Firearms

		Mechanics
Automata	Clockwork	Firearms	Magitech	Vehicles

Overview

Black Powder Firearms are a relatively recent invention on Apocrypha, utilising flintlock mechanisms. Though sparks visibly ignite the powder, the exact means to create firearms are still kept as closely guarded secrets. Government organisations produce the majority of this technology, however more illicit groups have begun to replicate and smuggle them, with some eccentric inventors managing to create even more advanced weapons.

Flintlock Pistols "Some Privateers launder their pistols to pay off their debts - but trust me - it's a short retirement." These are the speciality of Zangbe Privateers, strictly regulated, and considered property of the Octarchy.
Overseers will seize them over misuse, and bartering outside of official channels is grounds for execution.
One can be acquired through training to become a certified privateer, bribes, or black market connections. Only those with great influence or nothing to fear wield pistols openly, as they make the bearer a target.
Due to their small size and use in naval combat, Zangbe black powder is stored in water-resistant horns.
Like pistols, the horns are small and discrete, and are often disguised as drinking horns, or kept hidden.

Flintlock Muskets "I'd prefer to keep it in pristine condition, but it'd be a shame let such fine craftmanship go to waste." Muskets are produced primarily by the Powdersmiths of Dwar-Greyhral, for Grey Riders and Wayfarers.
Most wayfarer's muskets are custom ordered, though unsold guard weapon caches pop up on occasion.
One can be obtained by commissioning a Powdersmith, or pre-purchased for when spare becomes available. Unlike pistols, their size means muskets are carried less covertly, and are instead a mark of prestige.
Due to the strength and endurance of giant rams, Greyhral black powder is usually stored in wooden kegs.
Undercover Grey Riders and smugglers often transport powder kegs by disguising them as barrels of ale.

Flintlock Ammunition "Calling them ball bearings isn't about hiding that they're bullets - it's about getting off the hook." Bullets are the ammunition for firearms, and come in the shape of knuckle-sized, cast-iron pellets.
Produced for both the Riders and Privateers, there is also a strong demand from black-market dealers.
Easily manufactured, bullets can be acquired in most large cities, or along any major smuggling route. Ammunition tends to be carried in small pouches, though quick-loading devices are becoming common.
Counterfeits are a frequent problem among illegal firearms, so many instead bribe official blacksmiths.
A common tactic for smuggling - or discretely selling - bullets, is to advertise them as ball bearings.

Bombs & Powder "Manufacturing firearms requires effort best spent elsewhere. The powder alone is powerful enough." Bombs are most often used by the Cindershore Corsairs, for break-ins, sabotage, and diversion tactics.
These are typically smuggled from the Cindershore Isles, though are used elsewhere in siege warfare.
Purchasing these require contact with the Corsairs, their distributors, or access to military stockpiles. Explosives are small enough to hide inside pouches, though they quickly become obvious upon inspection.
Some choose to transport powder and bomb casings separately, as to obscure the powder's purpose.
Urban legends tell of those who have managed to smuggle bombs by painting them to look like fruit.

Cannons "Cannons are portable, provided you're strong enough. You'll need to hire a giant yourself, though." Progenitor to handheld firearms, cannons are long-range siege weapons, mounted on ships and city walls.
Though prolific during Time of Strife, records suggest they were first invented during the Illumination.
Cannons are produced almost exclusively through government facilities - making them targets of theft. To allow for aiming, reducing vertical recoil and avoiding structural damage, they are mounted on wheels.
Their heavy weight makes them difficult to transport across land, unless running them along rail-lines.
Pirates will often use wooden panels to obscure the presence of cannons, when viewed at a distance.

Optional Rules "Welcome to Scriblin's Scrivening Sundries - the world's only stationary-themed weapons front!" Intrepid Wayfarers may seek to learn the secrets to creating Firearms themselves, to circumvent purchases.
Proficiency can be gained using downtime with a firearm, paid training, the Gunner Feat, or as an Artificer.
Enchanted or clockwork firearms without gunpowder also exist, but do not gain gunpowder's properties. Contemporary healing magic and structures have yet to accommodate damage caused by firearm shrapnel.
When you consume at least 1gp worth of gunpowder to fire ammunition, or detonate gunpowder/bombs:
The weapon or ammunition gains the properties and effects, of both silvered and adamantine weapons.