[High-Tech] Reloading and Volley Guns

[NorphTehDwarf]

GREETINGS USERS OF GURPS FORA STOP

HAVE FOUND SELF STUCK IN 19TH CENTURY STOP

HOPE TIME TELEGRAM WORKS STOP

PRINTED OUT HIGH-TECH BEFORE I LEFT STOP

TWO QUESTIONS STOP

ON P87 IT SAYS SELF-MEASURING POWDER FLASKS AND SELF-PRIMING PAN RELOAD BONUSES DO NOT STACK STOP

WHY IS THIS STOP

SECOND QUESTION HOW MUCH WOULD A VOLLEY GUN WEIGHT/COST STOP


edit

THANKYA KINDLY MOLOKH STOP

somehow the forum stopped me from putting the whole post in block caps stop

looks a lot less like a telegram now stop

[NorphTehDwarf]

All textual absurdities aside, why would a self-priming pan and a self-measuring powder flask not both contribute to a faster loading time?

[NorphTehDwarf]

Sorry to dredge this up again, but what function would a musket rest have, and would Apostles count as self-measuring flasks for reloading purposes? I'm thinking a musket rest allows the user to count the musket as braced even while standing, and that the apostles would give the same reload-speed bonus as a self-measuring flask.

edit: hey, where'd Molokh's post go?

[pyratejohn]

Originally Posted by NorphTehDwarf

All textual absurdities aside, why would a self-priming pan and a self-measuring powder flask not both contribute to a faster loading time?

Because of the steps that are involved in firing a flintlock. I'll skip some of the "by the numbers" steps, but in essence it goes like this:
Grab a cartridge from your box.
Bring it up to your mouth and tear it open.
Prime the pan.
Spin the musket around and pour the rest down the barrel, along with the ball.
Ram it home.
Spin the musket back around.
You are ready to rock n roll.

A self-priming pan changes this. With a self-priming pan, you ignore the third step in my list above. Why? Because the vent hole in the barrel of your musket is of a diameter large enough to allow powder from the barrel to spill into the pan.

A self-measuring powder flask doesn't eliminate the priming step. All that does is (in theory) eliminate the need for cartridges. However... for a flintlock you'd need two self-priming flasks, one for the pan, and another for the barrel. Or, one small one for the pan would work, with the caveat that you'd have to measure three or four or more charges from that for the barrel.

Hope that helps.

[pyratejohn]

Originally Posted by NorphTehDwarf

Sorry to dredge this up again, but what function would a musket rest have, and would Apostles count as self-measuring flasks for reloading purposes? I'm thinking a musket rest allows the user to count the musket as braced even while standing, and that the apostles would give the same reload-speed bonus as a self-measuring flask.

I don't have the rules in front of me, but yes, I'd agree with those statements. But with a matchlock, as I recall you have to load powder from the flask, then load powder into the pan from a priming horn, all while fiddling with a burning match. It is going to be slower than a flintlock.

Powder flasks are going to deliver a measured amount of powder into the barrel. Thus, there's no chance of having a spontaneous discharge of a whole horn's with of powder. In reenacting, loading from the horn is severely frowned upon for safety reason, i.e., the damage done by one accidental powder discharge is much less than that done by 10 or 15 concentrated together.

[NorphTehDwarf]

Thanks for the help, PyrateJohn. I can't decide whether I should keep these blatherings to a single thread or not, but I'd rather not spam so here's another one:

So I'm trying to model a guy who carries cheap imitations of a better gun. Poorly made, or maybe the barrel's worn out, that sort of thing. I'm figuring I can model this best by lowering Malf and Acc one level and dropping the cost down to 40% list price as per cheap melee weapons on B274. Does this seem fair?

[NorphTehDwarf]

What about spring bayonets such as the one seen here? I'm figuring they should take only a single ready action to 'fix,' and maybe weigh less than a standard bayonet because they have no hilt/tang.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by NorphTehDwarf

What about spring bayonets such as the one seen here? I'm figuring they should take only a single ready action to 'fix,' and maybe weigh less than a standard bayonet because they have no hilt/tang.

I’d guess it to be equivalent to a knife bayonet (High-Tech, p197). Single Ready sounds right… there might be a separate Malf rating for such a gizmo. It might be worthwhile to check with Hans or Shawn to see if they've got notes for such.