A Nipponese Arquebusier
An arquebus is a short-barrelled handgun with a shoulder stock. They are crude, muzzle-loaded gunpowder weapons fired by applying a lighted taper or "match" to a tiny hole at the base of the barrel. They may be used like any other missile weapon but must be reloaded after each shot. Within the armies of Nippon, arquebuses are commonly wielded by Ashigaru arquebusiers.[1]
The arquebus is similar to a blunderbuss, but lacks the flaring barrel, and fires a single ball similar to a pistol ball but heavier. The arquebus is coming into favour as a replacement for the crossbow in Tilea, Estalia and Bretonnia, but is still unreliable and prone to jams and misfires, which makes it less popular with the troops than with their masters, who like that it is far easier to train an arquebusier than it is a crossbowman or archer. An arquebus is often used with a rest -- a forked stick which keeps the long barrel level, making it easier to aim and fire.[2a]
An Imperial arquebus
In the Empire, an arquebus is sometimes simply called a "firearm." Like the other variants of the arquebus, the Imperial weapon lacks the flaring barrel of the blunderbuss and fires a single ball similar to those used with pistols. An Imperial arquebus requires only a single shot of gunpowder per firing and fires one ball when loaded with standard shot.[3a]