A Duelling Pistol in use.
A duelling pistol is a work of art, and a gunsmith labours long and hard to produce a single example. They are often carried by Imperial nobles to solve disputes over love and honour, and many a noble has died at dawn in a duel over some grievance.[1a]
Duelling pistols are prohibitively expensive weapons and common warriors rarely have them. Even if they do manage to steal or buy one, the ammunition is prohibitively expensive.[1a]
Duels[]
Unlike nobles, common folk are bright enough to not engage in duelling. Aristocrats throughout the Empire quickly resort to duels at dawn, using duelling pistols at ten paces. This is dangerous, not only for the exchange of gun re at close range, but also because of the unreliability of the weapons. A foolish endeavour, if the contest doesn’t kill both parties, one or both usually come away maimed.[2a]