Forgotten Realms Firearms
You have practiced extensively with firearms of various sorts, gaining the following benefits:
- You are proficient with all firearms, and with tinker's tools.
- Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn't impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls with any firearm.
- Reduce the misfire rating of the firearm you are using by 1.
- You may reload one firearm as a free action.
In the Realms, true gunpowder has no explosive capacity due to the influence of Kossuth, the Lord of Flames. Firearms are rare and use smokepowder, an alchemical explosive substance. It is different from, but on par with, gunpowder. Firearms are most common among the Lantanese, who originally learned this secret alchemy and engineering of firearms from Gond, the god of crafts and invention. They are still quite rare, however.
Smokepowder
Rare Alchemy Recipe • 25gp per packet
A black, grainy powder whose creation was a gift from Gond, smokepowder burns brightly when set alight. It is not inherently explosive unless the smokepowder is contained within a tight space. As such, it can be used to create explosives and to act as the firing powder for smokepowder weapons. In and of itself, a pile of smokepowder, when lit, burns bright enough to illuminate a 30 foot radius, and to provide dim light to another 30 foot radius out from that. A pile of smokepowder burns for one round per ounce of smokepowder used. If smokepowder is allowed to get wet, it will never again ignite.
A packet of smokepowder can be used to make 5 paper cartridge shots, with the use of a tinker's kit and fifteen minutes of work. These allotments of smokepowder are usually sold in packets of waxed parchment. Such a packet can explode if thrown into an open flame or lit on fire, exploding for 1d6 fire damage, inflicted on every creature within 20 feet, with a DC 12 Dexterity save for half damage.
Smokepowder is also sold in small powder horns, containing enough to make 50 shots (250 gp). If such a keg is hurled into a fire or set on fire, it will explode in 1d3 rounds, inflicting 4d6 fire damage to every creature within 20 feet, with a DC 12 Dexterity save for half damage. Finally, some alchemists also sell iron-banded powder kegs, containing enough to make 500 shots (2500 gp). These kegs are usually treated to be fire resistant, but if they burn long enough (2d4 x 10 minutes) or are cracked by impact, they will explode for 9d6 fire damage, inflicted in a 30 foot radius, with a DC 14 Dexterity save for half damage.
Firearms
Tinkering and alchemy has combined to produce these impressive weapons, which use flint sparkers or spark rings to ignite the gunpowder in the weapon, launching balls of lead as a projectile. Though it is possible to load both ammunition and powder into the end of the barrel, most use paper cartridges, combining both the bullet (or pellets) and the right weight of smokepower, pre-prepared and easy to load into a firearm (though the use of an action or a bonus action).
Other Equipment
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Acknowledgements
This page adapts a great deal of material from the Comprehensive Equipment Manual, Revised 3.0, from the DM's Guild.
