Marithel — Powders, Alchemy, Fire, and Dangerous Shipboard Craft

Fire is useful at sea and never safe.

Maritheli powder, alchemy, fuel, and emergency craft exists because ships must carry flame, pressure, oil, medicine, signal material, and reactive compounds into wooden spaces full of rope, cloth, salt, motion, and frightened people.

The Corsair Powderwrights are a confirmed Maritheli craft institution associated with controlled powder and explosive work.

Their compounds belong partly to material craft and partly to Step 2.38 technology, firearms, and artifice. The material tradition can be described publicly without publishing protected formulas.

Public compound classes

Corsair powder work can include:

• firearm propellant;
• signal powder;
• flare mixtures;
• breaching charges;
• fuse compounds;
• smoke mixtures;
• waterproofed charges;
• alchemical ammunition inputs;
• and shipboard emergency charges.

A powder’s name does not establish its PF2e mechanics.

Each usable game object must correspond to a specific official or campaign-approved item, ammunition type, bomb, hazard, vehicle component, or siege device.

Production and control

Powderwright work requires:

• dry space;
• measured ingredients;
• clean tools;
• separation of incompatible materials;
• controlled grinding and mixing;
• spark and flame discipline;
• sealed containers;
• lot marking;
• storage classification;
• transport rules;
• and disposal procedure.

Some formulas are maintained by corsair states, shipyards, militias, privateers, or licensed powderwright circles. Others move through theft, prize-taking, smuggling, or battlefield recovery.

Failure states

Powder can fail through:

• damp;
• poor grain;
• contamination;
• separation;
• false labeling;
• cracked container;
• heat;
• spark;
• incompatible ammunition;
• counterfeit lot mark;
• intentional overcharge;
• or storage beside oil and open flame.

The most dangerous powder is not always the strongest.

It is the batch everyone believes is ordinary.

Access

Firearm, ammunition, bomb, and explosive rarity remains mechanically relevant.

Access can come through Tidebound service, corsair affiliation, Powderwright apprenticeship, military or privateer contract, licensed harbor work, salvage award, or explicit campaign approval. A character does not gain blanket access to every uncommon or rare powder item by knowing one powderwright.

Dangerous Shipboard Materials

Material	Use	Primary risk
powderproof cloth	wraps charges, tools, or magazines	gives false confidence when damaged
waterproof charge case	protects powder from damp and spray	traps heat or hides leakage
spark-safe tools	reduces ignition during work	ordinary tool substituted under pressure
signal flare compound	makes visible emergency signals	wrong color or unintended fire
smoke mixture	concealment, signal, training, or control	suffocation and panic below deck
hull-patching alchemy	temporary seal over damage	fails under pressure or reacts with existing coating
pump sealant	emergency repair to pump and hose systems	blocks the line if overused
anti-fouling compound	reduces marine growth on hull	poison, ecological damage, worker exposure
fire pot	controlled shipboard or military fire	breakage, spill, wind, unlawful use
extinguishing compound	smothers or cools fire	incompatible with oil, powder, or magical flame
alchemical ammunition input	supports a specific PF2e item	illegal substitution or unstable batch
dangerous cargo case	isolates poison, acid, sample, or magical reagent	seal failure, false label, deliberate tampering

Workshop Layout

A safe Powderwright or alchemical workspace separates:

• receiving;
• dry storage;
• measuring;
• grinding;
• mixing;
• filling;
• sealing;
• testing;
• waste;
• water and extinguishing supply;
• worker changing space;
• and finished-lot storage.

A workshop that cannot separate these functions reduces batch size or closes.

Tools

Tools are chosen to reduce spark, contamination, and uncontrolled pressure.

They may include:

• non-sparking measures;
• dedicated mortars;
• screened tables;
• grounded or isolated work surfaces;
• humidity records;
• sealed scoops;
• marked funnels;
• lot trays;
• protective cloth;
• water barrels;
• sand;
• tongs;
• cutting knives;
• and disposal vessels.

The exact formula remains protected. The safety procedure is public enough to inspect.

Lot Marks and Records

A controlled batch records:

• compound class;
• lot number;
• maker;
• workshop;
• date;
• destination;
• container count;
• test result;
• storage requirement;
• transport restriction;
• and responsible buyer or authority.

A lot mark is valuable because a bad batch can be traced.

It is also valuable to counterfeiters.

Shipboard Storage

Powder, oil, alchemy, and fire material are separated from:

• ordinary galley fire;
• passenger space;
• wet bilge;
• heat;
• friction;
• loose metal;
• children;
• untrained crew;
• and cargo that could react with it.

A captain records who holds the key and who can order emergency jettison.

A passenger’s locked case does not override the ship’s fire authority.

Fire Response

A shipboard fire procedure identifies:

1. alarm;
2. command;
3. whether the material can be smothered, cooled, isolated, or jettisoned;
4. who closes ventilation;
5. who protects pumps;
6. who moves passengers;
7. who guards dangerous cargo;
8. when the crew abandons the compartment;
9. and what must be reported after control.

The wrong extinguishing material can make a fire worse.

Boundaries with Step 2.38

This page controls:

• material classes;
• formula custody;
• storage;
• transport;
• lot marks;
• workshop safety;
• access;
• and failure.

Detailed firearm technology, weapon availability, full explosive mechanics, siege devices, and item statistics belong to technology, firearms, artifice, or rules-and-equipment pages.

Public Contacts

Galira Netmender

Galira can coordinate repair labor and market response when a dangerous batch affects several shipyards or fishing fleets.

Halric Stormchain

Halric can close passage or seize military-dangerous cargo within his authority. He cannot turn a civilian workshop into a military asset without political consequence.

Tavira Ropecant

Tavira can read worker marks, dock cant, rope warnings, and contract language used to conceal dangerous cargo conditions.

Baric Thunderquay

Baric’s salvage crew understands drifting powder, damaged magazines, fire after wreck, and the danger of a claim crew boarding too early.

Campaign Problems

• A genuine Powderwright lot was repacked in counterfeit cases.
• A rescue crew needs signal charges held under military requisition.
• An emergency hull sealant is destroying living reef growth.
• A privateer carries a legal commission and illegal smoke compound.
• A ship’s extinguishing stock has been replaced with inert powder.
• A dangerous cargo case is properly sealed and falsely labeled.
• A powder workshop closes during convoy season, forcing several harbors into unsafe substitution.