This is the Double-Barrel Shotgun of The Modern Armory.
