Black Powder

Invented by Dermideth Bernarek on pure accident, its used in cannons to shoot large metal balls over great distance. It changed naval warfare in many drastic ways, however has yet to be used in many land encounters. Many people, mostly dwarves, are working hard to make cannons stronger so they may be used on city or castle walls, while some are trying to make them smaller to use in hand. So far no success has been made on either of these ventures, and so cannons are used mostly on ships.

Access & Availability

Having only been around for nigh on 80 years, it hasn't advanced much. Its used only on ship cannons, as its power is only enough to damage wood in its current state, and in small bombs. The raw form is often used in magic, tho it is still a bit pricey.

Complexity

Tho the raw form is easy to get your hands on, the refining process to make it a usable combustible is a complected procedure that is closely guarded by the Dwarves.

Discovery

Dermideth Bernarek invented black powder while working on her alchemy practice. A traveler had brought her this strange black clumpy powder and out of curiosity she bought it to see what it could do. She found almost no use for it and was about to toss it when she accidentally drops some onto a fire. The sparks it created gave her the inspiration to get more and she began testing on it in all sorts of ways until it became the combustible it is today.