Smokepowder

Smokepowder was the Realms magical alchemical equivalent of gunpowder.

"The night breeze still smelt of burning wood and men, but at least the screams had stopped. As oily smoke bid the last stars from view, the flames dancing amid the rocks below found the precious smoke powder deep in the hold of the Kissing Shark and flared up in fresh fury, spitting spars and embers high into the air... The sea shook, and a fierce ball of flames rose up into the sky with slow, ponderous fury."

- An excerpt from The Mercenaries

Description
Though bearing a resemblance to gunpowder, being a coarse dark grey powder that exploded when exposed to fire or heat, smokepowder differed by being magical in nature. This rendered the substance vulnerable to anti-magic spells, dead-magic zones, and similar enchantments.

Those who used smokepowder on a frequent basis found that their fingers or gloves were left stained by it.

Creation
The exact formula for creating smokepowder was a secret closely guarded by the Church of Gond. That being said, a handful of alchemists, priests, and wizards in the Realms knew of it.

Some believed it involved the mixture of two inert substances. Some claimed the ashes left behind by a killed tome guardian could be used in the process. And the alchemist Surero claimed to use a combination of 75% sulfur, 10% saltpeter and 15% charcoal mixed together in sacks to create the substance.

Beyond the formula itself, the process of making smokepowder was difficult and fraught with danger, often ending in an unplanned explosion.

Beyond Toril

 * The prevalence of smokepowder was far greater in Wildspace than it was on planets, being a particularly good seller for the merchants known as the Arcane.
 * On Oerth smokepowder was an inert substance, not functioning until it was taken off the planet.

History
Smokepowder had existed on Toril for hundreds of years, being used in Kara-Tur to make rockets and magical firecrackers, but it never saw extensive research or development into its use. This was until the Time of Troubles, when Gond in his mortal avatar form washed up on the shore of Lantan. In return for the people there sheltering him, in 1358 DR he revealed to the Lantanese how to make reasonably safe and accurate firearms that utilized smokepowder, such as the arquebus and its variations.

Around 1372 DR, the city of Telflamm was considered a gateway for smokepowder and other eastern goods into the rest of Faerûn.

Following the destruction of Lantan during the Spellplague, many artificers considered the secrets behind smokepowder to have been lost.

For much of the 14 century DR, the nation of Cormyr only allowed the importation or creation of smokepowder by those who had a license from the Crown, but these licenses came with a variety of conditions and they came with a 500 gold piece fee. Most often the importer wasn't permitted to take the substance into Arabel or further south than Waymoot. Their licensing fee paid for two War Wizards and two members of the Purple Dragons to watch over the substance.

In addition to the license, those importing smokepowder to Cormyr were required to give a detailed report to a War Wizard or their second-in-command that explained their reasons for importing it, where and how it would be stored in the meantime, and when it would be used, among other other things. Approval was generally more lenient for those who cited a desire to conquer the Stonelands. Furthermore, any attempts to sell, gift, or hide smokepowder would result in a confiscation order that would be carried out by dozens of ruthless War Wizards and Purple Dragons.

In the 1480 DR, smokepowder was largely a banned substance in the city of Waterdeep. The people who had official access to it were guardsmen. To a limited degree members of the Watchful Order also had access for the purposes of experimentation, though such experiments had to be observed and supervised by officials. Around this same time, the substance could be covertly bought in small quantities at the black markets of Luskan and Westgate, though one was liable to attract the attention of spies.

Scornubel, as well as later on Downshadow and Mistshore, were some of the few places in the 14 century where one could openly and freely purchase smokepowder.

Reputation
Across the Realms, many had misconceptions regarding the safety and effectiveness of this substance. It was most often viewed as being unreliable and some form of dangerous or corruptive magic. Smokepowder had a similar reputation among inhabitants of the Demiplane of Dread, especially the Vistani.

Notable Users of Smokepowder

 * The Red Wizards of Thay were known to have developed large siege guns that operated on smokepowder. However, these were largely inaccurate and each shot consumed over a hundred charges.
 * In the land of Kara-Tur, there were known to be small rockets that were fueled by smokepowder.
 * By 1372 DR, the use of smokepowder was known to be quite common among rock gnomes.
 * the city-state of Innarlith on the Lake of Steam made use of smokepowder in order excavate the trench for the canal that was dug between the Lake of Steam and the Nagaflow in the mid-14th century DR.

Trivia
The noise that was given off by firearms using smokepowder was comparable to that of gunpowder, though it typically was of a lower-pitch.

Background
In 2017, Ed Greenwood stated in a tweet that the reason gunpowder didn't work on Toril was because executives at TSR, Inc. didn't want firearms in the setting. He also stated that Jeff Grubb later conceived of smokepowder, specifically for use with the giff. In 2020, Ed further elaborated in a tweet that the idea of smokepowder was borrowed from jewelers’ rouge, a fictional gunpowder-equivalent in the Chronicles of Amber novel series (which like the Forgotten Realms, is a setting where actual gunpowder is inert), with the permission of Roger Zelazny.

Appearances

 * Adventures:
 * Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
 * Novels:
 * The Council of Blades • The Mercenaries
 * Video Games:
 * Baldur's Gate III