Gunpowder
Gunpowder is a relatively new invention in the Lands of Exile, and its production requires a perfect collaboration of magic and science. Wizards of the Archon Academy who specialise in metallurgy and magical alloys work with alchemists from the imperial engineering facilities, chiefly in the city of Westreach, to produce it.1
Making gunpowder is expensive, risky and slow. As a result even The Empire, vast as it is, produces and uses it only in limited amounts.1
The First Priority Act
After long diplomacy between various factions and guilds, the First Priority Act was decreed to govern who receives the supply. Gunpowder and firearms must first be sold to the inquisitorial outposts that fight rogue sorcerers and witches. Once their demand is met, sales to the legions and other military forces of the Empire are mandatory. Only what remains after that may be sold on the open market to other buyers.1
Use
Gunpowder drives the heaviest siege weapons. A cannon uses it to hurl heavy balls of cast iron at destructive speed, and a bombard, a large metal barrel set at an angle, uses the explosion of black powder to throw its projectile in an arc onto the target.2
Notes
Sources
This article draws on:
- MCMercenary Compendium(Bad Badger Games, 2024), pp. 198-199
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