(06-06-2015, 10:50 PM)OttoVann Wrote: This was my assumption about machinist guns. That they are cartridge based firearms. Not blackpower musketball firing things.
They look like them too, to be honest. and it would only make sense due to their ability to fire more than once in a while.
If the firearms are cartridge based, you could...sort of reasonably assume they would have rifled barrels. Maybe its a given, hard to say.
If thats the case, cartridges + rifling, you are looking at pretty pointed and lethal ammunition that is very accurate.
Thats mostly where my dilemma stems from of looking at armor and being like...mmmm don't think it'll hold. Anything shaped like a modern rifle round, even a wadcutter, with good lead or steel cored is going to be drilling holes in a lot of stuff. I also acknowledge that rounded breastplates that are "heavy" in their armor nature should absorb a few shots - but that armor would be "heavy" in nature and nowhere near light to be sure. If it were just steel. Maybe we will find wonder-alloys (very possible if not already doable now if your character is a skilled material specialist with metals and alloys) that will be light enough to alloy some serious mobility while fighting armored. Armor strong enough to get shot and not just be useless.
Steel is steel, and though heavy, can still stop rounds, even with modern guns. The russians issued steel breastplates to their shocktroopers in WW2, for example. Which could stop 9mm bullets at 10 meters, and bolt action rifles at 150.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_Bib
![[Image: 0rI2tqB.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/0rI2tqB.jpg)
The velocity of firearm rounds is by some factor a product of the length of their muzzles, and while the machinists appear to use rifled cartridge based weapons, their high caliber and relatively short barrels, imply something like pistol velocity.
Add that to the fact that this is a fantasy game, and there are stronger/lighter materials than steel, heavy plate would likely not be penetrated by it.
The intro video to 2.0 is actually a good example, the Warrior of Light took several rounds at medium range, which all ricocheted off his armor. It would likely take several shots to down someone in full plate, unless you get lucky. Each shot would either rip off parts of their armor, or deform any area that was hit. And as the armor loses its form and curve due to repeated impact, it becomes less able to deflect rounds.
I think people should RP firearms roughly similar to how they'd RP arrows, the only difference is that unlike an Arrow, a firearm tends to do damage to armor even if it doesn't penetrate. So while an archer might have to circle around for the perfect shot, the gun user can just keep blasting away until something gives.
