An Argument for New Weaponry

An Argument for New Weaponry is a petition sent to the God Enfys by Marshmellow to invent a more powerflu form of weapon known as a gun.

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As I continue pushing forward in life, I have been told countless times by mentors and wingmen alike that a complaint without either feedback or suggestions of improvement is merely that, a complaint. What I witnessed this morning in the chat “Worries about the Server” was many people listing their complaints to the point where it became heated and those who created ideas and suggestions of improvement were drowned out by the simple anger everyone else had. At the center of the debate was PvP and roleplay but it quickly dissolved into arguments over empathy. But the point still remains, how do we fix the problems of PvP in the server and balance it out with roleplay? To that, I answer guns.

For starters no, not the guns you’re thinking of, modern weaponry that are quick to fire and reload, accurate and deadly. I am not and will not advocate for allowing AK-47s, M1911s, K43s or the like. To have weaponry that is as powerful as a modern rifle would cause all other means of conflict to go out the window and destroy the semi-medieval, fantasy and renaissance roleplay of the server. What I am advocating for are hand cannons, arquebuses, and flintlock guns.

Hand cannons were the first to be used and were created in China in the 13th century, spread throughout Eurasia in the 1300s and 1400s. They had low range, were cumbersome, slow to reload, inaccurate but deadly when it hit its target and devastating to morale. The hand cannon was extremely simple and consisted of only a handle and a barrel for the shot. It could theoretically be used with two hands but often times another person would be seen aiding the first in reloading the hand cannon. Arrows and rocks were the original ammunition though this changed to iron balls in the 1400s as the common type of ammunition used.

The next revolution came with the Musket and Arquebus. Like their forebearers these guns were inaccurate and slow to reload but they were lighter and easier to handle meaning one did not need a second person to use it but still needed both hands as they were still awkward to use. Peoples such as the Ottomans and Dutch revolutionized warfare by having firing squads and using “volley fire” which had soldiers line up in rows and fire in waves. William Louis, the Count of Nassau, famously remarked, “I have discovered evolutionibus [a term that would eventually be translated as "drill"] a method of getting the musketeers and others with guns not only to practice firing but to keep on doing so in a very effective battle order (that is to say, they do not fire at will or from behind a barrier ...). Just as soon as the first rank has fired, then by the drill [they have learned] they will march to the back. The second rank either marching forward or standing still, will then fire just like the first. After that, the third and following ranks will do the same. When the last rank has fired, the first will have reloaded, as the following diagram shows.” (December 8th, 1594)

With this in mind, how does this relate to the circumstance of having non-pvpers fight pvpers? If anything, early guns seem more difficult to use. To that I would love to point out the Hussite Wars. The Hussites were an early Protestant Branch who followed the teachings of Jan Hus. They were almost entirely common folk of Bohemia (modern day Czechia). They revolutionized warfare in the 1400s and were considered undefeatable as the peasants of Bohemia defeated multiple armies of professional mercenaries and knights. Most of the armor and weapons they had were scavenged from the battlefield and they often used an assortment of gear but two tactics they used were the wagon fort and the hand cannon. With the hand cannon they would position themselves within these wagon forts and fire into the knights. This would cause little damage as the knights were armored and the guns inaccurate, but it would cause chaos due to the blinding smoke and noise which would lower the morale of the knights and more importantly panic their horses. This tactic helped the peasantry win multiple battles against a superior foe.

This leads to Minecraft and the server as we know it. We are witnessing multiple “knights”, armored professional soldiers do as they please across Rathnir with the peasantry unable to fight back but wanting nothing more than to topple these highwaymen and bandits. With the introduction of early guns, the peasants would finally have an advantage. These guns on their own would be weak and hard to use, giving them a heavy nerf but when used in volley firing tactics by large groups of non-pvpers they could be useful in taking out the more powerful and heavily armored players. The guns would be inaccurate and slow to reload but could do massive amounts of damage.

A fear that this would bring then is a replacement of other weapons. To this, I point out again the obvious weaknesses of the gun. A player skilled with a bow could still easily beat the gunman as did bowmen did in real life. Bowmen up until the late 1500s were seen as more useful on the battlefield as they were more skilled and deadly than someone with a gun. The only reason for the eventual overcoming of guns was due to the ease of skill compared to bowmen. Men would often times have to train since childhood to use a bow while a gunman did not need such training. A group of non-pvpers could defend their town if they were able to group together but they would be weak if the enemy got close or in a 1v1 fight to bowmen.

Another strength of the gun is it is already in the game, to an extent. Arrows of harming are arrows that ignore armor and do massive amounts of damage. They are incredibly overpowered as it negates the strength a player has by having netherite armor. Unlike guns, however, this can be seen as too overpowered as bows are much quicker to reload and are more accurate. So by having guns take this role it allows a balancing of players who aren’t skilled be on the same level as players who are skilled.

The next big piece of support I have for this is roleplay. I have seen multiple players boast their ability to “industrialize” and have an early modern system of redstone and economy. Everyone can agree that there is a point of going too far in technology which is again, why I am against more modern weapons, but by having early guns it fits the time period of how everyone wishes to play. It also allows for more roleplay in the battlefield by expanding the usage of tactics, something that is nonexistent in our current combat. Having guns gives a leg up to non-pvpers but if they do not organize in large groups and continue to be chaotic it is their own fault for failing to be disciplined and push back the enemy. This means that the lore and description of battles can be more exciting. “The Uldarashian volley-fire failed to materialize any counter-offensive as the army quickly melted away due to lack of organization and the officers failing to take command.”

Lastly, how do we have this implemented. There are multiple musket mods out there (though I have seen no Musket plugins) and they could fit with modded even if they cannot be used for Rathnir. If we cannot find any mod that would work or any plugin that even has muskets I will make it my personal goal to create muskets given your permission Enfys. All one needs to do is add a texture for a gun, create the crafting recipe for ammunition and the gun and modify the current bow and use it for the mechanics by having their be less bullet drop, more inaccuracy and a much slower reload but having the gun do more damage. I believe that this can and is a solution to the current dilemma that is causing players to be unhappy in pvp. If you have any questions or counter-arguments please @me and let me hear it but I do ask that you be polite, thank you! Below are pictures of the early guns and Hussite soldiers and sources.

A Swiss Soldier firing a hand cannon in the 1400s.

A soldier using an arquebus with a fork rest.

Hussite soldiers with handcannons

1639 drawing of Ming Musketeers