Harriot had to give the assassin credit; trying to jump her while she was walking down an unknown alley was better than most fools who tried to off her.

Fortunately, Harriot had plenty of experience with sketchy alleyways, and so had come well prepared. Namely, she had come with her newest invention: a silver pistol packed with plenty of the new black powder she’d swiped from the thief lord.

Harriot fired a warning shot right near the assassin’s feet. The assassin scrambled back, igniting his bracers to summon a shield of blue. Harriot cackled, twirling her pistol. “You think that little magic is good enough to stop this?”

It would honestly be a miracle if she could hit the shield. Her newest invention couldn’t yet fly straight, even with the modifications she’d made to the ammunition. And she doubted her shots could penetrate the magic. Still, the assassin didn’t need to know about the accuracy or the potency of the pistol; he only needed to note the deadly power in a single shot, and the stench of black powder filling the room. Also, black powder was not cheap, and she’d already wasted one precious shot.

Harriot only needed to scare the fool.

The assassin was shaking, eyes locked on the smoke lifting from the pistol’s nozzle. “W-what is that?”

Harriot leveled her pistol. “A happy accident,” She said. “Now talk.”

—

Firstly, thank you all for your patience; the first half of April gave me even more medical woes. If ya know, ya know. Lots of unpleasant gut issues. The irony of finishing up my studies covering Inflammatory Bowel Disease (I don’t have IBD, thank goodness, but hooo boy is what I have just as unpleasant sometimes).

Then came May, which involved me writing my thesis in 20 days. 0/10, do not recommend.

And then once I turned in my thesis, I had a small adventure with a foot infection that sent me to urgent care. I didn’t realize the random fevers throughout the entire week were related to an infection until my foot swelled up red on Saturday morning. You know it’s bad when both of your parents, both doctors who’re known to be fairly chill with infections, tell you to go to the hospital immediately. I got to work on my defense presentation in the waiting room. Then I got antibiotics and a nasty shot to deal with the spreading inflammation.

And then I gave my defense on June 4th, 2025 a few days later.

Honestly, the infection right before the presentation is very indicative of my PhD experience. And yes, I slept A LOT after that defense.

Anyway, let’s continue without any further delay! I have some science communication to get going!

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This post emerged from a book critique I was listening to on a random podcast. A wonderfully vague inspiration, but that happens sometimes when you’re working at the bench and just let the apple podcasts play whatever because your hands are too busy to “change the channel.” See, my ears perked up when the reviewer started discussing how the novel’s fantasy military had access to rubber, but not guns?! This destroyed the reviewer’s immersion in the book, as gunpowder predates the invention of rubber.

Now, I can’t defend the lack of worldbuilding in the book; I hadn’t read the novel in question, and so hadn’t bothered to really pay attention to much of the review. But I was struck by the realization that the book in question was of the fantasy genre.

Fantasy books don’t always use gunpowder in their worldbuilding, but the ones that do use it to great effect, such as Brian McClellan’s Powder Mage Trilogy. In them, flintlocks and gunpowder are the source of magic. But the development of gunpowder being a crucial component of worldbuilding never really crossed my mind as a fantasy reader or writer. My epic fantasies tend to involve swords, shields, and crossbows, and my science fiction reads assume the technology has surpassed the need for gunpowder, or even modern guns.

In short, I’ve never bothered to criticize whether or not a given book has black powder or gunpowder. If guns don’t exist in a fictional world, I don’t tend to miss them.

However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don’t even think gunpowder is a natural evolution of weaponry, especially in a fantasy setting. Let me explain.

Gunpowder: The Accident That Makes Zero Sense

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Usually, you can see weapons progress in effectiveness in weapons throughout the ages. First, you have a simple tool, such as a rock. Then, you have multiple ways to use the rock, such as a sling to hurl it from afar, or a hammer to wield it at close range with effective torque. Then, you have those hammars evolving into either longer weapons or sharper weapons. Then you have spears, and then you have shields to protect against those spears. And then you have the production of armor to allow you to be more mobile so you can get around the shields, aaaaaaand you see where we’re going with this.

I know I’m not giving the whole proper history of weapon evolution, as it does depend on any given culture in any part of the world. But the point is: the arms race makes sense when we look at any given weapon. You can probably trace back the logic that led to a weapon’s inception.

And then there’s gunpowder, which has zippo logic to its creation. Or at least what we have in writing.

The only reason– to my understanding– that this rando mix of chemicals exists is because of the search for the “elixir of life” in China. This is a baffling discovery when you step back and think about it.

I’m not saying Firearms Don’t Make Sense

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Quite the opposite: it’s incredibly logical to form effective weapons after discovering a powder that lights quickly on fire. It’d be bizarre for a culture not to take advantage of that discovery. Weapon progression makes sense.

I’d also like to point out that ancient China used gunpowder for bombs (https://archive.org/details/science-and-civilisation-in-china-volume-5-chemistry-and-chemical-technology-par/page/n91/mode/2up) not long after they discovered it well before the european middle ages, so the argument that firearms can never exist in the “Middle Ages” is also debunked here.

In fact, scientists have studied medieval gunpowder recipes that show people clearly experimented with ratios of the gunpowder chemicals to improve or change how the powder burned.

