Firearms & Blackpowder in Exandria

Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III—Percy, to his friends—wanted to take the secrets of his inventions to his grave, especially the deadly power of his firearms. Fortunately, despite his now-deceased archenemy Anna Ripley, the threat of gunpowder spreading across Tal’Dorei has been brought to heel. After Vecna's defeat, Lord Percival formed the Riflemen, an elite millitary unit that were royal guardsmen assigned to specifically protect Whitestone Castle and the de Rolo family. Initially opposed to the idea of spreading firearms across the world, it didn't take long before he was driven to tie up this loose end by his wife, Lady Vex'Halia. Ever his guiding arrow, she convinced Percy to destroy all the firearms, blackpowder and his related notes to prevent the technology falling into the wrong hands. They opened a long standing bounty across Tal'Dorei for any and all firearms/ammuntion to be recovered and destroyed.
The only known producer of blackpowder (Viktor - the Blackpowder Merchant) resided in Vasselheim, but perished during the final battle between Vox Machina & Vecna when a number of Vecnas Remnant servants attempted to coerce Viktor into joining them. He used the last remaining stockpile of blackpowder to blow up the house with himself and the Remnants inside. One witness to the explosion (a neighbor of Viktor's) overheard a heated argument coming from the house, ending with what sounded like Viktor shouting "You'll never take me alive!", moments before the explosion. After nearly two decades, it is believed that all of the firearms and ammunition have been recovered but the bounty is still open to this day, with some still searching for any clues or whispers of the technology resurfacing.
In its absence, isolated groups of tinkerers both noble and unscrupulous began working to create new technologies using the readily available and far more stable Residuum crystals. Some of these modern marvels will no doubt help the people of the world—but others, in the wrong hands, are sure to be equally destructive. While many Renaissance technologies are not entirely common in Tal’Dorei, the secrets of firearms and blackpowder have now been lost to the ages, secured by the fact that Percy's good friend Pike Trickfoot modified his and the Riflemen's memories to permanently forget everything related to the operation and manufacture of firearms and the powder they require, but not the stark lessons learned about its dangers.
The center of innovation and technology in Tal'Dorei is Wittebak, the Rock Gnome city. Much of the innovation and technology driving Exandrias infintile industrial revolution are conceived here.

Manufacturing

No longer in production.

Regarding Victor's fate during the Battle of Vasselheim, Matthew Mercer stated that canonically he left it up to viewers' imaginations, but in his mind he imagined Victor taking a "You'll never take me alive!" approach and blowing up his own house and himself to take out a bunch of attacking Remnants.

Inventor(s)

Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III

Access & Availability

N/A

Complexity

Volatile, dangerous, powerfully destructive.

Discovery

The details of the discovery of firearms and blackpowder have been erased from its inventors memory, though a select few throughout Tal'Dorei can recount that Lord Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III of Whitestone once pioneered and wielded this destructive force.