Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 spidergrrr Mar 21, 2015 18:15:02	My party is just switched over to 5th edition.One of our players added guns to thier character.As far as i know smokepowder is illegal but  that was 3rd edition.What is the current cannon stance on firearms in the Forgotten Realms.Are they illegal,feared or the norm?Please help out if you can.
#2 Archon007 Mar 21, 2015 19:56:46	Well the player can't add anything without the DMs approval. So that's a question for the DM. In FR canon no there are not firearms.
#3 Matau99 Mar 22, 2015 4:27:18	If you decide to use it, check the DMG (or online preview) for the firearm stats.
#4 spidergrrr Mar 22, 2015 8:02:28	Baiscally we have 3 dms running our campaign.Taking turns running the adventure.We are looking for the offfical canon stance on them though.
#5 pukunui Mar 22, 2015 11:21:13	Firearms wouldn't be too much of a stretch for the gnomes of Lantan. They've made all sorts of technological wonders.   If you want a more official answer, though, I'd go ask the folks at Candlekeep. Some of them have access to Ed Greenwood and Bob Salvatore and the like.
#6 Tempest_Stormwind Mar 22, 2015 11:20:29	pukunui wrote:
#7 pukunui Mar 22, 2015 11:28:50	Lantan got the Atlantis treatment during 4e's Spellplague, but since the Sundering was all about putting things back the way they'd been before, Lantan should be back in business too. If not, there are undoubtedly some Lantanese gnomes on the mainland who brought some firearms with them.
#8 Tempest_Stormwind Mar 22, 2015 12:34:40	I just checked my old 3.5 Player's Guide to Faerun, and pistols also show up in the Nelanther Isles, the Western Heartlands, and even the Sword Coast. So yes, they appear to be reasonably well-established in Faerun. They're just not terribly widespread for some unstated reason.
#9 BRJN Mar 22, 2015 14:54:56	The Grand History of the Realms includes a "sidebar" - a whole page big - wherein Elminster is sending a Harper agent to investigate a Lantan Bombard (very primitive cannon).  The discussion provided indicates that gunpowder weapons will pretty much alter the feel of combat beyond recognition.  And politics, too, as every tyrant swarms the builder with assassins or kidnappers, the better to obtain such knowledge for himself and no other.   Murder at Balder's Gate provides an up-to-date event you can use as an excuse: One of the would-be Dukes of Balder's Gate decides to enhance his bid by duplicating the IRL Gunpowder Plot.  Public opinion afterwards is such that, were the perpetrator's identity ever made known, there would be a city-wide riot converging on him.   There ARE rules for gunpowder weapons in 5e, but I would tell my players that due to cultural considerations, they are not available for everyday play.  Then review with them the rules that effectively make them low-accuracy mediocre-damage one-shot weapons that draw everybody's attention within a mile, and it would be better to use a Crossbow instead. You can always create an incident where the PCs get to play with pistols and muskets for a little bit, but have to give them back to their owner at the end of the fight.  Let the PCs and the Lantan Navy join together to capture a notorious pirate ship, say.