#gorgrondthorn

How do you operate this prototype?: In one word. Carefully. In two. Very carefully. You aim it at the intended target for incineration and you GENTLY squeeze the trigger, once you have lit the flame by the barrel's end manually. Can I simply spray flames all over?: Sure! If you've a death wish. You cannot move too fast with it. Or run. Why? The heat trail you leave may intoxicate you, as it produces a fine, thick smoke. The flames may not exit the barrel entirely and remain confined within, in which case the barrel could melt. Or you could burn yourself alive as the flames soar across the air as you run forward and catch some of the heat. Cautionary Measures: This is not meant for an extended delivery of flames. It's meant for a small burst. Squeeze once. Let it burn. Squeeze once more. It's important that the wielder wear a mask to prevent asphyxia or smoke inhalation. If you try to spray flames for a period longer than ten seconds, it will start to overheat very quickly. In five seconds, the flow of fuel slows down and you've thicker flames. The device starts to become hotter. The mouth of the barrel is burnt. In extreme cases, overheating may cause an explosion of the cannisters underneath it. In that case, you will lose probably four fingers in your left hand, assuming you are right-handed and you will likely be on fire. Could this be used in combat?: Maybe. If it's versus an enemy in a spellcaster's robes, you will incinerate their fancy clothes, ruin their concentration, render any spellcasting impossible and have yourself some nice toast. If it's leather, because of the fact leather has to be kept well-oiled to be flexible, if you aim it at that, it will catch fire and render the piece useless. Very new ( and sometimes very cheap, ill kept ) leather does not catch fire as easily. Any alloy, metal plating and so on and so forth, will only feel hotter. This cannot produce flames of so extreme a temperature to have any effect on a sturdy metal plating.

Someone struck the barrel or shot at it. Or one of the cannisters. What do I do?: There's a chance it will explode in your hands and in their face. It's not a weapon. Get rid of it. It's a clumsy, crude prototype, an exceptionally hasty product of our limited engineering. If there's a hole or cut or deep scratch in the barrel, the flames will come out of it, instead of the barrel and that may be too close to the fuel or gas cannister. If it's either cannister, you probably will be burning alive along with your enemy. Can we improve this?: Yes. How? We steal their own weapons and reverse the engineering by learning how it works as we dismantle it. Could we have a tank strapped to someone's back? Yes. Would it be safer? No. Why not? You'd be carrying a bomb all across your back. It's a tempting target. Also, fuel in a small compartment, when it's being funnelled into a barrel, is often under a lot of pressure. The release of pressure would cause it to destabilize. Even if we could weaponize this... :... or build a better prototype, it would still be volatile, because we lack alloys and knowledge of how to craft this. Also, you may notice you don't see any orcish warlord or ogre chieftain or anyone important with one of those strapped to them. That's for a reason. They don't want fire all over them. They equip the grunts. The people they don't mind losing and who go wide-eyed when they see that burst of flames melt everything in it's path. Pyromania is more common than you'd think.