Firearms

Whitlock hobbled across the deck of the Belligerent while the hostile boarders parted around him. They brandished cutlass and saber, crossbow and sling, and no small amount of yellowed teeth and scraggly chin hair. Their leader piped up. 
"Well, old man, y'appear to be outnumbered. What say you give us one good reason t'not spill yer innards cross yer own deck?"
Whitlock shook his shoulders, gently loosening his longcoat. 
"I'll give you thirty three." he said, causing a number of the pirates to look at each other in amused confusion. 
With a shrug, Whitlock's coat fell to the deck, revealing approximately thirty three loaded flintlock pistols strapped to nearly every part of his torso.

Though black-powder weaponry such as cannons, bombs, and augmented arrows and bolts are not uncommon in the Realm, firearms are exceedingly hard to find. Difficult to craft, maintain, and use, the weapons are often prohibitively expensive for most mercenaries.
There are, however, numerous examples of their use throughout the Realm. The Anterwal Foundry Blastbucket & Beeker produced a number of high power, short range firearms that fired explosive shells. As with most exports of Blastbucker & Beeker, these weapons were also prone to...dramatic malfunction. Similarly, some elite soldiers of Afhurth were known to carry long-guns into combat. There are some Djeran aboriginals who have adopted the use of extensively modified, powerful long-range rifles that feature a heavy striking surface on their stock that allows the weapon to be used in melee combat. These "Slugthrowers" are often family heirlooms passed down across generations, and due to their condition are also susceptible to self-destruction.