What I’m saying is: it doesn’t stand to reason to expect gunpowder as a natural scientific discovery in a fictional world. This is because there’s no “arms race” that would lead to the logical production of black powder and/or gunpowder.

Again, I’m not saying there wouldn’t be an arms race after the discovery of black powder. Upon discovery, people would obviously be making bombs, making fire lances, making cannons, etc.

What I’m arguing is that If your world has magic, it doesn’t stand to reason that people would be searching for an “elixir of life” through mixing salts together. They’d be looking for eternal live via whatever magic system is used. The circumstances that would theoretically make the invention may not exist for the “happy accident” of blackpowder.

This also means that If your fictional world does discover gunpowder, it could be well after your world’s version of the Age of Sail or Age of Enlightenment. There’s no logic that says it would have to be developed before or after other inventions (again, because it feels like a very accidental discovery). It could be discovered well after magic has already allowed civilizations to become as modern as our own, perhaps making gunpowder an uninteresting discovery as its applications aren’t as vast as what one can do with magic.

Other Science Accidents?

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I want to have a section celebrating the beauty of accidental human discovery, because science is fraught with accidents.

The discovery of Penicillin is generally considered to be an accident. The story goes as such: Alexander Flemming was studying bacteria and wasn’t the tidiest of scientists. He spread bacteria over a plate and just… left it on his bench over the weekend. Just let it sit. When he came back, he found a mold growing in the bacteria. The bacteria colonies closest to the mold. And tada! Was Penicillin discovered! (This is also how Alexander Flamming discovered the anti-bacterial Lysozyme. Honestly, this man was a pro at accidental discoveries.)

This is a favored story amongst graduate students like myself because it justifies laziness. “Who knows,” we say. “Maybe we’ll discover the cure for cancer if we gave into our procrastination!” Our bosses would hardly agree, but that’s their scientific loss.

The thing is, penicillin isn’t truly a “wild accident.” Cultures had been using molds as antibiotics long before Flemming’s discovery. Ancient Egyptians used moldy bread to help treat wounds.. Surgeons used moldy bread in surgeries as antibiotics. There’s some logic to Flemming’s accident; the medical use of molds and fungi predates his work.

Therefore, the discovery of chemicals that can be isolated from molds for medical uses is what we call “surprising but inevitable.”

To link this back with black powder/gunpowder, there doesn’t seem to be a precedent for mixing saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur in very specific ratios prior to the Taoist alchemists, at least from what I’ve found.

You could argue that just because there’s no precedent doesn’t mean a fictional world couldn’t eventually develop it. In fact, I agree. I absolutely agree that a fantasy setting would have to stumble upon this mix sooner or later simply because humans are curious creatures and love mixing things randomly. But again, it wouldn’t coincide with any other historical events. Cultures could develop magic, they could discover electricity, they could develop rubber, they could produce the printing press, and they could invent unique, powerful ballistas and trebuchets, but none of that has to coincide with the discovery of gunpowder and the subsequent development of firearms.

All I’m sayin and stressing is that the discovery of gunpowder is random.

The Worldbuilding Possibilities!

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I’m working on a writing project where magic and chemistry have flourished, but no one’s discovered gunpowder. As I stated above, I argue that researchers would look for this elixir of life via magical means, not chemical means. Therefore, due to circumstances, black powder (and by extension, gunpowder) would not be stumbled upon.

It means in my fantasy world, the culture’s weapons are more “magical” thanks to enchantments. It means people have focused on making special bows and swords that are far more advanced than what you’d see in a usual fantasy setting. It means people are starting to make “firearm” type of weapons with clever uses of enchantments, but it’s still experimental during the time the story takes place and therefore not used by many.

Is it perfect worldbuilding? Nah. But my gosh, is it so much fun! I get to incorporate a fantasy version of “cars” and “gondolas” and “elevators” because this fantasy world is going through a magical version of an industrial revolution, but it’s all going on without either coal and black powder.

(The lack of coal is another worldbuilding choice. Not related to the black powder.)

The implications of no firearms have been larger than expected. Suddenly, swords are relevant. Crossbows and bows are crucial. But it also alters how mining operates, as gunpowder revolutionized how folks mined. There’s no nitroglycerin.

Bombs are not a weapon. Now, that doesn’t mean people haven’t thought up other ways to do massive damage in battle (see the invention of the trebuchet), but not having bombs is crucial for a world where dragon riders with steeds of flaming breath are on the front lines.

The biggest change has been nautical warfare. The Golden Age of Sailing looks VERY different without cannons and muskets!

Takeaways

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I’m very tempted to find that review once more and do an “um, actually” talk to let them know that, while appearing in our real world, firearms aren’t necessarily guaranteed in a fantasy setting, no matter how advanced the setting may be. As far as I could gather from my research, the discovery of black powder was a very unique “oops” that absolutely changed our world!

Which is a testament to how science can work! You can take what could initially be an “oops” and absolutely alter the course of your field of research and society all at once! As much as I don’t personally love firearms, I can appreciate the application of science behind their development.

That’s all I have for you, friends. Until next time!