Blackstone Technology

With the refinement of blackstone came a rush of new experimental technologies attempting to harness the raw destructive potential of the material. The powder was used to detonate mountainsides, propel objects over great distances, and drive primitive machines, feats once reserved for arcanists alone. Blackpowder brought great power with very little skill, however plenty of would be gunslingers still died at the hands of skilled swordsmen in the early years of the technology.
When the North declared its manifest destiny to annex the south, blackpowder technology went into overdrive. New, untested war machines were brought to the frontlines in an effort to give an edge to the outnumbered Northerners. Firearms went through a renaissance, going from single shot flintlock models, to breech loaded multi shot cylinders, to powerful long distance rifles with deadly accuracy. Mixing this technology with expert Artificer’s understanding of arcane machines gave birth to war golems, constructs of stone and steel that fired great volleys of destruction across the battlefield.
Today, the export of blackpowder is the primary focus of Bastion’s Frontier Coalition, with the frontier project a distant second. So long as there is a desire for the power that blackstone can give, the FC will maintain it’s monopoly on its production and refinement.

Utility

Blackstone has few practical reasons on its own, save for a few primitive technologies. But blackpowder, blackpowder bricks, and sweet ichor are the fuel for any non magical machine.

Access & Availability

Exclusive to Baazdos, its rumored to be the byproduct of whatever gave the frontier its shattered, wasteland appearance.

Complexity

Blackstone must be refined through a closely guarded process of liquefaction, ionization, and reduction. The raw form is mostly inert, however it is magnetic and highly unstable when exposed to an electrical current.

Discovery

Discovered by a dwarven treasure hunters digging out a refuge from a maelstrom. The stone makes colorful sparks when struck with metal. Thinking it was nothing more than an interesting mineral, and finding no real treasure to speak of, they returned with armloads of the black rock to sell as ‘mysterious magical rocks’. It wasn’t until an apprentice wizard exploded that they learned of its potential value, and went back to Baazdos