Black powder

Black powder

(Alchemical item)

Uncommon

Alchemical

Consumable

Type

Alchemical reagent

Source: Alchemy Manual, pg(s). IFC (1E)
Guns & Gears, pg(s). 169 (2E)

Black powder, also called gunpowder, is an explosively volatile alchemical substance. First formulated in the historical Yixing empire of Tian Xia, it is the main component in fireworks and other explosives, and a propellant of firearm and cannon ammunition such as bullets and cannon balls.

History

In legends

A tanuki lights a portable cannon with their tail.

Legends hold that black powder was first known by dragons of Tian Xia, with whom the first alchemists to develop it negotiated for its secrets. One such legend tells of adventurers who competed to retrieve an alchemical manual in the Darklands that included the formula for black powder, with only one named Kana succeeding. The adventurer credited their success to a large amount of alcohol and auctioned off the formula for a massive sum and retired.

While many credit this legend's references to alcohol as Kana being a drunkard or drinking to deal with the Darklands' horrors, the alcohol was in fact a tribute to Kuenen, a then-young underworld dragon who was subsequently bound to her humanoid form forever and exiled her for sharing access to the formula with mortals. Such legends suggest Kana died of drinking poisoned alcohol but do not directly link a vengeful Kuenen to Kana's death.

Yixing era

Black powder's properties were discovered in Imperial Yixing, in what is today known as eastern Minkai, where explosions seemingly caused by air and candles would cause mines and quarries to collapse. Alchemists investigated the mineral composition of sites that experienced this phenomenon during the last centuries of the Yixing empire and connected the behavior to the presence of sulfur, saltpeter, and graphite dust, which reduced the frequency of accidents.

However, these explosive properties also drew their own experiments to reproduce the phenomenon, and many early researchers of black powder died as a result of its volatility. Mining companies developed and closely protected their own formulas for black powder, while common folk developed weaker versions for use in agricultural pest control, fishing, and festivals.

As Imperial Yixing dissolved to its final end in 5576 IC, black powder's use in combat became more prevalent. Rebels against Yixing deployed black powder to great effect in sabotage operations and cavalry-defeating traps, and used precursors of what would become known as fireworks as signal flares. The rebellion led to the formation of the Shu empire in 5601 IC.

Shu era

Jiao Deng Shu, first Emperor of Shu, recognized black powder's power and subsequently regulated its creation and use in his new empire in the decades after Imperial Yixing's collapse. These rules slowed, but also refined, the development of related technology.

The empire's officials seized all flare workshops, supply mines, and logistical oversight to repurpose them toward the production of weak fireworks for pest deterrent, recreational, and ceremonial use; fireworks marked the emperor's first heir's adulthood, a tradition that persisted in the years to come.

Alchemists developed siege weapons based on firework technology that used tubes of bamboo or bound iron to fire stone or metal ammunition. These crude devices had limited range but still exceeded the force of other similar weapons of the time.

Lung Wa era

Imperial Lung Wa held a monopoly on black powder until acquiescing to trade requests from Vudra, to whom Lung Wa granted a less powerful formula to avoid providing a rival with a threatening technology.✝

However, this lesser Vudran formula was also more stable and thus more conducive to long-distance trade; Tian attempts at transporting its potent black powder tended to explode in transit. Combined with Vudra's relative willingness to trade the powder with other nations, black powder spread to more of Golarion, most notably the Kulenett dwarves of Garund.

In Vudra

Vudra was an early importer of black powder due to its existing trade relationships with Goka, but only in weakened forms and with much difficulty; ships bearing the powder often exposed it to moisture or exploded during their voyages back to Vudra. The Shu empire of Tian Xia later gifted weakened black powder formulas and inferior firework designs to Vudran kingdoms, leading to the subcontinent's development of its own brand of black powder.✝

The relative safety of Vudra's weaker black powder formulas also spurred widespread development of new uses, beginning with colorful handheld sparklers and eventually leading to the creation of naptha, cast bronze cannons, mortars, and underwater cannons. Vudra also quickly adopted firearms as status symbols after their development in Alkenstar, but a large number of accidents have led to many Vudran kingdoms temporarily banning them.

In Garund

The Kulenett carefully brought several kegs of Vudran black powder through the war-torn lands between Geb and Nex to their kin in Dongun Hold, where they intended to use its saltpeter components as a preservative and seasoning for food stores before the Hold permanently closed to the surface. While in seclusion, the dwarves found and refined the powder's explosive properties to the same strength as Tian Xia's potency, then employed it in mining and defensive traps before developing their first firearms, then artillery devices such as cannons.

As an explosive

A goblin lights the fuse on fireworks.

Black powder is volatile enough to be detonated by exposure to fire and electricity. It is effective only while dry; moisture can make it inert.

Its usage on Golarion is geographically limited, but when it appears it is often part of a technological movement.

In Tian Xia, Goka, Lingshen, Po Li, and Quain continue to develop technologies that use black powder. In the Inner Sea region, Alkenstar leads development of black powder firearms and technology. Slayers of undead creatures in Ustalav have pioneered the use of firearms made in or derived from Alkenstar's in Avistan, where the ability to project anathematic silver at a safe distance is particularly valued. The Motaku Isle Ironworks in the Shackles creates knock-off models of ill-gotten Alkenstari black powder armaments.

Fireworks developed or used in Tian Xia, Varisia, and elsewhere use black powder as a propellant. Goblins have a particular fondness for such devices.

Black powder is much less common in Arcadia, where firearms instead use more stable forms of magic or compressed air.

