Red Powder

‘It is said that Vampires have everything, they have beauty, immortality, seduction, wealth, property, realms, power both magical and physical. And, as I discovered when I tried to make off with the property of a Vampire, they had boomsticks too, and Vampires my friend! Love. Their boomsticks.’ Andre The Bandit

Red Powder is a reddish black powder substance, that when struck with Flint or Pyrite, creates a frightful explosion that, in large enough quantities, can utterly destroy walls, but, far more famously, is used in firearms, like Matchlocks, Flintlocks, Snaphances and Wheelocks, most famously used by Vampires and Nobility, with the Vampires in particular being very well known for wild experimentation in their firearms. It was thought by many that Red Powder and firearms may become the dominant form of warfare, however, endurance and toughness of both body and items by magic and better materials, and the costs and requirements of making Red Powder, means that making enough Red Powder Firearms to outfit an entire army, would be impossibly expensive and potentially impractical. 
Still, Red Powder Weapons with Magical Enchantments etched and place upon the weapon, are incredibly powerful weapons, far deadlier then both bows and crossbows, with siege and field weaponry such as cannons being even more devastating weapons.

Access & Availability

Due to the rarity of Kasserite, the key mineral that makes up 75% of the mixture with Sulfur and Charcoal, Red Powder is a rare and thus, highly sought after and prized material due to it’s use in Firearms. Experiments have been made to find a better alternative, though with no success, with Saltpeter mixed with Sulfur and Charcoal creating Black Powder, despite initial hopes, was found to be far less impressive, and require a far larger amount to produce any kind of impressive explosion. Experiments with reducing the amount or introducing new materials, has only resulted in weaker cartridges for firearms, and so, only the wealthier of society can it in large amounts.

Discovery

The discovery of Red Powder actually came in the Mist Continent, to the Far East, by a Mist Continent Alchemist, known only by his first name Cao, given the nickname, Red Powder Cao, in roughly 16837AA. He was originally tasked to create a potion of immortality by his King, and so, Cao, with such a request by a King that would’ve executed him if he failed, he got to work. He experimented with various chemicals, substances and materials, but, it appeared that trying to achieve something that only the most degenerate of magic and Gods could do, was not an easy thing for a mortal man.
Eventually however, he discovered a certain mineral, which would come to be known as Kasserite, a rare mineral, which he found when ground up, was able to spark and crackle when sparks from a flint or piece of pyrite hit it. He experimented further, eventually finding the combination of Kasserite, Sulfur and Charcoal, which caused the reddish powder to burn rapidly and explode. Curious, he managed to gather enough Kasserite and created as much of this reddish powder as he could, and placed it into a small, ceramic jar.
This is when the King burst into his laboratory, and demanded to see how Cao’s reddish powder worked, and upon hearing that it exploded when lit by a spark, ordered one of his guards to lit the powder in the jar. The jar exploded into several pieces which shot out, ceramic shrapnel shooting into the penetrating the bodies of the guards and the King, with one piece severing the King’s jugular vein and he quickly died on the laboratory floor. Cao immediately fled the palace, and, realising he was a dead man if he remained in the Mist Continent, joined a caravan on the Silk Road to the West and Deuterra.