[Canew]

I'm just curious about the "official" technology of Warmachine's infantry weapons. Now, I've seen enough "impossible" things depicted in the game in general to know that I shouldn't sweat the details too much, and just have fun. Point taken, and I will just have fun.

Nevertheless, I'm curious as to whether there's any description anywhere of the technology behind the small arms? I know that magic can "enhance" some gunfire, but deep down we ARE just talking about guns, nothing more "sci fi" than that, right?

If so, I'm curious to figure out what they use, as it all appears to have been inspired by multiple technological eras in the real world. For example, the trenchers look like they're carrying muzzle-loaded flintlock rifles of some kind, while the long gunners appear to have some sort of cylinder-based, cartridge-fed repeater rifle.

The part I have the most trouble with are the pistols. They LOOK like flintlocks, which if I'm not completely off the mark, were one-shot, muzzle-loaded things, and yet in a Recent NQ article about the gun mages, the artwork clearly shows the "magelock" pistols use some sort of cartridge-based round.

Finally, a drawing of Allister Caine shows him blazing away with his "Spellstorm" pistols, which APPEAR to be the same as the magelocks (physically -- magical enhancements aside), but the drawing clearly shows bullet casings in mid-air, having been "ejected" from the one-shot pistol??? Huh?

 

[Quick]

"Spellstorm" pistols, which APPEAR to be the same as the magelocks (physically -- magical enhancements aside), but the drawing clearly shows bullet casings in mid-air, having been "ejected" from the one-shot pistol??? Huh?

One of their magical enchantments is an illusion to make them look like flintlocks. They're actual appearance is more like a Glock 19, which is far less graceful-looking than a flintlock.

Unfortunately, the ammo isn't under the same enchantment, so when it leaves the pistol, it reverts to it's normal form.

 

[Canew]

One of their magical enchantments is an illusion to make them look like flintlocks. They're actual appearance is more like a Glock 19, which is far less graceful-looking than a flintlock.

Unfortunately, the ammo isn't under the same enchantment, so when it leaves the pistol, it reverts to it's normal form.

Are you kidding? That seems rather... disappointing, actually. Is that just the magelocks, spellstorms, both? And where does it say this? Is there an online article I can read?

 

[Quick]

Oh! No, I was just making a joke. The ejected shell casing is probably just a poor stylistic choice on the part of the artist, nothing more. (Shell casings flying all over the place looks cool.)

Technology in the game seems to be around the era of the American Civil War, where muzzle-loaded weapons existed alongside cartridge ammunition-fed weapons...and giant robots.

We all know the South lost the Civil War because, while Robert E. Lee had a higher Focus score, General Grant popped his Feat at the right time at the Battle of Gettysburgh.

Fluffwise, the Magelock is a magical pistol that needs to be made in a certain arcane, sorcerous fashion. These old techniques result in the creation of old-tech guns.

 

[Left of West]

He's kidding.

At their core, firearms in Warmachine, including those used by the Cygnaran army, are purely mechanical.

Both the guns and the ammo take a variety of forms, but cartridges are common. Actually muzzle-loaders, with loose powder and balls, are common, as well, but the Cygnaran army has largely moved away from that to use cartidges consisting of powder and ball wrapped in a waxed cloth, or even brass.

Think, in terms of American fire-arm developement, somewhere between the breach-loading cavalry carbines used during the civil war and early revolvers.

The Trencher rifle, if I recall correctly, is similar to that Burnside carbine in terms of both performance and mechanics.

The Long Gunner's rifle is, obviously, both longer and posessed of a six-shot cylinder, like those featured in the classic revolvers (though obviously on a much larger scale.) It is my belief that the Long Rifles use cloth-wrapped cartridges rather than those cased in brass, and it is mentioned specifically that the firing of the cartridges produces significant fouling, not only of the barrel, but of the cylinder. Long Gunners carry multiple cylinders to the field, and are not really capable of reloading them in combat (they simply switch out the used one for a fresh one, instead). It takes a certain amount of cleaning and maintenance to get a cylinder ready to use again.


Magelocks actually vary significantly in terms of construction, the term referring to the strange Rhulic materials out of which they are constructed rather than the mechanics themselves. I think, though, that the Magelocks used by the Gunmages of the Arcane Tempest (the Royal Cygnaran Military order for Gunmages) are also revolvers or breachloaders.


It is my theory that Caine's pistols (and I'm not sure if this has been substantiated) are actually quite magical, and specifically designed with spells that create the bullets and powder inside the firing chamer with each pull of the trigger.

Between the Liber Mechanica and the standard rules for the Iron Kingdoms d20 game, it's actually possible to create pistols that have this sort of magical gimmick, and, if you're a Warcaster, you can dump spell-slots into its 'arcane batteries' (can't remember the proper term) to keep the magical mechanisms charged and keep the bullets coming. No doubt this is why Caine has a rate-of-fire of Infinite in his epic incarnation (and a rate of fire of "clearly good enough" in his regular one).

Interestingly, neither the bullets nor powder are permanent, making the gun self-cleaning to a degree and making the wounds, no doubt, more than a little confusing to enemy surgeons.


edit:
I don't know why the pictures would show brass casings. Certainly it isn't a stretch to say that there are brass cased ammunition in the Iron Kingdoms, though I think it would be rare. For Caine, it wouldn't actually take anything extra at all to make each cartridge appear in a brass case and to have the case ejected from the gun after firing. Once again, these casings wouldn't be permanent (I think they last a couple minutes) but Caine's all about style, and there's undeniable style in producing a veritable rain of cartridge casings.

 

[Quick]

Wow, Left. We just said the exact same thing, except I type faster, say less and sound dumber.

 

[Left of West]

Lol, how about that. I didn't even see your post, there, above mine.

I wonder what Grant's feat is, anyway?

 

[Quick]

Seeing as Grant was likely an alcoholic, I would imagine his spellset would be very similar to that of Borka Kegslayer's.

 

[Canew]

We all know the South lost the Civil War because, while Robert E. Lee had a higher Focus score, General Grant popped his Feat at the right time at the Battle of Gettysburgh.

OMG that's a riot! I may have to siggify that.

@ Left of West: Interesting about the long gunners. Makes sense that they would have interchangeable cylinders, so they could reload on the fly, like Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider.

As to the Spellstorms, I'd like to read more about them, just for fun. What's a good resource? All I have is Prime: Remix, the Cygnar and merc faction decks.

 

[Left of West]

The best resource for learning about their tech (and I don't know if the spell-storm pistols are mentioned specifically in either of these) would be the Liber Mechanica and the Iron Kingdoms roleplaying guide.

Both actually contain the rules for creating arcane/mechanical devices in the Iron Kingdoms.

That's probably one of the things that sets the IK apart from other fantasy settings. Actually enchanted items are super-rare. Only relics and artifacts, like the weapons of some of the most venerable Warcasters (Vlad's sword, Severius' staff) are really magical.

For the most part, 'magic' equipment is constructed of mechanical bits that use the spell energy which arcane spellcasters generate within themselves to run--sort of like running on electricity, but they can charge the batteries by sheer force of will.

Menoth and Cryx have their own unique brands of arcane mechanica which run on the power of divine spells garnered from their respective deities. They're basically the same, but a little different--and the Menites really have a lot less of it.


Also, for the record, while Grant almost certainly was a serious alcoholic, I don't take him for all that much of a raver, so Mosh Pit (unarguably the Keg-slayer's most important ability) is probably not on Grant's list. I don't even remember what the Kegslayer's feat does...

 

[tarzen]

and the order of the rose was recently featured in NQ, f you'd like more info there. There's been a few articles in NQ about the gun mages too.