In archery

Alchemists developed the first fire arrows by tipping arrows with pouches of black powder, which they used to detonate unreliable land mines. They soon were used in siege warfare, where the arrows could set structures on fire from long range. The development of fire arrows and fireworks directly led to the development of self-propelled rockets.

In the Successor States, Hongal was reportedly stockpiling fire arrows as of 4721 AR for their potential use against the oni of Chu Ye.

In bombs

Fumbus consumes elixirs and tosses alchemical bombs over his shoulders as he flees from pursuing wererats.

Early uses of black powder in warfare were inspired by the disasters that predated its discovery as well as its use in mines. Explosions initiated rockfalls and avalanches that often indiscriminately killed civilians as well as soldiers, which turned locals against its users. Through military engineering, black powder's combat precision was refined with the development of bombs that could fill the air with smoke, frighten cavalry mounts, and injure foes.

Among the Successor States, Hongal was reportedly stockpiling bombs as of 4721 AR for their potential use against the oni of Chu Ye.

In mines

During the Shu empire, groups developed discrete traps known as mines that exploded when stepped on or tripped. Some territories were mined so heavily that they remained uninhabitable well after Lung Wa was established, and many nations have since avoided deploying land mines allowed the technology's development to halt and fade from history.

Aquatic and underwater mines, however, are the subject of active development in the growing tensions between kraken-ruled Wanshou and the underwater confederacy of Xidao. Experts on the development of explosives have also gone missing while traveling through these regions.

In firearms

A member of the seafaring Nisama people of Minata wields a fish-shaped pistol.

A dose of black powder is enough to fire a bullet from a typical firearm. In the Inner Sea region, a dose can cost as little as 1 copper piece. Common quantities for transportation are 500-dose powder horns and 5,000-dose powder kegs.✝

Black powder firearms either use cartridges that combine the propellant with the bullet and wadding, or require the powder to be loaded manually along with loose shot.

The development and possession of personal firearms in Tian Xia is restricted, and most firearms in modern Tian Xia are imported from Alkenstar by wealthy collectors who mostly purchase them for display or hunting purposes. However, Minkaian developers designed a firearm model known as a hinawaju in 7221 IC by using plans and rifles intercepted from Hongal. In addition to Minkai and Hongal, the nations of Nagajor, Xa Hoi, and Tang Mai have also secretly pursued firearms, and a prospective guild of smiths and gunslingers was as of 7221 IC seeking to form the continent's first guild of firearms.

In Vudra, artisan gunsmiths sponsored by wealthy kingdoms have developed muskets and other firearms for military use, with some of these weapons being offered for lease to the public.

In cannons

Ships fire cannons at one another during a naval battle.

Cannons operate similarly to firearms but at a larger scale, launching a large, weighty projectile over long distances by harnessing the explosive nature of black powder.

Shipwrecks near Minata contain some of the earliest known cannons in Tian Xia, with names like cetbang and lantaka etched on them. No historical records describe these cannons' inventors or users, and Lung Wa's contradictory records suggest no cannons existed prior to its formation. Researchers suggest these cannons were used by an advanced precursor civilization, and as of 7221 IC these historical devices have yet to be recreated or repaired.

The development of sufficiently strong cast iron to contain a blast capable of propelling a cannonball coincided with the early years of Imperial Lung Wa, and these cannons were first deployed against the ratfolk uprising of Diguo-Dashu in 6751 IC. Lung Wa produced many cannons as siege weapons, naval armaments, and coastal defenses, and also developed portable hand cannons to break enemy defensive lines.

In fire lances

Fire lances, which emit concentrated sparks at close range, predate firearms and cannons. Legendary Lung Wa General Tang Ye Fei is renowned for expertly wielding a fire lance known as the White Pear Blossom while surrounded by cavalry, blinding her pursuers and enabling her escape. The White Pear Blossom became part of the Gokan Palace's historical display, and the dwindling number of modern firelancers remain inspired by stories of her prowess.

In alchemy

Some alchemical recipes use a purified form of black powder. The price of one dose for alchemical use can cost 10 gold pieces. As an alchemical power component it is associated with boosting the effectiveness of evocation spells.

As a creature

A gunpowder ooze.

Gunpowder oozes are dangerous mixtures of black powder and wild magic that live predominantly in the Mana Wastes.

In cuisine

The saltpeter in black powder has preservative qualities in food and a peppery flavor, and was once used by traders from Casmaron and Vudra in emergencies or if the powder itself was likely to be spoiled. Its use in cuisine has declined alongside the rise of firearms and explosives, which has increased the demand and costs to an impractical degree. However, many Donguni dwarves still prefer the flavor of food seasoned with saltpeter.

In magic

Spellcasters who were early adopters of black powder in Tian Xia attempted to combine fire-based magic with black powder, but its dangerous volatility soon ended such experiments.

In rocketry

Researchers seeking to make self-propelled fire arrows used black powder as a propellant in a similar manner to fireworks, leading to the development of the first rockets. These propelled devices were first used to deliver incendiary payloads to targets while in pursuit.

Rockets became widely used during the expansionist periods of Imperial Lung Wa, which led to Hwanggot's development of defensive hwacha, cart-sized devices that could carry and launch barrages of up to 100 self-propelled arrows at a time. Tang Mai and Xa Hoi developed similar siege defense weapons credited with slowing Lung Wa's expansion.

References

Paizo published a major work on firearms titled Guns & Gears in which the usage and history of black powder on Golarion feature prominently throughout.

External links

• Gunpowder (real-world substance) on Wikipedia