Alchemists' Toybox- Gunpowder; House Rule: Adventuring Equipment (D&D 5e)

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Previous: Gunpowder Weapons

Adventuring Equipment

Item	Cost	Weight
Ammunition
Bird of flame	5 gp	1 lb
Cartridge (5)	2 gp	1 lb
Cannon ball	special	special
Bomb
Blasting Stick	200 gp	1 lb
Burster	150 gp	1 lb
Flasher	300 gp	2 lb
Smoker	200 gp	3 lb
Grenade	200 gp	1 lb
Incendiary	150 gp	1 lb
Dragonwater	100 gp	1 lb
Fuse (1 round)	1 sp	-
Gunpowder
Keg	250 gp	20 lb
Horn	35 gp	2 lb
Phoenix down	1000 gp	-
Smokestick	5 gp	-
Sunrod	10 gp	1 lb
Tindertwig	1 gp	-

Dragonwater. If you are a barbarian and consume this viscous liquid you immediately enter rage. This rage does not count as one of your daily uses of that ability. Other classes must make a DC 16 Constitution save after drinking this or you are poisoned. This condition lasts for one minute, but you can repeat this save every turn to end the effect.

In arcane circles this substance is sometimes called mindfire because, if you can cast at least one arcane spell or cantrip, you can “activate” a quantity you have consumed as your action. If you do so you are no longer sickened. However, for the minute duration you must still make a Constitution save each round or suffer 1d4 psychic damage. Regardless, activated mindfire deals 1d4 fire damage at the start of each of your turns. The substance grants you a bonus to your spellcasting ability (as if it increased the relevant ability score when for DCs, spell attack rolls, etc) for the round. This bonus is equal to the fire damage rolled, so reducing or negating this fire damage similarly reduces the bonus.

As an action, any character can light a bottle of firewater and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must succeed on a DC8 Dexterity saving throw or take 1d6 fire damage.

Blasting Stick. As an action, a character can light a blasting stick and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must succeed on a DC12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d6 bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A character can bind these sticks together so they explode at the same time. Each additional stick increases the damage by 1d6 (to a maximum of 10d6) and the burst radius by 5 feet (to a maximum of 20 feet).

Burster. As an action, a character can light a burster and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must succeed on a DC12 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 thunder damage.

Cannon ball. This cast iron ball is propelled through the air by gunpowder. Cannonballs vary in size depending on the cannon it is intended to be fired from. A ball weighs 10 lbs per 2 die worth of damage its cannon deals, and costs 1 gp per 10 lbs of weight.

Cartridge. These small, paper pouches contain a pre-measured quantity of gunpowder, and the paper itself to be used as packing. While it is possible to load a firearm without a cartridge of this type, doing so takes your action and still requires a source of gunpowder. 

Flasher. As an action, a character can light a flasher and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 30 feet of that point must succeed on two DC 12 Constitution saving throws. If they fail the first they are blinded, if they fail the second they are deafened. If they fail both they are stunned for one round. At the end of each of their turns they may make both of these saving throws again, ending either effect with a successful save. Both effects end after one minute.

Fuse. While bombs come with a length of fuse, you can increase that length to delay their detonation. If you rig one of these objects with a longer fuse you set the delay, in rounds, before it explodes. Before the first initiative on the round it is to detonate roll initiative for the explosive to discharge. A fuse can also be used with a powder horn or keg to convert it into an improvised bomb. The delay on such a makeshift bomb is one round less than the length of fuse used; if only one round of fuse is used roll for the fuse’s initiative as soon as it is lit. If the initiative rolled is higher than the current initiative it explodes immediately, before you finish your turn. An equal initiative explodes immediately after your turn, while a lower initiative detonates on that initiative. Two rounds worth of fuse detonate on an initiative in the round immediately following.

Grenade. As an action, a character can light a grenade and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d6 piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Gunpowder. Gunpowder is chiefly a component of other items, such as being formed into a bomb or creating cartridges, where it is used to propel a bullet out of the barrel of a pistol or rifle. Gunpowder is sold in small wooden kegs and in water-resistant powder horns. A horn holds enough gunpowder for 30 cartridges, while a keg holds about 300 cartridges worth. Firing a cannon ball requires one cartridge worth of gunpowder per pound of cannon ball. A bombard requires the equivalent of 10 cartridges when using a bomb.

Setting fire to a container full of gunpowder can cause it to explode, dealing fire damage to creatures within 10 feet of it (1d6 for a powder horn, 5d6 for a keg). A successful DC12 saving throw halves the damage. Setting fire to an ounce of gunpowder causes it to flare for 1 round, shedding bright light in a 30 foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet.

Incendiary. As an action, a character can light an incendiary and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must succeed on a DC12 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 fire damage.

Phoenix down. A character can light phoenix down as an action. If burnt under the nose of a character that is unconscious they wake, and characters with 0 or less hit points instead have 1 hit points. If the character died within the last minute that creature returns to life with 1 hit point. This item can’t return to life a creature that has died of old age, does not restore any missing or destroyed body parts, and does not cure any other effects the character was suffering such as poison or disease.

Smoker. As an action, a character can light a smoker and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. One round after it lands it emits a cloud of smoke that creates a heavily obscured area in a 20-foot radius. A moderate wind (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses the smoke in 4 rounds; a strong wind (20 or more miles per hour) disperses it in 1 round.

Smokestick. When broken, this small stick self-ignites; instantly creates thick, opaque smoke that fills a 10- foot cube. Treat the effect as a fog cloud spell, except that a moderate or stronger wind dissipates the smoke in 1 round. The stick is consumed after 1 round, and the smoke dissipates naturally.

Sunrod. This 1-foot-long rod burns brightly when lit. For 6 hours it will cast bright light in a 60-foot radius and provides dim light in an additional 60-foot radius.

Tindertwig. The alchemical substance on the end of this small, wooden stick ignites when struck against a rough surface. Creating a flame with a tindertwig is much faster than creating a flame with a tinderbox. Lighting a torch, or other exposed fuel, with a tindertwig is a bonus action, and lighting any other fire with one takes a round.

Next: Siege Equipment

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If there's anywhere I went overboard on the development of these rules it was here. However, as I said at the outset, while many players are interested in the integration of gunpowder so they can use firearms it's the related developments in explosives and chemistry that are far more interesting in either fantasy or reality. As with most of the simplification in D&D, I've pretty much lumped a bunch of that chemistry (alchemy) development into one big pot.