I’ve posted before about an idea I had for running a game in the English Civil Wars using teh Pike, Shotte and Sorcerie rules – a simplified version/hack of Honor+Intrigue. One thing that stuck me about H+I and PSS is that they have very little detail when it comes to guns, basically a generic musket and pistol. Fair enough, as H+I is mainly concerned with dashing swordsmen. But for my game I wanted a little more detail about the different sorts of firearms in circulation. So I knocked together the following for myself, and thought I’d share in case others found it useful.

Note that PSS uses 2D10 +/- mods, > 13 to succeed as a core mechanic; which explains the misfire numbers.

Also note that what follows pertains to the period of the English Civil War 1642-1660 and some of the statements will not be accurate for other times in the 17th century and/or other locations.

Holster/Horse Pistol
The basic military pistol, usually carried in a pair of holsters either side of the front of the saddle by cavalrymen. Barrels were around 16-18 inches long, the pistol being around 24-26 inches in total. The Royalists mainly used imported wheel-locks from the Continent, while Parliament mainly used flintlocks produced by the London gunsmiths.
Damage: 1D6+2
Range Increment: 10ft
Misfire: Flintlock 2-4/Wheel-lock 2-3
Reload: 2

Belt Pistol
A smaller pistol often worn stuffed through a waist belt or sash by foot officers, and this was also about the size of naval pistols. About 12 inches long in total.
Damage: 1D6
Range Increment: 10ft
Misfire: Flintlock 2-4/Wheel-lock 2-3
Reload: 2

Pocket Pistol
A small flintlock pistol, firing a small bullet with a weak charge. About 6 inches long in total. More concealable than other pistols, but not that concealable to a modern eye.
Damage: 1D3+1
Range Increment: 5ft
Misfire: 2-4
Reload: 2

Screw-Barrelled Pistol (Rifled Pistol)
An English arm, very rare and expensive, with a shorter but thicker barrel than regular holster pistols. The barrel was unscrewed from the stock, the breech loaded with powder and slightly oversized ball, and the barrel attached again. Prince Rupert owned a pair and hit a weathercock twice from 60 paces to prove his marksmanship.
Damage: 1D+2
Range Increment: 60ft
Misfire: 2-4
Reload: 5

Musket
At the beginning of the civil wars muskets were all matchlocks of heavy Dutch-style construction, necessitating the use of a musket rest (what H&I and PSS call a pole brace). As the war progressed, a lighter style of musket was introduced, which did not need the use of a rest. Also, small numbers of troops (mainly artillery guards at first) were provided with flintlock muskets (of lighter construction), but these always remained a minority. If a colonel could get a few flintlocks for his regiment they were often shared out to men on sentry duty, as it saved on the cost of burning a musketeer’s match all night.
Damage: 2D6
Range Increment: 50ft
Misfire: Matchlock 2-5/ Flintlock 2-4
Reload: 3
NB: I propose to keep a 50 ft range increment for all muskets, but reduce it to 40ft for heavy Dutch-style muskets used without a rest.

Carbine
A horseman’s shoulder arm, carbines were originally all wheel-locks, but before the start of the wars English gunsmiths started to make flintlock carbines. Of a smaller bore and with shorter barrels than muskets, they were in short supply at the start of the wars, and many horsemen went without.
Damage: 2D3
Range Increment: 30ft
Misfire: Flintlock 2-4/Wheel-lock 2-3
Reload: 3
NB: Dragoons were mounted infantry and carried muskets, as they rode to battle but fought on foot. Preferably they had flintlock muskets, but at the start of the wars they took whatever they could get, and sometimes that was a carbine.

Blunderbuss
Fairly rare weapons during the civil wars, they became more popular after the Restoration. They were always made as a flintlock weapon.
Damage: 1D6+6
Range Increment: 10ft
Misfire: 2-4
Reload: 3

Long Gun (Fowling Piece)
A hunter’s weapon, used by farmers and wildfowlers, as well as the landed gentry. They had very long barrels, around 5ft, but were lighter than a musket and did not need a rest. They were always flintlocks and had a bore of around .50, smaller than a musket. When used with a lead ball instead of shot, they were found to be far more accurate than an ordinary musket, and so were used as sniper’s weapons during the war. They proved their worth during sieges, the besieged using them to pick off officers in the trenches. In 1652 the New Model Army ordered some 500 long guns for use in Scotland, and later General Monck recommended that 6 men in each company should be armed with them, to pick off enemy officers. In a military context, these weapons were rare.
Damage: 2D3
Range Increment: 70 ft
Misfire: 2-4
Reload: 3

Screwed Guns (Rifles)
Another hunting weapon used for sniping, the cost of these short but thick barrelled weapons restricted their ownership to the well to do gentry and noblemen. Many were imported from Germany and were wheel-locks. English screwed guns were rarer, and were usually flintlocks. These weapons were very rare.
Damage: 2D3
Range Increment: 100ft
Misfire: Flintlock 2-4/Wheel-lock 2-3
Reload: 6