Weapons
“Death to Maraa!”
This amazing rifle, an improvement on the Girandoni air rifle and various other Windbusches in Cavendia, uses compressed air stored in the cylinder of sheet iron that forms the stock of the gun. From this cylinder, riveted and sealed by brazing, the trigger releases blasts of compressed air, a propellant which hurls the projectiles without smoke, loud noise, muzzle flash, or recoil. This makes it a powerful stealth weapon.
Ammo: .46 caliber soft lead conical bullets, which Chadwick Yates prefers to carve with an X, to make it an expanding dumdum bullet
Barrels: 1
Capacity: Originally it could shoot 32 bullets at pressure by Mr. Bench’s design, though by the time of Chadwick Yates and the Cannibal’s Shrine, Yates finds there is only pressure for 28 shots.
Operation: Automatic (in Victorian terms, semi-automatic by modern standards). A new bullets is cycled from a tubular magazine into the firing chamber by mechanical contrivance with each pull of the trigger.
Sight(s): Two sight systems that require a slight tilt (rotation) of the gun to switch between: low power telescopic sight and ghost rings iron sights.
Other Notes: A hand pump requiring approximately 1,500 strokes is used to refill the wind rifle’s compressed air cylinder in the field, a task Yates does by the campfire or in periods of respite. Mr. Bench added rubber gaskets to seal the air cylinder. Formerly leather gaskets were used, which had to be kept wet, necessitating the addition of a dripping watering can fixed on the butt of the rifle. This had been done away with by the time of Chadwick Yates and the Cannibals Shrine.
“What a daring fighter, who being thrown sidelong operates the lever of his gun even while falling!”
This standard smoothbore shotgun has been modified considerably by Mr. Merrick Bench.
Ammo: any 12-guage cartridge. Yates prefers to use triple-aught, a large game buckshot.
Barrels: 1
Capacity: Specially elongated tubular magazine allows for 8 cartridges
Operation: Curiously-enough for a shotgun — lever-action
Sight(s): Ghost rings iron sight
Other Notes: The combination of the ghost rings iron sight with a smoothbore barrel is ideal for the combat shooter. The sight gives quickness and accuracy against human targets at greater range, and the smoothbore barrel ensures buckshot loads can pattern ideally at a distance.
“In a second, the ambassador had snatched up his howdah pistol. Yates aimed from his knees and blasted yet another foe back to the dust.”
Designed as an emergency defense weapon for use in Sutherbury’s Outback, preferred by explorers, prospectors, pioneers, and hunters. It is useful against charging big game such as lions and cape buffalo. Ambassador Yates discovered the desirable properties of this overlarge sidearm while living among the Sutherbury Outback tribes.
Ammo: .577
Barrels: 2, side-by-side
Capacity: 2
Operation: Break-action. Two triggers allow the user to fire one barrel or both simultaneously.
Sight(s): None
“I thought you’d bring a soldier’s comforts.”
The standard issue training and field weapon of every Cavendian soldier. Carried by Sharp on his First Tour of Tanzia.
Ammo: .30-06
Barrels: 1
Capacity: 5 shot internal box magazine, utilizing an en bloc clip.
Sight(s): telescopic sight
Operation: Bolt-action
“I’d had enough now. I emerged from the cover of the fallen tree, and I tossed down my empty rifle. I drew, one with each hand, my revolvers. The sooner the devil ceased to move altogether the better I would be pleased, and I determined to meet it head on.”
A fairly standard single-action six-shooter that is top-breaking and has self-extracting cylinders. Breaking the revolver ejects the spent cartridges automatically. A common household gun in Cavendia, widely carried by homeowners, police, and soldiers. Known to be durable in the field.
Ammo: .45 caliber
Barrels: 1
Capacity: 6
Operation: Single-action
Other Notes: Commander Sharp carries two such revolvers during the First Tour of Tanzia.
“Mr. Bench had constructed Yates a new shotgun. It was no lever-action this time. He’d gone for a pump, and while it still had the elongated feed for eight cartridges, the whole gun looked sturdier, perhaps on account of the slugs.”
An upgraded shotgun made from scratch by Mr. Merrick Bench.
Ammo: any 12-guage cartridge or saboted tungsten-carbide slugs, the ammunition the gun was designed to withstand.
