Quote:
Originally Posted by Imperial
Look at it from another angle , which requires more materials and work ,an average pistol or an average long knife? Same cost, BS.
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In real history, firearms were used because they were incredibly cheap, easy to use and available to everyone compared to earlier weapons.
There was less need for skilled craftsmanship and good steel than a sword (which a long knife sort of is). A low-tech pistol is one that operates at a fairly low pressures and doesn't require high-quality steel. It's basically a hollow tube with some way to light a fire in it.
If your campaign is set in the real world, you can justify increasing the cost of firearms during the time of their introduction. If fewer smiths know how to make one than know how to build swords, then the price will be higher. But this will hold true only for a short time, until more smiths learn how simple it is to build a musket or pistol. Unlike a proper Good quality sword, a village blacksmith could probably build a working matchlock firearm. So the prices will go down to the
Low-Tech values fairly quickly, certainly as soon as firearms have become widely available.
If the campaign is set in a fantasy world, arbitrarily declare that unlike in our world, firearms are not weapons of the unwashed masses. Declare that legal restrictions exist on their sale and construction and/or who may carry them. Decide that all firearms are elaborately decorated. Use
'Luxury Pricing' (
GURPS Low-Tech p. 37) to set the Status that you think ought to have access to guns in your world.