The Gunner's Manual
| Source | Quest drops |
|---|
The Gunner's Manual Technical notes from a legendary naval gunner. Each page reveals deadlier techniques.
It runs to 10 pages, which turn up in the drop pool of certain quests. A complete journal can be handed in for a token, and the journal then resets, so it is worth filling more than once.
Where the pages come from
| Quest | Faction | Drop chance | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Patrol Duty | Blacktide Compact | 10% |
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Powder Resupply | Blacktide Compact | 12% |
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Bounty Board | Blacktide Compact | 15% |
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Prison Break | Blacktide Compact | 15% |
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Arms Smuggling | Blacktide Compact | 12% |
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Pirate Bounty | Blacktide Compact | 20% |
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Ghost Ship Hunt | Blacktide Compact | 25% |
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Naval Blockade | Blacktide Compact | 35% |
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Fleet Assault | Blacktide Compact | 30% |
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Pirate Extermination | Blacktide Compact | 25% |
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Fortress Assault | Blacktide Compact | 35% |
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Station Raid | Blacktide Compact | 40% |
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Black Fleet Muster | Blacktide Compact | 40% |
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Citadel Siege | Blacktide Compact | 45% |
The drop chance is for the whole pool, and a page of this journal is one thing in it.
The pages
1. On the loading of chain shot: two half-spheres connected by iron links. Devastates rigging at 200 yards.
2. Elevation tables for the 24-pounder. At 5 degrees, 1200 yards. At 8, the ball skips twice on calm water.
3. The secret is not the powder. It is the wadding. Pack it wrong and the barrel splits.
4. I watched a fire ship destroy a first-rate. Unmanned, blazing, drifting into the fleet at anchor. Terrible and beautiful.
5. Grapeshot at close range. I will not describe what it does to men. I will describe how to load it faster.
6. The French use a lower gun deck at waterline. One good hit below the waterline is worth twenty above.
7. Double-shotting: two balls in one barrel. Half the range, twice the destruction. Only for boarding range.
8. Hot shot - heated cannonballs that set fires. Requires a furnace on deck. Dangerous to your own ship.
9. The timing of a broadside matters more than the weight. Fire on the roll, when the hull is exposed.
10. My final note: the best gunner is the one who fires last. Let them waste their powder. Then answer.