Barrels: 1
Capacity: Tubular magazine contains 8 cartridges
Operation: Pump-action
Sight(s): Ghost rings iron sight
Other Notes: Yates switches to a pump-action because it allows him slightly faster target acquisition. He can operate the pump with his left hand, without having to displace his right hand from the trigger. The gun is also designed to be slamfired: if the trigger is held down, ammunition fires as quickly as the pump is worked. This can be a life-saving last line of defense.
The saboted, tungsten-carbide slugs can defeat the frontal bone mass of an elephant and are rifled for accuracy. Great overpenetration is ideal for use on the most formidable of Servants.
“The piece of technology which he extracted was at first sight a beautiful thing. One could tell instantly it was a complicated and precise device, like one of those skeleton watches that allows one to view all the inner cogs.”
Sometimes there are too many enemies charging at once, and all that counts is how many bullets you have and how quickly you can fire them. At times like that, Thurston Sharp reaches for the rifle created especially for him by Mr. Merrick Bench of The Dashing Leopard.
Ammo: .300 Magnum
Barrels: 2, over-under.
Capacity: 36 shots, via two cylinder pieces, each containing 18 chambers. After 18 shots, one cylinder piece must be hinged out and the other hinged into place.
Sight(s): Two sight systems that require a slight tilt (rotation) of the gun to switch between: sharpshooting telescopic sight and iron sights.
Operation: Traditional double-action.
Other Notes: The reason for the two barrels is that the cylinder pieces have two rows of chambers, the inner ring aligned to the lower barrel and the outer ring aligned to the higher barrel. This keeps the cylinder pieces to a reasonable size.
“Say an elephant in plate mail were charging at you at full speed. If you could wish any gun into your hand, what would it be?”
Designed as a big game hunting weapon, this big bore Nitro Express was once owned by Mr. Merrick Bench. It’s recoil is immense, but when faced with the worst of Maraa’s horde, it is sometimes the only option.
Ammo: .700 Nitro Express
Barrels: 2, side-by-side
Capacity: 2
Operation: Break-action. Two triggers allow the user to fire one barrel or both simultaneously.
Sight(s): Express style open iron sights
Other Notes: The gun is handsomely engraved with the portrait of a lion on the underside, symmetrical rhinoceros heads on the top, and two jaguar heads on the sides.
Clothing List — First Tour of Tanzia
Tanzia is no place for dapper city garb or the duds of a dandy. Instead, care must be taken for practicality and durability. Let us examine then the vestments which hang in the wardrobes of Tanzian explorers Chadwick Yates and Thurston Sharp.
Trousers and underclothes, per man:
- Three pairs of woolen underwear, of the long john type
- One pair of very lightweight safari trousers with leather cuff on the legs, capable of resisting damage when striding through brush
- One pair of windproof, soft moleskin trousers for comfort and sleeping
- One pair of indestructible oil-finish cotton pants, impregnated with wax so as to make them stiff, durable, and resilient against water.
***All pants have gusseted crotches for agility on rugged terrain and suspender buttons, as well as gaiter attachment points. A tin of extra wax for reinforcing oil-finish pants is required.
Shirts and overclothes, per man:
- One light, short-sleeved button safari shirt with breast pockets and high, sun-blocking collar
- One heavier, long-sleeved button-up khaki field shirt
- One thick wool pullover with hood and two collar toggles to close the neck
- One Mackintosh rain jacket
Completing the outfit, per man:
- A belt and suspenders
- A pair of lounging or bathing shorts for camp
- A quantity of wool socks
- Two pairs of the most sturdy and hardy mountain boots
- A pair of soft moccasins for camp.
- Durable padded gloves for shooting
- Wide-brimmed safari hat
- Several large pocket handkerchiefs (for wiping sweat, binding wounds, filtering sediment from water sources, handling hot crockery, etc.)
Vehicles
Cavendia has a wealth of luxurious transportation options, from horse-drawn broughams and omnibuses to locomotives, paddle ships, and even the wondrous motor carriage.
But to travel in style over Tanzia requires a vehicle as rugged as that wild land … and one armed to the teeth. In Chadwick Yates and the Inub Plains (working title), Yates and Sharp get a helping hand from industrialist Mr. Thornycroft Overton, principal of the Northern Steamworks and Tool Company. Custom built with all the latest engineering knowledge, the Prowler is a moving campsite. Having the speed for a fast getaway, the machine allows Yates and Sharp to explore a land none have glimpsed for thousands of years.
Information on Prowler Design Classified Until Book Release