Smokepowder

This rare, legendary substance is viewed in most places in the Realms as unreliable and often con¬sidered “dangerous, corrupting magic.” Many colorful false beliefs about smokepowder abound among commoners, some of them due to false¬hoods spread deliberately.
Most places have strict rules about its importa¬tion and possession. Importing smokepowder into Cormyr during most of the 1300s DR requires a Crown license and a full explanation to a senior War Wizard, such as Vangerdahast, his second- in-command Laspeera, or one of the six or so mages a single step down from them, plus Ala- phondar or a court clerk. This explanation must include what the smokepowder is required for, where and how it will be stored, how soon it will be used, and so on.
In the case of someone officially trying to con¬quer the Stonelands, approval will be automatic so long as the Crown is satisfied that the smoke¬powder will be guarded well enough so that it won’t immediately fall into Zhent hands.
The interview process is kept as secret as pos¬sible to keep the information from the ears of treasonous nobles, and the license might come with conditions. Common conditions are that the smokepowder can’t be taken south of Waymoot, or into Arabel for any reason.
The license costs 500 gp, which pays for the deployment of two War Wizards and two Purple Dragon bodyguards, who become full-time spies watching over the licensed smokepowder. The precise strength of this watch isn’t shared with the importer of the smokepowder, but that person is warned that selling, giving away, or moving and hiding the stuff—particularly by trying to split it up and put small amounts in many places—will result in its immediate confiscation. 
What the importer isn’t told is that if this con¬fiscation occurs, it will be carried out by dozens of War Wizards with Purple Dragon bodyguards, all of them acting with alertness, weapon and spell readiness, and ruthlessness in keeping with full wartime orders.
As for individuals creating their own smokepow- der in Cormyr, anyone trying to become Baron of the Stonelands is already under covert magical surveillance by the War Wizards. If such a person reports making more than around a handkeg’s volume of smokepowder, he or she very swiftly receives a visit from an unamused court official, bolstered by all of the above-mentioned force, who demands the purchase of a license and the assump¬tion of all the conditions described above.
In Waterdeep, smokepowder is banned, aside from what the City Guard possesses and very small amounts granted to specific Watchful Order magists for experimental purposes. Even those limited uses must be observed and supervised by city officials.
Smokepowder can be bought freely in the “wild” trading city of Scornubel (and in later years, in Mistshore and Downshadow). In Luskan and Westgate, small quantities can be purchased covertly, but any buyer invariably acquires an in¬terested trail of spies.