Handgun

Handguns are gunpowder weapons consisting of a metal barrel mounted on a wooden stock.

The crudest versions are little more than small, hand-held cannons, which the user fires by poking a length of burning cord, known as a match, into a small touch-hole to ignite the charge. More advanced versions have firing mechanisms (locks) which use levers and springs to mechanize the firing process. The most advanced of these use self-ignition mechanisms (such as flintlocks) which remove the need for a match. Handguns have relatively long range, and can penetrate some of the thickest armour.^[1a]

History

A Dragon Man was an early form of Hand Gunner used by Lahmia in Nehekhara. ^[4a] The elite of the Lahmian army in -1740 IC they were chosen for their strength of will and intelligence as they had to be able to safely handle the powder supplied by the alchemists of Cathay. ^[4b]

It was a very long time between the discovery of gunpowder (-420 IC) by the Dwarfs and the approval of the Dwarf Engineers Guild for the large scale use of handguns by line of battle regiments (1152 IC). ^[5][6]

During his reign, Tzar Boris Ursus of Kislev imported black-powder from the Empire.^[3b] As a result, the Boyars of Kislev can be armed with handguns. ^[3a]

Users of handguns

• Dwarf troops armed with handguns are called Thunderers, due the noise of their weapons. Their lead shot can take down a Troll, or a fully armoured knight.^[1b][5][6]
• In the Empire, handguns are often manufactured by skilled gunsmiths in Nuln whilst State Troops armed with handguns are named Handgunners.^[2]
• Kislev Streltsi are trained to fight both at range with Handguns and at close quarters with Halberds. ^[7]

Miniatures

• 

  Handgunners of Nuln

• 

  Thunderers

• 

  Dwarf Thane with Handgun]

See Also

• Hochland long rifle
• Repeater Handgun
• Pistol

Sources

• 1: Warhammer Rulebook (7th Edition)
  • 1a: pg. 57
  • 1b: pg. 180
• 2: Warhammer Armies: The Empire (7th Edition), pg. 37
• 3: Warhammer Armies: Kislev (6th Edition)
  • 3a: pg. 10
  • 3b: pg. 14
• 4: Rise of Nagash (anthology) by Mike Lee
  • 4a: Chapter Thirty: The End of all Things, pg. 347-348
  • 4b: Chapter Thirty: The End of all Things, pg. 367-368
• 5: Warhammer Armies: Dwarfs (8th Edition): Quarrellers & Thunderers, pg. 39
• 6: Dwarf Players Guide‎: Dwarf Timeline, pgs. 16-17
• 7: Realm of the Ice Queen: A guide to Kislev (2007), pg. 105